January 2'J. lwoej. THE OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE. Organized Specialisation la Asrrlcaltare. E LIVE in an age of specialization. Rapid advancement Is being made .long" all lines of effort. We can no lunger utilize the methods used by our forefathers, as competition and custom have forced the old methods to give way to new and Improved ones. A study of meetings of "Organized Agri culture" lield in must of the western states during January shows that tho farmer r.ns come to realize that he must be a, specialist In order to farm profitably land that is wr.rth 173 to lo0 per acre. The character of agriculture in the middle west Is rapidly changing. It is becoming more- diversified. Its operations lire more complicated, the use of Improved machinery Is becoming more common and necessary, and successful farming now requires a wider knowledge and greater skill. In fact, farming haa come to be an occupa tion which Is no lunger the life of the Ignorant. The prevailing Idea has been that anyone can farm, but people are coming- to see that It takes quite a somebody to make fanning a success. The lazy, lack, unintelligent person would make out Just as well, or, rather, just as poorly, as a lawyer as a farmer. Farming Is no longer the life of slavery that it was fifty years ago. The successful farmer of today la the man who combines educational and physical forces In doing his work and pro ducing wealth. Spirit of Association. Along with the application of Invention has grown up numerous agencies for edu cating and training the farmer In agri culture, for di'seinlnn ting Information with regard to Improvements and for stimulating among farmers the associative spirit UJid Increasing the bene fits to be derived from co-operation. The first of these agent les, chronologically, consisted of voluntary or ganization for the promotion of agricul tural Interests. Ixok back a moment in the history of agricultural societies and note the various causes that have Inliu enced the rapid transition made In their progress and advancement. It was not un til the close of the eighteenth century that the advance movement In agriculture took on the form of organised efTort. Most of the early agricultural societies were be gun In cities and their membership wi largely composed of men who hud only a secondary Interest In agriculture. nearlnnlnsa of ftro-anlsatlon. The organization of agricultural socletioa began In 1783 at Philadelphia, then the national capital, taking In such men as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Timothy Pickering. This organisation spread rapidly south and north among the Atlantic coast communities. The move ment continued until, In 1809, we have the germ of a national organization In the form of the Columbian Agricultural so ciety, which was the foundation of a na tional organization finally formed in 153 at a convention called by twelve state Hilt '!'" ! u tfiij it any H' 1't'H'i" ' ' l . v V -v V 4j ; jvr ij ELMXNaTOI MANOR, THOMAS EW YORK. Jan. 27. Special Cor respondence ef The Bee.) Nearly every morning a tall man walks briskly down Twenty-fourth street and steps Into the door N m: way of an office building; near Sixth avenue. His commanding figure rises above the throng of busy New Yorkers. His shoulders are broad' and his long arms swing at his side. From under tha visor of a yacting cap flash piercing black eyes. The face Is smooth shaven, strong and ' clear cut and the mouth Is determined. His long black hair is streaked with gray. It Is a face that resembles IJnooln's and It 1b one to command attention anywhere. The man is Thomas Dixon, Jr.. the publi cation of whose new novel, "The Clans man," has once more centered interest upon his remarkable personality. Succes sively lawyer, minister, leoturer, and author, he is one of the most picturesque and Interesting figures In contemporary American life. A million Americans have been thrilled by his Ims-asslenea eloquence and his books havo found their way to as many readers. t Interesting; Literary Methods. Follow him to his study on the sixth floor. This Is his New York work shop. It Is a simply furnished front room where the rumble of the elevated trains and the roar of the busy streets reach him. Mr. Dixon likes to write in the midst of the hurly-burly of life. It is characteristic of the man. In this room he began "The Clansman." and It was here I talked with him about his work and his ambitions. T talk with Mr. Dixon is to feel the 1.1 of a singularly magnetlo personality. He talks as he writes energetically, dra matically, bu; earnestly. He Is