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CICIVS THE FIBST SPOKE. 



What does the first spoke of civics in the wheel mean? It means man- 

 power, the home, the church, school, playground. It means the environment 

 and opportunity for the little boy and girl on the farm, in the school there 

 and in the school in the city, the chance in life to develop. That doesn't mean 

 the city only, friends, but it means the country and community. I wish you 

 would go back to your homes, whether you are business men of the farms 

 or business men of the city, go back with this thought, that the whole 

 country and community belongs to you; that the whole thing is yours; that 

 the whole thing depends upon what you do for it, not just the growth of the 

 town or the growth of the country. 



You must look at your community as a whole. We have the development 

 of the boy in his physical, spiritual, moral, intellectual and economic side 

 this means the school, home, playground, and it means business. We have 

 to give the boy and girl a better chance and give them an opportunity and 

 a better chance than you and I had. We have passed upon the policies of 

 this war. We helped, perhaps, to save the world from this great calamity, 

 but we have put this nation in debt. It wasn't these tiny tots, it isn't their 

 fault, and we cannot leave this nation in any strained or stressed' condition 

 that will put a burden on these little boys and girls. Let us go forth and 

 see if we can't find some way to make the whole nation better than she is 

 and put the people together while we have a chance. So much for civics. 



PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION. 



When the man power develops itself, which is the first Job, there are 

 but four jobs left. On this side of the wheel is the word "Production." 

 There are two kinds of production. On this side is "Distribution." There 

 are two kinds of distribution. There are two method's of production raw 

 materials and finished products. There are only four kinds of raw materials 

 in the world water products, forestry products, mining products and pro- 

 ducts of the field. 



What proportion does agriculture bear to all the raw products of the 

 Nation? It is fair to say that seventy per cent of all the raw products in the 

 world' come from the farm. Seventy cents of the raw material dollar then is 

 the farm dollar, and the whole farming problem is suffering. Now let us 

 see what the government is spending every year for you as farmers and as 

 merchants and bankers. We spent five and a half billion dollars last year to 

 run the American government. Ninety-three percent of it was spent in the 

 payment of our past war debts and maintaining the army and navy. One 

 percent of the hundred went to education and agriculture, and one-third of 

 one per cent was all that agriculture got. Therefore one-third of one per 

 cent, or thirty cents out of every hundred dollars in our Nation today, is 

 devoted to the thing that makes seventy cents of every dollar. It is wrong. 

 We can't get much more money from the government we are doing better 

 than we did twenty years ago, but we haven't got the money in our govern- 

 ment treasury to spend. So you, as farmers and you as doctors, lawyers, 

 merchants, preachers and teachers must get behind agriculture. That is 

 what we are preaching. You must do the thing in the local community. 

 The town here, and the towns in every country the cities must work hand 

 in hand with the farmer and with his farm organizations. We must get 

 closer together. We must find a way to educate the county agent and help 

 him. Years ago we found it hard to get much work done in the club work 

 among the farmers. How easy it is today in the town to do these things 

 where all men and women folks get behind it, and how hard it is when 

 some man or woman gets out alone in social work, or farm club work. 



Let me tell you how you can help. You all know it, but let me sug- 

 gest it anyway. Get in behind your farm bureau, your grange and your 

 farm organizations; get in behind your Chamber of Commerce now not 

 tomorrow, or next week or next year. Become members in both organiza- 

 tions, the farmer organization and the city organizations. Have a mixed 



