THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



299 



TO PERPETUATE FARM LAND CONGRESS 



Conference Committee Holds Enthusiastic Meeting Permanent Organization Effected 



Exposition Planned. 



April ISth preliminary steps were taken at a largely 

 attended meeting of the Conference Committee, of the 

 National Farm Land Congress at the Hotel La Salle for 

 the second annual meeting of the congress. 



The Conference Committee was provided for before 

 the adjournment of the first annual meeting last Novem- 

 ber, and it was composed of the representatives of the 

 governors of many states, the heads of transportation 

 companies, various newspapers, the advisory committees 

 and others. 



For the purpose of carrying out its objects, the Con- 

 ference Committee provided for an executive committee 

 of thirty-five members, to be appointed by the president, 

 Mr. Farnsworth, and to be put back of the movement, 

 to-wit: Representative state officials, publishers of im- 

 portant newspapers, managers of news associations, heads 

 of important railroad companies and others. This execu- 

 tive committee is given entire charge of the business of 

 the congress and will arrange all things relating to its 

 scope and the plans for carrying out the same. 



The authority for all action taken was given by a 

 resolution adopted at the first annual National Farm Land 

 Congress, wherein the chairman was instructed to appoint 

 a conference committee to meet in Chicago upon call of 

 the chairman to consult together and to formulate plans 

 to continue the work. The conference committee of 

 seventy-five members to be composed of the old advisory 

 committee, and of the Commissioner of Public Lands of 

 the United States, the governor of each state or his per- 

 sonal representative, the commissioner of lands of each 

 state or other state officer concerned with the lands, im- 

 migration or agriculture of the state, the presidents of 

 the important railroad companies, the presidents of the 

 national farmers' organizations, the presidents of all news 

 associations in the United States, the officials of the Chi- 

 cago Association of Commerce and such others as the 

 chairman of the advisory committee might deem it ad- 

 visable to appoint. 



The general objects of the congress being, by the 

 widest possible publicity, through the press, to promote 

 American farm home building, to bring into permanent 

 productive use all lands available for profitable farming 

 purposes, and to increase, among the people, the spirit 

 tending to remove the crowded populations from the cities 

 to settlement upon the land, two plans were suggested to 

 the executive committee which will take charge of the 

 second congress: 



First: An educational congress, without exposition 

 features, to be participated in by delegates appointed by 

 the states and territories, business men's organizations and 

 other organizations- not financially interested in the sale 

 of lands; the only expense of the congress to be that of 

 providing the necessary hall for its assembly, entertain- 

 ment features and the incidental expense of an organi- 

 zation, and publicity office to be open throughout the year. 



Second: The same as the first, and added, a special 

 exposition feature, composed wholly of small, compact, 

 illustrative exhibits, put in by states, territories or counties 

 alone; the exhibits to be of products of the lands of the 

 respective states, and of soil and other maps showing in 

 detail, by localities, the lands of the state, prices of same, 

 cost of production, average net profits to the farmer and 

 anything which would enlighten the homeseeker as to his 

 profits and environment. Each state to be limited to the 

 same maximum amount of space for its display. The 

 "speaking congress" might be limited to a week, or such 

 time as deemed advisable, while the exposition might con- 

 sume three or four weeks, or as long as might be useful, 

 each state maintaining its own lecturer at its own exhibit 

 at all times. The central idea being to encourage the 

 homeseeker ; every article in a state's exhibit to be accom- 

 panied by placards and maps which definitely and specifi- 



cally answer all the queries naturally in the homeseeker's 

 mind as to cpst of land, production cost, profits, how to 

 acquire the lands, etc. 



Rules A committee should formulate for the congress 

 a set of rules to be followed; and if the exposition feature 

 is adopted, rules should be devised for both congress and 

 exposition governing all participants and preventing, so 

 far as may be possible, the perversion of the congress and 

 exposition from its fundamental purpose and insuring the 

 presentation of reliable data to homeseekers. 



Press Committee The presidents of all the news asso- 

 ciations and press bureaus or their representatives should 

 constitute a press committee to serve from year to year, 

 to secure the utmost publicity, both during the sessions of 

 the congress and throughout the year, all those things 

 tending to promote farm home building. 



Finance Committee A finance committee should be 

 appointed to arrange for all moneys necessary for the 

 use of the congress and its permanent office. 



The Conference Committee unanimously adopted the 

 report of the subcommittee on officers and organization, 

 as follows: 



Your Committee on Officers and Organization reports 

 the following to this Conference Committee for adoption, 

 to-wit : 



1. We recommend the adoption of the name "The 

 National Farm Land Congress" as the permanent name of 

 this body. 



2. We recommend the election of the following offi- 

 cers, to hold office until their successors are elected: Don 

 Farnsworth, President; Governor R. S. Vessey of South 

 Dakota, Vice-President; C. A. Walsh, Secretary; George 

 E. 'Roberts, President of the Bank of Commerce, Treas- 

 urer. 



3. We recommend that the general business of the 

 congress, when not in session, shall be in the hands of 

 an executive committee, composed of thirty-five members, 

 ten of whom shall constitute a quorum, this committee 

 to be appointed by President Farnsworth at as. early a 

 date as possible, and the officers of the congress shall be 

 ex-officio members of the committee. At least ten mem- 

 bers of the committee shall be selected from as many dif- 

 ferent states with due reference to their geographical posi- 

 tion. Any member of the Executive Committee who shall 

 be unable to attend any meeting of the committe shall 

 have power to appoint a substitute to act for him at such 

 meeting. 



(Signed) SAMUEL DUNLAP, Chairman. 



Attest: C. A. WALSH, Secretary. 



There was much discussion by the members of the 

 Conference Committee during both forenoon and after- 

 noon meetings, Governing not only the matter of organi- 

 zation immediately in hand, but a wide range of subjects 

 which it is important for the newly selected officers and 

 Executive Committee to consider. The general senti- 

 ment seemed to be that no congress managed by private 

 interests as a money-making enterprise and to advance 

 personal or business ends can be of permanent usefulness 

 in the great work of inculcating the "back to the land" 

 spirit of accelerating the movement; and, further, that it 

 in fact is absolutely dangerous in that the interests of 

 honest homeseekers cannot be absolutely guarded under 

 such management from the gross mispresentations of pri- 

 vate and interested persons and unreliable land men. 



In this connection, C. J. Sinsel of Boise, Idaho, who 

 is president of the United Exposition Association of Irri- 

 gated States representing seventeen irrigated states, read 

 the resolutions adopted at Chicago last fall, and reaffirmed 

 at a late meeting of the association at Salt Lake City, ex- 

 pressing the intent of the association to make no further 

 exhibits or participate in any privately managed exposi- 

 tion, which, they were convinced, could in no way give 



