Problems in American Democracy Part 43

21. Organization of charity in France. (Henderson, _Introduction to the Study of the Dependent_, etc., chapter ix.)

22. Organization of charity in Holland. (Henderson, _Introduction to the Study of the Dependent_, etc., chapter v.)

23. Organization of charity in Germany. (Henderson, _Introduction to the Study of the Dependent_, etc., chapter i.)

24. The spirit of social work. (Devine, _The Spirit of Social Work_.)

25. Tendencies in social service. (Warner, _American Charities_, chapter xxiii.)

FOR CLa.s.sROOM DISCUSSION

26. To what extent is the number of inmates in inst.i.tutions for the dependent cla.s.ses an accurate guide to the extent of dependency throughout the state or nation?

27. Should all inst.i.tutions for the dependent cla.s.ses be placed under the direct control of the state authorities?

28. Should the state authorities attempt to administer relief to dependents who remain in their homes?

29. Should the giving of alms by individuals be abandoned in favor of the practice of treating dependency entirely through professional or official agencies?

30. What should we do when street beggars ask us for money?

CHAPTER XXV

RURAL LIFE

290. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RURAL LIFE.--Agriculture is our oldest and most basic industry. Almost half of our people are found in the rural districts, most of them subsisting directly upon the products of farm, forest, and range. Directly or indirectly our cities are largely dependent upon the country. The foodstuffs consumed in cities, as well as the vast quant.i.ties of raw materials used by our manufacturing industries, come largely from the rural districts. To some extent even our urban population is recruited from the ranks of the country folk.

Altogether, American rural life is a matter of vital concern to the nation. "Our civilization rests at bottom," Theodore Roosevelt once said, "upon the wholesomeness, the attractiveness, and the completeness, as well as the prosperity, of life in the country."

291. NATURE OF THE RURLAL PROBLEM.--Contrary to popular belief, the rural problem arises not so much from the actual degeneration of rural society, as from the fact that many rural districts have failed to progress as rapidly as have urban communities. Compared with his predecessor of a century ago, the farmer of to-day is better fed, better clothed and housed, and better able to secure adequate education and recreation. At the same time the relatively greater advances which urban communities have made in economic and social activities render the improvement of rural life highly desirable. The specific problem of rural life is to develop in the country economic and social inst.i.tutions which are especially adapted to the farmer's needs. Not until this is done shall we be able to maintain on our farms a cla.s.s of people who can make the maximum contribution to American life in all of its phases.

292. THE RURAL PROBLEM IS OF RECENT ORIGIN.--The most spectacular development in American economic life has been the introduction and growth of the factory system. Commerce and manufactures were important during even the colonial period, and during the first half century of our national history our dominant economic interest was the fostering of manufacturing, domestic trade, and transportation. With the development of manufacturing came the growth of the cities, and with the growth of the cities added attention was called to immigration, crime, health, and related social problems. Farm life, so familiar and apparently so healthful, was not thought of as const.i.tuting a national problem until late in the nineteenth century.

293. THE CITYWARD DRIFT.--A half century ago more than three fourths of our population was rural; to-day less than half of the people of the United States live in the country. Both urban and rural districts have been steadily increasing in population since the opening of the nineteenth century, but since 1900 the city population has increased three times as fast as has the rural population. One reason for this more rapid growth of the cities is that since the eighties the majority of our immigrants have flocked to the cities rather than to the rural districts. Another reason, however, is that the country people have been drifting to the towns and cities. This cityward drift has an important bearing upon the character of rural life.

294. REASONS FOR THE CITYWARD DRIFT.--A number of factors explain the tendency of rural people to move to the cities. The perfection and wider use of farm machinery have decreased the need for farm laborers, and the excess laborers have gone to the towns and cities. The fact that urban industries offer shorter hours, better pay, and cleaner work than does farming has attracted many young country people. The isolation of farm life and its frequent lack of comforts have impelled many country dwellers to move to the cities. Some country people have gone to the city in order to be near schools and churches, and in order to have access to competent doctors and well-equipped hospitals.

The craving for a more fully developed social life than many rural districts afford, has been an additional cause of the cityward drift.

