s 



Miscellaneous. $ 



dry years sources of sorely Deeded 

 water are wasted for the want of power 

 pumps. The practical questions which 

 confront us are ' how can we bring 

 the knowledge already available and 

 certain to be increased year by year 

 to bear upon the people, and how can 

 the poor cultivators be helped in the 

 matter of capital.' I earnestly hope 

 that the members of this Conference 

 will be able to give us valuable help and 

 advice in solving these important ques- 

 tions. 



Agricultural Associations. 

 " We are anxious to increase the num- 

 ber of agricultural associations, and I 

 am glad to note that ten such bodies 

 were inaugurated during the past year, 

 and that many Indian gentlemen are 

 rendering great assistance. Each such 

 association can be the centre from which 

 practical information, such as is con- 

 tained in the series of very useful publi- 

 cations edited by Dr. Mann, can be dis- 

 seminated, but more is wanted, and we 

 require th6 active agency of local 

 leaders who will supply the initiative 

 in agricultural matters, and will show 

 the people how they can improve their 

 position. Smilarly we have an increas- 

 ing number of 



Co-operative Societies 

 by means of which with the aid of banks 

 we hope that the benefits of financial 

 combination and of the industrial or- 

 ganisation which has worked wonders 

 in other countries may be made mani- 

 fest in helping such bodies as these. 

 There is a wide field of practical use- 

 fulness for the true patriots of the 

 Presidency who must realize that the 

 uplifting of the cultivators is the great- 

 est boon that could be conferred upon 

 India. 



" In this connection I venture to make 

 a strong appeal to the conductors of the 

 Press who could do much to help the 

 people by spreading the knowledge that 

 Government is anxious to provide. It 

 is sad to note that in some quarters 

 vague denunciations which cannot effect 

 any practical good and may do some 

 harm seem to be mistaken for polities 

 which have a far nobler meaning. 

 Criticism based on facts, I welcome, 

 but if our friends the critics would 

 devote some of their energies to the 

 diffiusion of knowledge of which the 

 people stand in dire need, I am inclined 

 to think that their criticism would be 

 more effective and that the 



Progress of India 

 towards nationhood would be more 

 rapid. I am afraid that I have detained 



[December 1900. 



you too long, and I will only say in 

 conclusion that I hope that these Con- 

 ferences will be annual, and that 

 they will help in solving one of our 

 greatest problems, the promotion of the 

 welfare of the patient cultivators upon 

 whom, now and even more in the future, 

 the prosperity and progress of India 

 must depend." 



COUNTRY LIFE COMMISSION. 



(Prom the Philippine Agricultural Re- 

 view., Vol. II., No. 5, May, 1909.) 



Our purpose in presenting these articles 

 from the pens of President Roosevelt 

 and the Editor of the Outlook is not for 

 their intrinsic value to citizens of the 

 United States, but for their suggest- 

 iveuess to those of us who are responsible 

 for, and must solve, the problem of 

 country life in the Philippines. Life in 

 the country in these Islands is the 

 foundation of all of the national aspi- 

 rations and of the future greatness of the 

 Filipino people. It is the country life 

 in the Philippines more than anything 

 else that needs to be awakened and 

 quickened. 



The politician is in the very centre of 

 the stage of the popular life of the 

 people at the present time. The Filipino 

 Government official is everything. The 

 country seems to be dormant, and the 

 people in the country depend upon the 

 office holders and politicians for all 

 remedies of present evils and for the 

 improvement of conditions. In the mind 

 of the average country resident the 

 situation is entirely in the hands of the- 

 lawmakers, and they, the people in the 

 country, are doing little or nothing, 

 resting in the conviction that everything 

 that is necessary to bring about the 

 much-needed changes for the progress of 

 the country, can be accomplished by 

 their officials and lawmakers. Nothing 

 could be further from the truth. There 

 is no such thing as independent national 

 or state government without resources, 

 and laws are primarily for the regulation 

 of the conduct of the people. Laws 

 cannot make the people industrious, nor 

 can they fundamentally create resources. 

 Abundant resources and wealth are the 

 foundation of national life, as well as of 

 the life of a business corporation. The 

 country, the farmer, and the rural 

 population are the resources and the 

 fundamental producers of wealth— the 

 foundation of national existence — and 

 through them only can national existence 

 be made possible. 



The recent protest of the sugar planters 

 is much like a protest against the build- 

 ing of a house without a foundation 