frank, al most naive In his candor. Like most suc cessful authors he has his own methods of work and his idea of a story Is embodied in one of his rapid fir sentences: "Get a big theme and exhaust every resource." II blocks out a scenario as If ho were writing a play. Slnoe most of his books sra historical novels, he becomes saturated with data. He makes his characters live and act before him. When he has the whole moving drama before him, he be gins to write. Instead of sitting at a desk, he sits in , a Morris chair with a cutting board (usu ally used for sewing) In his lap. This he can shift about at will and ths first draft of his story Is done with pencil. As a w Prnttle of and About the Youngsters All VIA" snlrl f hart ilffla gHH whl J was having her first experience "Hush, ear," whispered hor inainm. "you will awsken the other pHasciigtrs." "Hut, mamma, I only want to ask one question." 'Y11, what 1 It?" ' "Who ho the flat above us?" Life. "No, Wfllle, you mustn't go down to plsy with Tommy," said a fond mamma to her 7-vesr-old son. "He has the whooping cough and I'm afraid y Vll take It." "Oh, ru, I won't, mamma," replied Willie. "If you 'I : t me go ( promise yeu faithfully I won't tak anything belonging to Tommy." Albany Journal. ""ha whliUuifc- boy has beau celebrated In Agriculture the Striking Feature of Present Day Farming agricultural associations. Tl.ls organization was known as the United States Agricul tural society. In these earlier organizations were com bined all agricultural Interests. The year 1618 saw the establishment of the New York Horticultural society, the first or a' nizatlon of its kind In the t'nited States. This Is the beginning of the organization of those who were specialists in some par ticular branch of agriculture. Following the example of the hurtkultuialists, r.thtf agricultural Fperislist have formed sep arate organizations now we have e-. erjr phase of agriculture nrginlze. separately. Specialists to the Front. At present the only general agricultural organization of national scope is the Na tional Orange. It was organized at Well ington In lt'il, but existed only on paper until l.i73, when the first national meeting convened at Oeorgetown, D. C. with dele gates from ten states. It was a secret society with a ritual ami degrees and seemed for a while to catch the popular fancy among farmers. At the meeting in. 171 thirty-two stales were represented. l'robably no othT organizition has mad ao rapid a, growth. A large element, how ever, of the membership was attracted to It by the rallying cry of "down with the middleman." Little country stores, with a) very small capital and managed by men r-r rL ..; ta ; .J FIVE SHORTHORN Ft'rt.T.S OWTTED BT 1HJST BROTHERS OF ALBION, Neb.-IX)ANED TO THE NEBRASKA EX PERIMENT STATION FOR SHORT JUDGINO COUKSE.-Photo by Staff Artist of no business standing, sprung up at every cross-road. Contrary to the expectation of their founders they did not save them money, but resulted In some valuable busi ness education, for which a good tuition fee was paid. Disintegration set In, but, fortunately, wise leaders caught the idea, ' up m Jtiil" int'-iii,"..iroyi i.n "! II i" i li i I I . "5 fV .if- " 1 i"J- ! av,. i-'-f.i 'Tin V-'J SIXOITS OLI VIRGINIA HOME. chapter Is finished It Is copied) by Mrs. Dixon on the typewriter. "Mrs. Dixon is my best otitic" he says. The typewritten copy Is thon revised and cut up. Bow "The Clansman" "Wtaa Written. "Tha Clansman" is a striking example of tkls. It is ths second of a trilogy of south ern novels dealing with the race problem, of whtoh "The Leopard's Spots" was the first. Mr. Dixon began work on this book over two years ago. He wrote "The One Woman" while he was engaged on It. The large canvass of "The Clansman" made it neces sary for him to make a profound study. It was difficult to get at the facts con cerning the true Thaddeus Stevens, wno fig ures so prominently in the story under the name of Stoneman and whose connscatlos act brought on the reconstruction reign oi terror. He bought $2,000 worth of books on this subject alone. A single paragraph about the Ku Klux Klan cost (300. It In volved a trip to Nashville and an exhaus tive research there. Having determined to make "The Clans man" interpret the true spirit and purpose of the Ku Klux Klan, he spared no effort to reveal the working of this extraordinary organization, "The Invisible Empire," as It was called, that breught law and order out of the terror of black rule in the conquered south. His uncle, Colonel Leroy McAfee (to whom "The Clansman" is dedicated), was grand titan of the Ku Klux