tion. I wish to
point out some of the respects in which these charges are fallacious,
and, in so doing, perhaps, to suggest some possible remedies for the
defects that every one will acknowledge.

II

In the first place, let me make myself perfectly clear upon what I mean
by the word "useful." What, after all, is the "useful" study in our
schools? What do men find to be the useful thing in their lives? The
most natural answer to this question is that the useful things are those
that enable us to meet effectively the conditions of life,--or, to use a
phrase that is perfectly clear to us all, the things that help us in
getting a living. The vast majority of men and women in this world
measure all values by this standard, for most of us are, to use the
expressive slang of the day, "up against" this problem, and "up against"
it so hard and so constantly that we interpret everything in the greatly
foreshortened perspective of immediate necessity. Most of us in this
room are confronting this problem of making a living. At any rate, I am
confronting it, and consequently I may lay claim to some of the
authority that comes from experience.

And since I have made this personal reference, may I violate the canons
of good taste and make still another? I was face to face with this
problem of getting a living a good many years ago, when the opportunity
came to me to take a college course. I could see nothing ahead after
that except another struggle with this same vital issue. So I decided to
take a college course which would, in all probability, help me to solve
the problem. Scientific agriculture was not developed in those days as
it has been since that time, but a start had been made, and the various
agricultural colleges were offering what seemed to be very practical
courses. I had had some early experience on the farm, and I decided to
become a scientific farmer. I took the course of four years and secured
my degree. The course was as useful from the standpoint of practical
agriculture as any that could have been devised at the time. But when I
graduated, what did I find? The same old problem of getting a living
still confronted me as I had expected that it would; and alas! I had got
my education in a profession that demanded capital. I was a landless
farmer. Times were hard and work of all kinds was very scarce. The
farmers of those days were inclined to scoff at scientific agriculture.
I could have worked for my board and