162 BACKGROUND AND MEANS OF SERVICE 



some selfish object of their own in fostering such move- 

 ments. They couldn't imagine such organizations abso- 

 lutely unselfishly "helping the farmer"; and they felt, 

 moreover, that they didn't need this kind of help. As 

 indicated in the statement of objects, the movement was 

 from the outside, and though with the best of intent just 

 another attempt of the city man to help the farmer raise 

 more food for the consumer. It soon developed that the 

 farmer was more interested in getting more money for 

 what he did raise. Had not the agent been of a very prac- 

 tical turn of mind, a farm-reared boy who knew farmers, 

 and a member of that old and worthy farmers* organiza- 

 tion the Grange the effort must certainly have failed. 

 As it was farmers except a few of the most successful 

 men more or less disinterestedly tolerated it. 



THE MOVEMENT SPREADS 



Meanwhile two more agents had been added to counties 

 in New York, G. P. Scoville in Chemung on April 1, 1912, 

 and F. E. Robertson in Jefferson on April 14, 1912. Other 

 counties in New York followed in rapid succession, until on 

 January 1, 1914, there were nineteen agents at work in 

 this state. 



This was typical of events in several states. In Missouri, 

 Sam Jordan began work in Pettis County in April, 1912, 

 under the auspices of the "Boosters' Club." About a year 

 later he was appointed as a county agent by the Missouri 

 College of Agriculture and the U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture. C. W. McWilliams was officially appointed county 

 agent in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, in August, 

 1912. During the same year a "Better Farming Associa- 

 tion" was organized in Bottineau County, North Dakota, 

 by a group of bankers with Thomas Cooper, now Dean of 



