Halt Qlallege of Agriculture ^t (S^atmll Untueraitg SItbrarti CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 058 841 549 || Cornell University 9 Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924058841549 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY COPYBIGHT, 1917, 1922, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY" Printed in the United S^tes of Ameriaa PREFACE The following pages have been written in the hope that they might contribute something toward the effort now being made by humanity, particularly in the Western world, to gain con- trol of the conditions of existence in the interest of the com- mon welfare. The application of the principles of social science during the past fifty years to specific problems of hu- man relationships has demonstrated that it is possible for humanity, through a better understanding of the conditions of human existence and of the forces operating in human relationships, to control those conditions and forces in such a manner as to yield a larger measure of human welfare. That there are principles of efficiency in personal conduct has long been recc^ized. That the efficiency of limited groups, such as business organizations, is dependent upon the opera- tion of well-defined principles, which may be discovered and applied, is no longer questioned. It has been a logical step to accept the belief that the efficiency of the life of the group at large is also subject to the presence or absence of well- defined principles. This last step is the basis for the earnest effort now being made by students of social phenomena to develop a science which will enable human beings to so order their social relationships as to secure a maximum of common welfare with a minimum of waste of social energy through maladjustment of their organized life to community needs. The widely increased interest in the sociology of the small community during the past few years is the expression of a definitely felt need of a better understanding of the problems of efficient living in those communities. The drift to the cities from both rural and village groups, which is characteristic of all the Western world, is based upon conditions which must be understood if they afre to be adequately controlled. Community organization which will prove of most permanent Vi PREFACE value must be based upon a knowledge of the factors of social change, such as movements of population, tendencies in size of families, and methods of production or distribution of wealth, which tend to destroy established social equilibrium or to introduce new conditions. The relation of the small community to the growth and ideals of the urban community also makes an understanding of rural life and ideals impera- tive to the one responsible for leadership in urban life. More- over, the fact that over half of the population of America lives in communities of less than 2,500 population indicates the sigfnificance of the entire problem from the point of view of social life. It has been assumed by many students of social phenomena that the relations to be found in rural life are relatively sim- ple ; and that urban life presents much more serious problems for solution as well as a much richer field for the study of the play of social forces. Those most familiar with the social reactions in rural life agree that, while the problems they pre- sent may be of a somewhat different type, they are no less rich in the contribution they promise to the solution of some of the greatest practical questions of social theory. They also pre- sent a strong appeal to the student of social science because the small community, well-organized, promises to become a very important factor in future social organization because of its firm foundation in the inherited instincts of the race. No problems of social relationships present a better source for study than do the associations to be found in village and rural life. The field chosen has been that of rural life in the United States and particularly those conditions to be found in the great agricultural sections of the Central Valley. The selec- tion of this field has been made because in this area are to be found both the system Of diversified agriculture and the in- tensive culture which students of the science of agriculture agree must come to practically every section ^s population in- creases and pressure upon the means of subsistence grows. It also presents the variety of relationships resulting from proximity to large urban centers not to be found in pioneer or PREFACE Vll highly specialized areas. This area is also far enough ad- vanced in its general social evolution to afford a basis for determining what phases of rural life are likely to be of a great degree of permanence, what ones are of passing impor- tance, and what form rural organization should take to meet permanent needs. The village has been included in this study because it is evi- dent, from tendencies discovered in surveys made, that those responsible for the formulation of policies of rural social or- ganization must reckon with the village as the natural center of rural life. Failure to recognize the place of the village in relation to the rural community has, it is feared, already led, in many instances, to erroneous and costly policies of organization of educational, social and religious life in unnatural and pass- ing rural centers. The present text is intended to be, as its title indicates, an introduction to the subject of rural sociology. It is recognized that in the limited time in which problems of rural life have been made the basis of research, comparatively little of the field could have been explored. Enough has been done, how- ever, to justify definite conclusions as to certain phases of the subject and the attempt has been made to present the more important of the conclusions reached. While many of the data are necessarily limited in scope, they are presented as a basis for further study in wider areas. It is believed they are drawn from sources which are typical of the entire agricultural area which has been made the topic of special investigation. It is hoped that their presentation will lead to more intensive study of similar problems in their respective fields by those using the book as a text. It is realized that the material presented does not deal exhaustively with certain sections of the country. The reason for omissions is that for many sections special studies have not been made. Such data as are available have been incor- porated in chapters dealing with general topics. The text is intended as a guide to local study rather than a finished exposi- tion of rural life in every section of the country. The instructor, by acquiring for his local college library full reports viii PREFACE from national, state, and private agencies, can enrich not only the knowledge of the student by assigning topics for special investigation that will bring out similarities or contrasts between life in his section and those discussed in the text, but he can, also hope to make a real contribution to rural social science through these local studies. He can at the same time give his student training in laboratory methods of study of the social sciences, thus increasing both their efficiency and interest. As an aid to such special study questions and references have been added at the close of each chapter. The first set of Questions is intended specifically to call attention to the more important topics presented in the text. The Topics for Research are not intended to be exhaustive, nor can they be used in every community. It has been impossible, within the space available in a text, to give detailed directions as to methods of conducting these special studies. They have been added to emphasize the desirability of laboratory methods in the study of social science and to indicate the direction such laboratory work may take. Acknowledgment is due to the many farmers, public offi- cials and others throughout the country who have aided the author by courteously giving information through personal in- terview or by correspondence ; to other students of rural life whose work has been consulted and utilized; and to the author's own students, who have, by stimulating criticism in class discussion and by studies of special problems, aided in working out many of the conclusions reached. The author wishes to acknowledge particularly the assistance of Pro- fessor John Phelan, of Massachusetts Agricultural College, who carefully read the entire manuscript and made many valuable criticisms. It is hoped that the text may lead to a much wider research into rural problems in all parts of the country and that the full understanding of the conditions and forces of rural life necessary to bring about and maintain the fullest, richest rural civilization may result. Paul L. Voct. CONTENTS CHAFTEB FAQB I. RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION . . . . i Reasons for increased interest in rural sociology — Pres- ent Status — Reasons for the study of social science in general — Characteristics of ideal rural community — Definition of rural sociology — Sociological principles to be used in social analysis — Limitations to the study of rural life. II. THE PHYSICAL SETTING FOR RURAL LIFE . 26 Social organization largely dependent on physical en- vironment — Influence of various physical conditions — Physical influences modified by psychological factors. III. THE IMPROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL METHODS 35 The effort to reduce manual labor — Improvements of machinery — The social effects of improvements in methods of production. IV. MEANS OF COMMUNICATION AND RURAL WELFARE 46 Reasons for delay of road improvement — Present incen- tives to road improvement — The economic effects of good roads — ^The social effects of good roads — Social effects of the automobile — Social effects of the tele- phone — Social effects of rural free delivery. V. THE LAND QUESTION AND RURAL WELFARE . 62 Importance of land problems— Tendencies as to size of farms — Evidence as to permanence of these tendencies — Social effects of size of farms — Special land problems — Increase in tenancy — ^Effects of increase in tenancy — English experience — Remedies. ix X CONTENTS CHAPTBB PAGE VI. THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME . . . .102 Rural and urban wealth compared — Statistics of farm- ers' incomes — Why incomes apparently do not increase — Comparison of incomes with other groups — The advan- tages of the farmer — Outlook for the tenant. VII. MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION . . . .123 Conditions as to homogeneity of type — Homogeneity as to economic status — The drift to the cities — Causes of decrease in rural population — Shift to older agricultural areas — Local shift — Causes of shift — Corrective agen- cies. VIII. RURAL HEALTH— PHYSICAL . . . .155 Rural and urban death rates compared — Health condi- tions among children — Special rural health problems — • Causes of poor health in the country — Rural health work of state and federal agencies — Rural nurses — County hospitals. IX. RURAL HEALTH— MENTAL 178 Feeble-mindedness, rural arid urban — Social effects of feeble-mindedness — Methods of control — Insanity in the open country — Methods of control of insanity. X. THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 192 Factors determining mental reactions — Characteristics of the rural mind — Tendencies toward urbanizing the rural mind — Influence of the country on the city — Rural ideals that should prevail in national life. XL RURAL MORALITY 212 Source of urban vice not rural — Extent of venereal dis- ease in rural communities — Rural interest in control of urban moral conditions — Illegitimacy in the country — • Crime in the country — Divorce as an evidence of moral conditions. XIL THE FARMER IN POLITICS 229 Farmers not represented by their own group — Farmers control through exercise of voting power — Progressive CONTENTS xi CHAPTEB PAOB attitude of farmers' organizations — Stability of rural vote. XIII. FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS . . 237 Types of economic organization — The cooperative movement — Cooperation a principle antagonistic to com- petition — Factors essential to success of the movement — Social effects of cooperation — Cooperation a permanent and growing factor in agriculture. XIV. FARMERS' SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS . . 255 Types of rural social organizations — The Patrons of Husbandry — The Farmers' Union — The Farmers' Na- tional Congress — The National Chamber of Agriculture Commission — The Ancient Order of Gleaners — The Na- tional Agricultural Society and the Agricultural Organ- ization Society — Principles of efficiency in organization. XV. THE SCHOOL AS A FACTOR IN RURAL LIFE . 277 Changing ideals in education — Social functions of the school — Social activities — ^The village school and the rural community — The school or the church as the social center — Adjustment of the school to community needs. XVI. OTHER RURAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES . 299 The development of agricultural education — The work of the United States Department of Agriculture — County farm bureaus and county agents — Office of Mar- kets and rural organization — ^United States Bureau of Education — Other agencies. XVIL THE CHURCH AND COUNTRY LIFE . . . 310 The social function of the church — Church member- ship — Changes in religious life in the country—Handi- caps to rural church progress — Summary. XVIII. THE RURAL CHURCH— MEASURES FOR IM- PROVEMENT 332 The village as the center of religious life— Equipment — Beliefs — Finances — Vision of service — Interdenomina- tional situation. xii CONTENTS CHAPTEB PlOB XIX. THE COUNTY FAIR 345 The history of the fair — Weaknesses in fair manage- ment — Types of exhibits — The social possibilities of the fair. XX. THE VILLAGE IN RELATION TO RURAL LIFE . 355 The place of the village in American social organiza- tion — The relation of the village to the rural community. XXI. THE VILLAGE IN HISTORY 361 The village the natural human group — Characteristics of the primitive village — Contrast of modern village with primitive group — Tendencies toward communal life in modern village. XXn. VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE . . .370 Causes of growth or decline — Economic reasons for in- terest in village growth — Social reasons for interest in the small community — Village contributions to social welfare. XXIII. SOCIALIZATION OF THE VILLAGE . , 388 Objects to be attained — Unsettled questions of village organization — Types and characteristics of village or- ganizations. XXIV. HEALTH AND SANITATION IN VILLAGES . 400 Some problems of sanitation — Constructive health meas- ures. XXV. VILLAGE POLITICAL LIFE 413 Village attitude toward local government — ^Vagrancy in villages — Relief in villages — Constructive program of municipal government needed. XXVI. THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE RURAL PROB- LEM Popular belief in superiority of country bred boys and girls — Changes in source of urban leadership — Where most of the rural immigration to the cities must find a place — The retired farmer — The social significance of the farm element in villages and cities. 419 CONTENTS xiii CHAPTSa PAGB XXVII. METHODS OF APPROACH TO THE RURAL PROBLEM 433 The survey — The program — Cooperation between or- ganizations — Qualities of leadership — Over and under organization — Social progress versus maintenance of standards. XXVIII. CONCLUSION 445 INDEX , 449 LIST OF CHARTS AND MAPS CHARTS PAGE I. Typical Distribution of Interest Centers in Average Community ........ i8 II. Interests Centralized, Social Bond Strengthened . 19 III. Decrease in Rural and Urban Death Rate, United States, 1800-1915 157 IV. Admissions to Michigan State Hospitals, 1913-1914 . 188 V. Forms of Insanity Admitted to Michigan State Hos- pitals from Urban and Rural Communities, 1913- 1914 189 VI. Membership and Population Distribution, 1900 . . 318 VII. Where Are the Young People? Age, Record, Etc. . 319 VIII. Ministerial Vivisection and the Growth of Churches . 327 IX. The Failure of Absent Treatment . . . .328 X. The Survival of the Fittest . . ., . .328 MAPS 1. Per Cent. Farmers, Native White, 1910 2. Per Cent. Farmers, Native White, 1920 ,., 3. Per Cent. Farmers, Foreign-born, 1910 4. Per Cent. Farmers, Foreign-born, 1920 5. Per Cent. Farmers, Negro or Other Color, 1910 . 6. Per Cent. Negro Farmers, 1920 .... Per Cent. Farm Laborers (Working Out), Foreign-born, White, 1910 Per Cent. Farm Laborers (Working Out), Negro, 1910 125 125 126 127 128 128 129 130 XV xvi LIST OF CHARTS AND MAPS PACE 9. Per Cent. Farm Laborers (Working Out), Native White, 1910 130 10. I*er Cent. Farmers in Total Farmers and Farm Laborers, 1910 131 11. Maximum Open Country Population, Ohio . . . 135 12. Areas of Migrant Labor 143 13. Proportion of Farmers' Union Members in Agricultural Population, 1910 265 14. Proportion of Farmers' Union Members in Agricultural Population, 1919 ..,.., . 265 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION The practical value of modern attempts to reduce the laws of social organization to a scientific basis has been so thor- oughly demonstrated that it no longer needs discussion. Inter- est in problems of social organization and effort to understand and solve them have continued to increase as recognition of the value of such effort has grown. Such applied problems as those of the causes and relief of poverty, the adjustment of labor conditions, the equitable distribution of wealth, the social control of the growth of cities and the administration of af- fairs of state in the larger units, have long received attention. The more recent interest in problems of rural and village life is but an expression of the broadening social point of view, and of the recognition of the fact that human society is, so far as the modern world is concerned, a unity, and that an under- standing of rural problems is not only necessary for the sake of the country community but is also necessary as a basis for the explanation of many urban social problems. But interest in the rural problem is not based solely on ab- stract recognition of the utility of social science as a means of controlling human welfare. The County Life Commission, appointed several years ago, was not merely the result of a political deal but was the expression of the wisdom of far- 2 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY sighted statesmen who saw in rural life in America certain tendencies which were undermining the structure of the state. It was recognized that unless a better understanding of living conditions in the open country was obtained, our civilization would become lopsided and would deteriorate. The wisdom of these statesmen has been abundantly demonstrated since that time. It has been found that the country is not self-suiEcing and inherently able to progress without conscious social effort ; and that the welfare of the nation depends upon the main- tenance of a rural civilization which will be comparable to that developed in other parts of the national social organization. The widespread interest aroused in problems of country life is based, among other things, upon changed conditions result- ing from the exhaustion of land resources in the western part of North America. So long as persons interested in agricul- ture could obtain land holdings at comparatively low cost in the unsettled parts of the country, the tendency was to move out of the more densely settled portions, where land was already appropriated, into the newer districts. No land prob- lem in America became evident while this condition lasted. So long as the virgin qualities of the soil under a system of jvasteful soil-mining supported a relatively spare population, the question of food cost did not become acute. But with the ex- haustion of free land and of the virgin fertility of the soil has come the remarkable phenomenon of rising cost of living and a corresponding increase in land values. Urban communities have had their attention turned, as fiave rural communities, to the question as to what can be done to insure an adequate food supply for the future. It is now understood that no efficient agriculture can exist without a high grade, prosperous, con- tented people living on the land. Consequently, there is a distinct economic foundation for the modern interest in agri- culture and rural life. In addition to the exhaustion of free land and the rising cost of living, the world-wide phenomenon of shift of popula- tion from the open country to the cities has attracted attention to conditions existing in the country. Some of the more super- RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 3 ficial students of the problem have insisted that if the economic welfare of the farmer were assured, the social problems of the country would solve themselves. These writers have failed to recognize the fact that in those very districts where agricul- tural resources are the best and where land values have risen most rapidly, there the shift from ownership to tenantry and the accompanying shift of the farm-owning population to the village and cities has been most marked. The increased returns from the farm, due to rising prices of food products, have given the middle-aged farmer an excuse to rent the old home place and move to the neighboring village. Instead of helping him to solve the problem of living well in the country it has helped him to get out of the country. Moreover, in thousands of cases all the children of well-to-do farmers, who would like to have had at least one of their children take up the old home place and operate it, have left the old farm and either rented it to strangers or sold it to others while they engage in the, to them, more congenial occupations of urban life. These facts have impressed those interested in the rural problem with the thought that the true approach to its solution and to the estab- lishment of a wholesome and safe rural life is through knowl- edge of how to make the country a place in which to live as well as make a living. Moreover, it is recognized that neither at the present time nor in all probability for many years to come will agriculture as a business be more than moderately remunerative financially. In Ohio, in 1910, the average number of acres per farm was 88.6, and the average number of acres improved was 70.7. The largest average acreage was in Madison, Pickaway and Ross Counties in the south central part of the state, with aver- ages of 156.3, 134.6, and 125.6 acres respectively. The average value of all property per farm in the state was $6,984, while the average capital of the 15,138 manufacturing plants in Ohio was $85,920. The value of goods per plant added by manu- facture was $40,542, while the value of products per farm was but $1,397. When it is remembered that the $1,397 income from the average farm must pay interest on an investment of 4 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY $6,900, taxes, insurance, maintenance and all tJther expenses, the conclusion is evident that the farm does not offer oppor- tunity for large material advancement. Under these conditions it is also evident that if the country is to be more than a sort of undesirable appendix to an urban civilization, gauged by urban materialistic standards, it must boldly set about estab- lishing true standards of living adapted to itself, and trust to contribute to civilization by resisting the modern tendency to measure all conduct by its result in wealth production. This necessity has forced agriculturists and all others interested in rural problems to the recognition of the necessity of a thorough overhauling of rural institutions and ideals and the establish- ment of rational standards of living which will put farm life on the same basis as the best of any other occupations. The problem of rural life is not exclusively a modern Amer- ican one nor is it confined to the twentieth century. Greece had her problem of the drift of country people to the cities. Rome tried to combat the exodus of people from her rural districts and to prevent the crowding of the rabble into urban centers. Modern European nations have been conducting in- vestigation after investigation into the causes of rural depopu- lation and some of them have embarked on state programs of increasing the number of small-holdings within their borders. The United States has done little so far except to pass a law for better rural credit facilities and to try to improve methods of farming. The investigation of the fundamental economic and social problems in American life has as yet scarcely been begun. Yet interest is aroused and there may be witnessed in the next few years a very marked increase in the attention given to the problem of making the country a desirable place in which to live. So far there has been but little attempt to reduce the prin- ciples of rural community life to an orderly scientific form. The volume of literature dealing with certain phases of the subject is constantly increasing, but much of this material is more of a restatement of commonplaces than a real contribu- tion to the subject. The reasons for the present imperfect RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION s development of the science are not difficult to find. In the first place, statistical records have been presented by federal and state official bodies in such a form that it is almost impossible to work out statistical evidence as to rural tendencies. Village life and rural life are mixed together in such an indiscriminate way that data referring to either are difficult to obtain. More- over, statistical presentations of social phenomena by state and local agencies have not been made with reference to the relation of social aggregation or living conditions to these phe- nomena. Facts as to religious affiliations of the criminal, in- sane and feeble-minded are taken much more seriously than are those concerning the conditions that might give rise to pathological social phenomena. The inadequacy of statistical data is the. first cause of retarded development of the subject. In the second place, it appears that the beginnings of a science must be descriptive rather than explanatory. Much of the existing literature on rural community Hfe has neces- sarily been more like the rambling account of a traveler who is jotting down his observations on a journey than of one who knows his field and attempts to give a perspective of it from the more philosophical point of view. The present writer hopes for charitable treatment along with others who, in the face of manifest difficulties, have attempted to contribute something to the knowledge of this field. The need at the present time is for more trained sociologists to take up pa- tiently and systematically various phases of the rural problem, find out the facts in regard to them and interpret them in their relation to the larger social movements going on in the modern western world. The present text is an attempt to reduce the science to a more orderly basis and to point the way to still more intensive study while at the same time contributing some- thing of the results of extended studies of the phenomena of rural life. As many of those interested in problems of rural life have not had the opportunity to secure formal training in sociologi- cal theory a brief discussion of the purposes on which the study of social science is founded will be in order. The prin- 6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY cipal reason for a discipline of this sort is the general one that through increase of human knowledge of man's environment comes the possibility of control of that environment in the interest of the human race. The development of natural science has long been recognized as one of the most powerful agencies in raising the plane of human welfare, particularly on the material side. The mighty bridges that have been built ; the great channels that have been cut ; the thousands of com- forts and conveniences enjoyed every day as necessities; the conquest of disease ; all these are the product of man's patient and often thankless effort to secure a better understanding of nature. In like manner man has begun to recognize that the organization of human relationships is capable of control and of scientific social adjustment. Many defects doubtless exist, but there is little question that the race understands the fundamental principles of political life better than before the application of the scientific method to the study of these prob- lems. In recent years business men have been applying prin- cipals of efficiency to business organization and much progress has already resulted. Finally, as a result of the enlarging social consciousness of the last few decades, an ever increasing group of leaders of human thought and action is convinced that it is also possible so to understand the ordinary social relationships in community life that they too may be made to function efficiently in serving group and individual interests. The time was in American life when it was considered un- necessary to attempt to understand social relationships, as it was thought that anyone with good common sense could deal with matters related to them without more preparation than that which should come through living in a social group. Many people are still of this opinion. But the more thorough students of social problems recognize that efficiency in com- munity life, particularly in the .complex relationships which have developed in recent years, requires as careful study and complete understanding as does the efficient control and utiliza- tion of any other of the conditions of man's environment. It is recognized that on every hand in group life exist survivals RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 7 of institutions which handicap human progress. It is known that the failure to control ba'd tendencies and to correct wrong ideals has repeatedly wrecked once thriving nations and brought widespread misery. And it is by no means certain that humanity at the present time knows its social environ- ment well enough to consciously avoid some of the dangers which threaten its continued welfare. The belief in the ability of man, by learning the conditions of his existence, to control those conditions for his own benefit is, then, the first basis for the study of social science of any kind. There is another and more immediate basis closely related in kind to the preceding thought. That is, that the one who is held responsible for dealing as a leader with problems of human welfare must be familiar with those problems before he can hope to solve them successfully. The one who pro- poses to act as an organizer of community life should know what community conditions and needs are; and he should then know by what means he may bring conditions to suit community needs. In other words, the community builder of the present must be a trained social engineer, just as the builder of bridges must be a trained mechanical engineer. We need "sky pilots" who can tell us of the beauties of the world beyond the grave and the way thereto, but we need more than ever those who can help us to solve the problems of the present day in order to bring a larger portion of the heavenly kingdom to us before we depart into the uncer- tainties of the life after death. This ability requires training in analysis of social conditions, in methods of handling groups, and in ways of broadening the vision of possibilities in social progress. The study of the social sciences is of particular value to all those upon whom falls the responsibility of leader- ship, either as professionals or as citizens. Finally, the study of the social sciences is important because such study appears to offer the only means of determining what phases of social life are subject to human control and what phases condition or limit the efforts of mankind toward 8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY social improvement. A survey of any phase of social life reveals the fact that individual effort in seeking for the ad- vancement of personal or family welfare is bringing about some changes for the betterment of the group. If human