Rare Periodicals

Agriculture - most honorable vocation

Media

Part of Farming and Cooperatives

Title

Agriculture - most honorable vocation

Creator

Hill, Richard R.

Language

English

Source

Farming and Cooperatives Volume 1 (Issue No. 3-4) January-February 1946

Year

1946

Subject

Farmers

Farming -- Philippines

Rights

Abstract

[This article emphasizes that farming is a noble profession in the Philippines. Hill shows a variety of perspectives on the impact of farmers in the economy]

Fulltext

AGRICULTUREMost Honorable Vocation Richard R. Hill NOTE: Mr. Riehard Hill is the son of the late "Percy Hill, the grand "Old Man" of Munoz, Nue...a Ecija. Mr. Richa.rd Hill paid 11s a visit reeent/11 and congratulated us for "Fanning and Cooperatives" for which we thanked him sincerely. He did us a favor by doing something novel. He bought twenty-five copies of our first issue and distributed them IJ!m01lg his tenants. We asked him, "But can they read English?" "No," he said, "but their childron go to school and I told the kids to .-ead the magazine and interpret the contents to their parents." "Good work, Mr. Hill, you are carrying on your 'Old Man"&' work." -THE EDITORS The • mo!'t important man in the Philippine Islands today is the farmer. Why? Because he produces from the soil not only his own and his family's !:llbsistence, but also helps to feed others. Furthermore, he is economically independent. The farmer can boast that his vocation is both ancient and honorable, and it is the only profession in existence without which all others must come to a stanch.till. The man behind the plow is the man that feeds the world. The following of Agriculture is a natural vocation; all others are more or Jess artificial. All callings or trades that call for work with the hands are equally honorable, as there is true dignity in labor well performed. In the past the world has been inclined to accept a totally wrong attitude toward work, and the average school graduate has imbibed 12 his share of this attitude. Once his book education is finished many a young man is prone to seek some gentle occupation that doe~. not require manual labor. This is certainly an unfortunate state of affairs, for nobody can do satisfactory work, if he believes that his education is a loss unleS.\< he is assigned to "desk-work." The right attitude looks upon honest toil as honorable, and considers an education as useful on the farm and in the shop as in the office. ,The choice of a career is the mo"t important thing in a man's life. He should choose not so much with a view to present benefits, as with an eye to future possibilities. Mo!!ot of the socalled learned professions in these Islands are crowded, and as a consequence many engaged in them are poorly paid. Many of the best citizeps and best patriots in any country are to be found among those who have chosen to cultivate the soil; they have an important share in laying, through honest manual labor, induf.try, and thrift, the firm foundations of nationality. One chooses a career primarily with the object of supporting one~elf and one's family. In comparing Agriculture or one of the trades with the professions such as law or medicine, the chance of profitable employment is greatly in favor of the former; for in the vocations requiring manual labor there is little that one can succeed in making a good Jiving. Greater than if a person studies to be a lawyer or a doctor. The talent which all men have in common is the ability to labor, the patrimony of man lies in strength and dexterity of his hands. A nation is not made up on~y of subtle lawyers, of clever doctors, or of shrewd merchants; who do not produce wealth but merely use it. A nation include!- also all those who work with their hands-the farmers, the mechanics~ and the followers of iall trades and industries. These men are the producers of wealth and the foundiers of National prosperity. It is a good thing to remember that both tho!!oe who work with their brains and those who toil with their hands, together form the nation to which we belong. The soil of our country is the basis of its wealth; is the source of both individual property and national prosperity. The first stable thing a man ever po!-Sessed was piece of land cultivated to support himself and his family. Where would the lawyers, doctors, an<l policemen get their subsistence iB it were not for the farmers? They might earn money, but with it they could buy nothing to eat. When a country wi•hes to find out how i·ich it is, the value of its cultivation or cultivated 11\nds is found first; secondly, the value of its manufactures, and industries; and finally, that of its commerce. The farmer and his lands are the foundations of national wealth. . The . man who employs ,-his capital m agriculture has it more under his supervision and command and his fortune is less liable to accident than is that of a man who invests his money in industries or in trade. No equal capital puts into motion a greater quantity of productive labor than the investment of the farmer. Of all ways in which capital can be employed, its uee in agriculture is by far the most advantageous to society and to the nation, as both individual wealth and Govern1nent revenues are increased thereby. Every country that has become great has its wealth based upon Agriculture, and the incomes of its inhabitan~. have been largely determined by the annual products of its fields. Education is a means and not an end; it is the start and not the finish in the struggle of life. It is a means of improving the farmers, and is just as important to them as to those engaged in any other trade, occupation, or profession. It is time in the Philippines that the graduates of schools should avoid the profe~sions that are now overcrowded. Far too many young men, once they finish the~ schooling, look to any other trade or profession rather than that of agriculture. This attitude should be changed; they should not despise the profe~fon of their forefathers-that of honorably tilling the soil. Modern education should not be a means of escaping work with the hands, but rather a means of increasing ·the ~nrning capacity of the individual. A man who seeks education on the theory that the dav of manual labor is over, is building .on a fou10dation of sand. His education based on this idea becomes detrimental rather than helpful. 