Klan. A member of an old North Carolina family, Mr. Dixon, had heard from his own people the story of their wrongs. To all this he added a careful study of the sub ject. He had access to the secret ritual ana he talked with members of the Klan. But the matter of the Ku Klux Klan is anethev story. Sufficient to say, one has but to read "The Clansman" to realize that Mr. Dixon has entered himBelf Into the spirit of the order. "Do you wrlto rapldlyT" I asked Mi. Dixon. "Well, that depends," he replied. "Bom days I write 600. words; some days B.Onu. The One Woman" was written In thirty days. The actual writing of the first draft of The Clansman was fifty-nine days. Emotional chapters are a great strain on me. I use myself up to the limit." "Do you revise much?" I asked. "I cut JO, words out of The Clans man," " he said. I asked Mr. Dixon what, in his opinion. sentimental poetry; It remained for a New Jersey farmer to clinch sentiment with a sound principle. He wanted a boy to pick his grupes, snd went among his neighbors looking for one Who whistled. He found such a boy with., out difficulty, and sept him up the ladder with the order not to cease whistling until the last grape was picked. Any one who has tried to whistle and eat grapes at the same time knows how little of the farmer's harvest was deflected into the boy's stomach. But the tale recalls that older on of the boy whose father sent him down collai to draw a pitcher of cider, and ordered him to whistle while 1. was doing it. The whistle cursed for a time, however, and then went on again. When the boy reappeared he was asked why he had stopped. "Only to wet my whistle," he said. Youth's Companion. J?.i? ' - '.."K.'Jv...-fJ..' - .f..,,-. ;.. - ,,. BIX FARM HORSES OWNED that the organization must be kept on an educational basis to save it from extinction, and through their effort It has become a pwer for good In many localities and has been of r great service to the farmer. County, state and national societies have been organized1 and no other large bodies Thomas Dixon and was: the- novelist's first qualification and he said: "The power to express a problem in terms of life like Ibsen. . Then," lie con tinued, "I don't think the writer ought to be hampered by the limitation of formal style. I believe an author should plunge Into his subject, . develop It In a logical, dramatized way." Mr. Dixon himself is one of the best exponents .of this. . In d-senso he has violated afl literary traditions in his books, but to offset this there have been tremendous vigor and virility, a genuine story Instinct and a rare appreciation of a dramatic situation. A Literary Confession. Mr. Dixon made a very interesting con fession. "You know," he Bald, "I deter mined to be a wrltor when I was a boy. It has really been a life ambition. I had the privilege of starting the student paper at Wake Forest college In North Carolina and the first story I wrote was singularly enough a Ku Klux story. "I determined not to write a novel until I was 40 years old. I believe that a man who writes should know life before he begins to write about it" "But didn't you write Action before the forty years' time limit was up?" I asked. Mr. Dixon smiled. "Yes," he said. "You see I have lived a pretty strenuous life and when I was 36 I felt that I had skipped a few years and my conscience didn't hurt me. All my work In the pulpit was In a sense preparation for literary work. Be sides, I have long had the Idea of a trilogy of southern novels dealing with the race problem. 'The Leopard's Spots" clamored to be written. In that book I tried to tell the story of the negro from his enfranchisement to his disfranchise ment, while In "The Clansman" I have tried to reveal the meaning of the Ku Klux Klan that overturned reconstruction rule and preserved the Integrity of the Anglo-Saxon race In the south. I really believe that the story of the Klan forms one of the most dramatio chapters In ths history of the Aryan race, "Well, to return to the matter of writing. I wrote The Leopard's Spots' In a whirl and sent It to Doubleday, Page & Co., who accepted It by wire." Colonisation the Segro. Since Mr. Dixon has devoted his best literary talents to an interpretation of the negro problem, I asked him what he thought would be the solution. . His eyes flashed and he stood up. Again he was an orator, for he said, dramatic ally: "The solution! There Is only one solution and that 1s to colonize the negro. The black problem will be the eternal problem of the south. If the negro Is not sent away there will be a race war." In "The Clansman" Mr. Dixon mokes Lin