progress could be assured by dependence upon such individual effort, as was thought during a large part of the last century, then a study of the social sciences would be unnecessary. But the more extensive knowledge of social life developed during the latter part of the century has revealed the fact that such ■ dependence upon individual effort does not conduce to the advance of the entire group ; 'that it hinders the advance of certain elements of the group through the prevalence of misery, while deteriorating other elements of the group through an excess of privilege; and that all elements may suffer through the social disintegration and discontent arising from bad social coordination. Such conditions as tend to destroy the life of the group need social control, and social control is possible only through knowledge of the conditions needing control and of the means of control. The social sciences offer the solution to this phase of the problem of social progress. These general comments on social science apply to the study of rural life as well as to the phenomena of the urban com- munity and it,is on these grounds that the student of rural life justifies his efforts to understand and explain social ten- dencies in the smaller communities. The justification for the study of rural sociology lies also, first, in the relative importance of the farming group in American life. Forty-eight and six-tenths per cent, of the American population lives in the open country or in vill^es. Numerically, then, the problems of country life affect nearly half of our population and by far the largest single industrial group. But someone may say that, after all, the problems of living in the country are relatively simple ; that the country has tra- ditionally been the ideal place in which to live; that it is the city and not the country which is the real American problem. In answer to this contention, which sometimes finds expression, RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 9 we may reply that as a matter of fact, the country is by com- mon consent not the best place to live, that the problems of the open country are in many ways more difficult of solution than are those of the city ; and that the close relation of the country to the city demands an understanding of the problems there for the sake of the city as well as of the country. It has also been said that the problems of the country are solving themselves; that consequently it is not necessary to study them, as adjustment is coming rapidly and is bound to come whether concerted effort is made to that end or not. It is true that some problems are solving themselves; but it is not true that they are all solving themselves; nor is it true that present conditions and tendencies in the open country can safely be allowed to go uncontrolled. They demand very definite understanding and concerted social action. In the case of tendencies toward self-solution of unfavorable condi- tions, imderstanding will hasten the necessary change ; in cases where the tendency is now in the direction of social disintegra- tion, toward lowering of standards of living, toward destruc- tion of the patrimony of the state through "skinning land" of through the destruction of great natural resources which will take years to replace if they can ever be replaced, there it is necessary for society to understand its own environment and by constructive action prevent the formation of hostile classes in the state with the consequent interhal dissension; prevent the lowering of group life and social disintegration; and restore community loyalty and strength in economic life. Country life is a part of the general group life and the analysis of tendencies there involves broad knowledge of the inter- relations of the country with urban life and tendencies. In the following chapters the effort will be, first to analyze conditions as a basis for determining what needs are to be met in rural life; then the various institutions concerned with rural improvement will be considered and such a constructive program suggested as the evidence indicates is necessary to bring rural life up to the status reached by other groups in the social order. The basis for the study will be such statistical lo INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY sources as have been made available in recent years, together with the descriptions of rural conditions as brought out by special studies made in various parts of the country. In this way it is hoped that an adequate perspective on the rural prob- lem and the forces operating in rural life for good or evil may be obtained. The study of rural problems is of first importance to those who are responsible for the direction of rural life. The min- ister of the gospel, the teacher, the Christian Association leader, the journalist, the farm bureau representative, or the women's club secretary, should prepare to deal intelligently with problems of country life. But not only must the trained leader be familiar with the subject matter with which he must deal, but those who are most directly concerned with the problem, since they are a part of it and must bear their share of the burden in making rural life what it ought to be, should also know the tendencies which are building up or disintegrat- ing life in the open country. The leaders may come and go but those who live in the country must finally make of their life what they will and it is only through the most cordial com- munity cooperation that that life can be made most worth while. Several attempts have been made to define the rural prob- lem. Perhaps the best brief definition is that given by Pro- fessor L. H. Bailey, when he says that the rural life problem is that "of developing and maintaining on our farms a civiliza- tion in full harmony with the best American ideals." In other words, we want in American life an all-round civilization. We do not want a cultured, highly developed urban property-own- ing class alongside of an ignorant, poverty-stricken, peasant, rural tenant class. We do not want a lopsided or topheavy civilization but an even, well organized life in which due con- sideration will be given to the interests and welfare of all ele- ments in the group. This definition, stated in its brief form offers a platform on which all persons interested in rural life can stand. But before an analysis of rural life can be made and before the conditions RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION ii existing can be measured in terms of the best American ideals it is necessary to go further and attempt to determine what is meant by the "best American ideals." As soon as the question is pushed back to this point the real difficulties in the problem become apparent. America is already so full of divergent ideals that it is difficult for anyone to determine what would be universally accepted as the best. Under the circumstances it is necessary to depart for the time being from the considera- tion of existing American ideals, which are in many cases merely unquestioned survivals of an earlier stage of civiliza- tion, and ask the contributors to social theory what they have to offer as desirable elements in the constitution of an ideal society. Social theory does not as yet give any final word as to just how an ideal society should be organized and probably will never do so because of the necessity of adapting standards to uncontrollable conditions. But the study of human interests as based on fundamental biological and psychical reactions has pointed to certain things which appear to be desirable characteristics of a well organized society under twentieth century conditions. The following analysis is proposed as a tentative statement more specific than the general platform laid down by Professor Bailey. In the first place, the ideal rural community should have a high degree of homogeneity in race. It needs no extended dis- cussion to demonstrate that some of the most serious problems in social organization develop in those sections of the country where different races are thrown together in the common search for a living. In very few places have different races learned the art of living together in peace. Wherever races have come together in close and constant contact, caste and race domination and subjugation have appeared. Our own country has been no exception to the rule. A prosperous and wholesome social organization can be assured, in either the city or the open country, only by securing the fundamental condi- tion of homogeneity in race. Not only must homogeneity exist in race but it must also 12 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY exist in characteristics of certain types within the race. Wher- ever marked differences appear in national origins, problems of social assimilation immediately appear! National charac- teristics and ideals become the basis of class consciousness and of groupings in the complex struggle for domination or for control of the social process. Regardless of the inherent worth of any given nationality, under certain conditions the fact of national differences in group life tends to disintegrate social unity. Knowledge of this fact and a full realization by the masses of the people of the danger in catering to, or attempt- ing to perpetuate, these national distinctions acts as a pre- ventive of the evil effects of national differences and aids in the ultimate elimination of them. In approaching the problems of rural life it will be necessary for us to determine to what extent the foreign bom population is becoming an increasing or decreasing factor in rural organization. There is an increasing group of students of social problems that insists that no social organization can be very efficient without a high degree of homogeneity in property accumula- tion. Considerable evidence has already been found that large farm owners and small proprietors do not mix as readily as did our ancestors who had common problems of conquering the wilderness and who started on a relatively equal footing. The increase in rural social disintegration which has come within the last twenty or thirty years is undoubtedly due in large part to the commercialization of agriculture and the putting of the farm business upon a profit-seeking basis. There is little question about the inherent desirability of having a high degree of similarity in the type of farming followed and in the size of the farm plant. In a similar manner, social science dictates that heterogeneity in the relation of the several members of the group to pro- ductive wealth or to the land is deteriorating in its influence. In some sections of the United States a transient farm labor class is appearing; in others a permanent rural proletariat is now the accepted condition. Tenantry in the richest agricul- tural section of the country appears to be permanently on the RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 13 increase. Instead of having a population of farm owners, as was once the case in American rural life, we are now moving in the direction of a three class system, composed of farm owners, farm tenants and farm laborers. Social habits now in process of formation will tend to make these divisions more permanent in the future than they now are. Such an increase must inevitably lead to fundamental changes in American rural life which, if the conclusions of students of social life are correct, cannot be other than deteriorating. In addition to the unity of interests already mentioned, it is desirable to work for a high degree of homogeneity in essential rural institutions. It is becoming an accepted principle that in religious and educational life there should not be unneces- sary duplication of plant for the purpose of catering to differ- ences in beliefs or ideals of elements of the group. One of the great services of essential institutions is to foster the homo- geneity mentioned above. The community church, the com- "munity school, and the community social center all should be striven for as based on fundamental principles of social science. Absolute homogeneity in essential institutions, race, na- tionality, or distribution in capital ownership is not contended for. It is probable that absolute homogeneity would result in stagnation in social life, a condition which should by all means be avoided. Only that degree of homogeneity is contended for which is most favorable to the harmonious and continuous development of community life and in which the forces making for community cooperation can work best. Dynamic condi- tions incident to community progress will always result in more or less heterogeneity. Tendencies toward excess of heterogeneity only should be curbed because a certain amount of diversity in social life adds to human interest as well as furnishes a stimulus to group and individual advance. In addition to a high degree of homogeneity in community characteristics, the rural group should have a degree of eco- nomic welfare which is comparable to that of other groups in the social system. There appears to be no inherent reason why the farmers as a class should be permanently doomed to 14 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY mediocre returns as compared with those who happen to have centralized control of large industrial establishments or who have gained control of large natural resources in other fields. The larger point of view of national solidarity demands that problems of weaUh distribution be worked out in such a way that not only will the one who is engaged in turning raw ma- terials into finished products reap a large material benefit but that the producer of the raw material will also share in the wealth produced. Because farmers as a group have always been relatively low in the scale of material welfare is no reason for assuming that they should always remain so. The solution of this problem may lead into the large economic and political considerations facing the nation as a whole. For the time being it is only necessary to insist on the principle that farmers should have a material welfare comparable with that of other economic groups. These various phases of homogeneity are insisted upon as essential because they are conducive to that domestic spirit which it is believed yields the largest measurement of human contentment in social life. Aristocracy may be satisfying to the few, but the associations of equals bring the fullest measure of satisfaction to the many. It is assumed that a nation com- mitted to a religion of brotherhood and proud of the Declara- tion of Independence will not question the principle of de- mocracy nor the desirability of maintaining conditions con- ducive to its spread. Professor Small has classed human interests into those con- cerned with health, wealth, beauty, sociability, rightness, and knowledge. To these might be added the interest in play or recreation. To summarize the discussion of the phases of ideal rural civilization, it may be said that the rural problem consists in making the country the equal of any other part of the social system in the possibility of achieving these interests. This includes organizations to provide for the satisfaction of the religious impulse, for educational purposes and for the achievement of all those things in which the race is interested and which are conducive to its permanent welfare. RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 15 Proper adjustment of individuals to one another in an ideal social organization is but a part of the problem. Right ideals as to what is worth while in living must also be developed. Among these ideals must be included those of normal stand- ards of living, and of the value of material welfare as com- pared with recreation, education, religion or social life. Wrong ideals as to rural living are more apt to destroy a community than are wrong ideas as to the production of live stock. As yet this truth is but little recognized and a sound country life cannot be established until such time as rural communities have ideals as to their own social welfare and are willing to strive for the achievement of these ideals. Having outlined what appear to be essentials in an ideal rural community, a definition of "rural sociology" is next in order. In harmony with the statement of the rural problem such a definition may be formulated as follows: "Rural sociology is the study of the forces and conditions of rural life as a basis for constructive action in developing and main- taining a scientifically efficient civilization in the country." This study is primarily in the realm of applied sociology be- cause its principal intent is not so much for the purpose of discovering new principles of social coordination as it is to understand conditions for the purpose of applying principles of sociology, already discovered, to their maintenance or improvement. But in the present state of development of social theory it is not at all improbable that the study of rural life will ultimately contribute much of real value to the knowledge of the laws of human society. Indeed, it is the judgment of some of our leading sociologists that the next few decades will produce some of the richest contributions to social theory from the study of the phenomena of rural and village social life. But it should be kept in mind that the prac- tical or applied point of view is maintained by those entering into this field at the present time. The scope of the field should be kept in mind by the student of rural problems. At the first meeting of the American Farm Management Association the leaders in thought pertaining to 3 l6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY rural economics and social problems formulated a platform for determining the scope and limitations of the different studies related to this field. Since this platform represents the careful judgment of representatives of the different groups of workers concerned, a restatement of their conclusions af- fords the best guide for further study. According to this committee the rural problem is divided into four general as- pects, as follows: 1. The technical aspect, including "farm practice" and "agri- cultural science." This includes the discovery of new truths about the laws of nature and the application of these same truths to the production of plants and animals. 2. The business aspect, including "farm administration" or "farm management." This phase of the subject matter has to do with the adjustment of land, labor and capital to one another in such a manner as to produce the largest profits per production unit. 3. The industrial aspect, or "agricultural economics." This aspect has to do with the relation of the farmer to the other elements of the industrial system. Land tenure, means of transportation, methods of marketing, systems of taxation, credit institutions and protective and stimu- lative legislation. 4- The coipmunity aspect, or "rural sociology." This has to do with the question "How can the people who farm best utilize their industrial and social environment 4n the development of personal character, best cooperate for their common welfare, and so best maintain permanent institutions which are to minister to the continued im- provement of the common or community life? How best organize the personal and community resources of the rural people for the purpose of contributing most fully to national welfare?"^ •American Farm Management Association, Report of First Meet- ing, Ames, Iowa, July, ipio. RURAL SOaAL ORGANIZATION 17 No extended discussion of the relation of rural sociology to the general sociological field is necessary. As the student gets more deeply into the subject he soon realizes that no one phase of social science can be isolated from the others and treated as an independent unit. The problems of rural life have an intimate relation to the phenomena of the city and one cannot fully understand either without an intimate ac* quaintance with the other. The separation of the subject from general sociology is justified on grounds of convenience rather than because of any marked difference in the phenomena to be studied. The principal difference between the two phases of the subject lie in the fact that differences in economic activity and in social aggregation cause, in social reactions and ideals, differences which deserve separate consideration. The funda- mental principles of social theory, however, may be arrived at through the study of rural organization in the same way as through the study of urban organization. The types of or- ganization resulting from a difference in environment may be different in certain marked characteristics which in themselves justify the study of rural life as a contribution to general social theory. The student of any phase of social life should have very definitely in mind certain fundamental social concepts which are the tools with which he works in pursuing the process of social analysis. The discussion of these preliminaries in social theory are necessary because in the analysis of conditions in rural life one must pass judgment upon those conditions in terms of their relationship to human welfare. Unless the student has some acquaintance with these principles, the study of community life is apt to become a poorly organized collec- tion of more or less interesting facts about human beings in- stead of a body of knowledge leading to intelligent, constructive human action. One of the most important of these is the concept of a community. Considerable evidence exists that the failure to understand fully what is meant by this term has already led to certain unwise social policies in the attempt to readjust i8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY social relations in rural life. Problems are constantly pre- senting themselves concerning where the centralized school house or the community church should be located; and in a number of cases that have come under the observation of tb« writer, failure to understand what the normal physical and psychical center of a community is has led to location of the • Chart I Typical Distribution of Interest Centers in Average Community 6 Cht/rcM O School O Privar* busintsi. '+ Commereio/izea recrtat&r community headquarters at such a point as to handicap com- munity progress for years to come. If an analysis is made of any normal aggregation ot population it will be found that there are certain interests which are permanent in their nature, such as the educational interest, centered in the school build- ing ; the religious interest, centered in the church ; the political interest, nominally centered in the polling place but often, at least in the past, centered in a saloon or a pool room; tht RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 19 economic interest, which may have one or several physical centers depending on the type of products to be bought or sold ; and the distinctly social interest which is often to be found cen- tered on the streets of the village or, it may be, circling about a church or a school. Chart No. i on p. 18, will illustrate graphi- cally the situation as it exists at present in most communities which have grown on an interest basis instead of a community basis. Chart II Interests Centralized, Social Bonds Strengthened Bi Parish houst Q Church a School O Cooperatin tusiness It should be noted that not only are the centers of these various interests scattered over a wide territory without par- ticular reference to one another, but that the boundaries are also placed without reference to conscious community organi- zation. In fact, the situation presents in any given aggregation a number of communities made up of different people and held together by but one or two rather weak social ties. It is found also that often consciousness of a political boundary, such as a township line, when taken into consideration in the organization of an educational community or a farmer's or- ganization, acts as a handicap to efficient social organization. 20 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Community life would be made much stronger and more unified if the centers of all the interests could be brought together at one common headquarters and the boundaries of each interest made, in so far as possible, coterminous. This ideal is typified in Chart II on p. 19. Many interests could not be so bounded but the ideal should be maintained and the effort should be made so to understand rural life that the natural interest centers could be determined and reorganization proceed in harmony with this principle of one center and coterminous boundaries for all community interests. Considerable has been made of the idea that the rural com- munity is a matter of attitude of mind rather than of physical location. It has been pointed out that there are rural com- munities in the largest cities and that urban communities may be found in the open country. These variations, however, are exceptional types and may be dismissed without serious con- sideration by the student of rural problems. The rural com- munity with which we are concerned is the one made up of farmers who are living in the open country and who, because of their occupation and mode of living, see life from a point of view differently from those engaged in other occupations. Because the village which is dependent for its existence upon an agricultural environment is becoming the community center of the entire country side and is thus being assimilated into the open country life, it is also included as an integral part of that life. There is but little question in the mind of the public as to what constitutes a rural community in this sense. It is, moreover, necessary that the student of rural problems keep in mind the distinction between social structure and social function. The sociologist begins his science with the principles laid down by the biologist and the psychologist. He finds in- herent in the make-up of man certain instinctive tendencies which are theoretically the result of thousands of years of struggle for existence and survival of the fittest. The instinc- tive tendencies, together with later habitual reactions which are learned through years of training during the childhood RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 21 period, are the groundwork upon which the science of social organization is built. Each individual is interested in the preservation of himself as well as in the continuation of the group. As individuals go about from day to day, pursuing the attainment of things represented by these interests, they find it necessary to reduce a large part of their conduct to regular processes and their relationships to one another to a well-established, uniform and continuous system. The form that this system takes constitutes the structure of society and may be illustrated by the relationships existing in a public school, where superintendent, principals, teachers and pupils have each a relationship to each other that remains fairly con- stant year after year. It may also be illustrated by the business ' organization with its president, its office and factory superin- tendents, its foreman and workmen. The human units may change but the functional relationships remain constant. The form these functional relationships take constitutes the social structure. The function of a social structure is the service it renders in meeting the needs corresponding to human interests. For example, the school meets the need of formal preparation of young people for later activity in society, or the church affords a means of public worship. Another concept of importance is that certain forces are operating to bring about changes in social relationships. In- crease in population, changes in methods of production, changes in t)rpe of population or changes in political institu- tions, are examples of forces that lead to new social demands and to necessity for social readjustment. But while certain forces are constantly bringing about changes in needs, the institutions framed in one generation tend to crystallize and to continue into the next generation. Consequently there is a constant tendency for institutions or for social structure to get out of harmony with social needs. In a dynamic society such as exists in America there is constant need for the overhauling of institutions to see that they are kept in harmony with changing social needs. As the discus- 22 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY sion proceeds, eflfort will be made to evaluate rural institu- tions in the light of present needs and to suggest what changes are necessary to bring the two again into harmony. There appears to be in some quarters a tendency to consider rural improvement as synonymous with greater social activity. The belief is accepted that since there is "nothing going on" in the country, social life is at a low ebb. In order to avoid error in this respect the student of the problem should keep in mind the fact that socialization, in the sense of increasing the social demands on the time of each individual in the com- munity may not be at all in the direction of social progress. Indeed, too much socialization in this sense may be dissipation of energy, an undue tax upon the nervous system, and the introduction of those very conditions in the open country from which, as compared with the city, it has been fortunate in being free. True progress doubtless means movement in the direction of the attainment of the ideals laid down above but it does not include the attempt to crowd some social or recrea- tional life into every waking moment of the farmer nor to destroy some of the characteristics of living in the open coun- try for which that type of life has been the exponent. In attempting an analysis of rural life in the United States two further points should be kept in mind. The first is that conditions in America, with the exception of certain especially unfavorable areas, are not, as compared with rural regions in many other parts of the world, bad. Probably no part of rural America could be said to equal conditions in India, where millions of people are said never to know what it is to have hunger satisfied ; nor in parts of China, where through super- stitious influences, millions more are almost on the verge of starvation and where the struggle for existence is such that respect for property and even for life is low. European peas- ants are said to be able to teach American farmers many things in rural organization. But their institutions have grown out of a necessity never felt by Americans and today on the material side of life their existence cannot be compared to American conditions. We do not as yet have the conditions RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 23 in America which have occasioned the long Parliamentary in- vestigations of land and housing problems in England ; nor do we have the problems facing the rural populations of parts of Russia. The American problem is rather one of comparative differences between the best in American rural life and the best in American urban life; or the worst in the two environ- ments ; and the eflfort here is, on the one hand, one of bringing the rural population up to the standards accepted in the best of any of American social life, and, on the other hand, one of so understanding tendencies in rural life that we may avoid the evils that have come in other countries where failure to understand social tendencies has resulted in a low standard of living. The other point to be considered is that in a country so varied in its rural conditions as the United States it is prac- tically impossible to make a social analysis that will be ap- plicable to the entire area. The country differs from the city in this respect, since if one understands the sociology of one large urban center he may find the same conditions duplicating themselves in most other large cities. The same problems of congestion, housing, race segregation, wealth distribution, and of political control appear. This is not so in the country. The phenomena of the irrigated sections in the Northwest are not the same as of the cotton belt in the South. Neither are the social conditions of the great diversified farming belt of the Central Valley the same as those of the wheat-growing sections of the Dakotas or of the Pacific Northwest. Areas where transportation facilities are good differ from those wheve railway transportation is difficult to provide. Thus, for the present at least, the development of rural sociology is dependent upon careful intensive analyses of the phenomena of each prevailing type of agriculture rather than upon gen- eralizations covering the entire area of the United States. In the following pages, the attempt will be to present pri- marily the sociology of the great central valley, known as the corn belt. The regions of the United States now devoted to the production of a single crop, such as the cotton belt of the 24 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY South or the wheat areas of the West and North, will probably in the course of time be compelled, through the deteriorating effects of a one crop system, to adopt diversified agriculture. The irrigated sections or the swamp regions of the country will probably develop rural conditions the most ideal in Ameri- can life. These will deserve a special analysis of their own. Studies of rural life in pioneer sections or in sections which must ultimately become similar in general character to those prevailing in the central valley can be of permanent value only from the historical point of view or as a basis for profiting by the experience of the sections which have already become highly developed. The Central Valley, now devoted to diversi- fied agriculture, presents social phenomena which, so far as we know at present, are of permanent character. Conclusions as to desirable social organization for this section should have permanent value for the entire United States, with the excep- tion of those specialized regions mentioned above. The Central Valley also offers abundant opportunity for the study of the rural environment of the large city and due attention will be given in the following pages to this type of rural life. Other data dealing with certain phases of the rural problem will be presented as such material is available but such data will be incidental and intended to broaden the point of view on the general rural problem in such ways as such broadening is justified in view of the present state of development of the science. