The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 26, 1916, Page 6

— . could profit by the work being done there. . farm R S T SR Mandan Wants New State School to Teac‘h'P\ract}icél Things Sons and Daughters of Farmers Should Know ITIZENS of Mandan and other communities west of the Mis- souri river are anxious that the state should -take further steps to assist the spread of scientific farming ideas in the southwestern part of the A project in which Mandan citi- zens are trying to work up interest is the establishment at Mandan of a “junior state. agricultural college” or farm school. The idea of such a school would be to teach the most approved farming methods together with the equivalent of high school studies to farmers’ sons who have only a country school education and to give girls from the farm at the same time instruction in home management. A. E. Thorberg, Mandan merchant, through whose efforts the Northern Great Plains field station of the United States government was established near Mandan, has been active for some time in the effort to get the movement for a farm school .nearby well started. It is his belief that some arrangement might be made with the federal government whereby the school could be established near the government field station and TO FILL IMPORTANT GAP IN STATE SCHOOL SYSTEM “The farm school would fill an impor- tant place in our school system,” said Mr. Thorberg. “It would take up a work that, it seems to me, is not getting proper . attention from the state. What we need more than anything else in our western part of the state is to give better train- ing to the young men who are growing up to become our farmers and to the young women who are growing up to be farmers’ wives. “These boys and girls do not have the same opportuities for education that the boys and girls of the Red River valley ve. “The agricultural college is out of the The T OUGHT to be one of.the functions .of governments, both state and national, to cooperate with every industry that makes for the greater happiness and prosperity of the most people. Modern thought is bringing about just this kind of co-operation in many countries. p Governments, especially the govern- ment of the United States, have been tolerably free and active in co-operating with the manufacturing and transporta- tion industries. Concessions, rights-of- way, grants, franchises, bonuses and even loans at little or no. interest have been ‘extended to many private:corpora- tions under the policy of helping-infant industries. gt A Several foreign governments have gone | . a step further and are extending help to the farming industry. Germany, Aus-- tria, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia and many other . countries have -entered whole-heartedly into the matter of financing the agricul- tural industries of these countries. CANADA ‘HAS PROGRESSED. Even “our ‘neighbor across the border on the north has extended the hand of co-operation in a firm and substantial question for the -great majority of these young men and women. Most of them don’t get beyond a country school edu- cation. They are not fitted to enter a college and they could not give the ime to it if they were so fitted. What they need is practical instruction in the time they have to give. “Here is one of the greatest oppor- tunities the state has to improve the character of its farms and to better the condition of its farmers.” Mr. Thorberg has been carrying .on correspondence with the heads: of the :- three farm schools operated by the state of Minnesota whose work is ‘approx- imately that he would like to.see the state of North Dakota adopt in ‘the ‘farm school he hopes to see established at or near Mandan. ] At the farm school at St.:Anthony! six-months winter courses are “given. The subjects taught include, besides ordinary - school subjects, farm - work, farm blacksmithing, carpentry and engine work: The students are in the school room half a day and on the farm and in the shops the other half day. A A view of the buildings at the Northern Great Plains Field Station near Mandan : student graduates from the full farm course in three years, but if he intends to enter college he must do intermediate work for a year or more. Similar courses are now -given at the North Dakota Agricultural college at Fargo and the board of regents has installed a two year course of the kind at Bottineau, heretofore known as the “state forestry school.” STUDENTS AT FARM SCHOOLS FROM LIMITED AREA -~ “It has been the experience of Minne- sota,” says Mr. Thorberg, “that students for these short courses in agriculture will not come from a great distance. If the state tries to handle this work at "one. institution—the college at Fargo, for instance—the result will be that only the one section of the state will reap the benefit. 