coln say: "I have urged the colonization of the negroes, and I shall continue until it is accomplished. My emancipation proclama tion was linked with this plan. Thousands of them have lived In the north for a hundred years; not one U the pastor of a white church, a Judge, a governor, a mayor or a college president. There is no room for two distinct races of white men In America, much less two distinct races of whites and blacks. We can have no Inferior senile class, peon or peasant. We must assimilate or expel. The Ameri can Is a citizen king or nothing. I can conceive of no greater calamity than the assimilation of the negro Into our social and political life as our equal. A mulatto citizenship would be too dear a price to pay even for emancipation." "This reminds me of a story," continued Mr. Dixon. "Once when I was in Cleve land on a lecture tour a well known and highly respected negro lawyer of that city Skked me what I thought of the ntro problem. " 'Colonization,' I replied. "'But,' said the lawyer, 'what ubout the good 'negroes like Bishop Turner and tnyselfr " 'You've got to go and keep the others good,' I replhd." Tha Urlala of "The f laasaiaa." It is Interesting to tell in this connection the story of the origin of "The Clansman." Once, while the guest of Senator "Pitch fork " Tillman in South Carolina, Mr. Dixon BT THE NEBRASKA EXPERIMENT of farmers can so quickly and thoroughly co-operate In measures pertaining to the interests of the farmer as those belonging to this order. Edncatlooal Features ' Predominate. It Is very largely through the efforts of heard of a North Carolinian who killed a negro soldier who had Insulted a whlto woman on a train. The negro's companion leaped from the train and summoning com rades marched to the depot In time to meet the train. The defender of tho woman's honor had gotten off, however, but an other white man was arrested and charged with. the killing, and at a drum-head court martial was sentenced to be shot. Whenlhe man who did the Bhootlng heard of it he promptly surrendered to the black troops and ' was executed. A monument was recently raised to him. Mr. Dixon was so deeply imprtmt.i with the tale that he wove out of it the story of "The Clans man." It is highly probable that Mr. Dixon's next novel, the last of the race trilogy, will be called "The Traitor." It will deal with the race problem as It confronts the south today. A Yonthtol Experience. Mr. Dixon's reference to his youthful am bition to be a writer recalls the very strik ing fact hitherto unpublished, that be was the youngest member of the North Carolina legislature. He was 20 years old when he was elected. His first speech was an im passioned defense of a bill that he had In troduced to pension disabled confederate soldiers. It was the first bill of the kind Introduced In the whole south. At that time Mr. Dixon was a lawyer, which profession he abandoned to. enter the ministry, where he achieved a remarkable reputation, For years he was perhaps the best known pulpit orator In America and the most sensational, too. His sermons were syndicated and were read every Monday morning alt over the country. His itrenaons Life. Mr. ' Dixon's Ufa has been crowded with dramatic and exciting Inoldents, but non was mere sensational than his encounter with Tammany, when ha was pastor, of V ! 1 . '. ', ' "" II ' ' 'A THOMAS XOXOMt ftL STATION Photo hy Staff Artist. thee agricultural snel.tifs that the fainter today enjoys the benefit. derived from the creating of Hie Department of Agriculture, with a representative In the cabinet, and the cKtabllshmeut of the agricultur jl ex periment stations and the Tanners' insti tute. These, with the agricultural press, are the greatest factors toda.' In the edu cational advancement '' the laini.r. The Deparinnnt of Agriculture and ths agiicultural colkge have opened up a field for specialists in all lines of tigric jliure. These men of "one idea" l.uve become en thusiasts and have rallied ubtit them those who are interested in their particu lar branch of agriculture. This has led to the forming of the special organizations to promote each branch of agricultural effort. t'o-oerat ion of the Societies. In former years at the different Ftate and national meetings questiom: of general In terests were discussed In one general meet ing. At prtstj.t. by the co-operation of the executive officers of the various agiicul turnl societies, the meetings are held dur ing the same week, hut separate programs are prepared for each association, which hold their meetings du ng the day In dif ferent halls. In the evening men of