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What ideals must be considered in the solution of problems of socialization? 2. What problems of social psychology need further study as a basis for programs of socialization? 3. What conditions now cause social classes? 4. In what institutions do social interests find expression? 5. Into what two types may these institutions be divided ? 6. How do these types differ ? 7. To what extent is unregulated organization advantageous? RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 25 TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Make an analysis as to sex, age, education, occupation, wealth and conjugal condition of church members. Compare re- sults as to different churches and account for differences. 2. Make a similar analysis of lodge members. 3. Make a similar analysis of the officials of these organizations. 4. Study organizations from the point of view of basis for ad- mission. 5. Compare total organization membership with eligible popula- tion. 6. Analyze voting population, (a) as to occupation, (b) pro- portion voting. 7. Analyze population attending lecture courses, as to occupa- tion, education, membership in social organizations. 8. Classify graduates from your local high school as to whether village or country bred. Tabulate present occupations, and give reasons for differences. 9. From which group do most college students come? 10. Determine from your studies what conditions in your com- munity aid socialization and what ones prevent it. 11. What services does each organization render to its members? To the community ? 12. How may organization efficiency be improved ? REFERENCES Small, A. W., & Vincent, Geo. E. Introduction to the Study of Sociology, pp. 99-142. American Book Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. Ellwood, Charles A. Sociology in Its Psychological Aspects. D. Appleton and Co., New York. Giddings, F. H. Principles of Sociology. The Macmillan Co. Hayes, E. C. Introduction to the Study of Sociology. D. Appleton and Co., New York. Dealey, J. Q., and Ward, L. F. Text-book of Sociology. The Macmillan Co., New York. Blackmar and Gillen. Outlines of Sociology. The Macmillan Co. Hayes, A W. Rural Community Organization. University of Chicago Press. CHAPTER II THE PHYSICAL SETTING FOR RURAL LIFE No social organization can be understood without reference to the physical setting in which it is found. The various forms assumed by social relationships and the degree of advance- ment, material, mental and moral, depend in large measure upon the physical environment in which human beings carry on their activities. This is particularly true in the formation of primitive ,social organizations. As man advances in scien- tific understanding of the conditions of his existence he gradu- ally transforms these conditions to suit his own ideals of what ought to be. But nature still sets definite limits to man's control and these limits, so far as can be seen at the present time, will continue to set limits to his progress. These limita- tions or determining factors must be understood as a basis for determining in what direction man may most successfully exert an effort to control or to improve conditions, and in what ways, for the sake of the common good, he must adapt himself to these limitations. Some of the most fundamental questions of social ethics grow out of this fact of physical limitation to man's effort. In a practical way, questions must ultimately be answered as to whether people living in the less productive sections of a state or nation should be compelled, because of the limitations of their environment, to continue to suffer permanent handi- caps in their effort to secure financial resources necessary to supply them with the religious, educational, recreational or social services now enjoyed by those who live in a more favor- able environment. Within the limits of a single state or even of a single county or township may now be found social groups with poor schools, poor churches, poor homes, and a severe 26 THE PHYSICAL SETTING 27 struggle for existence simply because of difference in pro- ductivity of the soil, while other groups are enjoying good schools, good churches, and all the social and economic ad- vantages that come from control of favorable economic re- sources. These differences in human welfare have been ac- cepted as a matter of course and so far but little effort has been made to deal with them in a constructive manner. If the principles of democracy are accepted in a thorough- going way the solution of the problem of adjustment of differ- ences in economic welfare, based upon differences in relation to resources, must be worked out. Whether there exists in nature any force that tends ultimately to such equalization without social control is a question that has not as yet been fully settled. The indications are that such forces do exist but that they are delayed in their operation by economic fric- tion and that social control is necessary to facilitate their action. In the present chapter it is intended only to note some of the physical conditions that influence social life in rural communi- ties, as a basis for a more intelligent effort to control those forces in the interest of the common good. Since the forms social organization are likely to take are dependent largely upon the type of social aggregation resulting from the eco- nomic a;ctivities of the community, it will be necessary to consider the relation of physical environment to economic conditions. One of the most general relations of physical environment to rural life is that of climatic distribution. As one goes north or south from the equator the change to a colder climate de- termines the type and quantity of agricultural products that may be raised. In the torrid regions where topographical conditions insure an abundant moisture a great variety and an abundance of products are available with a minimum of ex- penditure of human effort in their production. In hot, dry areas but little can be produced and agriculture is necessarily limited to grazing ; or if agriculture is practiced, it is developed only after the introduction of extensive systems of irrigation 28 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY in limited areas. As one goes farther north or south, the variety of available food products gradually lessens, until in the extremely cold areas but few plants can be produced through great effort and under constant danger of crop fail- ure. The depressing effect of extreme heat in a moist climate has tended to delay development of a high degree of civiliza- tion, either rural or urban, in the torrid areas of the world where these conditions exist; and on the other hand, the limi- tations of the cold areas have prevented the development of a permanent agriculture productive of more than a minimum of material goods. Even in the northern areas of the United States, climatic conditions have forced agriculture to develop as a one crop industry and the great problem at the present time is to find or to develop products that will make possible diversification and a permanent agriculture. The United States, in general, falls into the great temperate zone, and is thus free from the influences of both those ex- tremes which must be reckoned with in the organization of agriculture on a world wide basis. Another limitation on agriculture is the type of soil. The agricultural colleges and experiment stations have been study- ing problems of soil for many years and have arrived at prin- ciples of control of conditions that once were real factors in prevention of agricultural development. Another influence in American agriculture has been that of altitude. Altitude has had an important influence in three ways. First, it has had influence on the direction of settle- ment. The river valleys were first chosen for settlement not only because of the fertility of the river valleys but also for their convenience to water transportation. The river valleys also afforded convenient passes through the highlands of the eastern part of the United States. The result of this influence has been to determine the type of population settling in differ- ent areas. A large part of the Central Valley has been settled by people from the New England or Middle states. The southern portion has had as its source of population those from the southern states who could conveniently migrate through THE PHYSICAL SETTING 29 the southern passes of the mountains or around the southern edges of the hills. Second, altitude has had a very large influence upon rainfall. Large parts of the section east of the Rocky Mountains would now be well watered were it not for the fact that these moun- tains cut off the rainfall from that area. The type and quality of agriculture in that area will continue indefinitely to be vitally influenced by the lack of rainfall. Altitude also in- fluences temperature, determines the time of the earli- est frosts in the autumn and the latest in the spring, thus Jimiting the type of product that can be raised in given areas. The amount and distribution of rainfall throughout the season has much to do with type of production. A study recently made of the relation of crop yields to financial crises ^ supports the theory that a close correlation exists be- tween the production of given crops and the distribution of rainfall throughout the season. It has been found that the critical period for com production is July and August; for oats. May, June and July; for hay, March, April, May and June ; for potatoes, July and August. The amount produced does not depend entirely upon the total annual rainfall in a given area but upon the relation of the time of that rainfall to particular crop needs. To this adaptation of rainfall to crop needs is in part due the exceptional adaptability of the North Central states to the production of com. In the state of Iowa, 71 per cent, of the total rainfall occurs during the crop season from April to September, inclusive. Conditions in the other com belt states are similar. This favorable condition as to rainfall, coupled with the occurrence of hot nights during the growing season, makes this area one of the most productive agricultural sections in the United States. Natural means or avenues of transportation, such as rivers, mountain passes and lakes, also exert a potent influence at least on the earlier economic development of a country. The pres- ence of these avenues encourages in a new section the produc- ■ Moore, Economic Cycles. Their Law and Cause. 30 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY tion of those things which may be traded in the older com- munities and their absence compels the pioneer to raise such things as can be marketed without too great cost or can be consumed at home. Thus, in the early history of this country the farmers west of the Allegheny mountains wanted to turn their corn into whisky because transportation of the whisky was a much simpler proposition than the transportation of the corn. Before the coming of the railways in the undeveloped regions of the Northwest and in the Central Valley, the pioneer raised things that "could walk out of the country on their own feet" and did not develop other types of agriculture until after the railways arrived. Economic conditions making slavery unprofitable in the North rendered the northern popu- lation much readier to get rid of the institution and to favor a wage system of industry. In the South, on the other hand, the need for manual labor in caring for the cotton crop led not only to the continuance of slavery but to a powerful motive for its extension, with the result that today the rural south has one of the greatest social problems presenting itself to any modern nation. In the far west the presence of the Chinese and the Japanese has been a problem in the country and is to be traced to another type of natural means of communication. These results in population types will be considered at length in the discussion of rural population. The density of population in a given area depends largely upon physical conditions. Sections of the country too dry for general farming, and lending themselves only to the system known as "dry farming," present problems of isolation not to be equaled in any other section of the country. The areas which can be cultivated under a system of diversified agricul- ture and which have medium-sized farms have less of isola- tion but have more close confinement to daily work, class conflict, and social disintegration to reckon with. Other areas, such as the reclaimed swamp or irrigated sections which are best adapted to intensive agriculture, offer one of the most ideal foundations for a wholesome rural life. In these areas population is or will be relatively dense and all the advantages THE PHYSICAL SETTING 31 of convenience of location, without the inconveniences of con- gestion will be found. The physical environment also has a relation to wealth dis- tribution and consequently to the social effects of such disf tribution. Already, in the corn belt, are to be found differences in rural wealth, which become the occasion for social stratifi- cation. In the dry farming areas, relative equality as to ownership and size of farms, together with a relatively high degree of isolation and a larger amount of leisure between cropping seasons tends to democracy of the property owning type. In the trucking or irrigated sections the small farms, represented predominantly by a property owning class, also are favorable to democracy. Moreover, in the less favored agricultural sections are areas that do not at the present time appeal to a progressive type of population and consequently we find in the same state the greatest extremes of agricultural wealth and poverty. These extremes permanently condemn, under our present system of social progress, large parts of our population to inferior systems of education, inferior schools and churches, and less contact with progressive agri- culture and rural life. This is one of the most fundamental influences of geographic conditions and it remains with the commonwealth to decide whether it shall allow these dif- ferences in economic resources to continue to differentiate the population or whether they shall approach the problem in a statesmanlike way, determined to assist as far as possible in mitigating the natural disadvantages of some of its citizens for which no one is responsible. Physical influences determining the location of cities have had an effect on rural organization. In some instances the source of raw material has been agricultural and in that case the type of agriculture has determined the location and growth of the city. In other instances sources of fuel and other ele- ments have been of prime importance. In either case there is an increasingly large area in the environment of the city that is devoted to the production of intensive crops. Truck- ing, or the development of the dairy business results from i 32 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY urban growth, and the social conditions incident to these types of industry appear. The growth of cities because of influences other than agricultural has caused a shift of agri- culture to meet the consuming demands of the urban centers. Topography and climate have much to do with social soli- darity. The isolation of many rural communities has resulted in the development of characteristics which segregate them permanently from the general social group. In the hilly sec- tions of the country, groups may be found that have ideals and modes of living radically different from those of the remainder of the country. In other areas, high land values and the institutions of private ownership of land and property inheritance are resulting in a social cleavage as marked as any to be found in foreign countries. How permanent these cleavages will be remains to be seen. The type of social life is determined in part by geographic conditions. In northern sections the games and other forms of social life develop differently from what they do in the South. Interest in types of pageantry take different forms in different sections owing to social and economic influences. In the one crop sections of the West and South abundant opportunity is afforded for extended outings in camping ex- cursions while in the general farming areas it is difficult for the family to leave the farm for more than a day at a time. Physical influences also determine to a great extent the type of character and the general standards of the people as to attitude toward law observance. They also determine to some extent the prevailing type of disease and must also be taken into consideration in dealing with mental life. Mankind can never relieve itself entirely from the limitations of the physical environment. These must be understood and so far as possible their influences must be modified to suit con- ditions deemed desirable in rural life. But where they cannot be modified the problem is one of adaptation instead of change. The attempt will be made in the following pages to note the influences of the geographic environment and to point the way to the control of that environment in the interests of rural life. THE PHYSICAL SETTING 33 While in some respects geographic influences are of perma- nent importance it must be recognized that some of the most potent changes in America have come, not as the result of natural forces but as the result of human invention. The railway has materially modified, and in some cases nullified, the influences of the river or lake. Modern steam power has done away, temporarily at least, with many of the former applica- tions of water power. Great shifts in population and in centers of agricultural production have come as the result of the construction of artificial avenues of transportation and communication. Social life on every hand shows the results of change in the course of movement of trade and of popula- tion through the development of the railway system. The student of rural sociology has as much to do with the effects of human activity as he has with the effects of the forces of nature. The economic forces are without doubt the most important factors in determining the forms that social organization will take. Before a complete understanding of the problems of social organization can be had it will be necessary to analyze the economic conditions in rural life. These will be considered in the following chapter. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Mention some of the ways in which physical environment limits and controls social organization. 2. Do communities favored by a good environment have any obligations to communities less favored? Why? 3. What forces, if any, tend to equalize economic resources in different communities? 4. What forces present such equalization? 5. How may society aid in bringing about the best physical environment for all? 6. Show how climatic conditions affect social welfare. 7. How does altitude affect social conditions? 8. How do natural avenues of communication affect social ag- gregation ? 34 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY 9. How do advancing land values affect wealth distribution? 10. Show how human invention is overcoming and modifying the limitations of the physical environment. TOPICS FOR RESEARCH r. Are land values .n your community high or low? Why? 2. How do land values affect social organization? 3. Is production adapted to physical environment? 4. What changes made by man affect the economic life of your community? The social life? 5. What is the density of population? 6. Does your physical environment affect your schools? Your churches ? In what ways ? REFERENCES Semple, E. C. American History and its Geographic Conditions. Houghton Mifflin & Co., Boston. Influences of Geographic Environment. Henry Holt & Co., New York. Adams, C. C. A Commercial Geography. D. Appleton & Co., New York. Nourse, E. G. Agricultural Economics. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. Huebner, G. G. Agricultural Commerce. D. Appleton & Co., New York. Moore, H. L. Economic Cycles: Their Law and Cause. The Macmillan Co., New York. CHAPTER III THE IMPROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL METHODS One of the most fundamental factors in the upward struggle of humanity has been that of trying to free itself of the neces- sity for manual labor. Regardless of the laudations of poetic enthusiasts concerning the dignity of the "man with the hoe" and of the intrinsic worth of labor regardless of its kind and of the inherent equality of men whether they work with their hands or with their brains, the fact remains that the convention of society that brain work is more honorable than hand work is^_well founded. The effort of men to get away from hand work and to raise themselves into the class of those who gain a living by directing the forces of nature has been the most powerful influence in bringing about the transition from hand to machine methods of production. The machine represents the triumph of the mind over the forces of nature and it is to the credit of the race that many things which formerly had to be done by hand can now be accomplished by a simple press- ing of a button which sets the forces of nature at work to do man's bidding in the way planned by the human intellect. The principle is none the less true in agriculture. The time has not been long since the older farmers looked with scorn on the young fellows who preferred riding a plow to walking behind it throughout the entire day. The older men gloried in physical strength,^ The younger ones glory in their ability to command the forces of nature. The latter ideal, being more in harmony with the tendencies of the race, has gradually triumphed, until today every effort is being made to reduce the irksomeness of farm labor to the minimum so that the surplus energy of the individual may be spent in recreation or in mental and spiritual improvement. 35 36 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY This desire to shift the labor of production to nature under control has resulted in the introduction of machine methods far beyond anything the world one hundred years ago ever dreamed possible, and has relieved the business of farming from many of its most unpleasant features. It has also radi- cally changed the nature of the farm business, until today it is primarily an intellectual occupation and there is more truth than fiction in the statement that agriculture has become "a sedentary occupation." This transition from hand to machine methods has brought into rural life conditions that are destined vitally to affect the future of the agricultural industry. A few illustrations of the change will suffice to illustrate what has taken place. At the opening of the nineteenth cen- tury agricultural methods were still practically the same as they were two thousand years ago. The first cast iron plow ever made was patented in 1797 by Charles Newbold, of New Jersey.^ Farmers were at first afraid of it for fear it would "poison the land." From that time gradual improvement was made until in 1870 the Oliver chilled steel plow appeared. Since then until the present time a great variety of plows have been devised which are adapted to every type of farming. Instead of the one walking plow, today the gang plow drawn by the modern tractor has simplified the process of breaking the ground and has made possible production on a larger scale than ever before. In 1794 the cradle was invented and was hailed as a "mar- velous invention." Today, many farmers' sons have never swung a cradle, even around stumps or in fence comers. Its place has been taken by the self-binder, with its bundle carrier, and in sections of large scale production by the combined machine which cuts the grain and threshes it at the same time. The hjryesting of com was for years one of the great prob- lems on the farm. Year after year the annual siege of several weeks of heavy hand work cutting corn and carrying it to the shock, followed by a long period of husking, sometimes in inclement weather which resulted in bleeding hands, was no 'Year Book of Agriculture, 1899, p. 315. AGRICULTURAL METHODS 37 pleasant task. The corn harvester and the shredder have come to take the place of the hand cutter and one of the hardest tasks of the farm has been lightened. Milking by hand has always been one of the tedious and unpleasant features of farm work. In recent years mechani- cal processes have been invented, which, while not yet com- pletely satisfactory, have made fair headway toward elimi- nating much of the unpleasantness of this task and promise ultimately to eliminate milking by hand. Thus not only is the labor problem simplified but the quality of the product im- proved. In household work rapid advance is being made in mechani- cal appliances, such as water supply in the kitchen, power for operating washing machines, separators, cleaning machinery, lighting and heating facilities. All these appliances tend to lighten the home tasks and to make the farm more pleasant for the women-folk. A marked change has also come about in the attitude of the farmer in respect to what he expects pf the women of the family in the amount of work. Formerly it was no uncommon sight to observe women in the fields helping with the hay or grain harvest or operating farm machinery. In the most progressive farm sections this type of work is now uncon- ventional and frowned upon. Likewise, whereas at one time it was expected of the women that they prepare meals for the threshing hands, now in many cases threshing outfits carry their own cooking appliances and prepare the meals for the employees, charging the service to threshing costs. In com- munities where cooperative manufacture is carried on, as where cooperative creameries exist, laundries are connected with the central power station and much of the rougher laun- dry work is done outside the home. Again, whereas much of the bread was baked in the home it is now purchased from village bakeries and delivered fresh to the farm home. The same is true of butter and of many other farm supplies that within the memory of even the younger farmers were prepared by the women. In thi? way, rapid 3dvance has been made to 38 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY the point where woman's work on the farm compares favor- ably with the demands upon the village or city resident. These changes in methods of production have been co- incident with the changes in the labor situation going on in the country. As social standards have changed, bringing a conventional stigma upon domestic service these improvements have taken the place of hired help in the home and on the farm. Rapid improvements in machinery have in many cases followed periods of great labor scarcity. The Civil War period and the years immediately following, when many of the younger people were migrating to the newer countries in the West, were noted for the rapid improvement of agricultural machinery. The development of factories in the cities, opening the way for female employment and the correspondingly smaller number of women in the country seeking employment have been powerful incentives for improvements in household methods both in the country and in the village. On the other hand, improvements in methods of production have forced many of the young people from the country into the more strenuous occupations of city life. The social effects of the introduction of machinery into agricufture have been very marked. In the first place, it has /. taken.away from agriculture much of the stigma once attaching to it because it was predominantly a manual labor industry. It has rapidly brought agriculture to the stage in which intel- lectual ability and mechanical art have displaced physical force, and today the man who can control and guide the forces of nature, compelling them to do his bidding, takes precedence over the man who can lift the greatest weight, husk or cut the most com, or swing the ax with the greatest skill. It places the farmer in the same class with the manufacturer and operator of urban industrial enterprises. « , Secondly, the introduction of machinery has been responsible to a large degree for the shift of population from the open country to the city. The facts and the social effects of this shift will be discussed more fully in the chapter on movements of population and need not be noted here, further than to AGRICULTURAL METHODS 39 show the effect of the introduction upon the number of agri- cultural laborers. 3, Thirdly, most writers on the subject of the effect of intro- duction of machinery upon the number of laborers arrive at the conclusion that the number of laborers has been reduced thereby. Undoubtedly the economies resulting from such introduction have had their effect upon the total amount of labor required for a given amount of production. The records of the census indicate, however, that this influence has tended to stay a movement toward increase in the number of agri- cultural laborers rather than to prevent the absolute increase thereof. The following table shows the tendency in increase in this type of labor as compared with other groups : Per cent Increase in Persons Engaged in Gainful Occupations Number Engaged Each Decennial Periodi 1920 I910 1900 1890 1880 All occupations other than agriculture — Agricultural pur- suits other than agricul- tural labor Agricultural labor 30,661,090 6,490.530 4,462,628 25.599.4" 6,479.511 6,088,414 18,691,468 5,970,889 4,410,877 14.169,735 5,561,865 3.586,583 9,678,224 4.389.999 3.323.876 Per Cent Increase or Decrease 1910-1920 1900-1910 1890-1900 1880-1890 All occupations other than agri- culture _. Agricultural pursuits other than a|;ricultural labor Agricultural labor 19-7 o. I —26.6 42.3 8.5 38.3 31.8 7.3 22.9 46.4 26.7 7-1 * Compiled from United States Census, 1920. These figures indicate that to 1910 influences were oper- ating in agri«iultyre causing a marked and steady increase in 40 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY the number of agricultural laborers. Until that time this group increased at a much more rapid rate -than did the farm operator group and almost as rapidly as those engaged in gainful occu- pations of all kinds other than agriculture. During the decade 1890-19CO this group increased more than three times as rapidly as did those -engaged in agricultural pursuits other than as farm laborers and during 1900-1910 more than four times as rapidly. During the past decade, however, while there was a slight increase in those engaged in agricultural pursuits other than as farm laborers, the latter class actually decreased nearly 27 per cent. The United States Census ofificials are inclined to attribute this remarkable change to a change in the time of taking the farm census from April to January. Doubtless the influence of the war on population shift also had much to do with the change in tendencies. The young men who were drawn from the farms and who came into contact with those from the larger centers saw something of city life. It was also discovered that, under pressure of necessity, agriculture could be carried on to meet present needs with a much smaller working population in the coun- try. The introduction of machine methods of production continued so that the need for labor was correspondingly lessened. Although wages on the farm increased rapidly, urban wages increased more rapidly, and the result has been to hasten the shift from country to city of the younger element of the population. .