The Medford Patriot-Star. (Medford, Okla.), Vol. 24, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 19, 1917 Page: 3 of 8
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THE MEDFORD PATRIOT-STAR, MEDFORD, OKLAHOMA
America’s
.Wizard
6j ^o6erf n.Houlion
The most noted agricultural
expert of this generation has
been laboring for many years
to show farm people how to
raise crops scientifically
4
T TIIE present time, when prices of
nil foodstuffs have reached the
highest figures' known In tills coun-
try In n generation, it is interesting
to consider the efforts of those who
have labored long and unceasingly
to so improve our agricultural re-
sources that tills very condition
should be avoided. Among these un-
selfish workers for the common
good the figure of one man stands
out conspicuously. This man is Professor Perry
G. Holden, undoubtedly the most noted agricul-
tural expert of our time.
A few years ago Professor Holden trebled the
value of the corn crop in Iowa. A little later he
put millions of dollars Into the pockets of the
farmers of Oregon, Washington nnd Idaho. As a
final achievement, he induced the farmers of
Arkansas to adopt a system of crop diversification
which resulted in an increase of the wealth of the
state of more than $30,000,000 in a single year.
And Professor Hidden says he has only started;
that It is his ambition to do as much, or more, for
every state in the Union, nnd the chances are he
will accomplish his purpose, for he is today the
leader In a movement for agricultural revival
and rural uplift, which in its scope and signifi-
cance, Is without parallel in this or any other
country. What is of equal Importance, he is at
the head of an organization with practically un-
limited facilities for carrying on the work. Dur-
ing the last three years lie and his assistants have
co-operated ip organizing and conducting fifty-five
campaigns for agricultural education, have spoken
at nenrl.v 10,000 meetings, nnd in order to meet
these engagements have traveled approximately
1,000.000 miles by railrond and o*er 2.10,000 miles
by automobile, while their activities have reached
the enormous total of 0,000,000 people.
Professor Holden ’ha,s been described ns the
Burbank of the soil—the man who set King Corn
upon its throne nnd crowned alfalfa queen. He
has been called a missionary, a preacher, a philoso-
pher, a prophet nnd a teacher—n professor in the
university of the great outdoors. More than any
other man he has set agricultural Americn to
moving, nnd to moving in tlje right direction.
» It was while professor of agronomy at the Uni-
versity of Illinois, from 1897 to 1901, that Pro-
fessor Holden’s work first attracted attention.
Other men have allowed their energies nnd activi-
ties to be bounded by the four walls of the school-
room, but to Holden such a thing was impossible.
He looked upon corn culture as a source of pros-
perity and happiness to humanity. He hnd a vi-
sion of more generous fields, more golden harvests.
, He pictured big red barns, fine dairy cattle, hup-
py homes.
But he beheld these things as possible only
through the united efforts and intelligent co-
operation of the people nnd organized the Corn
Growers’ association. He recognized the agricul-
tural possibilities of the sugar beet, and the Sugar
Beet Growers’ association came Into being.
Already he had done much for the fnrmers of
Illinois, but he was not content. , Vn of achieve-
ment hnve little time for retrospection. He snw
the need of improving the quality of the corn and
organized both the Corn Growers’ association nnd
America’s first corn-judging school. He placed
corn upon'a higher education plane than Lntin
and Greek, organized the Illinois club for the
dissemination of agricultural knowledge nmong
young men. nnd revived and broadened the farm-
ers’ Institutes of the state.
Then the Iowa State college beckoned him. As
professor of ngronomy and ns director of the agri-
cultural extension department of that institution
he continued the work he began in Illinois, lie
did more. He “bent his own record,” which is a
motto he has held before him since he was a boy
in a little country school house in the backwoods
of Michigan. _
He Inaugurated a bettei^corn campaign that Is
unique end majestic in the history of agriculture.
He shattered nil traditions of extension work by
refusing to rely upon bulletins nnd other printed
matter to carry his message to the people. He
went in person to the farmers at their homes and
taught them by word of mouth. He Inoculated
commerce and transportation with the bacteria
of more nnd better corn nnd set a precedent for
every state of the Union by conducting the first
railway train ever run for the purpose of spread-
ing the gospel of profitable farming.
“Add what would equal a three-ounce nubbin
to a hill.” he said, “nnd the gain will be ten bush-
els to the acre. About nine million acres are
planted to corn In Iowa pnch year. That little
nubbin more in ench hill will mean an increase of
ninety million bushels.”