na tional reputation address general mass meetings. In this connection we print a picture of ex-Govarnor W. D. Hoard of Wisconsin and ex-Governor Robert W. Furnas of Ne braska. This photograph was taken on the Nebraska state farm at Lincoln during the His Work the People's church In New York City. In view of Dr. Parkhurst s recent charge that tho "lid" was off, It Is well worth re calling. Dr. Parkhurst, after a personal Investigation, made his first and now fa mous attack on Tammany graft and cor Tuptlon in municipal life. The only New ' York preacher who came to the support of the doctor was Dr. Dixon. In a fiery sermon delivered at Association hall at Twenty-third street and Fourth avenue, where he conducted the People's church, he bitterly assailed Tammuny and de nounced the officials that the organization had forced on the city. His principal tar get was the excise commissioner, whom Dr Dixon scathingly arraigned as a crook. As a result, he was Indicted by tho grand Jury on the charge of criminal libel and arrested. The warrant was served by four detectives. He was taken to the Jefferson. Market Jail, where he gave bond. That night, with the aid of some newspaper friends, he obtained the records of the members of the grand Jury. He found out that twelve of them were Tammany heel ers, with bad records. The Jury had been packed. He announced through the papers that on the following Sunday, he would de nounce the Jury. Two hours before the doors of Association hall were opened the streets were crowded: with people. Mr. Dixon preached to an enormous audience and he mercilessly arraigned the Tam manyltes In the Jury. He was cheered. The sermon created a profound sensation. In a few days he was visited by the dis trict attorney, who said the indictment was a mistake and had been filed away. "Then somebody has lied," said Mr. Dixon. And) the next Sunday he flayed the district attorney. Subsequently the New York clergy ral lied to Dr. Parkhurst and there was a cleansing of the Tammany stables. But the Tammany incident was only on of many. "The On Woman" was violently assailed by th socialist Many of th ,f. ' . ' . M ' ..'' I ;V -' . f " :, t ' t ' r .'. J '. " ' ' : ' V fc - 1 1 . ' 'r7avUstJ.rf- - Fr Oovernor Robert W. Furnas. EX-GOYKRNolt HOARD OK W I SCON DAIRY MEHTINO II KI.D IN NKBRA ADDRESS TO NEBRASKA DAIRYM LINCOLN. Photo by Staff Artist. state agricultural meetings. Ex-Governor Hoard, who Is a recognized authority on duiry matters, had Just de livered an address before the State Dairy men's association. Ex-Governor Hoard was present and delivered an address at the first State Dairymen's meeting held In Ne braska, twenty years ago, and this was his tirst visl; to the Nebraska dairymen since that time. ' .:,--' ,.,1 LOO CABIN IN WHIOH MR. friends of Dr. Herron, on whose career the book is said to have been founded, were especially hostile. The anarchists were offended too. Mr. Dixon received a great many threatening letters. One Chicago anarchist said he was coming over to New York to kill him. He never came. Shortly after the publication of "The One Woman," Mr. Dixon retired from the lecture platform. He had made a great success. Previously he had left the minis try. His views were too liberal to suit th orthodox. As pastor of the People's church, he had preached to thousands of people at the Academy of Musio In New York. Here every Sunday afternoon people of all creeds were welcomed and topics of popu lar Interest were discussed. But his de sire to write got the better of this Idea. At Home in Old Virginia. Although Mr. Dixon retains his New York citizenship and votes there, he spends at least six months of the year at his beautiful estate, Elmlngton Manor, In Virginia. Her in a fin old colonial mansion he lives the life of a country gentleman and dispenses a generous hospitality. It is one thing to see Mr. Dixon in his New York study; It Is quite another to know him In the country. He was born on a farm and the old love of the soil Is still with him. He wears old clothes and a slouch hat, rides over bis placs of 500 acres or runs his launch In Chesapeake bay. The "big house," as th servsnts call It, after the delightful old Virginia fashion, with Its stately pillars, fares tho east. You can stand on the broad porch and watch the sunlight gleam on the rippling blue waters of the bay. Around the house are noble gray elms and stretch ing down to the water's edge Is a fine lawn. Elmlngton Manor comprises a crown grant. It is a hlstorio country. Across u Bacon drove Lord Berkeley and his troops long before the revolution. It Is In Glouces ter