'This notion is only a prejudice of former times and should disappear forever. More theories will nc\·er produce sugar or rice, neither can educatjon produce them except in cooperation with men who work with the hands. It is the union of fobor and education that creates agricultural wealth and develops the individunl as n social and economic unit. 'The soil off~rs subsistence in the present and holds out for the future a bright and profit.able means of acquiring a home and moderate wealth. A firm foundation )for a successful national future can lie built only on the basis of progressive farming. In the distant pa.<-t the land was cultivated bv slaves and serf\;, ·private ownership. of land was rare, and the profits of production went to a f ew persons only. No"· all this i>' changed ; principally by universal education. In most count.Ties, the man who is n1ost contented, who is 1 raised above immediate wants and who jg gradually acquiring proplerty is the man who is successful in agriculture. The good farmers are the educated men who are not afraid to work with both eheir hands and heads. Such men can always produce better result." than those who, having only brain education, do not eare for hard work- the theor~tic.al farmers. Those pursuing the arts, trades and professions need study and hard work combined, just as much a.." do the cultivators of the soil. All men must work hard for success. A nation t o be truely independent in the modern sense of the word, must produce from its ~-0il at least enough to sustain its ovm popul&tion. The farmer, therefore, is as good a patriot as the soldier who is defending his country. The master of a trade has an income just a.~ long as be has h:Calth and strength to labor for the support of his family. If his health gives out, his family often has to struggle to make ends meet. He who devotes his life to agriculture, by big labor, generally implants an investment in the soil ttius assuring both his own and his family's future and supplying insurance, as it \Y°ere, against absolute wants. He is a property owner and the responsibilities of property go far to teach self r eliance, order and thrift. In these Islands of ours, agriculture offers a particularly good investment FARMING AND COOPERATIVES (USIS cul) The bea11 ty and 1lsef1ilncss that comes from, scientific ja1·111111u. to the young rncn seeking an occupation, requiring but a small outlay. The indust rious trained 1nan can be assured of success, while the untrained man can grow up with the business, learni,ng everyday. Both should center their activities upon the crops which have proved to be succcesful in a given locality. Too many men have failed because they have catered to alien crops, forgetting the staple ones which have been successful and which have an assured market. The Philippine Islands po•sess two important essentials - large areas of good tillable soil, most of it still free for homesteading, and the rising generation which is being aducated to take i~. place in the 'economic struggle. It remains for this r ising generation to supply the third factor - that of intellegent industry. In the future, civilization will not wage its struggl'e in the forum, nor at the desk, but in the fields, in the f actories, and in the workshop. The vital things in any community are not only faith and belief; tliey are also industry and thrift. Farming is a healthful occupation. The man devoted to agriculture pursuits usually lives longer than one engaged in other vocations. His work in the open strenghtens his body and impr.oves his general health. Thig of itself jg a valuable asset that no money can buy. "Back to the farm" is as good a slogan here as it is in other counlrics. 1\Tany who have tried urban profc~sions have f ound that individual independence for all, docs not lie within the cily limits. They realized that thcil' lives become circumscribed and they long to return to the field s and farms of their youth. They envy the mnn with clear mind 1 and strong body who by honorable toil produces his subsistence from mother earth. They want their children to be brought up among healthier $U1-roundings than those that obtain in the crowded cities and towns. At the same time their ambition is to fi nd a pennanent investment in the soil f or their future and that of their families. Even at the present time there are ample tracts of free arable land in the Philippines cagily obtained under the present laws. There arc good markets for such staples as rice, tobacco, sugar and other crops. A young man, once i1is education is finished, is making 1 a sad mistake if he does not take into account these facts. Now is the time for every man to aid 1 .himself, his family, and his country by seizing the opportunity af. forc1'ed him. The pleasure of an agricultural life and the health of mind and , body which such an exsistence promi~.es have a charm that attracts nearly everyone to this long established and honorable employment. # 13

pages

12-13