3 “The principal of the Minnesota Cen- tral farm school at St. Anthony writes me that the establishment of the schools at Crookston and Morris has not affected the attendance at the Central school. for cheap hail insurance,by placing a surtax on lands held for speculative pur- poses and even last fall (1915) the Sas- katchewan government, when the’ bank- ers, because of the war, refused to loan’ the farmers enough-money to move. their crops, loaned the farmers more than - three million dollars:at_ 3. per cent thus tided them over the-difficul New Zealand makes ‘it business 6™ loan money to farmers for 3 to 3% per cnt, on 30 to 64 years’ time, which may be paid off on the amortization plan, - A few states of the United States have taken the lead-in the ‘matter of helping the “farmers ‘imarket: “theit’products by establishing - publicly *owned terminals. ' The New Orleans: cotton. and -grain terminal, with a cost of eight million dollars, which has proved‘a saving of 45 per cent on handling and storage charges on cotton, is a notable example. - New Zealand found that if she left the matter of financing the farmers in/ the hands' of private bankers and money lenders the country would become depop-+ “ulated. - She . proceeded, ' therefore, to place a high tax on lands held for spec-_ ulative purposes and then utilized her credit in bon"qwing large: Asu‘n'ls _which Seed and storehouse at the Mandan experiment station SIX were reloaned to farmers at the rates mentioned above. A SCHEME TO ‘AID SPECULATORS In Minnesota there are large quantities of undeveloped lands, some of it state lands and much of it held by speculators. An agitation-is now on foot to create d - a revolving fund, using part of the state’s school money, to improve this state land and thus encourage its settle- ment and development. The = state expecfs to recoup itself from taxes paid by the new settlers. This will also prove a boon to the speculators for it will - increase the value of their lands and make them more salable, Therefore the amendment—Amendment No, 1. Meanwhile state officials seem oblivious to the fact that there is a better and mote practical and less burdensome way by which to help the farmers of this state and thus develop the staté and its vast Tesources. = . According to the lé{test‘reiworl':‘bf fixe “lend:speculators- will - be- strong for'the-* »:state auditor the state of Minnesota, now has on hand and loaned -out an aggre- gate of $36,288,669.23. This money has come to the state from the sale of timber, minerals, agricultural lands and right- of-way, State and the Farmer - ‘way toward the farmers by: providing " people of the: .state constitution p; ~_sary fer the proposit “.of all votes cast, almo; They have found in Minnesota that these schools serve a limited area. The fact that we have no such schools in Western North Dakota simply means that our young men and young women on the farms are not getting the benefit of the -instruction they ought -to-have. e “We need this work probably much - more than it is needed in the Red River valley. All of our educational facilities are more limited.and our section of the state is much newer and more greatly £ in need of scientific and improved - - methods in farming.” S MANDAN IS PREPARED TO OFFER STATE A SITE The citizens of Mandan' are Prep e to offer the state a block of ground with- in the city for the use of a farm sehool, - ° but it is the opinion of many that such ¥ a school more suitably could be.located - on the prairie south of -the Heart river and near the government field station, whose work offers exceptional advantages for study and observation of the best farming methods. The work of the government experi- ment station is helping to draw attention to the fact that the agricultural possi- bilities of Western North Dakota have been greatly underrated. The region will produce practically every fruit, vege- table, berry and grain known to temper- ate climates. - The conditions, however, are very different from those in-the Red River valley and other sections of the state and special study of the soil and climate shows that agricultural methods must be adapted to the special needs of the region. g This fact, in the view of the .progres= sive farmers and the leading citizens of the country west of the river, emphasizes the right of that region to special atten- tion from the state to encourage devel- opment and promote the welfare of the > farmers. . MINNESOTA’S-OPPORTUNITY ; Of this sum about $4,262,237.50 is invested in bonds out of the state-— ‘including Alabama, ' Delaware, Massa- chusetts, Virginia and Utah bonds. A small part of this is drawing 4 per cent interest but the most: of it draws 3 per - - cent interest and a little of it 3% per cent. ! Theré are $677,860.80 in the treasury which is drawing no interest. ance is loaned to Minnefota triets, "cities, townships, and - institutions as the ] prison buildings, armory - Itaska park lands,- i Some years agd® ment to the state The bal-: money.be loaned to; of interest. But ff[: interests, who p to amend the cons all.efforts to amend that saers “Unless all.the papers in- the for. the adoption- : -~ a1 gl fufla