county, which has not yet knewn the shriek of a locomotive. Mr. Dixon has his own post office, called Dixon. A Lost Study. Almost within sight of the mansion Is a simple log cabin built by Mr. Dixon him Tardy Contributions to STRANGER who refused to give bis name culled at the Baltimore Jb flhlo tirkttt nftlrt nt Ku npi. jtjrl ville, O.. and handed Agent J. 11. LdiO 5.05, which, he said, was In payment for a scalper's ticket on which he had ridden from Cincinnati to Zanesvllle fifteen years ago. His counlenca hud troubled him. The Kansas Southwestern, a short brunch road running out of Arkansas City, has opened up a conscience fund account. Home time ago the agent at Caldwell received the following letter: "Agent Will you pleuse send the addres of the superintendent of the 'Frisco depot, or where shall I write to make a wrong right?" The required address was given, and th following letter came as a response: "Deal Sir When I was a small child I took soma of the railroad's coal, which I wuth'to pay for, as I am now a child of liod, und beavtn nil lost souls are my only iK-slres." l. ;.Xr i 1 '. ;- ? V. . . i -t J"" J - ,-tr . . . f -W . . - o," . ltd. hri: Ex-Governor W. D. Hoard. SIN ATTENDED TUB FIRST STATra KKA TWENTY YEARS AGO-H1H NEXT EN WAS DELIVERED LAST WEEK AT Ex-Governor Furnas has been Identified! with the agricultural Interests of Nebraska for fifty years and has taken an active part in the organization of the State Board, of Agriculture and the State Horticultural society. It has been through the persistent efforts) of specialists of this kind that agriculture holds the prominent position It does toda In the United States. ..'..' DIXON WTIOTE "THE CLANSMAN." self. It Is sixteen feet wide and twenty three feet long. At one end Is a huge fire place, whera whole logs crackle. Here Mr. Dixon works when he Is at home. Hera are some of his favorite books Fro u do, Eliot, Dickens. He is a student of his tory. Tho ' study of th reconstruction has made It necessary to acquire a larga library on this subject alone. He reads little fiction, but Is a great admirer of James Lane Allen. In the log study the greater part of "Tha Clansman" was written, Mr. Dixon is an Intense admirer of Abraham Lincoln. "Tha Clansman" shows this and Interprets th real attitude of Lincoln toward the south In those soul-trying days before a nation's wounds were healed. If you should happen to b at Elmlngton Manor In the winter the chances ara that you would be roused from your bed soma cold morning to see your host standing be fore you In a shooting Jacket and urging you to Join him In a duck hunting expedl tion. Mr. Dixon Is an enthustastlo sportsman. He spends weeks roughing It In Gloucester and adjacent counties. He Bleeps In a shack and Is in the open all day lone. Often he goes duck hunting In his launch Dixie. Once his launch got caught In a blizzard, and was Icebound a wsek. Th party on board Included several New York people. The coal gave out and part of th boat was used for fuel. Finally Mr. Dixon made his way over tha Ice to th land. ! 4 i A Itrlklutr Personality. This is Thomas Dixon tha man. At 41 ho is a plctureaqu and vlrll foro In tha ' making of American notion. 'Tha Leopard's Spots" has been called an epochs making novel and there Is every reason to believe that "The Clansman" will tak an equally Impressive place. There art people who maintain that Mr. Dixon la sensa tional; that he is raking th ashes of at fire long dead. But no on can deny that he has sincerely set about tha task of un folding the tragedy of tha reconstruction and In so doing has created a distinct literature. He ha given to tha north m real Idea of the white man's burden In ths) south. L F. MARC06SON. the Conscience Fund In the letter was enclosed a postofTlc or der for 78 cents. A remarkable rase has been brought to the attention of tha manager of th Texas & Fuel He railroad by a letter which ha has rocelved from W. L. Marina; of Marcellna, Mo., who lost a leg by being run over by at train while employed on that road as a brakemun. He was paid 3,000 by the company in set tlement of th Injury. Marines letter reads: "Four years ago I worked for th Texas 4 Pacific, and at that time I was bad man, reckless, careless and had no re-l pect for God or man. Whiie under tha In flunnce of liquor I purposely lost my leg. Hut recently Ciod lias saved me, and my hope of heaven is sure. I want to make this confession, as ths Good Book requires us to do. I have bput this money that I have received from you and am willing to submit to anj thing that you shoul4 tbl&k Just." V i 4 i n w n 1 5 -I ( f