• The decrease in number of agricultural laborers during 1 1910- 1920 compared with the number engaged in agriculture other than farm laborers indicates that the farm units have not been materially changed and that the change is largely one of transition from hand to machine methods of production. This bears out the conclusion as to tendencies in rural and urban occupancy during preceding decades. Regardless of "back to the land" propaganda the shift of laborers from the farm will continue until labor conditions in the country are comparable to those in urban industry. The attractiveness of wtork on the farm may be praiseid by those who are not doing AGRICULTURAL METHODS 41 it, but the laborer may be depended upon to choose that form of making a living which promises him the greatest personal well-being. The crowds of unemployed in cities even when there is some demand for farm help indicates that laborers prefer industrial employment with all its uncertainties to work- ing on the farm under present conditions. When this increase is studied in connection with the fact that the average size of the rural family is constantly on the decrease and also with the fact that other influences are tending to lessen the number of children employed on the home farm, the conclusion is inevitable that the number of farm laborers other than those occupied on the home farm is constantly on the increase.* An attempt was made by the United States Census Bureau in 1910 to present data as to the number of laborers not employed on the home farm but the results were not very satisfactory. Consequently, until more accurate statistics can be presented on this point, the evidence as to present tendencies in the number of farm laborers both at home and away from the home farm must be taken as the best available. The rise in land values and the consequent necessity for more efficient equipment has tended to Umit even tenancy to 1 those with some capital. The increase in laborers will prob- ably continue to be an important factor in American agri- culture. The tenancy problem is important but the growth of a permanent proletariat in the country is by far a more im- portant problem for American agriculture. The industrial and social difficulties which have been the occasion of such wide- spread concern in urban life during the past forty years begin to loom up with increasing portent in the open country, with this difference, that as yet the farmers have difficulty in secur- ing laborers enough, both in numbers and in quality, to meet the demands of modern production. From the social point of view, a tenant is more desirable in a community than a hired hand and an owner-operator more desirable than a tenant, ^ ' U. S. Census, 1910, Occupations, p. 2a. 42 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY yet the evidence appears to indicate that the least desirable economic class is on the increase much more rapidly than either of the other two. i/. Fourth, the introduction of machinery has brought about a change in the type of labor required and consequently in &e quality of the laborers. This change in type varies with the type of agriculture. The increase in machine production of grain has created, so far as permanent laborers are concerned, a demand for men who can handle machinery successfully and has lessened the demand for the unskilled. On the other hand, the large scale production in grain producing sections has in- creased the seasonal demand for labor of every sort that can be found available to assist in harvesting the crops and has thus increased the heterogeneity of the social aggregation. The development of the dairy industry has increased the de- mand for skilled men who can handle live stock successfully, while in the trucking industry unskilled hand workers are in great demand during certain seasons of the year. In the areas of diversified farming where labor can be utilized throughout the year, the situation as to type of laborer is probably improving as time passes. The unfavorable fea- ture of the change is in the number of permanent laborers which present tendencies in land ownership necessitates. High land values tend to prfevent the transition of the farm hand into the owner group, thus creating permanent class distinctions. In the areas of specialized production the annual influx of an alien population gathered from the slums of the cities and from the ranks of the unemployed and usually unemployable class, cannot be otherwise than socially and morally dangerous to the community. It is in this type of community that the labor difficulties typical of the advent of the Industrial Work- ers of the World appear. These men have a real grievance against the industrial situation and the solution of the problem is not to attempt to repress them but to alter the industrial situation, both rural and urban, so that they too may gain a foothold on the land or in the ranks of property owners. The introduction of machinery has made possible the adjust- ' ' AGRICULTURAL METHODS 43 ment of labor so that the long hours once deemed inevitable in agriculture may be lessened. More rapid harvesting and care of the crops through the aid of machinery makes possible a greater economy in what is saved by protection from weather changes and also in giving more opportunity for leisure during the rush seasons. Both these factors will tend to make labor conditions more agreeable for all concerned. In recent years the older children on the farms are no longer expected to drop out of school in March nor to remain out of school until the middle of December as they formerly were. Machine production improvement is co-incident with changes in the rural school system, with improvement in economic condition of the rural population and with rising standards of living in the country. The improvements in household appliances have been of vital importance in solving the problem of making the open country as desirable a place to live for both men and women as is the village or the city. The country home with all modern conveniences and with the additional advantages of large open space about the house, opportunity for producing the fresh fruits and vegetables desired by the family, greater privacy, better family life, and ease of getting into touch with the ad- vantages of city life, when desired, at moderate cost, all bring the country home to the front as the really most desirable place to live. Household improvements have freed the women as well as the men from the slavery of constant work. In times past the women have had the harder part of the work in the coun- try. In addition to caring for large families, they have been responsible for the cleaning, the washing, the gardening, the care of the milk and poultry, and in times of stress for helping their husbands in the fields. In addition to this, owing to their inability to go about either at night or in the daytime, their lives were lonely and monotonous. Conditions have been im- proved and are improving so that many of their tasks have been taken from them, many of them have been lightened and their social contact has been increased. All these changes 44 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY cannot help but react favorably on the standards of rural culture. In general it may be said that improvements in agricultural production have increased the economic welfare of the farmer as well as that of the people in the cities ; that it has given the farmer domination over the natural forces with which he has to deal and has enabled him to direct his life in accordance with the dictates of reason. Improvements in methods of pro- duction must be placed alongside of improvement in means of communication as a factor in making the country a desir- able place to live in and in giving the farmer control over the conditions of his existence. If unfavorable tendencies exist, such as the increase in the number of laborers, these must be attributed to other influences than the improvement in methods of production. Such tendencies call for a wiser social control of unfavorable developments rather than the prevention of improvements in methods of production. When once rural people understand better the tendencies that need control, it may be expected that they will deal constructively with those tendencies and will conserve the mechanical advances that have been made in the interest of all who live in the open country. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. How are improvements in' methods of production related to social progress? 2. Trace the history of the plow. 3. Trace the history of the binder. 4. What improvements have been made in household equip- ment? 5. What are the social effects of the introduction of machinery ? 6. Does introduction of machinery tend to increase or decrease the number of wage earners ? 7. What is the effect of improvement of machinery on educa- tion? 8. What is the effect of machine methods of production on the farmers' social status as compared with that of the indus- trial groups? AGRICULTURAL METHODS 45 TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. What changes in methods of production have occurred within your own recollection? 2. Are changes as rapid now as formerly? 3. What bearing have these had on social change in your com- munity ? REFERENCES Yearbooks of the United States Department of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D. C. Warren, G. F. Farm Management. The Macmillan Co., New York. Coulter, John L. Cooperation Among Farmers. Sturgis and Wal- ton Co., New York. Powell, G. H. Cooperation in Agriculture. The Macmillan Co., New York. Butterfield, K. L. Chapters in Rural Progress. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago. "Marketing Farm Produce by Parcels Post and Express." Ameri- can Economic Review, Sept., 1916. "Shipping Eggs by Parcels Post." United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bui. 594. "Suggestions for Parcels Post Marketing." United States Dept. of Agriculture, Farmers' Bui. 703. CHAPTER IV MEANS OF COMMUNICATION AND RURAL WELFARE It needs no extended discussion to demonstrate that social progress in any community, rural or urban, depends in large measure upon the facilities for social contact. Where people do not get together, ignorance, bigotry, narrowness, suspicious- ness and all those qualities that go with provincialism, reign. Where untrammeled contact of mind with mind is possible, there the opposite qualities of consideration for others, intelU- gence and broadmindedness, thrive. It has long been recog- nized that poor means of communication have been one of the most serious handicaps upon the country community and that, whereas congestion is the problem of the city, isolation is the bane of country life. In recent years considerable progress has been made in removing the handicap of poor means of communication from the open country. This progress is to be found in the im- provement of roads and the introduction of the automobile; in the extension of the telephone to the open country ; and in introducing and improving rural free delivery until today it is an agency not only for bringing news to the country home but also for transporting the farmers' commodities to the market centers. The effects of road improvement are both economic and social. The economic effects, however, ultimately show their influence in social conditions so that both economic and social effects need consideration. Road improvement has moved more slowly in this country than in foreign countries for a number of reasons, among which may be mentioned : I. The excellence of American railway and water transpor- tation systems. 46 MEANS OF COMMUNICATION 47 2. The indifference and ignorance of those in charge of high' way improvement and maintenance. 3. Want of public appreciation of the value of road im* provement. 4. Popular desire for low taxes rather than public improve- ments. 5. The spoils system in American politics, which has effectu- ally prevented the adoption of any policy of public road improvement extending longer than two years. 6. The system of road maintenance depending upon tolls in some sections and upon a road work tax in others. 7. Dispersion of people over wide areas so that in proportion to the population and wealth, road improvement was financially impracticable. These reasons are gradually disappearing, and powerful agencies in favor of road improvement are now at work in American rural communities. The exhaustion of new lands, the rise in land values, the more intensive cultivation of lands already developed, are all compelling attention to the road problem and demanding that those placed in charge of the public roads shall have not only adequate training for their work but shall be given a tenure of office which shall result in continuity of policies. The control of highway improvement is gradually passing from the hands of the township trustee to the county and the state. The antiquated system of requir- ing each adult male to work two or more days on the road each year as a poll tax is giving way to a money tax and the hiring of a competent force of trained superintendents and working men to keep the roads in repair. In the newer sections the land is being brought under cultivation so that the amount of wagon traffic is sufficient to make road improvement eco- nomical. As the old reasons for delay of road improvement have tended to disappear, so the introduction of the automobile has been a most influential factor in the encouragement of the road improvement. The state highway systems of "mar- 48 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY kct" roads being developed at state expense and largely out of funds collected from automobile licenses are in reality primarily for the purpose of giving the tourist an opportunity to make long cross country runs instead of for the purpose of aiding the farmer to get his goods to market. The latter result is attained but it is an incidental one. The other incidental but none the less valuable result is that the building of a state road brings a concrete example of what a good road is into the community and thus stimulates the demand for further road improvement. Another powerful incentive to road improvement has been that of introduction of the rural free delivery. The demand for better roads as a means of improvement of this service has been a real one and is the entering wedge by means of which the national government has begun, in cooperation with the several states, a comprehensive program of road improve- ment. As is suggested above, the economics of good roads depends very much upon local conditions. In a sparsely populated community where there is little traffic and where hauls to market are extremely long, the cost of maintenance and the type of traffic all have something to do with the economics of the problem. Some general conclusions have been arrived at by the several state agencies concerned which throw light upon the question of what the advantages of road improve- ment are to a covmtry community. The cost of hauling loads over country roads varies with the type of road. It has been estimated that it costs per ton- mile: on broken stone road, dry and in good order 8.oc on broken stone road, ordinary condition 11.9c on earth roads with ruts and mud 39.0c on sandy roads, when wet 32.6c on sandy roads, when dry 64.0c It is estimated that the average cost per ton-mile for the United States is about 25c. The average haul varies from MEANS OF COMMUNICATION 49 7.3 miles for oats to 11.8 miles for cotton, the average being about 9 miles. The Interstate Commerce Commission Report for June 30, 1906, estimated that there were about 26s,ooo,cxx> tons passing annually over country roads. Doubtless the total tonnage is much greater at the present time. If cost of haul- ing could be reduced by road improvement I2j4c. per ton- mile it would mean a saving to the farmers of $300,000,000 per year. This is equivalent to the interest at 5 per cent, on a capitalization of $6,000,000,000.00. Such an income is in itself a powerful argument for the improvement of roads. Some estimates have been made as to the loss to particular states from poor roads. It is estimated that the farmers alone in the state of Illinois lose $16,000,000.00 per year from poor roads. An estimate for North Carolina is that that state loses $10,000,000.00 per year in this way. Thus local esti- mates and the results of federal investigations both point to the conclusion that the economic loss to the farmer from poor wagon roads is very great. In a study recently made by the United States Department of Agriculture it was found that the selling price of lands has increased to 2 to 3 times the total cost of road improvement. The per cent, increase in actual selling price of farms per acre in the different areas was 63-80 per cent, in Spotsylvania Co., Va. ; 68-194 per cent, in Dinwiddle Co., Va. ; 70-80 per cent, in Lee Co., Va. ; 25-100 per cent, in Wise Co., Va. ; 9-1 14 per cent, in Franklin Co., New York; 50-100 per cent, in Dallas Co., Ala.; 25-50 per cent, in Lauderdale Co., Miss.; 50-100 per cent, in Manatee Co., Florida. Road improvement has a very marked effect on land values. It was found in Indiana that the average value of land was increased $6.48. The estimate for the United States is $9.00 per acre.^ It is estimated that the cost of improvement of roads varies from $3,000.00 to $7,000.00 per mile. The main- tenance charges vary from $400.00 to $1,000.00 per mile per year. The Maryland Highway Department states that high- 'U. S. Dept. of Ag., Farmers' Bulletin, No. 505. 50 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY ways in that state cost $450.00 per year to maintain. The Minnesota State Highway Commission gives cost of main- tenance of gravel roads at $100.00 to $250.00 per mile per year. If these figures are typical for the entire country, cost of road building is evidently still an expensive proposition. Costs vary so much, with type of road, local topographical conditions, distance from sources of road building- material, and labor costs, from year to year, that valuable generalizations as to costs are impossible. All the advantages of good roads, however, are not to be found in increase in land values. The decrease in cost of haul- ing commodities to market has an effect in modifying the type of agriculture. In the newer sections of the country, where railways have not yet penetrated, it is necessary to engage principally in the production of live stock. When the railway comes, then the production of live stock as a range industry gives way to the production of crops, and live stock raising is subordinated to the position of an adjunct to a general farm- ing system. Again, when roads are improved it is possible to develop special types of agriculture, especially near the large cities, which require rapid and careful movement of crops. Many types of products cannot stand hauling for several miles over a rough road and until roads are improved extensive pro- duction of these crops is delayed. This is true of perishable products, such as berries and certain kinds of truck. In the third place, good roads make it possible for the farmer to market his produce at seasons of the year when other work is not so pressing, thus making possible the ad- justment of the use of labor and horse power. In the past the farmer was compelled to market his fall crops early in the season when roads were suitable, thus being forced to accept the lower prices contingent upon overstocking the market at that time. When roads are improved so that there is no marked difference between the condition of the roads accord- ing to seasons of the year it will be possible for the farmer to adjust his sales to the organization of his farm business as MEANS OF COMMUNICATION 51 well as to the seasons of most profitable prices for the given product. A fourth very important result is the widening of the market area and the consequent extension of the influence of compe- tition among buyers. A recent investigation of the fluctua- tions of prices of standard commodities on a given day in Ohio revealed the fact that at points in close proximity to each other farmers were receiving marked differences in prices for produce. When roads are improved so that a few miles difference in length of haul will not materially affect the cost of marketing, and when facilities are developed for keeping the farmers informed as to differences in the different mar- kets, exploitation by local dealers either because of monopoly control or because of ignorance of market prices will be much more difficult. All these economic effects ultimately reflect themselves on the social life in that they make possible a larger net income and thus make available more of those physical comforts which modern science accepts as essential to the largest and fullest civilization. If the land situation can be so adjusted that the ultimate effects of these improvements do not go to the ab- sentee landholder in the village or the city, then they presage a far better rural civilization than has yet been possible. The direct social effects of improvement in transportation facilities may be traced to the increased facilities which good roads give for assembling rural people for group life. When the farmer on a cold, disagreeable evening comes in from his work and is tempted to forego the pleasure of going to the neighborhood entertainment or social gathering at the church or the farmers' club for what seems to him the greater pleas- ure of sitting by his own fire in a warm room, one who has had similar experiences is inclined to agree with him and to look upon those who are advocating more social and recrea- tional life for the rural community as meddlesome theorists. Such denial of social pleasures is, on certain occasions, un- doubtedly the best for all concerned, and is best for all con- cerned when community social life begins to encroach upon 52 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY the home associations for which the rural' community has stood. But excessive isolation due to inconvenience in assem- bling rural people together has had the effect of narrowing the point of view, lessening ability to cooperate with neigh- bors, creating suspicion, creating dissatisfaction with rural life on the part of both young and old people and ultimately becoming one of the powerful causes of the exodus of the brightest, most energetic of our rural population to the cities. When rural people are satisfied with a minimum of social life the danger is just as great as if they are dissatisfied and try to remedy their condition as individuals by getting away from the rural environment. For the sake of the individual as well as for the community the desire for association must be stimulated as the most potent means of overcoming some of the most serious handicaps of the rural community. Good roads at least lay the foundation for this necessary socializa- tion of the open country. The introduction of good roads is also paving the way for a different attitude between rural people and those living in the villages and cities. Not many years ago the farmer looked upon the villager as "stuck up," and had little use for the folks who were always dressed up, and on the other hand the townsman looked upon the farmers as a backward class. Country people did not like to go to church in town because, as they said, when they went to the town church the people were careful not to get close to them because of the dust on their clothes resulting from the trip to town. Moreover, while town people would be insulted if they ,\yere not asked to dinner should they visit in the country, the*townspeople after a hurried handshake following services in the village would politely excuse themselves and hasten home to dinner, with- out further thought of their country neighbors. Again, in hunting time or when nuts were ripe, townspeople thought nothing of running over the farmers' fields or through the woods, hunting and gathering at will, while if the farmer should go to town and go into the grape arbor of the villager and pick grapes without asking, he would be arrested. The MEANS OF COMMUNICATION 53 deep-seated prejudice between town and country people is gradually disappearing as country people find out that towns- folk are human and kind-hearted in spite of their clothes and reserve and as townspeople find that the farmer is a man through and through in spite of his rougher clothes and the dust of the farm. SociaUzation brings understanding and friendship, and thus good roads, through making socialization possible, are among the greatest civilizers existent at the pres- ent time. Good roads make possible the improvement of the school system. The little one-room schoolhouse which served its purpose in the simple life of a pioneer community is not adapted to the demands of a complex modern life when the success of the farmer depends so much upon his understand- ing of the larger industrial environment in which he lives. The improvement of roads and the improvement of schools go hand in hand in all parts of the country. A recent investigation made by the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture in four counties of Virginia, and in one county in each of the states of New York, Alabama, Missis- sippi and Florida, showed an increase of 15 per cent, in the proportion of available children attending school. The effect on school attendance can be duplicated in the stimulus given to other institutions. Good roads make possible the larger functioning of the church. They are also bringing about a readjustment of rural institutions to rural life in the direction of centralization into larger social units and corresponding enrichment of both rural and village life. Good roads provide the means for the most perfect work- ing out of the social forces operating in the rural community. They make possible better schools, better churches, better farmers' organizations, better marketing and buying condi- tions, and in general a more highly developed social and recre- ational life. If they do not result in a higher civilization it will be because other forces are operating to nullify their good influences. Their presence will act as a powerful aid in bring- 54 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY ing about the social equilibriurti and adjustment necessary for an ideal rural civilization. But roads are not alone in this movement of opening up the avenues of social contact. The introduction of the auto- mobile into the rural community is having effects more far- reaching than can be at present fully appreciated. Some of these effects, while apparently evil, are, wrhen viewed in the • right light, to be attributed either to the influence of the machine as a novelty or to the disintegration of rural life incident to the process of adaptation of the community to a larger center. These influences must be understood, because policies of rural social reconstruction must take into consid- eration the adjustment which will make for the most economic use of the automobile. Among the social effects of the automobile may be men- tioned an immediate disintegration of rural life due to the tendency of owners of automobiles to use them at leisure times for long distance runs. In many quarters rural minis- ters have lamented the tendency on the part of their parish- ioners to spend the Sabbath in making long trips through the country instead of attending the regular church services. This disintegration is also due to the tendency of owners of ma- chines to transfer their church affiliations to the larger, more efficient village church. So far as the tendency to use the automobile for pleasure regardless of the effect of such use on local associations is con- cerned, the ultimate effects are usually negligible. Most people may be pardoned for some departure from the usual course of life when such an innovation as an automobile is first introduced. It has been observed that after the novelty of riding in the automobile has worn off it then becomes an agency for increasing local association rather than for de- creasing it. The effect of the automobile in transferring the wealthier members of the community in their social connections to a more distant center is more fundamental and permanent. For the time being, as the support of local social life in the open MEANS OF COMMUNICATION 55 country center is lost, the less able members of the community are deprived of leadership and the necessary financial support for social institutions. This results in a lowered social life for the less fortunate members of the community. As the use of the automobile becomes universal in the country, however, the present disintegrating influences will disappear and all will ultimately transfer their allegiance to the larger center. The automobile becomes a basis for social classification and <^ a tangible evidence of differences in ability to spend money. The farmer who drives up to the country church in a $3,000 machine is just as proud of his machine and is as much envied by his less fortunate brethren as is his wealthy com- panion in the city who can ride in his fancy equipage with Hveried coachmen and footmen. The man without a machine or who is too poor even to buy his children decent clothes is not attracted to a social center where the automobile brings most of the people. The automobile, together with the telephone, is solving the problem of me dical attend ance in the country. Before the advent of these improvements, in case of severe illness it was no uncommon occurrence for some member of the family to drive or ride several miles to town, there to find the physician absent, and be compelled to wait for several hours before the physician could be brought to the distant country home. In many cases, aid would come too late and the home would be plunged into the sorrows of death. This was an inevitable accompaniment of rural life. At the present time, in case of illness or accident, a call can be sent instantly to the neigh- boring village, or if necessary to some more distant place, and medical attendance may usually be obtained within half an hour of the call. This is an inestimable advantage to the country people and helps to solve one of the problems which have induced older people to move to the village in their old age. Today, the automobile makes the open country home little else than an extension of the village, the only difference being that the open country home has more space available about the house than has the village home. There is but little S6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY difference between living in the open country and living in a village community. The automobile and the telephone also act as a means of safety_aniL.protection in case of fire or of attack by tramps. A telephone call