Unfortunately, the glamour of urban life, with its spectacles and its artificial pleasures, has also been a factor in the movement away from the country.

295. WHEREIN THE CITYWARD DRIFT IS DESIRABLE.--In some respects the cityward drift is a desirable development. When laborers who are no longer needed on the farms move cityward, the cityward drift may have the beneficial effect of removing such laborers to where they can find employment. It should also be remembered that successful rural life requires qualities which may be lacking in many individuals born and raised in the country. In so far as the cityward drift is composed of such individuals, it may be a helpful movement, since individuals unsuited to rural life may find themselves adapted to some type of urban life. When unneeded and unhelpful individuals are removed from the country, the rural population may be more efficient and more prosperous, even though relatively more spa.r.s.e.

296. WHEREIN THE CITYWARD DRIFT IS UNDESIRABLE.--In so far as the cityward drift brings to the city individuals unsuited to urban conditions, the movement away from the country may be undesirable. It is certainly undesirable when the individuals in question are really suited to rural life. The tendency of young people to move to the cities may ultimately deprive the country of its natural leaders.

Certainly the colleges and factories of the cities often drain the country of its most able and ambitious boys and girls. The cityward migration of such persons may strengthen the urban population, but it weakens rural society and r.e.t.a.r.ds the progress of rural inst.i.tutions.

297. STATUS OF THE "BACK TO THE LAND" MOVEMENT.--Some reformers have sought to offset the cityward drift by an artificial "back to the land" movement. In so far as it would bring to the country persons really able to contribute to rural life, this movement is a desirable one. In so far as it would bring to the country persons unprepared or unable to adapt themselves to rural conditions, such a movement is injurious. On the basis of the data now available, we are warranted in concluding that the "back to the land" movement is founded upon sentiment and caprice rather than upon sound principles. It attacks the rural problem at the wrong end. If the natural leaders of the country are repelled by rural life and attracted by urban conditions, the remedy is not to create an artificial movement toward the country, but rather to make rural life so attractive that country boys and girls will prefer it to city life. The chief question before us is this: How can the country be made so attractive that individuals interested in, and suited to, rural life may be encouraged to lend themselves to its fullest development? Let us see what is being done toward answering this question.

298. HOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS HELPING TO MAKE RURAL LIFE ATTRACTIVE.--The material prosperity of the American farmer is due, in considerable part, to the activities of the Federal government. For more than a half century the Department of Agriculture has systematically encouraged various phases of agricultural industry. The Department conducts investigations and experiments designed to give farmers helpful information concerning soils, grains, fruits, and live stock. It distributes seeds gratuitously, and attempts to encourage scientific methods among farmers. The Department issues a Year-book, a Monthly Weather Review, a Crop Reporter, and a series of Farmers'

Bulletins. Among the more important subdivisions of the department are the bureau of animal industry, the bureau of soils, the bureau of markets, and the office of farm management. The work of the Department of Agriculture is ably supplemented by the work of the Reclamation Bureau, which, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, is increasing the productivity of waste and arid lands.

299. THE FEDERAL FARM LOAN ACT.--The growing need of credit facilities among farmers resulted in 1916 in the pa.s.sage of the Federal Farm Loan Act. By the terms of this act, the United States is divided into twelve districts, in each of which a Federal land bank is established.

A Federal Farm Loan Board has general charge of the entire system, but each Farm Loan Bank is allowed a large measure of freedom in its own district in the organization of local Farm Loan a.s.sociations. A local a.s.sociation is made up of a number of farm owners, or persons about to become owners, who desire to borrow money. The Bank will not deal with the individual farmer except through the local a.s.sociation, but when a farmer has been vouched for by this a.s.sociation, he may receive from the Bank of his district a loan at not more than six per cent interest. The Bank authorizes loans for the purchase or improvement of land, for the purchase of live stock, and for the erection of farm buildings. Loans must be secured by first mortgages not exceeding in amount fifty per cent of the a.s.sessed value of the land and twenty per cent of the value of the improvements thereon pledged as security.

Loans may run from five to forty years, and provision is made for the gradual payment, in small sums, of both princ.i.p.al and interest.