In 1912, after- Professor Holden hnd talked nnd
demonstrated nnd Inhered for ten yenrs, the nub-
bin was added to the hill. The total Incrense In
the yield that year was 98,914,557 bushels, which
at 36 cents n bushel, the uvernge price of corn
that yenr. meant that the market value of this
yield increase was $35,6094140.
All Iowa was proud of Holden, but Holden’s
fame sprend far beyond the borders of the state.
He became a prominent figure In nntlonul
progress.
TTiere were those who refused to believe that
Holden's activities should be confined to even one
tkStiom so he was placed at the head of ■ mighty
agricultural extension department, with headquar-
ters in Chicago, organized for world-wide teaching
of agriculture. After a period of great work In
Illinois, and oven greater work in f.'.-'-u. Profes-
sor Holden entered upon the world’; work.
But first there was mere work to do at home,
and Professor Holden was not long In deciding
where to turn first. He had long known that the
, agricultural problem of the Northwest was the
one-crop system. Grent tracts of land had been
seeded to wheat yenr after year until the soil
was becoming worn out—robbed of the elements
necessnry for the growth of plant life. He de-
cided at once that the remedy was the growing of
alfalfa, that wonderful plant which Is not only
a money-making crop in Itself, but possesses the
magic power of putting nitrogen nnd organic mat-
ter into the soil. Thereupon Professcr Holden
organized Iho inland empire campaign, and, in co-
operation with six great rai|rond systems of the
Northwest, started the campaign for alfalfa on
every farm.
While the agricultural demonstration train in-
augurated by Professor Holden in Iowa was a
mighty step forward, he believed there was n still
better way of reaching the farmers. At last lie
hit upon It; the automobile In conjunction with
the railroad train. The farmer could come to the
towns where the trains stopped, nnd thousands of
them did. but In many Instances this meant a lortg
trip to and from the meeting places and perhaps
a whole day’s absence from work. The thing to
do. then, was to go to the farmer, to meet him In
the fields, on his own threshold. It was planned,
therefore, that at every place where the alfalfa
special stopped automobiles should meet it nnd
whirl the spenkers to prearranged meeting places:
In schoolhouses, churches, town halls, theaters,
hams, out in the open fields, by the roadside.
When a meeting was held In an alfalfa field
there was no question of its success, as many
good lessons were easily driven home by illus-
trations from the growing crops. In (he fields,
too, tlie lessons of inoculation, use of lime, eradi-
cation of weeds and time of cutting, could ail be
very plainly Illustrated. To supplement this work
the speakers used huge charts which tobL some
Interesting stories In a manner that was indisput-
able. The big comparative figures shown on the
charts gave every farmer plenty of food for
thought. The results of various tests showed that
alfalfa, whether alone or In combination with
other feeds, was far nnd away the best food for
the production of pork, beef, dairy products nnd
eggs.
One of Professor Holden" strong points was
thnt nlfnlfn will net ns a land reclaimer. He de-
6lared thnt once It Is given n chance It will refuse
to be kept off of land that Is now considered prac-
tically valueless. Alfalfa Is known to put back
Into the soil what other crops take out. By a pe-
culiar process, the nodules thnt form on the roots
of the plant extract nitrogen from the air and de-
posit It In the soil. And nitrogen is what other
crops need.
The regular schedule of the alfalfn specinl In-
cluded from six to eight stops a day, thus allow-
ing for from 60 to 120 meetings, according to the
number of spenkers employed. After the daily
stops it was headed for some town where an eve-
&
ning meeting of agriculturists was to In* held.
Even the schoolchildren got their lesson from
this campaign: not only a lesson on alfalfn. but
on history ami geographical subjects. It was a
diversified program that the versatile spenkers,
who traveled with the alfalfa special, were aide
to offer at each stop; hut, underlying every talk,
whether it was to the hoys and girls, or to the
men and women who had grown old on the farm,
there was the same lesson to he learned: "Ferti-
lize the soli with bruins."
The result of tills eainpa' tn was thnt over 200,-
000 acres of land in the inland empire, never be-
fore in any kind of grass cn ;>s, were put into
alfalfa the following year. Other fanners were
quick to see tin* benefits received by those who
tried It first, until today there is hardly a farm
la tlds great agricultural section that does nut
contain at least a few acres of the wonder plant.
