24 Agriculture and Its Needs 



cessity. The first national industry, which 

 supplies the larger part of the raw material 

 for our manufactures a'nd produces four 

 times as much in value as our mines and 

 oil wells together, brings good policy to the 

 aid of necessity in claiming the support of 

 a universal system of education. It is not 

 merely that the farmers' boys and girls, 

 like all other American boys and girls, are 

 entitled to their utmost chance : the nation's 

 educational purpose has combined with 

 situations and the importance of the indus- 

 try to settle it. 



I have discussed many times the improve- 

 ment of the rural elementary schools and 

 shall doubtless do it again, but I shall not 

 cpf into that now beyond treating of the 

 factors of an educational system which will 

 support agricultural needs. 



It seems to me that there is not much to 

 be said in criticism of the rural schools so 