300. MARKETING NEEDS OF THE FARMER.--A problem vitally affecting not only the farmer but the urban consumer as well, has to do with the marketing of farm produce. The price of farm produce often doubles or trebles between the farm and the urban kitchen. This is largely because of a c.u.mbersome marketing system and an overabundance of middlemen. Often the farmer gets entirely too little for his produce, while the city housewife pays too much for it. If the farmer is to secure a larger return for his labor, and if the cost of foodstuffs in cities is to be reduced, we must devise more efficient methods of marketing farm produce.

There is a general agreement among experts that in the marketing of farm produce there ought to be some method of securing the cooperation of farmer, urban consumer, and government. The further improvement of country roads, together with the development of trolleys, motor trucking and other means of farm-to-city transport would reduce haulage charges. The number of public markets in cities should be increased, so that farm produce might be sold to consumers without the interference of unnecessary middlemen. The grading and standardization of farm products would also facilitate sale by making it unnecessary for prospective purchasers minutely to examine goods offered by the farmers. In some cases farmers might advantageously sell their produce directly to urban consumers. The cooperative marketing of farm produce, also has the effect of reducing the number of middlemen.

[Footnote: See Chapter XII, Section 116.]

One of the most important phases of marketing reform is the regulation of commission dealers. Many farmers commonly s.h.i.+p their produce to commission dealers in the city. These dealers are supposed to sell this produce and to return to the farmer the money thus secured, minus a small commission. In many instances these middlemen return to the farmer smaller sums than market conditions ent.i.tle the farmer to. At the same time, commission dealers often add an excessive amount to the price which they in turn ask of retailers and consumers. In a few states commission dealers handling farm produce must now be licensed.

They are obliged to keep records which will enable an inspector to tell whether or not they have made false returns to farmers concerning the condition of goods on arrival, the time at which sold, and the price secured. A dealer convicted of dishonest methods loses his license. The future should see an extension of this licensing system.

301. OTHER ECONOMIC NEEDS OF THE FARMER.--The economic position of the farmer has been materially strengthened within the last forty years, yet much remains to be done before farming may be considered an altogether satisfactory and attractive occupation. Tenancy in rural districts needs to be studied carefully. Tenancy is not necessarily an evil, especially where it is a step toward owners.h.i.+p, but its rapid increase in this country has caused many serious problems to arise.

From both the economic and the social point of view it is desirable that farmers own their land. Tenants have no permanent interest in the upkeep of the farm or in the rural community. Where tenancy is widespread, land and buildings deteriorate, and the development of rural inst.i.tutions is slow.

Machinery is shortening the hours of labor for the farmer, and scientific farming is increasing his efficiency; nevertheless, in most sections of the country rural life still means long hours of hard labor for small returns. Many farmers still work ten hours a day in winter, twelve in summer, and from thirteen to fifteen in the harvest season. Despite this sustained effort, the perishable character of his product, the uncertainty of weather conditions, and his dependence upon commission dealers, too often jeopardize the returns to the farmer.

302. RURAL HEALTH.--We have noticed that in some cases people have moved to the city because in the country doctors tend to be both scarce and poorly trained, while frequently hospitals are inaccessible.

Recently a number of influences are counteracting this relative backwardness. The isolation of the rural dweller is disappearing before the automobile and the telephone. In many sections able doctors are increasingly plentiful. In most rural districts which are near large cities, there is now an efficient system of visiting nurses, free clinics, and health bulletins. Health campaigns are spreading the fundamental principles of sanitation into many of the outlying districts also.

But these measures, while helpful, are only a beginning. In the more isolated rural sections especially, ignorance of sanitary methods is still a serious evil. Many rural dwellers still rely upon traditional but ineffective remedies for common complaints. Quacks having nostrums and injurious patent medicines to sell often prey upon rural communities in which there is no adequate provision for doctors, nurses, and hospitals. Rural diet is often so heavy as to encourage stomach disorders. Farmhouses are in many cases poorly ventilated in summer and overheated in winter. Stables and stock pens are invariably so close to the farmhouse as to render difficult the protection of the dwelling against flies and mosquitoes.