brings aid from the neighbors in a few min- utes and safety is thus increased. The moral influences of the automobile are of considerable importance. In former days, associations of young people in the open country were without chaperonage and the moral character of those associations depended very largely upon the character of the young people concerned. It is the belief of those most familiar with the former unchaperoned young life of the country that it was about as pure as the life of young people in other environments. The custom of the coun- try and the moral standards of the community dictated what the practices of young people should be both in public and private. The unprincipled boy or girl was soon eliminated from the society of those who stood for moral principles. Yet examples are all too numerous that the high moral standards were by no means uniform and that the means of transportation of the earlier day may have had something to do with the bad moral conditions that developed in certain districts. The automobile may prevent some conditions, but it has introduced others that need attention at the present time. The long distance runs by automobile parties, the roadhouses, and all the modern changes that have come with the introduc- tion of the automobile, present a phase of life to which the country has not yet adapted itself and which demands social standardization such as does not yet exist. Of course, the ultimate moral standards of our young people depend very largely upon their home training and ideals, and it may be, upon certain biological variations. But it is important that young people should not be subjected to temptations to which they are not accustomed and that elimination of immoral envi- ronments in distant centers be insisted on. The automo- bile has made the farmer a resident of the distant city so far as its influence upon his home is concerned and no one should MEANS OF COMMUNICATION 57 deny him the right to vote to control those aspects of the life of the distant city which affect the moral life of the country. Of the other means of communication, the telephone, al- ready mentioned in connection with the automobile, is perhaps the most important. In some respects, the telephone acts as a disintegrating social agency. Persons using the telephone are apt in the course of time to reduce its use to a strictly business basis. Repeated inquiries in the sections where the telephone has been used the longest reveal the fact that the telephone in the open country continues indefinitely to be a , means of social communication. It comes into the home as' a partial solution of the problem of isolation for the wife and mother and for the girls of the family. It becomes the means of distributing information as to household methods. It acts as a medium through which social affairs may be quickly and conveniently arranged, thus making possible social gath- erings without the waste of time once incident upon having to drive from place to place to get up a social group. It aids the farmer in arranging for those cooperative enterprises still existing, such as threshing, or for fixing the date for co- operative marketing or purchase of supplies. It may take from rural life some forms of social contact, but it brings to rural life others of far greater importance. The development of the rural free delivery has also had diverse effects. The coming of the daily paper and other periodical literature tends to make the home more self- sufficient than it once was and lessens the need for coming together for instruction or entertainment. In this respect it acts as a force tending to increase community isolation and family segregation. It is a substitute, but not a satisfactory one, for the personal contact existing when people gathered together for their social intercourse. On the other hand, when papers of the right kind find their way into the country home, they act as a mental stimulus, bringing the rural readers into direct daily contact with the great world movements, thus taking them from the miserable round of local provincialism into the great currents of social progress. This stimulus to S8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY the mind cannot be otherwise than helpful, as it gives content for meditation to the farmer while in the fields, helps him to form his judgments on public questions more accurately, and gradually brings him into fellowship with the greatest minds of the day. This stimulus finds its expression in added interest in his work, since he feels that he is not isolated from the world when he is in the fields, and since the best infor- mation available from the experiment stations and other agencies of scientific rural advance is brought to him, as in- vestigation proves, in one of the most effective ways. The paper gives him content for discussion in the farmers' meet- ings and aflfords a means for the education of the youth. The rural newspaper is one of the most important educational agencies of the present time. Another phase of the rural free delivery, not yet fully worked out, is that of the parcels post. Much has been writ- ten about the possibilities of the parcels post as an agency to assist the farmer in disposing of his surplus products. The results of this phase of its service has not been so marked as have others. The rural free delivery has made it possible for the farmer to buy standardized goods from distant points, thus freeing him from the domination of the middleman in the neighboring village. But it has not been entirely an evil to the village storekeeper. If anything breaks about the farmer's machinery, or if the wife needs something in her work that formerly would have required an extra trip to town to secure, a call by telephone to the storekeeper insures delivery of the goods at the door in a short time. The immediate effects of the parcels post are economic, but they are also social in that the increasing convenience of the farm home renders it more desirable to remain in the country. The development of the railway and of electric interurban services has had some effect on the rural community. In the environment of every large city is an increasingly wide area that has tended to lose its social autonomy and to become an appendage to the social and recreational life of the city. In villages far enough away from the great cities to be com- MEANS OF COMMUNICATION' 59 paratively free irom their social influences there is a tendency for the social interests of the rural people to center in them. But in the neighborhood of the cities where the village people forsake their own local associations for the attractions of the city, the country people are left with little or no local re- sources or leadership. Thus the environment of the large city becomes one of the most serious problems in the entire rural question. The interurban railway has in some respects raised rural standards and in others it has doubtless lowered them. It has doubtless, by bringing country people into contact with the greater culture of the city, raised the standards of living. It appears also that rural people have the faculty of imitat- ing the best of the life with which they come in contact instead of the worst. Thus, through contact with the larger world environment cultural standards have been gradually rising. On the other hand, while it is doubtful whether there is more immorality than formerly, it is probably certain that there is more tangible evidence of it in the increase in social disease due to contact with the centers of vice in the cities. Rural life has tended to become urbanized in the type of its vice and for the time being the results on some communities has been very serious. The rural community has a definite interest in the moral life of the urban community to which it is connected by the interurban railway. A survey of the economic and social effects of means of communication leads to the conclusion that, so far as making possible a stable and attractive rural civilization is concerned, there is no other agency more important than these. Other forces may be operating to nullify their value, but in them- selves they are of supreme importance in laying the founda- tion for socialization. With the extension of good roads, and of the use of the automobile, the telephone, and the rural free delivery we may expect a corresponding increase in general intelligence, a broadening of interests and of spirit, an increase in cooperative community activity, a better edu- cational system, an increase in love of the country as a 6o INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY place to have a home, a higher plane of religious life, and a general quickening of the sluggish movements of social life on the farm into the living stream of spirit-enriching, cultural existence which belongs to the country as much as it does to the city. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What improvements in means of communication are making possible a better social life? 2. Why has road improvement been slow in America? 3. What recent developments favorable to road improvement have taken place? 4. How do good roads affect the farmers' income? 5. What are the social effects of good roads? 6. What are the immediate effects of the introduction of the automobile ? 7. What will probably be the ultimate effect? 8. What are the effects of the telephone? 9. What are the effects of rural free delivery? 10. How has the electric railway affected rural life? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. What has been the effect of the introduction of the auto- mobile upon rural church attendance? Upon village church attendance? Compare rural church attendance as to number and area of residence before the introduction of the automobile, with that of the present. Do the same for village churches. 2. What have been the moral effects of its use? Consult physicians. 3. Compare number and types of social affairs before the intro- duction of the telephone with those now prevalent. 4. How does the appearance of homes on improved roads com- pare with those on unimproved roads? 5. Compare land values on improved roads with those on unim- proved. 6. Consult automobile dealers as to number of machines pur- chased by mortgaging property. MEANS OF COMMUNICATION 6i REFERENCES United States Department of Agriculture, Bui. No. 393. United States Department of Agriculture, Weekly News Letter, Nov. 8, 1 91 6. United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bui. No. 505. United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Public Roads, Bui., 136. CHAFER V THE LAND QUESTION AND RURAL WELFARE When, sixty or more years ago, advocates of homestead legislation in the United States sang that "Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm," there was little thought that, as age of nations goes, the time was already at hand when the United States would have her land problem in common with other nations both present and past. Then the land problem was one of getting unexploited land into private hands at little or no cost. So rapidly has the change come that now the problem is one of getting land into operator's hands at any cost. The rumblings of discontent began during the 70's of the past century when Henry George wrote his "Progress and Poverty." It was continued during the 90's with the populist movement and the demand for free coinage of silver. Changes in production of gold and the rise in prices of farm produce at a time when tenancy had not yet become a national problem quieted for a time the discontent of the farm-owning population. But the shift of farm owners to the villages and the substitution of a tenant class in the more wealthy general farming sections has brought to the front the old discontent in another form and from another group. The landowner is satisfied with the changes taking place. But the successors of the old group that during the 40's and so's clamored for free land on which to get a start comparable to that of their prede- cessors in the older sections of the country, now are demand- ing that means be devised whereby they, too, may secure a foothold on the land they operate without having to pay tribute to the descendants of those who arrived on the ground first and who now live in urban communities. The swell of discontent, underlying the present demand for rural credit ( 62 THE LAND QUESTION 63 is founded on the land question. Sooner or later the real problem will be recognized and then the state must undertake the task of controlling or solving that problem in the interest of the common good without regard to any vested interests or privilege which may have resulted from traditional influ- ences or social change. Land problems have been from time immemorial the most serious with which nations have had to deal. Even before present institutions of individual ownership of real estate and. of property inheritance were established, land ownership had much to do with economic and social relationships. When the Hebrews were on the point of crossing the Jordan to take up their abode in Palestine, a question of land ownership in relation to marriage was presented to Moses. It appears that one of the members of the tribe of Joseph had died, leaving daughters, but no sons. These daughters were contemplating marriage outside their own tribe. The leaders of the tribe foresaw the complications that would result and presented the case to Moses, thus: "If they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received : so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance.' Moses replied: "The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well. This is the thing' which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, 'Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their fathers shall they marry. So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.' " ' When, after a long period of governmental control under temporary chieftans, or "Judges," the people clamored for a * Numbers 36 : 3. " Numbers 36 : 5-7. 64 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY king, Samuel warned them: "And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. ... He will take the tenth of your sheep." * Later experiences of the Hebrew people abundantly justified the warning of the prophet that the time would come when their resources would be controlled by a ruling class and they would be compelled to give largely of their produce to those in control. Greece had her problems of land ownership in primitive times. There the tendency toward centralization of owner- ship and the gradual subjugation of the small property holder to the larger land owners was apparent. The ancient Greeks attempted to prevent these tendencies by (i) limiting the amount of land which might be held by any one individual; (2) declaring property inalienable to prevent its accumula- tion; (3) providing common repasts of which all might par- take. Aristotle laid down the general principle, as true now as it was then, that "Inequality is the source of all revolu- tions." Struggles over property finally destroyed national unity and this made possible the downfall of the nation. Rome had her centuries of experience with the problem. The requirement during the early tribal period of Roman history, that each male member of the tribe was bound to give a part of his time to service in the army and to finance his own equipment and support bore heavily on some of the smaller holders. Gradually they fell into debt to the more wealthy and lost their property. This tendency, together with the introduction of slave labor and the undue influence of the wealthy in controlling the distribution of the public lands acquired by conquest, gradually developed a small landholding group. Out of this condition developed the long series of attempts by the state to bring about relative justice in land ownership. The Licinian laws, passed 367 b.c, are typical of the long series of laws aimed at the remedying of this condition. The Gracchi tried it at a later period and their failure gave the death blow to the republic. Finally, under the • I Samuel 8. THE LAND QUESTION 65 Empire, conditions in the provinces became such that people began to move out of the empire to avoid oppression. And when the barbarians of the north invaded the country they found but a passive loyalty to the Roman nation and their conquest of the empire was rendered comparatively easy. The modem world offers abundant illustrations of the im- portance of the land problem. Italy is struggling with the latifundia of south Italy by attempts at cooperative purchase of large holdings. Great Britain has for years been wrestling with the land problem in Ireland and in England. Mexico stands as a conspicuous example of what may result from bad land legislation. Throughout the civilized world states- men are trying to solve the land problem in a way that will conserve the economic welfare of the nations and preserve that internal harmony so essential to a strong and loyal na- tional spirit. The United States has had such an abundance of land available that even yet the people do not fully realize the importance of the problem and are giving expression to the growing discontent by dealing with symptoms of trouble rather than with fundamental conditions. The modern land problem shows itself in two forms. The first has to do with the size of farms ; the other with owner- ship of land. Both these aspects are of fundamental economic importance, but for purposes of this discussion it is only necessary to note tendencies as a basis for determining what the ultimate social effects are likely to be. The table on the following page shows the changes in the size of farms for the United States and the different sections since 1850. It shows that for the United States as a whole, with the exception of the period 1880-1900, there was until 1910 a constant tendency toward a smaller-sized farm. This constant tendency was also to be found in the South Atlantic divi- sion, and also in the Middle Atlantic, part of the old North Atlantic division, and in the East South Central part of the old South Central classification. From 1900 to 1910 every division except the East and WIest North Central showed a decrease. From 1910 to 1920, however, a, reverse tendency 66 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Average Size of Farms — Acres 1920 1910 1900 1890 1880 1870 1860 1850 United States 148.2 108.5 95. 4 108.5 234.3 84.4 75.0 174.1 480.7 239.8 138.0 104.4 92.2 105.0 209.6 93.3 78.2 179.3 324.5 270.3 146.2 107.1 92.4 102.4 189.5 108.4 89.9 233.8 457.9 334.8 137 1 " j 133 134 144 324 134 98 122 157 151 313 153 104 124 241 194 336 199 108 140 353 321 367 203 New England 113 Middle Atlantic E. N. Cent 143 W.N. Cent South Atlantic 376 E. S. Cent 291 W.S. Cent 695 Pacific appears, and increases in average size of farms are to be found in all except the South Atlantic, East, West South Central, and Pacific divisions. The tendency toward an increase in size of farms is most marked in the West North Central and Mountain sections. So far as the greater part of the area of the United States is concerned, the records of the past 70 years indicate that there is no danger of the United States ever having th prob- lems of large holdings which presented themselves in Greece, Rome, or England. The fact that there is a tendency toward increase in -size of farms in the North Central part of the United States, however, is more serious than at first appears, because it is in this section that the greatest variety of agri- cultural resources is to be found and that the greatest agricultural development has taken place. The significance of the movement here must be tested by other evidence than that already presented. One of the characteristic features of land tenure in the United States as compared with other countries is that there has been large freedom of movement of real estate holdings. The American system of surveying, adopted as a method of plotting the public lands shortly after their acquisition by the Confederation through cession from the several states following the Revolution ; the relatively high degree of secur- ity of titles even though somewhat cumbersome and expensive in transfer; and the relatively high degree of freedom of THE LAND QUESTION 67 economic life from social influences, has made the size of farms fend to conform to the unit of highest economic effi- ciency. Consequently, in the South the plantation system has given way to small farm tenantry ; the fruit and truck growing sections of the East and in the environment of the large cities has tended toward small units which can be personally super- vised and cultivated intensively; the dry farming sections of the West have tended to remain large because of the need for fallow land and for farming a large acreage with a minimum of machinery equipment per acre. The Central Valley, seen from this point of view, does not show any dangerous tend- encies as yet, but merely a movement toward adjustment to modem methods of machine production. That a still further movement in this direction may be ex- pected is indicated by the results of the farm management sur- veys conducted by Professor G. F. Warren, of Cornell Uni- versity. Mr. Warren found, on tabulating the results of his studies, that neither the extremely large farm nor the one below a given acreage was most productive per unit of capital or of labor. Up to a certain point the efficiency of the farm is increased by an increase in the acreage because the larger acreage can be handled with greater economy per unit of equipment and labor. One binder can cut thirty acres a season as well as ten, and the interest, depreciation, and main- tenance charges per acre are correspondingly lessened. But after 200-400 acres is reached, then the necessity arises for the purchase of other machinery, thus introducing the same condition that renders the small acreage an uneconomical prop- osition. Moreover, farm labor without personal oversight is Ukely to, be inefficient, and considerable time will be wasted in getting from one part of the farm to another. These factors, as well as others that might be mentioned, tend to make the medium-sized farm in the general farming area the most economical, and if economic tendencies are not thwarted by other influences we may expect to find in the future an in- creasingly large number of farms of this size in the North Central states. 68 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Another reason for believing that this tendency may not even go to the extent of establishing 2004CX) acre farms as the preponderating type is the increasing difficulty of securing farm help. The disparity of wrages between town and country may account for part of this difficulty, but it does not account for all of it. The American proletariat does not have any great love for farm life because of social conditions and because of disadvantages in conditions of labor. Moreover, the introduction of machinery into agriculture necessitates a type of labor that is able to do better for itself either as a renting population or in skilled employment in the cities. These facts will probably insure in the Central Valley a size of farm that can be operated by the farm owner or tenant, with the aid of his family and occasional extra help during rush seasons. It is to be hoped for social reasons, if not for economic ones, that America may never 'have a permanent rural proletariat. A tenant system may be bad enough, but it can scarcely offer a more dangerous outlook than a wage- earning class in the country, even though from the operator's point of view a farm with a permanent hired hand is more profitable. As America is free from many of the handicaps of the European peasant in matters of land transfer, so is this coun- try free from certain traditional influences which prevent development of agriculture on other than an intensive hand cultivation basis and in a manner which cannot be otherwise than very uneconomic. England may have been unfortunate in some respects from the inclosures which have marked her agricultural history, but it is doubtful whether at the present time the large holdings of England do not offer a more prom- ising basis for efficient land reform than do the small holdings on the continent. America is happily free from the extremes to be found in these foreign countries and evidently need fear but little, for some time to come, any dangerous results from present tendencies in size of farms. Another phase of the problem of size of farms is the prob- able effect of changes in population and of pressure on means THE LAND QUESTION 69 of subsistence upon type of agriculture. The great stock ranges of the West have given way to the ranches. Wheat cultivation, which is preeminently a large scale production crop, is, as the following table shows, giving way to the culti- vation of crops which have a high food value and which will yield much larger returns per acre through more intensive cultivation. The production of live stock and of corn may ultimately give way to the production of dairy products and of fruit and garden truck. As this gradual shifting goes on from crops adapted to more extensive cultivation to those suited to intensive cultivation, we may expect a tendency toward the breaking up of even the 100 acre farms and the appearance of the twenty to forty acre plots. Land values will continue to increase, but the social danger will not be in the size of farms so much as in ownership of the land. In order to determine what the tendency as to size of farms is likely to be in the United States as a result of changes in types of production, the following table is presented. This table shows the per cent of increase or decrease in the acreage of principal farm crops and in the numbers of principal types of farm animals between two periods of agricultural history. Comparison has been made between acreages and numbers of farm animals rather than production, because these figures represent the farmer's motive rather than the results of cli- matic influences. Averages of acreage or numbers of animals for a series of years are given instead of acreages or num- bers for census years because the annual fluctuations in these items are too great for valuable comparison. The average for a given period is more likely to represent the fundamental influences to which the farmer adjusts his business. The periods chosen were from 1893 to 1897 and from 1909 to 1915. It may be open to question whether the first period chosen is typical because of the fact that it succeeds the panic con- ditions of 1893, but an inspection of the data for several years preceding and following the panic does not indicate that agricultural policies were radically modified. The following table presents the results of the study: 70 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY o I to 00 M » o w «l a< o PS to H o & a o Ph < Q g 2; u P^ 1 1 la 1^4 roO Tj- T^ t^ cyi-O ■* CD w CO fO fO Ir^ 1-1 So ■^\0 t-f CO 0\ O (O -^ M 1 CO . -^ O -^ r^ t^ to 0\\0 iJO lO W CO CO to 1 1 ' J S t^ W COOO 0\ LO M 0\ t-OtO'^Oi-twi^ \0 ir^ C^QO (N lO T^ 1 T^ O '^O CO W - t~* O\00 0^ fO O O iO\0 Tt ^* "^ lO t^ C^ M M 1 , 1 i>-cO t^ *>■ CO O^CO CO "O ro COO s £ CO SO N w rl- -^t -1^- 1^00 CO Mo. A. Exp. Station Bui., lai. p. 81. tem fastens upon a part of the population as able physically and mentally as the owner group but who are less well pre- pared and have narrower interests because conditions have handicapped them and their children. It is probable that an extensive census of the students at- tending our higher institutions of learning, even the agricul- tural colleges, would reveal the fact that a large proportion of the young men and women in attendance from the country are the children of well-to-do landowners and that the chil- dren of the tenant class do not find their way into higher edu- cation to nearly the same degree as do the children of the owners. In both the Missouri and in the Ohio studies evidence was found that the tenant is not reached by the religious influ- ences of the country community to the extent that the owner and his family is. The following table shows the results for a southwestern Ohio community. Membership in Church and Lodge Compared Types of Membership Owners Tenants Total No. Per cent. No. Per cent. No. Per cent. Total 193 52 IS 126 100. 26.9 7.8 65.3 136 30 21 8S 100. 22.1 IS-4 62. 5 329 82 36 211 100 Belonging both to chtirch and to lodge or club . . . Belonging to lodge or club but not to church Belonging to church but not to lodge or club . . . 24.9 10.9 64. S THE LAND QUESTION 95 This table shows that a comparatively small number of either tenants or owners who belong to organizations of any kind belong to lodge or club alone. Less than 25 per cent, belong both to church and lodge or club, while a total of 64.2 per cent, belong to church but do not belong to lodge or club. These percentages apply only to those who are re- ported as having affiliations with organizations of some kind or other and do not apply to the total number of persons concerning whom data were obtained. The figures show that a large proportion of owners belong to both lodge and church, and that the large proportion of those belonging to lodge but not to church is to be found among the tenants. The per- centage of those of both groups belonging to church but not to lodge is about the same. The Ohio Survey also brought out the fact that whereas 41 per cent, of farm operators in a typical country were tenants, but 22 per cent, of the farmers who were church members were tenants. The church is not reaching the tenant group. The Missouri survey gives data as to church attendance in- stead of church membership, together with other facts not included in the Ohio Survey, as follows: Relation of Land Tenure to Church and Sunday School Attendance 272 Owners 218 Pt. Ow'» 179 Tenants Church, per cent attendance Sunday School, per cent attendance Church contributions per farm per year, Church contributions per person per farm 40.7 30-S $11.62 2.90 44-4 391 $11.00 2.44 29.6 18. s $4-47 In both cases the tenant is not reached to so great a degree as is the owner. In a recent discussion of tenancy in Kansas, President Waters of the Kansas Agricultural College gives the following statement which confirms the assumption that studies already noted are typical. He says: 96 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY The results are that in Jewell County, Kansas, in a recent sur- vey, it was shown that the owners who tilled their own land made thirty-eight bushels of corn to the acre, while the tenant farms made only thirty-three; the owners made nineteen bushels of wheat, while the tenants made seventeen; the owners made thirty- three bushels of oats while the tenants made twenty-three. That is typical of every investigation made. It was shown that the owners brought back 50 per cent, of the value of the products sold from the farm while the tenants only 15 per cent.; 60 per cent, of the owners had manure-spreaders, while only 10 per cent, of the tenants had them; 70 per cent, of the owners used silos and only 10 per cent, of the tenants had them; 33 per cent, of the children of the landowners completed the course in district schools, while only 13 per cent, of the children of tenants did; 9J^ per cent, of the children of the owners attended college, while only 3 per cent, of the children of tenants attended. Two- thirds of the children of owners remained on the farm, while one-half of the tenants' children went to town; 41 per cent, of farm owners and their families attended church, while only 30 per cent, of the tenants attended; 31 per cent, of the children of landowners attended Sunday School, while only 19 per cent, of the tenants' attended; a contribution of $2.90 per individual was made to churches from farm owners' homes, while tenants contributed only $1.00 per individual." In the Ohio Survey the writer took occasion to make in- quiries as to why families did not attend church. One of the principal reasons was the lack of community interest , due to the shift from one community to another. The answer was repeatedly given that the family attended church regu- larly before coming into the new community, but that in making the change they had dropped their active church affili- ations. This was due in large part to the oversensitiveness of the people in forming new social connections and partly to the feeling of tempprariness in location. In many cases the feeling of inability to clothe themselves or their children became the effective reason for remaining away from services. The short period of tenure on the farm, which for the " Kansas City Star, Feb. 14, 1917. THE LAND QUESTION 97 United States is about four years, may have a different effect on the farm than on the community, owing to the possibility of frequent movement of tenants from farm to farm in the same community. In the survey of southwestern Ohio it was found that a large part of the movement of tenants was within the same community. It was found that, whereas the average length of tenancy on the farm was 4.49 years, the average residence in the community was 20.58 years. This fact is significant in that it indicates that the problem of socializa- tion is not so much one of assimilating new people as it is one of bringing about relationships between economic classes which will permit freedom of intercourse among all families in the community; or, better still, the elimination of the eco- nomic differences which tend toward the disintegration of social life. No data are available showing the effect of the existence of a tenant population in a given community upon the tendency to increase tenancy. The socisil consciousness of the tenant class and owners has not yet gone far enough to make this factor one of importance. It is probable that in the course of time it will happen in the country as it has in the city that potential property owners who wish to occupy their own prop- erty will seek communities which are predominantly occupied by owner-operators and that tenant communities will become almost entirely occupied by this class. American political institutions have been founded on the institution of private ownership of property and of family responsibility for material support of members of the group. To the present time American rural communities have stood for the principle of private ownership of land and against inheritance taxes, the single tax, and other forms of taxes which threaten the patrimony of the landowner. The shift from owership to tenancy, together with the system of uni- versal suffrage, may ultimately result in a large percentage of the rural population being ready to stand for a single tax on the unearned increment of land ; or more radical still, for the nationalization of real estate. The interests of the tenant 98 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY are identical with the interests of the wage earner in the city, and, unless the system of owner operation of land is preserved, it may be expected that in the course of time a large socialist vote or a vote in favor of the single tax will be polled in the rural districts. An indication of present tendencies is to be found in the stand taken recently by the Patrons of Husbandry of the State of Washington for the single tax.^" This stand is founded on the antagonism between country and city rather than on that between the real estate owner and the tenant class, but it indicates that the farming group is becoming informed as to its interests and is becoming conscious of the necessity of standing for the welfare of the people who actually live on the land. Class consciousness has not yet become openly marked as between owners and tenants in rural communities. Notices have appeared from time to time of organizations of farm tenants in Iowa and in some of the Southern States. But so far the distinctions in rural groups are based upon the lack of socialization due to transient residence in the community rather than to any feeling of social superiority on the part of the two groups. Increasing tenancy is bringing this con- sciousness, however, and the eifects of such consciousness can only be injurious to the cause of social unity in rural life. The SQcial effects of tenancy may be summarized as fol- lows: 1. A lowering standard of living as indicated by a smaller proportion of tenants compared with owners subscribing to agricultural journals and other periodicals. 2. A lower educational efficiency as shown by the smaller number of tenants and their children completing the elemen- tary schools. This lower standard of education is probably due to the handicap of frequent changes of residence and of schools and to the greater poverty of the tenant class. 3. A lowering of religious efficiency as shown by the smaller proportion of tenants belonging to church or attending church services. "Farmers' Open Forum, March, 1916. THE LAND QUESTION 99 4. A lessening of other rural organization efficiency because of the greater difficulty of organizing a transient class. » 5. A possibility of ultimately developing the social conven- tion that the open country is only fit as a place of residence for tenants and for those who are unable to support themselves in the villages or the cities on the rental of their country property. 6. Social disintegration based on class consciousness as be- tween owners and tenants. These effects are certainly serious enough to merit the pro- foundest study by those who are interested in the continued welfare of the people who actually live on the farm. The United States is not yet feeling the ultimate effects of present tendencies. Knowledge of the significance of those tendencies and an honest determination to deal firmly with them while it is yet possible may help enable this country to avoid many of the evils which are now causing such serious trouble to the foreign countries which through ignorance failed to control them. The one who suggests remedies, particularly if those rem- edies appear radical, is likely to have to bear the stigma of being a dangerous and impractical theorist. The time may not yet be ripe for such suggestions. The following methods of approach to the problem may be offered, however, for consid- eration and criticism. 1. A land tax which will give absentee owners a strong inducement to dispose of their land and invest their money in forms of wealth which do not require to so great a degree the personal attention necessary for the efficient operation of land. 2. The elimination of speculation in land by taking from the ownership of land the possibility of bringing to the owner an increase in wealth through the increase in value of land. This might be accomplished by land boards that would give the owner the right to the value of improvements only in addi- tion to the original purchase price on sale of the land. 3. A rural credit system with some amortization plan loo INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY whereby prospective owners of land could buy the land on a non-speculative basis, and which would permit persons wish- ing to invest in securities based on land the opportunity to buy land bonds instead of the land itself. This system has been introduced by the passage of the recent Federal Rural Credits Law. Private ownership of land by the operators appears to be preferable to land nationalization. The experience of cen- turies has given sanction to this institution. The experience of the centuries has also proven beyond question that absentee ownership leads to social and economic evils that threaten the foundations of social order. It is necessary that some con- structive plan be adopted whereby the time-proven institution of land ownership by the operators thereof may be indefinitely preserved. If this is not done, the tenants, combining with the socialists of the cities, may force this country to embark upon a policy of land nationalization as the only alternative solution of the problem. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Why have problems of land ownership always been impor- tant? 2. Illustrate the land problems of the ancient world. 3. Contrast land tenure in the United States with conditions in Europe. 4. What forces are preventing large holdings in America? 5. What are the tendencies in type of production in United States? 6. Give some illustrations of large holdings in America. 7. What are the social effects of large holdings? 8. What types of agricultural resources appear to be adapted to large holdings? Why? 9. Discuss tendencies in tenancy. 10. What evidence of its increase in permanency? 11. Discuss economic effects of tenancy. 12. What are the principal social effects? 13. What remedy is suggested for preventing tenancy increase? THE LAND QUESTION loi TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Make a map of your community showing residences of tenants. 2. Compare housing conditions of tenants with those of owners. Let each member of class give facts as to number of rooms in owner and in tenant houses, heating, lighting, plumbing, etc., and tabulate results. 3. Where have the farm owners gone? 4. Where did the tenants come from? 5. Study tenancy in its relation to the church, school, farmers' organization. 6. Are rents rising in your community? REFERENCES George, Henry. Progress and Poverty. Doubleday, Page & Co., New York. Pratt, E. A. Transition in Agriculture. J. Murray, London. Bennett, E. N. Problems of Village Life (England). Henry Holt and Co. Commission on Industrial Relations, "Final Report," United States Supt. of Documents, Washington, D. C. Vogt, Paul L. Rural Survey in Southwestern Ohio, Miami Uni- versity, Oxford, O. United States Bureau of Corporations, "Lumber Industry," Washington, D. C. CHAPTER VI THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME No sound rural civilization can be built that does not pro- y vide a reasonable satisfaction for the desire for material goods. Discontent and the effort which characterizes the lives of the many who are not conspicuously successful in their struggle for wealth accumulation do not arise so much out of the feel- ing that they do not have enough, as out of the feeling that they do not have as much as other people. So long as country peo- ple feel that they are handicapped in the struggle for property accumulation, just so long will they be inclined to give up the farm and move into the cities, even though that movement will involve in many respects a lower standard of living. The ques- tion of material welfare is so vital to the solution of the rural problem that it deserves extensive and very careful consid- eration. In comparing the incomes of breadwinners on farms with those in other occupations it is necessary to keep clearly in mind the different groups to be compared. Too often the tendency is to make broad and indefinite generalizations from personal observation of wages in the city, of salaries of men in industrial enterprises, or of professional men, with what is known of the incomes of farmers in some limited community. No reliable or valuable comparison can be made except on the basis of similar factors of production in the city and in the open country. In both city and country the following factors must be considered: 1. Those who are in business for themselves. 2. Salaried managers. 3. Wage earners. 103 THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME 103 In urban communities these factors are much more clearly marked than they are in the ordinary rural community. The farmer, whether he is owner or renter, is in business for him- self and is as truly an enterpriser as is the owner or operator of a manufacturing plant, a railroad, a bank, or a mercantile establishment. But owing to the size of the farm business the rural enterpriser in most cases contributes not only the enterpriser's function but also supplies the management, most of the labor, the equipment, and the land. For this reason it is difficult to arrive at any accurate figure for comparison. The results of recent investigations of farmers' labor incomes, taken in connection with those of other studies, make possible an approximately correct basis for comparing the returns of urban and rural enterprisers and of others engaged in rural and urban industries. Investigators of the incomes of farmers have not attempted to segregate the elements to be assigned to labor, to manage- ment, or to profits. They have used the term "labor income" to include all these items. This term, however, is misleading because it takes no account of the products used by the family from the farm itself, nor of the saving resulting from the use of a house. An approximate figure for comparison of urban and rural enterprisers' incomes can be obtained only by adding to the amount given as "labor income" in the farm manage- ment reports the value of supplies and house rent as shown by other studies. The result will represent a combination of wages, profits, and wages of management. If the fact instead of the nature of the income is considered, it is possible to com- pare net returns of the farmer with returns of salaried men, wage earners and professional men in the cities. It is also possible to make some estimate of rural and urban businesses as profit producers. It would be interesting to make a comparison between the income of farmers and of those who are in the small business enterprises in villages, but so far the economics of village life has not been studied and consequently no basis for comparison is available. I04 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY The past fifty years have witnessed a marked shift in the relative amounts of urban and rural wealth. The introduction of steam power in manufacture and commerce has had a powerful tendency to centralize both population and wealth in the urban centers. The following table will show the rela- tive amount of urban and rural wealth per decade since the middle of the past century. The population of incorporated places and of rural territory for the past three census periods is also given to bring out the tendency toward a readjustment between rural and urban wealth. Urban and Rural Wealth and Population, 1850-1920 Year Urban Wealth' Rural Wealth < Urban Population (All Incorporated Places) Rural Population^ 000 Omitted Per cent. 000 Omitted Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 1850 1860 1870 $3,169,437 8,179,123 21,123,661 31,461,499 49,954,824 66,778,000 80,000,000 147,430,000 44 51 70 72 75 76 66. 65 $3,967,343 7,980,493 8,944,857 12,170,501 16,082,267 20,439,901 40,991,449 77,924.000 56 49 30 28 25 24 33 35 43'6 48.7 55.2 59.9 1880 35, SO? ,656 38,949,745 41,230,058 42.436.776 1890 19002 19102 19203 27,440,058 37,044,830 50,742,208 63,273.844 56.4 51.3 44.8 40.1 ' Result obtained by subtracting value of farm property from total wealth, continental United States. 2 The value of mines and quarries, 1900 and 1910, deducted from total wealth of United States, 1900 and 1910, in addition to agricultural wealth to find urban wealth. The capital invested in mines and quarries, 1910, was $3,710,356,000. The inclusion of this amount in urban wealth would not materially change the percentage of rural wealth. ' The figure given for urban wealth should not be taken as accurately comparable with the figures for urban wealth in preceding years. The United States Census does not expect to compile its estimate of wealth for a. yeai or more. The total wealth of the United States has been variously estimated by different groups. An estimate said to have been made by a statistician connected with the recent Washington .Conference on Limitation of Armaments (1921) placed the wealth of the United States at $350,000,000,000. A statement was made before the Bankers' Institute of London in June, 1920, estimating the total wealth at between 350 and 400 billion dollars ^Wortd Almanac, 1921, p. 405). The United States Government Loan Organization estimated it as 300 billion IWorli Alamanac, 1922, p. 309. Walter E. Ingalls, in a book on Wealth and Income of the Ameri- can People just issued (1922) estimates the physical property of the country as valued at $272,780,018,043. The probability is that the wealth is nearly $300,000,000,000. In Mr. Ingalls' analysis there are included several items that may be considered as common wealth, such as gold, silver, tax-exempt property, highways, canals, furniture, carriages, clothing, automobiles. These amount in his estimate to a total of $40,467,- 801,644. If to this total be added the value of mines and quarries, $6,955,468,831, we have a total of $47,423,270,475, which may be subtracted from Mr. Ingalls total of 272 billion, leaving a balance which it is believed will approximate urban wealth, or $147,430,- 758,568. This is to the value of farm property as 65 is to 35. This would indicate that the farmers have gained slightly in total share of wealth on the urban communities. The gain appears greater still when decrease in agricultural population is considered. It should be remembered, however, that a considerable proportion of absentee land- lordism represents urban wealth and that thi apparent nearly equal proportion of agri- cultural population and agricultural wealth is not real. * Fourteenth Census of the United States (Agriculture, Summary). ' )bid„ Vol. 1 (Population, 1920), p. 50, THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME 105 These figures indicate that, although the rural population has constituted the larger proportion of the total population, the bulk of the wealth until 1900 continued to be increasingly urban. Owing to the remarkable changes in the agricultural situation in the past two decades' the proportion of rural wealth has been on the increase. The urban communities, however, with 59.9 per cent, of the population, still have 65 per cent, of the wealth of the nation. Still another phase of the probiem must be considered. In 1920 part-owner tenancy included nearly four billion dollars' worth of land and buildings; "full" tenancy involved twenty- four billion dollars,' or nearly 30 per cent, of the value of all land and buildings. It is not known how many of the absentee owners were farmers, but there is reason to believe that a large proportion of them lived in villages or cities. The farm income going to owners living in the larger centers must be credited to the urban income and consequently lessens the apparent total income of rural residents. Careful students of income have recently published estimates of farm incomes as compared with those of the remainder of the country. One of these placed the income from agriculture at $s,500,ooo,cxx) ; another at $7,100,000,000. This represented 17.7 per cent, of an annual income for the nation of forty and two-tenths billions.' If these estimates are correct, then the seeming equality arrived at by the method followed in the above table is very misleading. Forty and one-tenth per cent, of the population are the recipients of but 17.7 per cent, of the income of the country. So long as this condition continues there can be little hope of having relatively equal standards of living; and the marked shift in population from the open country to the- cities noted in the following chapter will continue. In recent years the United States government has been con- ducting through its various bureaus investigations as to the ' C. L. Stewart, "Preliminary Statement on the Persistent Increase of Tenant Farming," United States Department of Agriculture, Division of Land Economics, 1922. ' W. C. Mitchell and others. Income in the United States, 1921, p. 330. io6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY lahor income of the farming population- The data presented from studies already made reveal certain tendencies which are destined to have a far-reaching influence on economic and social theory both as to the relationship of man to land and as to the relationship of urban to rural population in economic welfare. The first of these studies to be considered is derived from the results of the census investigations of 1910, and is presented by Mr. Spillman, chief of the Office of Farm Man- agement of the United States Department of Agriculture.' Mr. Spillman shows that according to the census records the average size of the farm plant for the United States in 1910 was 138.1 acres, of which 75.2 acres is classed as improved. The average investment per farm was $6,444. The average amount in farm land was $4,476, in farm buildings was $995 ; in livestock, $774; and in implements and machinery, $199. The average farm income was $640. If interest on the aver- age investment is calculated at 5 per cent, it is found to be $322. Subtracting this amount from the average farm in- come leaves a labor income of $318. The labor income found by the United States Census Bureau is significant because of its close agreement with the results obtained from careful intensive surveys made by trained in- vestigators in various parts of the United States, some of the results of which are presented below. The correspondence between the two sources of information is very strong evidence as to the accuracy of both. The table on page 105 presents a summary of results secured by agents of the United States Department of Agriculture in the farm management demonstration service. The figures are based on the investigations made principally during the past two years. It should be observed that location does not appear to have any marked effect on the labor income of the farmer. Ne- braska shows a variation from minus $202 to $1448 in average incomes. Massachusetts has a variation of from $355 to " United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular 132. THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME 107 Farmers' Labor Income* State Locality 3 4 Num- Average ber of Labor Farms Income S8 »672 54 344 4S 220 54 38s 60 2S9 89 32 100 192 116 2S1 83 1,462 45 355 42 154 66 181 70 396 61 364 66 58 218 253 87 1,215 84 843 98 732 so 334 67 212 75 307 90 26s 167 346 104 493 61 191 54 499 68 804 70 331 67 311 60 138 S3 1,448 68 — 202 440 844 44 1,889 62 423 62 414 SO -IS6 64 444 61 217 45 314 46 148 45 423 59 280 80 450 124 832 92 -37 59 613 52 946 5 6 Better Farms Average ber Labor Income n Jl,369 12 944 8 8S7 13 1,528 10 1,010 8 942 13 979 IS 1,131 19 4,280 8 671 10 833 10 1,482 10 1,156 7 716 35 816 10 ■"ssi 12 692 II 916 20 900 25 1,662 13 903 13 2,057 13 1,378 13 1,428 10 1,342 ^s 2,650 16 1, 06s 10 1,398 10 622 10 813 10 1,034 10 1,009 12 1,634 10 1,137 10 674 12 1,400 10 3,S04 13 1,026 10 1,758 10 1,997 I/abor Income Plus Farm Product Used on Farm 8 Better La- bor Income Plus Farm Productg Used on Farm Conn. . Maine... , Mass. a N. h! ff Vt...'. u Del'. ! : N. Y. m Mich. Ohio.. m Ind. .' \ Iowa. K m Nebr'. « u Kans. « Minn. Mont. Wash. Ore.. Utah Cayuga Co Winchester 1 Goshen . . . f Cornwall. . J ' " ' Windham Co.... Fairfield Co Penobscot Hancock Kezmebec Franklin Hampshire Brimfield Town . Sullivan Cheshire Rutland Orange Sussex Chemung Niagara Nassau Otsego Alpena Portage Washmgton Trumbull GeauE^a Miami Pulaski Montgomery.... Greene Scott Blackhawk Madison Thurston Fillmore State of Greene Co Renville Clay Stevens New Scandia Pope Co Ottertail Missoula Walla Walla King Co Wahldakum. . . . Spokane Lane Millard Cache Ji,o87 759 63s 800 704 447 607 696 1,877 770 S69 596 811 779 473 668 1,630 1,258 1,147 749 627 722 680 761 908 606 914 1,219 746 726 553 1.863 213 I.2S9 2,204 838 I '829 259 859 632 729 563 838 69s 855 1,247 378 1,028 1,361 Ji,784 I.3S9 1,272 1,943 1.42s 1,357 1,394 1,546 4:695 1,086 1,24s 1,897 1,571 1,131 1,231 1,296 1,107 1,331 1,315 2,077 1,318 2,472 1.793 " 1,843 I.7S7 3.06s 1,48a 1,813 1,037 1,228 1,424 2,049 1,552 1,089 1,815 3,919 1.441 2.173 2,412 > Data compiled from factor sheets and other publications, Office of Farm Management United States Department of Agriculture. io8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY $1462. Most of the states, regardless of location, show an average income of between $200 and $500. The following table shows the grouping of average labor incomes. Distribution of Farm Labor Incomes Average Labor Income All Farms Reported Per cent. Better Farms' Per cent. Less than $1 210 5-3 $ I- $99 ^5S 4.0 100- 199 375 9-5 200- 299 600 15-2 300- 399 874 22.2 400- 499 471 12.0 Soo- 599 600- 699 117 30 40 8.1 700- 799 98 2-5 7 1-4 800- 899 716 18.2 73 14-7 900- 999 52 1-3 77 IS-5 1,000- 1,099 59 11.9 1,100- 1,199 35 71 1,200- 1,299 87 2. a 1,300- 1,399 44 8.9 1,400- 1,499 136 3-5 35 7.0 1,500- 1,599 13 2.6 1,600- 1,699 37 7-4 1,700- 1,799 10 2.0 1,800- 1,899 44 I.I 1,900- 1,999 10 2.0 2,000- 2,099 13 2.6 2,500- 2,999 15 3-0 3,000 or more 29 5-8 3.93 S 100.0 497 100. 1 The apparent discrepancies in distribution of labor incomes for all farms and better farms is due to differences in averages when all farms are included and when better farms only are selected. For example: when lo better farms in Spokane County, Washingfton, are considered, the average labor income is £3,504; but when the 124 farms studied in the county are taken together the average income is $832. This difference accounts for no farms appearing in the $1,000-1,099 group when all farms are considered and 59 when the better farms only are averaged, and for similar discrepancies elsewhere in the table. From the above table it will be noted that 49.4 per cent, or practically one half of the average labor incomes for the entire area fall between the limits of $200 and $500. Of the better incomes selected by the demonstrators, 49.2 per cent., or prac- THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME 109 tically one half, fall between the limits of $800 and $1200. With the exception of the $800 to $899 group, which is ap- parently due as much to insufficient statistical data as to a true distribution, the mode of the average labor income dis- tribution is under $500; and 68.2 per cent, of all the incomes are under this amount. Of the better incomes the distribution is much wider and more evenly spread. The reason for this is doubtless due to the personal factor which has not yet yielded to the equalizing influences of fluctuations in land values. It is intended in the present discussion only to show the relation of farm incomes to rural welfare. A number of indi- cations as to future conditions in American agriculture appear. The fact noted above, that average labor incomes show a marked similarity in all the localities for which data are pre- sented and which represent practically all the northern half of the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific, indicates that some equalizing agency is at work. This equalizing agency must be the tendency for changes in income-producing power to reflect themselves in changes in land values. Labor incomes tend through the work of economic law to a level, and the variations in productivity in the different sections will be found in the differences of land values. Thus it is not the wage earner, the manager, nor the enterpriser who benefits by social change, but it is the owner of real estate. Close students of the problem admit that if similar studies of labor incomes should be made in twenty years from now the average labor income would not be radically different from what present investigations show. The labor income of the farmer appears to be subject to the same laws as the labor income of those in other industrial fields. In this way the interests of the farm hand, of the renter, and of the owner who has paid a speculative price for his land, are common with reference to the private ownership of real estate. If the general rate of wages rises throughout the industrial system, a rise of farmer's labor income may be expected. If such general rate falls, a similar fall in agricultural labor income no INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY will follow. The gradual elimination of the profit element that may now exist in the farmer's labor income through the transfer of that element to the landlord in higher rents may actually lower present farmer's income rates. That there is a tendency for changes in gross income to find expression in changes in land values rather than in labor in- come is shown by a comparison of investigations made of farm incomes during the period 1907-1911 and reported by Mr. E. H. Thompson of the Office Farm Management.* He shows that the average labor income of 2090 farms studied in In- diana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Oregon, New Hampshire, and New York was $439. In Tompkins County, New York, 615 farms studied in 1907, eight years ago, showed an average labor income of $423. New Hampshire gave a record for 1908, from 266 farms, of $337. The fact that eight years of change in agriculture in which there has been a ten- dency toward rise in land values has not had an appreciable effect on the labor income is very strong evidence of the prin- ciple that social change reflects itself in land values rather than in labor income. Another suggestion is that the landlord may be able ulti- mately to extract a rental from the land corresponding to the margin now existing between the income of the better farmers and that of the average farmer. As farm operators become more efficient, it is possible that competition for land will give the preference to the more efficient land operators who know that for a given rental, even though higher than the average, they can make more than the average farmer. The tendency appears to be for all differences in personal efficiency or in industrial organization to reflect themselves ultimately in the value of land. Thus it is the landlord as such and not the laborer, the capitalist, nor the man who is in business for himself who benefits by changes in demand or in methods of production. This tendency toward equalization of labor incomes in all 'Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. so, p. 177. THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME in parts of the country is of vital importance in relation to the future economic welfare of the farming population. If land ownership operation should cease to be a characteristic of agriculture in the North Central division, the center of farm- ing interests in the United States and one of the richest agri- cultural sections in the world, and, if tenancy should become a fixed institution, then the farmer's income of the future would be limited to that margin above the rental rate which corresponds to the wage earner's income in the city and the surplus income would go to residents of the villages or the cities. Should tenancy continue to increase as it has in the past, there is no doubt that American agriculture is doomed to an absentee landlordism and a peasantry as bad as has de- veloped in any foreign country where lack of understanding of tendencies has permitted agriculture to deteriorate. This peasant type of agriculture is likely to appear the sooner be- cause of the relatively greater freedom of economic forces in America from the influence of social or legal institutions. On the other hand, if ownership operation can be preserved and the present policy of permitting the owner to benefit by in- creases in land values be continued, then we may witness in the future a rural population well-to-do and really in a posi- tion, through their intelligence, wealth, education, and leisure, to exert a dominating influence in American political and social life. The figures quoted in columns 4 and 6 of the table on page 105, are misleading in that they take no account of what the farm supplies toward living expenses. Another study has been made by the United States Department of Agriculture of this phase of the subject with results that may be utilized in the attempt to approximate accuracy in presenting the facts as to the farmers' income.* Studies have been made of 483 families in 10 representative agricultural districts (North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, ICansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont). These sections are representative of the sections in which farmers' income in- • Farmers' Bulletin 635, p. 5. 