FCS Financial: One Hundred Years July 2016 | Page 14

These men are baling straw with a stationery baler. This photo, which
appeared in a 1984 association calendar, was courtesy of Lawrence B.
Curtin of Stonington, Illinois.

By the time Theodore Roosevelt took office in 1901 following
the assassination of President McKinley, the Progressive Movement
had become a powerful national movement. During his tenure he
advocated the breaking up of monopolies and took an active role in
favor of fair trade and pro-labor laws, workplace safety, child labor
restrictions, and health education. Among the many causes for
which President Roosevelt fought was the American farm. While he
believed rural America was the “backbone of our nation’s efficiency,”
he also feared rural life was being left behind in America’s march
toward the modern age.
Before he left office, President Roosevelt formed the
Commission on Country Life in 1908 headed up by Liberty Hyde
Bailey, co-founder of the American Society for Horticultural Science.
Its purpose was to find ways to elevate the standard of living in
rural America and thus entice more people to return to country life

10

Selected References