Thousands of farms which had been deserted tie-
cause of the soil, worn out from constant plant-
ing to one crop, did not
yield returns of any sort,
were reclaimed) rejuv-
enated, and tlie land
given a value which it
did not possess even in
its earlier prime.
Having accomplished
so much for th,e farmers
of tfie Northwest, Profes-
sor Holden turned ids
eyes to the South. Tlju
state of Arkansas Imme-
diately invited Ids atten-
tion. The need here was
similar to that of tlie in-
land empire—crop diver-
sification. The farmers
of Arkansas had been
growing cotton for nearly
forty years—growing it
to sell for money to buy
food for man and ani-
mal. Tlie practice of this
system had placed the state at the mercy of the
North and East, both In buying and selling. Tlie
cotton crop was sold In 1913 for $03,000,000. Ibis
amount and $12,000,000 more were sent out of
the state to buy foodstuffs which should have been
produced on the Arkansas farms.
Professor Holden ^realized that It would he a
tremendous undertaking to change a one-crop
system of forty years’ standing to a safe system of
•agriculture whereby the farmers of an entire
state might be induced to raise their own feed
nnd thus make cotton a cash crop. But tin* great-
er the odds, the greater the incentive with him,
nnd he entered upon the work with enthusiasm.
With a staff of sixty men the campaign was
carried on for n period of thirty-five days, approxi-
mately 1.500 meetings being held in forty-nine
different counties, covering the entire cotton belt
of tlie state. The spenkers were not eloquent
orators. They were men who had given their
lives to flip study of agricultural problems nnd
knew their subjects from A to Z and back again.
They pointed out to the farmer the folly of buy-
ing food and paying a big profit to someone else
when lie could just ns well raise that food at
home nnd save tills big profit. Likewise they told
him that If the farmer up North could raise grain
nnd beef and pork and sell them to the Southern
fanner at a profit on lands valued at from $100 to
$200 an acre, the Southern farmer could make
an even greater profit by raising these commod-
ities for himself.
According to the Little Bock chamber of com-
merce this campaign added $30,744,150 to the
value of the agricultural products of Arkansas, a
fact which Is proved by government statistics.
But there were other benefits of that campaign
which arc not so easily measured. This lingo
Increase does not take into account the money
saved and kept in the state by the farmer who
raised* his own food at home—money which in
oilier years had gone out of the state, never to
return. Nor does it take into account the fact
that by raising his own food, tlie farmer enjoyed
a better living than ever before.
Thus one !>y one the states of the Union are ho-
Ing covered by Professor Holden and his array of
expert talent, the campaigns in cadi instance be-
ing pertinent to the direct needs of the people.
They talk about soil improvement, crop Increase,
sanitation, better homes, better roads, “swat the
fl.v.” fruit and vegetable canning, and a multitude
of other subjects—whatever, in fact, thnt will tend
to the advancement of the health anil home com-
fort for the farmer, his wife, his children, house
servants and farm lielpt
MACKAY’S GENEROUS GIFT
The first Important contribution
to the United States government from
a private source to be devoted to tlie
furtherance of wartime ellicieney—one
of the finest gifts of the kind, in fact,
ever received by the government—wan
learned of when it was announced that
Clarence H. Maekny and his mother,
Mrs. John W. Mackuy, who resides in
Paris, have just made a Joint gift of a
completely equipped hospital base unit
of 500 beds for service either in this
country or abroad.
The hospital, which will be known
ns the Mackuy unit, has already been
nccepted through the National Bed
CrofjS. Through the patriotic gener-
osity of Mr. Mackuy and his mother
provision has been made for a staff of
22 surgeons, 75 nurses, 150 orderlies,
and others necessary to operate such a.
unit.
Dr. Charles M. Peck, one of the
surgical chiefs of Roosevelt hospital,
hns been selected ns director of the unit. Dr. James I. Russell has been mad*
chief of surgical service of tin* unit and Dr. Rolfe Floyd is chief of medlcat
service. Their respective surgical and medical staffs also have been chosen,
together with oral surgeons, pathologists, Roentgenologists, ,ophthalmologists,
nnd nurlsts, anesthetists, and a staff of nurses, which will be headed by Mis*
Mary L. I’rniMs ns chief nurse.
Although organized ns the Maekny unit of the Roosevelt hospital, the
unit will be known officially as “Red Cross Base hospital No. 15.”