112 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY vestigations have been made and which are presented in this discussion. These studies showed that on the average the farm was supplying a total of $421 per family toward its support. The average for the seven northern states was $415. If this latter amount is added to the average labor incomes noted, the totals in columns 7 and 8 of the table result. In but few instances does the revised income fall below $600 per year. Of 3935 farms considered, 579 or 14.7 per cent, had labor incomes of less than $600; 2106 or 53.5 per cent, had incomes of $600 to $1,000, and 1250 or 31.8 per cent, had incomes of over $1,000. The above results afford a basis for comparison of labor incomes of farmers with other classes of the industrial system. It is impossible to compare farmers' profits with the profits of business men because, except in corporations, knowledge or information as to profits from urban business is not available. On the other hand, the farmers' labor income is made up of a combination of wages, salary, and profits. It is possible, how- ever, to compare the farmers' labor income with that of wage earners, and with that of salaried officials, and to some extent with certain of the professions. The farm does not now, and in all probability never will, offer the opportunity for the acquisition of extremely large fortunes that urban industry has offered. This difference is due to the size of the plant most economic for agriculture as compared with the centralization of control and of operation possible in industries located in the great urban centers. The farmers' business is not capable of expansion to meet a grow- ing national or world-wide demand, as is manufacturing or commercial industry. The land basis for agriculture rapidly brings the plant of increasing size to the point where personal oversight is not sufficient to yield a correspondingly large return. Consequently, persons ambitious to become million- aires through the operation of their businesses had better turn their attention to urban occupations. But before deciding to become millionaires by following an urban occupation some attention should be given to the chances THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME "3 for success. Occasional reports are made of men who are drawing from $50,000 to $100,000 per year as salary for the managing of some large industrial corporation. The papers were full of comments recently about the $500,000 payment to a prominent moving picture star for his services for one year. The fact that these incomes are matters of public notice is evidence of their rarity. The United States census for 1910 shows the distribution of a large part of the breadwinning population according to its offkial position in the industrial system. After agriculture, manufacturing includes the largest single group of employees. The distribution of those engaged in manufactures in 1910 was as follows: DiSTEiBUTioN, Breadwinners in Manufactures Number Per cent, Persons engaged in manufactures Proprietors and firm members . . . Salaried employees Wage earners 7,678,378 273,26s 790,267 6,6x3,046 100. o 3-6 10.2 86.2 This distribution for 1910 is typical for modern industry and does not change materially from decade to decade. Other industrial groups show a similar distribution of wage earners, salaried officials, and proprietors. As contrasted with the leading industrial group, the distribution of those engaged in agriculture is interesting. Of the 12,659,203 persons en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, two groups are classed as "farmers" and "farm laborers." Their relative importance is as follows: Distribution, Farmers and Farm Laborers Number Per cent. 1910 1910 1910 1910 Farmers' 6,201,261 4,041,677 5,865,003 5,975.057 60.6 39-4 49-2 51.8 Farm laborers ' It has been suggested that in the South many of those classed as "farmers" are prac- tically little else than farm laborers. Tendencies in the cotton belt, however, appear to favor the small independently operated farm, and the colored farmer vnll probably continue to rise is the scale of indcpendoice. 114 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Practically half of the agricultural group are business men while but 3.6 per cent, of the manufacturing group can claim that distinction. These figures indicate, first, that the chances of becoming a successful business man in manufacturing are very small, since there are less than 300,000 out of a popula- tion of 92,000,000 who are proprietors and firm members in manufacturing. These 273,000 proprietors represent a cap- italization of $18,428,270,000. In view of the importance of the manufacturing business it may be inferred that the chances are similarly small in other urban activities. Again, for the one who wishes to be in business for himself the farm offers by far the largest opportunity. Whereas in manufactures there are only 273,265 proprietors and firm members, in agriculture, without considering special phases of the industry such as dairying, forestry, etc., there are 5,865,000 such persons. This number is larger than the total number of persons employed in trade, in trans- portation, in domestic and personal service, or in any of the other great industrial groups classified by the United States census. In the third place, since any general movement of the rural population to urban communities in the tendency toward equalization of income would necessarily have to be into the wage-earning or salaried classes, it is important to compare the returns of the average farmer with those of both the urban wage earner and of the salaried official. It is possible from the records to make an approximate comparison of this kind. In the manufacturing industry for 1909, 792,168 salaried em- ployees received a total salary of $940,900,000, or an average of $1187 per employee; 6,639,931 wage earners received a total of $3,434,734,000, or $517 per employee. In the mining industry, 46,694 salaried employees received an average salary per employee of $1205, while 1,093,286 wage earners received an average income of $554. These groups may be taken as typical of the trend of wages in urban centers. When these averages for different types of employees in urban industries are compared with the results obtained from THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME 115 the study of farmers' labor incomes, it is apparent that the farm operator does not, on the average, compare in his returns with the average salary of the administrative employee of the industrial system. Of the farmers studied, 69.2 per cent, had incomes, including what the farm produced, of less than $1000, while the average for the salaried employee is $1100 to $1200. Unless proprietors and firm members are, on the average, more prosperous than their employees there would not be such an abiding interest in attempting to make a margin of personal profit through the employment of others in a given industry. So it may safely be assumed that whatever the profits of pro- prietors are, they are on the average greater than the average wages of the salaried employee. Thus the farmers as a group are not receiving returns for services rendered that are equal to the returns of either salaried employees or of proprietors in urban industries. On the other hand, the farm proprietor ranks somewhat higher in his average income than does the urban wage earner. As shown by the figures above, the wage earner in manufacturing industry received on the average $517. How- ever, as the farmer belongs in the group of enterprisers, his eco- nomic welfare should correspond with that of others of his type. A comparison of the labor incomes ' of the best farms studied with incomes of other groups reveals the fact that the best returns correspond on the average very closely to the salaries of the better employees in manufacturing industries. Of 477 selected farms the incomes were distributed as follows : , Distribution, Selected Farm Incomes Farm Labor Income T,™™ Per cent, $1,000-1,499 236 49.4 $1,500-1,999 127 26.6 $2,000 or more 114 24.0 'Labor income reported by farm management demonstrations pluc average amount consumed from farm. ii6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY It is apparent that about half of the best farmers secured an income falling between the limits $1000 and $1499 or in that group represented by the salaries of the better grade of em- ployees. About half of the better farmers exceeded $1500 per year. The better farms selected by the investigators con- stituted about 18 per cent, of all the farms studied. Of these, 44 farmers, less than 2 per cent, of all, made labor incomes ex- ceeding $3000. As compared with incomes of salaried professional men, the average labor income of the farmer is at the present time con- siderably higher. According to the 1910 census record there were 117,018 male clergymen in the United States; 15,668 college presidents and professors (male and female) ; and 118,442 male school teachers. There were but 929,684 men in professional service of all kinds as compared with over 10,000,000 in agriculture. The average salary of ministers for whom salaries were reported in 1916 for the United States was $668. This does not include parsonage or other perqui- sites. The average salary per pastor for ministers engaged in pastoral work only was $1,078., Since this figure includes urban as wtell as rural salaries, the rural average must be much lower. Teachers' salaries have been rising during the past few years. In 1908- 1909 the average monthly salary for male teachers was $63.39 P^r month; in 1910-1911 it was $73.86; and in 1912-1913, it was $78.29. If the average length of the school year is taken as 8 months, male teachers' salaries have risen from approximately $507 in 1908-1909 to $626 in 1912-1913. For 1917-1918 the average salary for all elemen- tary and secondary schools in the United States was $635. For dty schools it was $854 and for rural $479.' In most cases teachers do not get free house rent or board as an addi- tional compensation for their services. It is quite evident that, as compared with clergymen or teachers, the farmer is on the average much more fortunate. The conclusion, then, is that at the present time the farmei' is faring better than the great majority of breadwinners in the 'United States (Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 31, 1920, p. 15. THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME 117 cities and is better off financially than the leading groups, numerically, of professional men. The better grades of farm- ers compare favorably in their returns with salaried em- ployees; and, since .the students of labor incomes have chosen to include at least 18 per cent, of the farmers in the better grade, as large a proportion of the total number of farmers are doing well as of the industrial group, where the ratio of salaried men to wage earners, taking manufacturing as typi- cal, is as I to 16. The farm does not offer the opportunity for the acquisition of extremely large fortunes but because of the very large number of farm plants it does offer by far the largest opportunity in American life for the exercise of the enterpriser function with a high degree of assurance of a reasonable business success. Since over half of those engaged in general farming are classed as farm laborers, and since 2,636,966 of these were returned as working away from the home farm, some attention must be given to the relative returns of farm laborers as com- pared with urban laborers and with farm operators. The fol- lowing table shows average farm wages in the different sec- tions of the United States from 1899-1909 with and without board : Wage Increase 1899-1909 » Division Rate Per Month with Board Percent, Increase Rate Per Month Without Board Increase Percent. Increase 1899 1909 1899 1909 Amount Percent PerYear United States N. Atlantic ti3.90 16-60 9.36 17.36 10.97 35-19 l20.8a 20.73 13.10 25.42 16.57 3S-33 49.6 24.8 46.4 51.0 40.2 I19.97 25.44 13.35 24.7s 15.47 35-64 I27.43 33.68 20.13 33.90 21.85 47-24 17-46 8.34 6.78 8.15 6.38 11.60 37.3 32.4 SO. 7 33.3 41.3 33.5 3.7 3.3 N. Central 3.3 S. Central I United States Department of Agriculture, Buxeatt of Statistics, Bulletin 99, P- 44- The per cent, increase for the United States was 49.6 with board, and 37.3 without board. In the North Central divi- sion the per cent, increase without board was 33.3 and with bogird 46.4. ii8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY The following table shows wage changes from 1909-1919: Wage Increase, igog-igig' Division Rate per Month with Board Per cent. Increase Rate per Month without Board Per cent. Increase 1909 1919 1909 1919 United States $20.80 20.73 13.10 } 25.42 16.57 35.32 $39.82 42.18 30.54 (42.12 i 60.29 32.42 62.96 91.4 103.4 133. 1 65.6 78.2 $27.43 33.68 20.13 32.90 21.85 47.24 $56.29 63.39 44.03 (58.90 i 68.10 46.47 87.02 105.2 N. Atlantic 88.2 S. Atlantic 118. 7 N. CentraKE. Miss.) N. Central (W. Miss) 112.6 Western- 84.2 ^United States Statistical Abstract, 1920, p. 305. The increase noted in the second table above continued during the year 1920. The statistics for 1921, however, show a fall in agricultural wages below those noted for 1919. Agricultural labor has sufifered as much as other types of labor. These results should be compared with the rate of increase in land values as showto by the following table : Increase in Land Values per Acre of Land in Farms, igoo- igid' and igio-20'' Division United States New England Middle Atlantic East North Central . West North Central. South Atlantic East South Central. . West South Central. Mountain Pacific Per cent Increase 1910-1920 1900-1910 93.3 108. 1 27.7 40.5 13.4 24.5 66.5 79.6 112. 3 123.1 112.4 HO. 3 119. 8 86.7 99.4 197.4 138.6 222.4 85.5 146. I 1 Thirteenth Census of the United States, vol.'V (Agriculture, General Report and Analysis), p. 43. ' United States Census Bureau, Fourteenth Census, Agriculture Summary. It is quite evident that landowners have benefited by social changes much more than have wage earners. In the THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME 119 marked disparity between rate of wage increase and land value increase may be found the basis for some of the serious labor problems confronting fanning communities at the present time. The evidence that the individual farm operator is faring better than the city breadwinner should not make us forget that the total agricultural income is less than that for other groups. But the comparatively larger total income of urban groups, together with the economies resulting from develop- ment of large scale public utilities possible in urban centers makes possible better supported schools, churches, better house- hold conveniences, street, social and recreational activities. The income of the wealthy urban resident is subject to taxation, largely for urban improvements, and the urban resident, be he rich or poor, benefits thereby. The relative total incomes of the two groups affect relative group welfare. The following table gives the maximum possible average yearly return to farm laborers for the years 1909 and 1915 as based on the statement of average monthly salaries. Farm Wages Per Year Without Board' Division 1909 191S Per cent. Increase Rate of Increase Per Year United States North Atlantic South Atlantic North Central East of Mississippi. . West of Mississippi . South Central Western $329.16 404.16 241.56 394.80 262.20 566.88 $361.80 424.68 257-64 419.20 454.80 277.08 579-72 9-9 5-07 6.6s 7.22 6.62 S.67 2.27 1-7 .84 I. 10 1-44 1-32 -94 •37 1 United States Department of Agriculttire, Monthly Crop Report. Mar. i6. 1916. Farm hands evidently do not fare nearly so well as do tenants. Moreover, the rate of increase per year for the past six years indicates that wages have not risen as rapidly as they did during the preceding ten years. No data are available showing the rise in land values during the latter period, but it I20 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY is a matter of common observation that land has continued lo rise at a rate comparable to that of the preceding period. The nominal wages of farm laborers as compared with those engaged in urban employments also show that they are at a disadvantage. The average monthly wage, without board, for farm hands in the United States in 1909 was $27.43; or for a twelve month period it was $329.16. The average an- nual wage in the manufacturing industry, as shown in the preceding discussion, was $554. This comparison applies to wages alone and does not take into account other factors which make urban employment more attractive to the wage earner than work on the farm. Probably if the 2,000,000 or more farm hands were to receive a return more nearly com- mensurate with that of their city brethren, land values would not show such a marked rise and the labor problem would not be so serious as it now is. In the factor sheets resulting from the recent investigations no comparison is made, as a rule, between the labor incomes of farm tenants and farm owner operators. In Jackson County, Minnesota, 14 renters made an average labor income of %777, while 24 owners made an average income of $288. In Johnson County, Missouri, 272 owners made average in- comes of $314, while 179 tenants made incomes of $501.' In Iowa similar results were obtained. For the earlier period of investigations (1907-1911), 722 tenants made labor in- comes of $770 while 2090 owner farmers made labor incomes of $439- These figures do not indicate that the tenant is a better farmer than the owner but that at the present valuation of land the owner is receiving less than a commercial rate of interest on his investment, since he expects to make the usual interest rate or more through the rise in land values. The difference between the income of the tenant farmer and that of the owner farmer is to be found in the larger interest charged off on the investment in the records taken of owner-operated farms. • University of Missouri, Experiment Station Bulletin No. 121, Land Tenure. THE FARMER'S LABOR INCOME 121 When economic friction has been overcome, the margin between what the owner-operator receives and what the tenant receives will disappear. The tendency for rents to rise may be expected in the future as owners become aware of the discrepancy between their returns and those of tenant farmers. The data presented above indicate that while at the present time labor incomes of farmers compare favorably with those in urban industries, the institution of private ownership of land does not offer much hope for further increase of these incomes unless the system of owner operation can be pre- served. Laborers are evidently not benefiting by the economic changes taking place. Tenants are nominally getting the larger incomes ; but this apparent return is due to method of presentation of returns rather than to actual advantage. The uniformity of labor incomes throughout the entire area studied indicates that private ownership of land by absentee landlords who reap the benefit of such ownership, even though absent in the neighboring village, is bound to become a question of supreme importance in the future. The present status of wealth distribution is such that the farmer has a common problem with the great mass of urban residents in wanting to know to what extent the tendency toward centralization of control and ownership of wealth in the cities in the hands of a few lessens the opportunity of all, both rural and urban, to enjoy still more of material goods which present resources of the United States justify. The problem of farm incomes is not now a serious one as related to social welfare in the coun- try; but if present tendencies continue it is bound to be a serious one for those actually living in the country in the future. If one half or one third of the wealth produced on a given farm is to go to others than the operator; if farm labor is to increase because of the lack of opportimity to gain a foothold, due to high land values; then we must expect that the great Central Valley, one of the greatest agricultural sec- tions of the world so far as resources is concerned, will be doomed to bear a burden that will breed discontent ; that will drive our young men and women from the country; and will 1 122 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY bring to America problems that now confront other nations in which statesmen recognize that a good income for farmers, and that ownership-operation, are essential to national wel- fare. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What is meant by the farmer's "labor income"? 2. What is the present trend as to distribution of total wealth between rural and urban communities? 3. Why will the farmer's income continue to be apparently low ? 4. How does the farmer's income compare with that of urban business men? 5. How does it compare with that of salaried employees? Of wage earners? 6. How does it compare with that of teachers? Ministers? 7. How do farmers' incomes compare with those of farm hands ? Tenants ? 8. What element in rural population tends ultimately to get the benefit of economic change? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. How do owners' and tenants' incomes compare in your com- munity ? 2. How do farmers' incomes compare with those of village busi- ness men? REFERENCES Goldenweiser, F. A. "The Farmer's Labor Income," United States Department of Agriculture. Farmers' Bulletin 746. Warren, G. F. Farm Management. The Macmillan Co., New York. United States Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Plant In- dustry, Circular 132. Annals American Academy, Vol. 38. CHAPTER VII MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION The building of an ideal rural civilization depend; in large part upon the quality of the social aggregation. The following characteristics appear to be especially important: (i) a high degree of homogeneity; (2) a high degree of stability so far as the permanence of the social units are concerned; and (3) density. (See p. 72 above.) The first is necessary because no high degree of socialization is possible unless conditions are right for the development of the consciousness of kind. The second is necessary because a shifting population breaks up social relationships and necessitates the socially costly process of formation of new acquaintances. The absence of the third was at one time very important and is still a factor in certain sections. Constructive work in rural community-building demands as a foundation a knowledge of the forces operating toward increasing or decreasing homogeneity of rural population and those forces operating toward increasing or decreasing sta- bility and density. If the forces which have been the occasion of the markecl shift of population during the past few decades have about spent themselves, then any adjustments which may be worked out may be depended upon to be of permanent value. But if a given area is still in process of formation, then the adjustments made today must be looked upon as only of temporary value. It will be attempted in the following pages to determine to what degree and in what sections of the coun- try social aggregation has approached a high degree of per- manency and in what areas changes in population are still continuing in a highly dynamic condition. The factors affecting homogeneity are racial, national, ma- 123 1[24 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY terial, educational, religious and social. The first two of this list need no explanation. The negro population of the United States has been a factor of national interest from the begin- ning of our history as an independent commonwealth. Na- tional differences have become increasingly important with the changes in type of immigrants connected with the so-called "new immigration." The material factors include not only differences in wealth accumulation or relation to means of production but also differences in occupation. The educational interest tends to divide people on the basis of their achieve- ments in the educational system as well as on the differences in mental content resulting from the differences in courses of study pursued or the point of view on life problems result- ing from the influences under which the young people have been brought. Under social differences may be included dif- ferences in attitude toward recreation which tend toward the formation of sets or cliques. Religious differences, where marked, tend to a vital separation of rural groups in prac- tically every way except in industrial relationships, and where the consciousness of difference is most developed it aflfects even industrial activity. It is the purpose of the present chapter to present the data available as to present tendencies in rural life in each of these factors of social integration or disintegration. The first con- dition to be considered is the degree of homogeneity of rural population. No data are presented by the last United States census as to racial characteristics of rural population. Data are presented, however, as to the racial characteristics of farmers and farm laborers and it may be assumed that the facts as to these classes are fairly typical of the entire rural population. Map i shows the per cent of native white farm- ers in the respective states of the Union in 1910, showing a wide variation for the various parts of the country. In 20 of the states, principally in the central part of the United States, over 80 per cent, of the farmers are native white. The western, southern and northern parts of the country display a greater heterogeneity in this respect. In certain sec- Map I Per Cent. Farmers, Native White, 1910 Map 2 Per Cent. Farmers, Native White, 1920 126 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY tions, particularly in the northern part of the United States, where national homogeneity is very low, the degree of social activity as expressed in the development of agricultural co- operation is unusually high. This apparent inconsistency or de- parture from fundamental principles is accounted for by the fact that the foreign-born element in these sections is largely homogeneous and also has a social heritage of cooperative in- Map 3 Per Cent. Farmers, Foreign-born, 1910 terest derived from its experience in the countries from which it has originated. In the South, as is shown by suc- ceeding maps, the heterogeneity is racial rather than national, and social solidarity so far as cooperation for rural progress is concerned is much less marked. Map 3 shows the distribution of native white farmers in 1920. During the decade 1910-1920 the number of states having over 80 per cent, of t-heir farmers native white had increased from 20 to 25. Illinois had advanced into the 90-100 per cent. class, and Iowa, Arizona, Utah and Oregon into the 80-90 per cent, group. The only state showing a smaller percentage of native white farmers was Connecticut. MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 127 Map 3 shows the sections were foreign-born white popula- tion has gained a foothold. The nationality of this foreign- born element is of the type which has found a home in this country from the times of its earliest settlement and it may Map 4 Per Cent. Farmers, Foreign-born, 1920 be expected that the presence of these foreign-born elements in rural communities will continue to prove as they have in the past a real addition to rural life because of the ideals and ex- periences they have brought to America. Map 3 shows the distribution of foreign-born farmers in 1910, and Map 4 indicates similar figures for 1920. These maps, together with Maps 5 and 6, which show the areas in which negro farmers constitute an important element, indicates that the problem of homogeneity in the northern part of the United States is radically different from what it is in the South. The problem of the northern part of the United States is much simpler than it is in those areas which have inherited the negro problem. Maps 7, 8, and 9 present the data in regard to farm laborers Map s Per Cent. Farmers, Negroes or Other Color, 1910 Map 6 Per Cent. Negro Farmers, 1920 I2g MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 129 (working out). These maps show that the racial and national distribution of the laboring population working out for wages is quite similar to that of the farmers. The problem of homogeneity is also affected by the relative number of farmers and farm laborers in the different states. Map 10 gives the facts as to this proportion. In 23 of the states, located in the great general farming area, over 80 per cent, of the farmer and farm laborer (working out) group Map 7^ Per Cent. Farm Laborers (Working Out), Foreign-born, White, 1910 consists of the former. From the point of view of solid com- munity building this condition is a favorable one. In sections where the farm laborer element is larger, the problem of social organization is much more serious. The facts as to the effects of material differences in wealth accumulation have already been presented. (See Chapter V.) No data are available as to the educational, social, or religious 'Maps 7, 8, 9 and 10 are retained for it is believed they represent a more typical condition because of the time of taking the 1910 Census (April). The 1920 Census represents conditions in January. Map 8. Per Cent. Farm Laborers (Working Out), Negro, 1910 Brplaaatl on .oQ jir-_ . / a/s.i than I Map 9 Per Cent. Farm Laborers (Working Out), Native White, 1910 130 MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 131 differences of American rural communities in their effects upon social disintegration, and it is possible only to suggest that the social leader in any given community must ascertain the facts as to the influence of these agencies and endeavor to control or mitigate them. Considerable attention has been given to the problem of stability of rural population during recent years in the dis- cussions of the drift to the cities. This drift is but a part of Map 10 Per Cent. Farmers in Total Farmers and Farm Laborers, 1910 =3;p= 3 'rZTl y- i ^^rziq "^^^^ ^ ^ « ^c^^\ — \ — ^^ r— L X p .fe -Z:^^ (1 ■ ^^ ^^^ ro-Ao tr^L^rf ■ii , "^ ^^ iM~7n 1 1 a /O) -/i() V777^ £^» •r" W— the problem of movement of population. During the past four or five decades, in addition to the drift to the cities, the follow- ing types of movement have been noted: (i) the shift from one rural community to another; (2) the shift within the same rural community; (3) the shift from the open country to the villages. Each of these types of shift presents problems peculiar to itself, and it is necessary that the tendencies in each type and the causes of the shift and its effects be noted as a basis for constructive control and for determining which types present an increasing problem in rural life. 132 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY The first type to be considered is that of the drift to the cities. The shift of population from the open country to urban centers is by no means a modern phenomenon nor is it limited to America. Greece and Rome had their problems of rural depopulation and the gathering of destitute classes in the great cities. The countries of Europe that have come under the sway of the modern industrial system have viewed with grave concern the shift from the country to the cities. The population shifts of the ancient world, however, were made under conditions and were due to causes so different from those now operating that any extensive survey of those ancient movements of population would be of little practical value in giving suggestions for solutions for present day rural problems. The phenomena of the population shift in Euro- pean countries in recent years are similar to those of America and consequently a study of American conditions will throw light on the general movement toward growth of cities and rural depopulation throughout the western world. In the recent renewal of interest in agricultural economics and sociology it is sometimes forgotten that not over a century ago the prime economic and social, interests in this country were rural. The emphasis placed during the past century upon problems of commerce, manufacturing, and urban growth was largely because of the spectacular increase in those phases of industrial life rather than because of any decrease in the abso- lute importance of the rural problem. This increase is indi- cated by the following table which shows the number of cities in the United States from 1790 to 1910 which had a popula- tion of 8,000 or more. The urban population has shown a constant increase both in the number of places and in the proportion of total popula- tion living in cities. With the exception of the decade 1880- 1890 the last decade shows a larger increase in the proportion of urban population than does any preceding decade. The indications are that for the present, at least, there is no notice- able tendency toward a cessation of urban growth. Conditions are favorable for continued increase. MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 133 Proportion Population, United States, in Cities of 8,000 OR More, 1790-1920' Year Number of Places Per cent. Increase Each Decade Per cent. Total Population Per cent. Increase 1920. 