303. THE RURAL SCHOOL.--The chief educational inst.i.tution in rural districts has long been the small district school, inadequately supported and often inefficiently conducted.

But recently rural education has shown many signs of improvement. In most sections of the country the development of farm machinery has so reduced the amount of manual labor on the farm that rural children are enabled to remain in school for a longer period than formerly. The district school is in many cases being supplanted by the consolidated school. Under the consolidation plan, a single large and well-equipped school-house takes the place of a number of separate, small schools, indifferently equipped. When consolidation is accompanied by improved means of transporting children to school, the advantages of the plan are numerous. Because consolidation is a more economical arrangement than the old district plan, it allows larger salaries to be offered.

This in turn allows the rural school to secure a higher grade of teacher. The trained educator is also attracted by the fact that the consolidation of rural schools allows curricula to be standardized and enlarged. Scientific agriculture and allied subjects are slowly finding their way into the rural grade school. The rural high school is beginning to appear.

In some sections of the country, on the other hand, the rural school is still in an unsatisfactory condition. In a number of states the rural school needs a more intelligent and consistent support from the taxpayers, in order that better teachers, more and better schoolhouses, and better working equipment may be provided. In many sections of the country there is very little understanding of the advantages of school consolidation and the necessity of more adequate rural education. It is desirable that rural schools be more closely correlated with the admirable work being done by experiment stations and agricultural colleges. The agricultural press might well cooperate with the rural schools in attacking the problems of country life.

Without doubt the rural school curriculum should place more emphasis upon practical agriculture and other subjects which will demonstrate the dignity and attractiveness of rural life. Finally, it is desirable that an increasing use be made of the schoolhouse as a social center.

304. THE RURAL CHURCH.--The rural church, though an older inst.i.tution than the rural school, is advancing less rapidly. In many sections the cityward drift has drained the able ministers to the city, leaving inferior men to carry on the work of the rural church. Other rural sections have never had the benefit of an able clergy. In every part of the country it often happens that country ministers are not only inadequately trained, but are uninterested in rural problems.

One of the greatest needs of the American farming community, therefore, is for a vitalized church. In many places rural districts are overchurched, and there is great need of some such consolidation as has been developed among rural schools. This development would so decrease the number of ministers needed that higher salaries could be offered. This, in turn, would attract more highly trained ministers to the country. It is also desirable that rural ministers be trained to a keener appreciation of the economic and social problems of the country, with a view to making religion a practical help in solving the problems of everyday life. An efficient and vitalized church could advantageously be used as a focal point for the development of every phase of rural community life.

305. ISOLATION THE MENACE OF RURAL LIFE.--Isolation may be said to be the menace of rural life, as congestion is the menace of urban life.

In many out-of-the-way rural districts isolation has resulted in moral inertia and intellectual dullness. Isolation has weighed particularly hard upon the farmer's wife. Often she is called upon, not only to rear a large family, but to cook and keep house for hired men, raise poultry and garden stuff, and even to help in the fields during the harvest season. In spite of this deadening routine, she has had fewer chances than the farmer to go to town, to meet people, or otherwise to secure a share of social life.

306. COMMUNITY SPIRIT IN THE COUNTRY.--In view of the injurious effects of rural isolation, it is encouraging to note the beginnings of a genuine community spirit in country districts. To a considerable extent this development is the result of improved means of transportation and communication. The coming of the automobile, the telephone, and the trolley, the development of the rural free delivery, the parcel post, and the agricultural press,--all these factors have been important. The farmer has been enabled to share more and more in the benefits of city life without leaving the farm. Even more important, perhaps, improved methods of transportation and communication have stimulated social intercourse among farmers.

Cooperation in church and school work has been encouraged. Clubs and community centers are more practicable where farmers make use of the automobile and the telephone. The fair and the festival are also proving to be admirable methods of developing the cooperative spirit in rural life.

The growing realization among students of rural life that a strong and constructive community spirit is not only desirable but possible, is encouraging an interest in rural problems. The development of such a spirit must ultimately stimulate a healthy social life in the country, with a resultant increase in health and prosperity, not only for the farmer but for the nation as a whole.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT