THE FARMER AND HIGHER EDUCATION. 209 



the perpetuity of our State. There can be no continued enjoyment of freedom and 

 liberty, no perpetuity of our nation, that is not based on intelligence and con- 

 science—on the enlargement of all the powers of the soul. The flag that floats 

 above us, as the symbol of our freedom, ought to be recognized and revered 

 in all oar great State from the lake to the river. You glory in the possi- 

 bilities of Indiana, in it3 hills and valleys, in its rivers and rocks, in its 

 plains and mines; and if j^ou value these resources and possibilities as you 

 ought, you will aid with all your ability, and keep ever in your thought 

 the advancement of our higher iurtitutions of learning. If you are neglect- 

 ful here, in proportion to the neglect you will ever be at the mercy of him who 

 seeks not you but yours. But not only intellectual development or power is neces- 

 sary in our individual growth. There must also be that subtle something which is 

 called character. A man must not only know, but he must be a pawer in the locality 

 where he lives. There are three hundred thousand farmers in our State — more 

 than they of all the other professions put together. When you remember this fact, 

 then will you underst nd that just in proportion as the higher education reaches 

 the boys and girls growing up on our farm*, and crystallizes into character, in that 

 proportion will there be a rational basis for expecting the continued prosperity, 

 virtue and happiness of our Commonwealth. 



This character is built by diicipline and knowledge, and grows in strength in 

 proportion as these boys and girls shall have the power and the courage to say, " I 

 will," and "I will not," in the interests of our great State, in Ve interests of liberty 

 and humanity, in the interests of truth and their own souls. If the men and wo- 

 men of our country have spirits loyal and true, if they have trained intellects and 

 a character that knows the true value of '■ I luiU," and '^ I will not" if they are 

 trained in a comprehensive kuowledgeof the domestic, political, and social problems 

 of our time and State, there are not powers enough on this continent to sweep Indi- 

 ana from her foundation of civil and religious liberty. 



The farmer, therefore, needs to emphasize to himself the necessity of arousing 

 himself, if he does not wi.sh to be left behind in the struggle for the highest and 

 noblest in Ats employment. If he does not wish to lose that which is dearest and 

 sweetest in his toil and in his talent, he must be among the number to lift up his 

 voice, take out his purse and send his sons and daughters to our State Institutions, 

 and to the Christian coUoges of our Commonwealth. 



14 — AGRICrtTURE. 



