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Union
VoL5. No. 33.
GASTONIA, N. C., AUGUST 17, 1911
One Dollar a Year
President Alexander Veils What Organisation
is Undertaking to Do for the Farmers'
Children.
krom eii’s and Observer.
y he extensive circulation of your paper and
the importance of the subject of Agricultural
Education, deserve a more thoughtful article
than my limited time will permit just now. I
am on the move and ani writing between
trains. , ^
A generation ago the object in seeking an
education was to KNOW. Today the pur
pose of an education is three-fold: To be, to
know, to DO, with emphasis on the active
verb, lo BK a noble, useful, perfect man, one
must not only KNOW the traits of character
necessary to constitute him, but must strive
earnestl}’^ and persistentl}?. to develop that char
acter. In other words, existence and knowl
edge are desirable and useful only in so far as
they are productive of efficient service. “He
that would be great among you let him first
be a servant.’’
\Ve can readily see, then, that to meet tlie
demands of the present day an education must
be of the heart, the head and the hand- The
church and h^ auxiliaries are laboring for the
eidightenment and regeneration of the mind
and heart. Our school system, from day
school to University, has dealt mainly in the
work of developing the mind and storing it
witli knowledge, but not always useful knowl
edge. 1 hus we see that very little provision
has been made in the past for the education of
the hand.
And just here we discover the reason of the
inadaptability and inefficiency of our rural
schools. 1 o educate the hand, it is necessary
to know the vocation to be followed and to
select text books adapted thereto. Our people
are just awakening to a full realization of the
agiicultural classes. It has always been con
ceded that the minister, the doctor and the
lawyer must have special training to fit him
for his calling. But not so with the farmer.
Any fool could farm, and I am sorry to say
that as a result of this idea many of them, poor
fellows, are trying it. Is it surprising then,
that agriculture has not kept pace with the
march of progress in manufactures, transpor
tation and other industries and callings?
But as stated above the farmer himself has
realized his mistake and is taking steps to cor
rect it. As a result of our organized move
ment through the Farmers’ Union the law re
quiring the teaching of elementary agriculture
in the public schools has been put into effect
in many counties where it was before un
known. This campaign of agitation and educa
tion will be continued until every public school
in the State becomes an embro agricultural
college. The importance of this course can
hardly be over-estimated. Eighty-two per cent
of our population is agricultural. That means
that 82 per cent, of our boys and girls must
necessarily spent their lives on and make their
living from the farm- Furthermore, 95 per
cent of our school population never advance
beyond the eighth grade in the common school.
4*
# ONLY A FEW DAYS MORE. ^
^ ^
In which to get The Union Farmer
for 25 cents. The special offer closes
Saturday at midnight and in order to
take advantage of it you must have your
letter postmarked in due time. Any let-
ter reaching us Monday or Tuesday 4-
showing that it was mailed Saturday be- yL
fore midnight can be included and sub-
scription received, will be accepted at
the special rate.
'I:* If you have not sent us your club or
4'' have not had your name included in
f;!' a club, don’t loose any time, but get ^
busy and send in your name with 25
yL cents and get The Carolina Union
tjU Farmer until January ist.
If you have a neighbor or member in ^
your local who does not read the paper,
get his name now. This same offer will
4* not be repeated soon.
4*
4* , A great many local secretaries have 4*
4* been at work but the great majority 4*
4'' have not yet reported anything, if your 4*
4?* secretary will not send in your subscrip- 4*
4f tion, do it yourself. Anybody is at 4*
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4^ subscriptions. 4*
4* The time is short, act now! 4*
4* ^
^ Address 4*
4» CAROLINA UNION FARMER 4^
4* Gastonia, N. C. 4*
4» 4*
4"4*44*4*4'4*4^ 4^4^4*4*4*4*4*4*4*
How important it is, then, . that our public
schools should be made the efficient means of
educating our boys and girls for farm life and
home making. That they may see new possi
bilities'’* for prosperity and happiness in the
farm home. That through the intelligent use
of scientific appliances much of the drudgery
and isolation of farm life may be eliminated.
We must stop the drain from the farm of
our brightest and most ambitious boys, if we
would preserve the future prosperity of the
country, We jnust turn the minds and hearts
oLour girls to home making, to wifehood and
motherhood, if we would save the race.
This organized campaign for agricultural
education has already made its influence felt on
our State Legislature. At the last session the
County Farm Life School bill became a law.
This is probably the most constructive piece
of legislation within the history of this genera
tion. We hope that within the next ten years
every count}^ in the State will have established
one of these schools, where our boys will be
given practical training in everything pertain
ing to farm life, and where our girls will be
thoroughly trained in domestic science and art.
The resfllt in a few years will be wonderful
prosperity for our beloved State. “Two blades
of grass will be made to grow where only one
had grown before.’’
Then the cry of over-production will no
longer be heard in the land. Along with scien
tific production will be taught scientific mark
eting and distribution. A year’s supply of nu
farm product will be forced on a glutted
market in a few months’ time- Products of a
perishable character will be properly distri
buted all over the country, and thus avoid con
gested centers. Prosperous, happy farm
homes with large families, will be the rule,
rather than the exception.
Our courts will no longer be running divorce
mills, unless our city cousins furnish the
“grist.” Love and reverence for home and
parents, which is now on the wane, will again
be seen and felt as a beneficent influence on
the rising generation. The country home, the
country school and the country church are the
great character builders of our century. They
will be run on full time and at full capacity,
and will turn out a product of which no man
may be ashamed.
Fraternally,
H. Q. ALEXANDER.
Charlotte, N. C., July 24.