Bromfield High School - Beacon Yearbook (Harvard, MA)

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E U51-om? i ei.gl. Be afcoin The freight and elevator rates were so high that the farmer had to pay more to ship and store his produce than he received from them. Just before the first World War the Rural Credits Act and the Federal Farm Loan Banks came to the farmer's financial aid. During the war when the need for food increased and prices went up the farmers thought they saw a silver lining. They began to pay off their mortgages, paint their barns and buy expensive machinery. They bought more land and found themselves cultivating land that would not have paid them under ordinary circumstances. Then at the end of the war the prices again declined rapidly, and the farmers were plunged into worse difliculty than they had been in before the war. The prices of the farmer's necessities rose. He fell more and more in debt over taxes - which also rose. Greater improve- ment in farm machinery made it possible for the farmer to produce more food than ever, to add to the surplus for which he had no market. In the 1920's the average income of the farmer was S800 a year. More than one million people left their farms, and the value of farm property declined from seventy-nine billion to fifty-nine billion dollars. Though the popula- tion of the country was one fourth farmers they received less than ten per cent of the national income. In 1929 President Hoover tried to aid the farmer with the establish- ment of the Federal Farm Board. This provided for a fund of 355,000,000 from which loans could be drawn by co-operative associations to aid in the marketing of the farmers' produce. At first it looked as if this plan would succeed, but when prices continued to lag, borrowing money only burdened the farmer further. In 1933 the Agricultural Adjustment Act was passed in another at- tempt to aid the farmer. The object of this act was to raise the prices by cutting down the surplus. The government paid farmers to destroy part of their crops. Then in 1937 another act was passed providing for an ever normal granary to keep the surplus off the market in the fat years and release it in the lean years. Few people realize that we are still facing an agricultural problem today. Many brilliant men are attempting to devise a plan which will settle it. Though conditions have greatly improved since colonial times. the farming problem is still a major one. The farmers are still the back- bone of the nation just as they were when the colonies were first founded. Thedrise and fall of the country's prosperity follows the farmer's economic con ition. If the farmer is prosperous, the country will be prosperous. It is to the advantage of us all to help the farmer overcome his problems and enjoy his share of the world's good things. Robert E. Cobb . -1-.-1. .1. . THE HIGH SCHOOL COACH AND HIS VALUES Coaching is defined by Webster as the training of an athlete, physically and mentally, for a contest. If we add the practice of teaching good sports- manship, we might call this a very good definition. Page Eighteen

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Zuernmsaeia Beicon persuade the people to invest their money and years of struggle to educate the people as to the use of this new device were necessary. Now every farming community has the use of the telephone enabling its people to discuss their own affairs - as well as the affairs of their neighbors, of course - and to obtain information regarding the condition of the day's market. In the olden days families had to travel over difficult and sometimes impassable roads to visit with a friend or to acquire needed information. Doctors, firemen, or policemen can be called so quickly that many lives are now saved that might otherwise be lost. In case of emergency or medical need the telephone operator is obliged to give proper instructions to the doctor. In case of fire the operator must give proper instructions to the fire station in a large community, or in small communities she must cf each fireman separately. If civil authority is needed in emergency, th police station may be called in large communities, whereas in the small community, the chief must be notified wherever he may be. Although the telephone is still being improved today, it brings pleasure to those who are confined to their homesg it aids in securing information for business purposes as well as for pleasure, and it serves us all quickly in case of emergency. Mary Belle Blackwell THE PLIGHT OF THE FARMER Farming started in this country when the colonies were founded. It was the occupation of the majority of the colonists. At the time of the Revolutionary War the colonists were ninety per cent farmers. In the northern and middle colonies farms were small while in the southern col- ofliies there were large plantations. However, the farmer had trouble from t e start. During the 1780's the wealthy were getting richer on the spoils of the war while the farmer who had fought the war could not even afford the necessities of life. Lawyers became rich from fees gathered from foreclos- ing mortgages by forced sales of the farmers' property. A veteran of the Revolutionary War, Captain Daniel Shay organized fifteen hundred farmers in Massachusetts, who closed the courts at Northampton and Worcester and defied the right of the sheriffs and constables to seize property for debt. This rebellion did not accomplish anything because it was put down by the state militia. The farmers suffered from Hamilton's bank because they were too poor to have it help them, yet they had to help pay for it. Then after the war of 1812 the farmers were faced with a new problem. The nation started to develop industries. The majority of these industries sprang up in the northeast. The middle and southern states still held to farming. Little was done to aid the farmer, and those things that were tried rarely did any good. In 1867 the farmer was getting 32.85 for one bushel of wheat, in 1877 he was getting less than a dollar for the same amount of wheat. At this time one bushel of corn was worth fifteen cents. Page Seventeen l Z

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--.1 -- ---.-1. --f--- V' 'f ' E Zi-lErom?ieLd Beacon!! Besides being able to train an athlete, a coach must have other quali- ties. He must have a good disposition and a likeable personality. If a man understands teen-agers and has the ambition to work with them, he has fulfilled a very important requirement. A good coach should have taken part, at one time or another, in the sport which he is planning to teach. He must have the ability to show his students the fundamentals, tricks that will improve their brand of play, and how to use these tricks to the best advantage. If one has all these qualities and wants to coach, there is no reason in this world why he should not be given the chance. You may wonder what is meant by the previous statement. I believe that any person that has a strong desire to coach should be allowed to prove himself, for he builds the youth of any community in many ways. For instance, there are many high school boys, who have a few faults, and because of these have not made a satisfactory position in society. If such a person is allowed the chance to become part of a team, and he shows that he has some of the same qualifications that other people have he is bound to win the respect of others. In this way he develops con- fidence in himself. Then, too, an athlete is taught how to absorb punish- ment and how to respect all persons whether they be opponents or officials. Another factor in coaching is that the youth of this country is built physically by such men. One cannot stress too much how the strength and endurance of young people have helped America in the past. No- matter what sport the athlete is training for, whether it be football, baseball, basketball, boxing, or even swimming, a great deal of time must be spent in practice. Such practice takes a great number of young boys from the streets and turns them into respectable citizens. Any athlete learns how to think and think quickly in most cases. This is an age of speed. Many of the sports have increased in speed and there- fore require a great deal of fast thought. Without this ability to think with speed an athlete is lost. Why shouldn't anybody who wishes to build the youth of America in so many ways be given a chance to prove himself? The work of a coach is interesting, nerve racking and endless. .He has to spend a great deal of time planning how to use the abilities, size, speed. and competitive spirit of the individuals he has to teach. Any coach is a target for criticism no matter how harmful such criticism may be. Many a night's sleep is lost because of criticism and because of a team's defeats and injuries. In football and basketball much thought and time has to be put into the devising of plays. Again he must consider the size, speed, abilities, and competitive spirit of the boys in the squad. Those with whom the coach works receive a great deal of training val- uable in future years. Because of their understanding of sports, they will enjoy them as spectators. They will also have a greater interest in their children and will enjoy watching them play the games they themselves once played. The coaching profession is a valuable one because it provides as an example to students the leadership of a man who has given them the satis- Page Nineteen 4,53 1' 9. .