APPEALS TO FARMERS
Farmers of America were appealed
to by Secretary Houston to join in ag-
ricultural ’preparedness measures so
tlie country may not be handicapped
by food shortage In its efforts to meet
the international crisis. Elimination
of waste, conservation of surplus, nnd
attainment of maximum crop returns
were outlined as’ imperative for
strengthening resources.
“Both for economic nnd patriotic
reasons,” the secretary said, “the
American farmer should strive this
year for the highest standard of effi-
ciency In the production and conserva-
tion of food.
“Under the conditions In which
this country dow finds itself, It is
important that everything practicable
be done to increase the efficiency of
agricultural activities during the com-
ing senson. It is desirable that through-
out the country farmers confer among
themselves on matters affecting the pro-
duction of needed crops, and that they consult freely with county agents,
state agricultural colleges nnd the department of agriculture."
The secretary’s appeal was part of the campaign undertaken by the
department of agriculture to mobilize the nation’s agricultural resources.
Mr. Houston urged particularly that as a means of preventing “con-
spicuous production waste” of important staple cereals, proper attention be
given to selection and safeguarding of seed for planting, the preparation of
the laud, and tlie care of the crop.
GUARDS PUBLIC HEALTH
“After the war, what?” is the ques-
tion which thrusts Itself before mnny.|
What will flow from the maelstrom to
affect the health of the world?
Dr. William C. Rucker, one of the'
assistant surgeon generals In the Unit-i
ed States public health service, who
hus just won a Wellcome medal nnd
money prize offered for tlie discussion
of this subject by military surgeon*
of the United States, has told why va-
rious diseases have flourished at the
lines of conflict; how the military san-
atorium men nu*t their tasks; the ef-
fect of the changed conditions upon,
the health of men and women, the sol-
diery and home workers; the weaken-
ing of the "vicious chain” of intem-
perance, vice and pauperism ; the care
of the human wreckage; the hope for
the future, and the need of watek
against making this country a dumping
ground for the left-overs.
“In this country we are Interested
In the health of Europe In pence nnd In war, because we hnve been forced to
learn the Interdependence between America and foreign nations. We must pay
the price for the privilege of watching the tragedy. We know that we have
drifted near to the maelstrom, and we know that unless we nre very careful
disease In Europe will mean disease in America. We hnve bulwarks in the
immigration nnd quarantine stations. Sanitary education Is advancing by
leaps and bounds; the public knows the dangers of epidemic diseases and
Insists upon prompt action if an epidemic gets past quarantine.
PLEASED AT BANKS’ ACTION
EGYPT’S OLD CIVILIZATION.
As early ns 3800 B. C. Egypt Is known to have
first come under the rule of a single dynasty, but
before that date stretch centuries of progress.
When the Romans swept over Britain after Bond-
lcen’s rebellion they destroyed villages of wig-
wams ami reed built over circular excavations;
when they came to Egypt the pyramids of Giza had
been standing for nearly 30 centuries, and Caesar
borrowed the Egyptian calendar, which was 13 cen-
turies older than the pyramids.
The 12 Federal Reserve banks
oversubscribed on 24 hours' notice a"
90-day loan to the government of $50,-
000,000 at the rate of 2 per cent a year.
The money was borrowed on 90-
day treasury certificates of indebted-
ness to help tide over the government
till June, when the great stream of in-
come and internal revenue taxes will
flow Into the treasury. An additional
$50,000,000, it was announced, may
he borrowed In the same manner be-
fore the close of the fiscal year.
Temporary financing of the gov-
ernment in this manner was made nec-
essary by the depleted condition of the
balance in the general fund of the
trensury, reduced to approximately
$58,000,000 and facing a further reduc-
tion of $25,000,000 when the govern-
ment would Issue a warrant for that
amount in payment of the Danish
West Indies.
The Issue of certificates of indebt-
pdness to run not longer than one year and to bear Interest at a rate not
exceeding 3 per cent has been authorized by congress up to $300,000,000, and
the recent Issue is the first to be made under this authorization. Ia addition
Secretary McAdoo has authority to Issue $474,000,000 in bonds for vartou*
purposes. “This Is extremely gratifying,” said Secretary McAdoo In announc-
ing the action, “and shows not only a fine spirit on the part of the reserve
banks, but is an additional demonstration &f the usefulness of the new
reserve system to the country.” >
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The Medford Patriot-Star. (Medford, Okla.), Vol. 24, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 19, 1917, newspaper, April 19, 1917; Medford, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc826063/m1/3/?q=War+of+the+Rebellion.: accessed July 16, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.