19IO. 1900. 1890. 1880. 1870. i860. 1850. 1840. 1830. 1820. 1810. 1800. 1790. 924 768 547 4/15 285 226 141 85 44 26 13 II 6 6 20,3 40.6 22.9 26. 1 60.2 65.8 93-1 69.2 100. o 18,1 83.3 0,0 43-8 38.7 32.9 29.0 22.7 20.9 16,1 12.5 8.5 6.7 4-9 4.9 4.0 3-3 5-1 5-7 4.0 6.3 1-9 4.8 3.6 4,0 * United States Census, 1920, "Population," p, 43. The table on page 134 is taken from the same source but presents the figures as to the growth of places of 2,500 popula- tion or above. Until 1910 urban and rural cotrtmunities increased as a whole throughout the United States and when village population was included in rural, the rural population still predominated. However, since 1910, while the urban population has con- tinued to increase^ the rural population shows a positive decrease. From the urban point of view the problem of social adjust- ment is still a serious one. The slower rate of increase for the rural communities, when taken into consideration in connec- tion with the fact that the total rural population is still nearly as great as that of the cities, indicates a correspondingly decreasing problem of importance so far as disturbance of stability in numbers by increase is concerned. , The population problem of the open country is at present more seriously affected by decrease than by increase. Unin- corporated rural population increased 9.7 and 5.9 per cent, respectively during the decades 1890-1900 and 1900-1910 and 134 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Rural and Urban Population United States, 1880-1920 ' Year Number Per cent. Per cent. Increase Total Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural 1920 1910 1900 1890 1880 105,710,620 91,972,266 75.994.575 62,947,714 50.155.783 54,304,603 42,623,383 30,797,185 22,720,223 14.772,438 50,866,899 49,348,883 45,197.390 40,227,491 35.383.345 46.3 40.5 36.1 29.5 ^8.6 53.7 63-9 70.5 25.1 38.3 35.5 53.8 3-1 9.1 12.3 13-6 ^United States Census, 1920, "Population,'' p. 43. decreased 0.6 per cent, between 1910-1920. All rural popula- tion decreased in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Vermont, and New Hampshire between 1900-1910, but all New England, except Connecticut, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Misssouri, Kansas, and Nevada, or fifteen states, decreased. The tendency to decrease aflfccts rural social coordination in radically different ways than does population increase. Leader- |ship is depleted by the exodus of the young and middle-aged, ' churches are weakened or closed, schools must be consolidated, the organization of social and recreational life becomes more difficult. In order to get at some of the facts and causes of the de- crease in population noted in a number of the states a more intensive study has been made of this movement in the state of Ohio. These data may be taken as typical of conditions in the! Central Valley where general farming is practiced. In this section the movement towards decrease in rural popula- tion began shortly after the Civil War. In 1870 seven coun- ties reached their highest record in rural population; from 1880-1890 rural decrease began in 48, or over half, of the coun- ties in the state; during the decade 1890-1900, 18 counties began to decrease; and but 7 counties continued to increase in population until the last census was taken. Map 10 shows the distribution of the counties according to their periods of maximum open country population. No general principle appears to determine the distribution MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION ^35 of counties according to the date marking the beginning of their decrease in population. The results of the study show further that during the past 40 years there has been a constant tendency for the area of rural decrease of population to become larger. Seven counties Map II Maximum Open Country Population, Ohio Leffend Oore Covnftes tzn /ff/0 7 E3 /goo 8 nm /390 le zzz^ /aao 4S ^ /370 7 showed a decrease from 1870-1880, 55 from 1880-1890; 68 from 1890-1900; and 73 from 1900-1910. There is no evi- dence that the shift from the open country to the city has yet approached the point of equilibrium. Many theories have been advanced to account for this shift in population. Among these have been the introduction of 136 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY machinery into agriculture, and the increase in the number of farms. An attempt was made to correlate the decrease in population with increase in value of machinery but no corre- lation was apparent. With respect to the relation of popu- lation decrease to number of farms, the number of farms actually increased in 60 counties during the same period that decrease in population has been going on, so that it is impos- sible to attribute population' decrease to decrease in number of families in the open country. Some other more funda- mental cause of the shift must be found. ' There is considerable reason to believe that the loss of rural population is to be accounted for by the change in the size of the old type American farm family. An investigation of changes in proportion of population in Ohio for typical ages points strongly to this conclusion. From the records of enumeration of school children in Ohio, 1880 and 1910, a comparison was made of the percentage of increase and de- crease in the number of children 6 to 16 years of age; and of those 16 to 21 years of age. From the United States Census records tabulation was also made of the percentage of increase or decrease of males of voting age, by counties. The followng table show's the tendencies in each age group : Change in Percentage, School Children, Ohio, 1880-1910 Total countries whichde- creased Decreased Total Increased Total Counties Age Group 20 Per cent, or More 0-19 Per cent. which Increased 0-19 Per cent. 20-39 Per cent. 40 Per cent, or More 6-15 16-20 Males 21 or over. . . . 56 40 6 26 IS 30 25 6 32 48 82 9 17 26 9 16 22 14 IS 34 88 88 88 Seventy counties showed a more rapid rate of decrease or a slower rate of increase in the number of children 6-15 years of age than in those 16-20 years of age. The average rate of decrease or increase for the respective groups was as follows : MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 137 Rate of Change, Specified Ages Age Group Per cent 6-15 1.5 decrease 16-20 33-2 increase Males 21 or over 52.6 increase When the 12 counties in the state showing the largest per cent of increase in population, 1880-1910, are compared with the 12 showing absolute decrease, the results are as follows : Comparative Rate of Change, Counties Increasing and Decreasing in Population Average Per cent, change Age Group 13 Counties Showing Largest Increase 12 Counties Showing Largest Decrease 6-is 70.7 108.7 145.9 27.1 decrease 23 . 2 decrease 3 . 8 increase 16-20 Males 21 or over The evidence is that the number of children under 16 years of age is proportionately lessening in both rural and urban counties. The increase in urban population is due to immi- gration of persons over 21 years of age and the evidence does not appear to show a marked movement of persons under 21 years of age from the rural to the urban districts. These tables show that in the past 30 years there has been a marked tendency toward decrease in the number of children in families and that this tendency is the more marked in the younger group than in the group 16-20 years of age. Taking these facts in connection with the fact that the number of farms and the number of families has increased in Ohio in the same period leads to the inevitable conclusion that the abandonment of country churches, the marked decrease in rural school attendance, the labor problem and the absence of young people in the country is to be accounted for on a biological basis as much as by economic or social reasons. The rapidly rising standard of living in America is seriously affecting the size of families in the open country as well as 138 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY in the cities and if present tendencies continue it may be expected that in the next 50 or more years the great agri- cultural section of the Central Valley will show a marked change in type of population to that which has different ideas of size of family as contrasted with material pleasures. The improvement of roads and of means of transportation and communication, together with the changes that must gradually come in the type of agriculture demanding a more intensive cultivation, are gradually nullifying the effects of the shift of population from the country to the city. Moreover, the increase in land values and rise in rents is gradually forcing the removal from the country of the inefficient and is en- couraging the location upon the land of those who are better trained in agriculture and who represent a higher type of mental intelligence. Conditions are rapidly changing from the order in which the one who cannot succeed in the city returns to the country to that in which the inefficient and the economically superfluous are compelled to find a place in the ranks of the directed classes in the less skilled employments of the city. The data presented as to the rapid increase in the number of farm laborers as compared with other groups indicate that in the not far distant future the general agri- cultural sections of the United States will present a division into two predominating groups, the one composed of highly educated landow*ners, the other an unskilled or semi-skilled laboring group working under their direction. The renter class may in the course of time become of decreasing im- portance as a factor in rural life. What may result from this owner and farm laborer com- bination may be suggested from the experience of England, where absentee ownership or ownership with hired help exists. Mr. Haggard ' describes conditions there as follows : "Every- where the young men and women are leaving the villages where they were born and flocking into the towns. As has , been shown again and again, it is now common for only the \ dullard, the vicious or the wastrels to stay upon the land, 'Rural (England, 2:539. MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 139 because they are unfitted for any other life ; and it is this in- different remnant who will be the parents of the next genera- tion of rural Englishmen." During the larger part of the history of America country communities have presented the phenomenon of a marked movement of members of the older groups going into the newer undeveloped territories of the West. It has been pointed out, also, that such shift from community to com- munity has in recent years been rather in the direction of a return from the more expensive lands of Iowa, Illinois, In- diana and western Ohio into the older sections of eastern Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and even into the New Eng- land States.' The United States Census records show in a very interesting way this renewal in direction of rural population movement , taking place. A comparison of the origin of population in the several East North Central states reveals the following: Movement of PopaLATioN 1900 1910 1920 Ohio Population born in Indiana. " « Illinois.. Indiana " " " Ohio.... " " Illinois.. " " " " Missouri Illinois « " " Ohio.... « " " Indiana. " " Missouri " " Iowa.... Iowa " " " Illinois., " " " Ohio.... " " Indiana. " " Missouri Missouri " " " Ohio.... " " " Illinois.. " " " " Indiana. « " « " Iowa.... 52.045 18,969 178.344 58.487 10,600 137.161 128,155 69,211 48,096 142,234 88,146 48,079 34.012 80,966 179,342 70,519 52.575 66,794 25.753 157.119 80,527 11.595 122,391 143.188 85,161 57.948 138,310 61,851 37.852 39,664 64,616 186,691 64,237 56.893 94,662 45,337 135,070 108,662 15,004 105,008 152,246 110,645 72,989 145,040 41,238 33,°33 58,711 48,629 184,795 53,587 56,302 This table shows that, with the exception of the increase of population of Indiana origin in Illinois and a corresponding 'Ross, J. B., American Journal of Sociology, 1909. 140 INTROiDUCTION JO RURAL SOCIOLOGY increase in Missouri from Illinois, the number of persons originating in western states and moving eastward has in- creased, and, on the other hand, the number originating in the eastern states and moving westward has decreased. This movement will probably continue until there is an adjustment in land values in the older sections of the country and in the more highly developed agricultural sections of the Mississippi Valley. The following table shows the proportion of rural and urban population bom in the state of residence and in other states or in foreign countries: Comparison, Soitkce of Rttsai and Ukban Pofulation, 1910, Per Cent Origm Ohio Indiana Illinois Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Horn in State 66.4 iS-4 17.9 84.6 9.4 S-7 6SS 24-3 9.8 82.4 14.4 3-1 SI. 8 18.9 28.8 74.3 IS. 8 95 Bom in other States Foreign Orisin Missouri Iowa United States Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Bom in State 57-4 29.2 I2-S 7S-0 21.9 2.9 57-0 28.9 13-3 66.6 21.3 II. 9 57-3 19-3 22.9 74. S 17.6 7.6 Bom in other States Foreign )- With the exception of Iowa, every state considered had three-fourths or more of its rural population born in the state of residence. The rate for the United States was 74.5 per cent. In Ohio and Indiana the proportions were 84.6 and 82.4 respectively. The proportion of the city population born within the state of residence is much lower, being but little over 50 per cent, in Illinois and being less than two-thirds in the United States and, with the exception of Ohio, in the states studied. MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 141 From the point of view of social organization, the drift of population from state to state is but a part of the problem. The shift of population from community to community is of more real significance because the political institutions of the states are highly standardized and relations of individuals to one another and the formation of public pohcies are imper- sonal. On the other hand, the relations in the local community are of a highly personal nature and appear to affect the life of the people much more intimately than do the political insti- tutions. This is in fact more apparent than real, because without stable political institutions the working out of stable personal relationships in local communities would be much more difficult than it now is. But, given a stable political life, local organization is very dependent upon permanency of interest in the economic and social welfare of the community and upon intimate acquaintanceship. When a community has a shifting membership or when the leaders of the institutional life of a community are constantly changing, but little can be done toward the development of a high order of community Hfe. But few data are available as to these local shifts. During the course of the Ohio Rural Life Survey a study was made of the movement from community to community as compared with movement to different parts of the same community, with the following results : Population Shut, Three Townships, Southwestern Ohio Townsliip Number of Owners Con- sidered Average Num- ber of Years Lived in This Community Number of Tenants Con- sidered Average Num- ber of Yeara Lived in This Community Total 253 69 109 75 33-7 31.8 3S-0 3S.Q 190 36 98 56 20.6 Oxford, Butler Co.... Twin, Preble Co Jackson, Preble Co. . . 23 -3 23 -3 14.1 The average number of years in the same community shown by the tenant class indicates that as compared with an average 142 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY of 4.8 years on the same farm for cash renters and 4.5 years for share tenants, the stability of community life is much greater than that of the agricultural. The evidence is that the local shift is not of great importance so far as problems of assimilation are concerned. The greater problem is that of permanency! of cleavage between permanent groups of own- ers, tenants and farm hands in the same community. One type of shift of increasing importance to which but little attention has been given is that of the transient laborer. It is estimated that at least 1,500,000 laborers are compelled to shift from section to section with change of season in order to meet the fluctuating demand for labor in wheat harvest, fruit, lum- ber, and similar industries. Map 12 shows the distribution of the areas where the transient labor problems is most marked.' As yet there is no well-organized national policy for the care or control of this group. They come and go on the strength of advertisements or rumor. There is no control of the possi- bilities of glutting the local labor market. But little attention is given to the moral or physical welfare of these transient laborers. Some few excellent local efforts have been made, such as that at Larned, Kansas, and those in the lumber camps of the Northwest. It is in these transient groups that revolu- tionary principles find full sway. Apparently many of these transient laborers fed that society has little interest in them and the transition to an anti-social attitude is easy. The problem of shift of rural leaders will be taken up under the discussion of educational, religious, and other institutions in relation to the rural problem. In general, movements of population in rural communities show the following characteristics : 1. A decrease in tendency for rural population to move into newer sections of the western part of the country. 2. A reverse movement from the more highly developed agricultural sections of the west central states where land values are high, to the older, lower valued lands of the eastern part of the country. This is quite largely a landowner move- ' Interchurch World Movement of North America, page 104, Map 12 Areas of Migrant Labor 143 144 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY ment, a movement of families selling high priced land and buying lower priced land in older sections of the country. 3. A movement of farm families from the less favored agricultural sections of the Appalachian mountains into the better favored districts, as tenants or farm laborers. 4. A marked movement, in the environment of the larger cities, from the best developed farm lands into the cities. 5. A shift of elderly people from the open country to the villages. 6. A gradual change in type of population leaving the coun- try, from the most able to the least efficient or to those efficient ones who through poverty or through lack of opportunity turn to the city to earn a livelihood. 7. A gradual differentiation in the open country into a highly educated landlord class and a less highly educated, propertyless, laboring class. Some of these movements are not of great significance but others are full of import for the future of agricultural life in America. Knowledge of tendencies will do much to help the situation but in certain phases it appears that legislative action will be necessary to control present tendencies in the interest of the agriculture of the coming generations. Without doubt the prime cause of the shift of population which has been described is economic. A number of books have been published recently extolling the advantages of a little land and a living. Many writers have advocated that farm boys and girls could be kept on the farm by making the country more attractive from the social and recreational point of view. Yet the fact remains that the exodus has been most marked in many of the best favored agricultural sections where the possibility of a good living is the greatest. The difficulty of preventing the shift of population becomes ap- parent when the one now living in town begins to consider returning to the country. He finds that already in many sec- tions of the Central Valley there is competition on the part of tenants for the privilege of operating farms and that conse- quently rents are rising to the point where success in farming MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 145 depends upon large practical experience with agriculture in addition to a thorough theoretical training. People do not move from the city to the country, because the country is already full, except in the lack of hired help. Moreover, in large rural families not more than one of the children can hope under ordinary circumstances to remain on the home place and the others must seek employment in the cities. People leave the country either because they believe they can do better elsewhere or because there is no place in the old home community for them. As already noted, the differences in opportunities for ac- cumulating wealth have apparently been largely on the side of the urban community. As a matter of fact, the great majority of the farmers are doing better than the majority of breadwinners in the city, but the speculative chance of making a conspicuously large fortune by engaging in business enterprise in the city has attracted the energetic young men from the farm. Many of them, perhaps the majority of the rural population which has moved into the city, have found that the anticipated fortune did not materialize and when mid- dle age has come on, they have found themselves in the toils of the great industrial machine, unable to extricate themselves or to return to the open country. Yet the glitter of large fortunes still draws and will continue to draw until the masses of the people, both rural and urban, understand bet- ter what the relative opportunities are in the two environ- ments. The data presented in the chapter on farmers' incomes show that for the past twenty years there has been a definite movement toward equilibrium between the total wealth of urban and rural groups. These generalizations do not take into consideration the differenceg in wealth within the re- spective groups. These differences are such as to continue to be a source of dissatisfaction to many in both city and country, and when the general public is better informed as to them, it is probable that a very definite political movement will appear, intended to bring about what many believe will 146 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY be a higher degree of social justice in the distribution of wealth. Other causes have contributed to the shift of population from the country to the city. One of these is the greater at- tractiveness of urban occupation under present conditions. The one who must engage in manual labor, whether in the country or in the city, finds that in the city his hours of labor are more regular than in the country. Rural traditions de- mand that during the summer season the hours of labor shall be from four o'clock in the morning until eight o'clock at night. This time is not all spent in the fields but before break- fast the horses must be fed and curried and perhaps the milk- ing done and the hogs fed. After a hurried breakfast, the fajjper and his help leave for the field, there to labor until the diBer hour. Perhaps an hour and a half is taken off at this tir^kprincipally for the sake of the horses, after which a long afterSpon until six o'clock is spent in the fields and then the horses must be cared for and odd jobs done until near bedtime. On Sunday morning the farmer must get out early to attend to the stock and in the evening the chores must be again done, so there is no respite from the continual drag of hard work. In the city the workman has a definite time for be- ginning his work. He quits at a definite time and in many cases has his Saturday afternoon off and his Sundays free from regular toil. If he happens to be proprietor or office man he may not have to get to the office before eight or nine o'clock in the morning and leaves his work at four or five in the evening. These differences in the hours of employment are attractive to many young people. Again, the worker in the city has more companionship than the farmer. He is working in the factory with a group of men who have in many ways common interests with himself. This companionship is attractive to most men who have to work for wages. For men interested in professional work or in business the opportunity to wear neat clothes during business hours is no small attraction. The hardships of country life, the care of MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 147 stock, the hard manual labor which goes with much of fanning does not compare favorably with the work of the lawyer, the doctor, the teacher, the minister or the business man. Housing conditions in the country have had their influence in driving people from the farm. Home ties may be strong but they are not strong enough to attract young people who once get a taste of the conveniences of city life. The close, stove-heated rooms, the outdoor or kitchen bath, the outside toilet facilities, the old oaken bucket several yards from the house, the cold bedrooms, all serve to handicap the country in its competition for young people who are ambitious to have some of the comforts of life. These are passing handicaps but they must be given their full share of credit for the exodus of young people to the cities. Recreational life in the city has been more attractive than in the country. The commercialized amusements of the city, the variety of social stimuli to be found, contrast favorably with the occasional Sunday School picnic or ice cream festival of the country-side. The ideal of the open country in regard to amusements has also had much to do with the shift taking place. In many places ball playing is looked upon with dis- favor and the practice is still quite common of subordinating recreation time absolutely to the demands of farm work. The hot Saturday afternoons and the Fourth of July spent in the wheat field or in the corn is the last stroke that destroys many a boy's interest in the country. Boys are not to be expected to take the same interest in wealth production as are the parents. In fact, the interest of the boy is not in wealth production but in a normal adjustment between work and play with a large balance on the side of play. When the parents' interests are pushed to the exclusion of the interests of the child, the results are not apt to be agreeable to either side. The educational advantages of the village or the city have had much to do with the shift of certain elements of the popu- lation from the country to the city. It should be remembered, however, that when one family leaves a farm another takes its place, so that the shift from the country to the city for U8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY educational and to some extent for social advantages is rather a shift in composition of an aggregate rather than a change in the total rural population. The traditional attitude of country people to their own occu- pation has also had much to do with young people's leaving the farm. The rural educational system has been influential in training young people away from the farm instead of for the farm. The people themselves have been ambitious to train their children, provided they were looking toward a high school or college education, for the professions or for busi- ness. Even yet in many rural districts the feeling is strong that the young man who returns to the farm after hav- ing attended college has not quite "made good." So long as the conventional thought of the country does not encourage persons with higher education to make the country their home and agriculture their occupation, a general tendency on the part of those who are interested in higher education to return to the country cannot be expected. The shift of population has had some definite effects on the composition of the open country population. The disadvan- tages under which the country has labored have driven from the country many of the most aggressive young people. The evidence as to the achievements of country young people in city life shows that many of the best of the country's product have been taken from it. It has been said that "94 per cent, of the leading citizens of one of our large eastern cities were brought up on the farm. Of a group of 100 representative men, commercial and professional, in Chicago, it was found that 85 per cent, were farm or village bred. Eighty-five per cent, of the students in 4 colleges and seminaries came from country districts, while upward of 60 per cent, of men and women mentioned in 'Who's Who' likewise are from the country." This drain upon the country's resources has re- sulted in the lack of leadership so noticeable in many rural communities. Those who once were the leaders in getting up social affairs and in doing the organization work in the church, the school and farmers' organizations have been drawn to the MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 149 cities, there to exercise their ingenuity in developing a civiliza- tion much more progressive than that which has characterized the open country. The shift from the country has also depleted rural popula- tion in many communities to the extent that the older local social life organized within limited areas has practically broken up. As the young people say, "there is nothing going on" and rural life has become a dry routine of farm work. So many young people have gone from some of these communities that there are not enough remaining to make an interesting social affair even if those remaining cared to have it. It may be that, in the course of time, the improvement of roads and means of transportation will bring together the young people from larger areas and thus overcome the present handicap, but the immediate effect has been practically to destroy or- ganized social life. The shift of the middle-aged and older people from the open country to the villages has taken from the country-side some of the best financial support organized social life once had. It has also taken from the country the substantial ele- ment which once supported, with their presence and efforts, community affairs and has left those who, either because of less financial ability or because of less permanency, are unable to deal constructively with community organization. Thus many groups today present the picture of social disin- tegration, some of the families having attached themselves to larger village groups and the remainder having no attachment at all except to relatives or occasional personal friends. These tendencies toward the disintegration of rural life are doubtless part of a general movement toward larger social units and must be dealt with as constructively as possible. Some normal rural life will again be established when, through careful study of the situation, the logical centers of community life are found and effort is made to centralize as far as pos- sible all the interests of the group in one place. The shift of farm owners to the villages and the substitution of tenants or farm laborers is bringing to rural life a large i.qo INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY element in the population which is either satisfied with a lower standard of living or is compelled to live under more unfavor- able conditions than those considered desirable by "farm own- ers. The deterioration of farm homes occupied by tenants is due, not to inferiority of tenants as a class, but to the conflict of interests between owners and tenants in regard to property for housing purposes. The tenant does not take interest in the owner's property and the owner is not interested in making for the tenant improvements that he would provide for him- self. The result is that both tenant and owner are dissatisfied and the country suffers. The rapid rise in land values and the consequent necessity of increasing intelligence in the operation of the farms is grad- ually bringing into the country a type of farmer with more education, better business ability, and more loyalty to agri- culture as a business. It is also making conditions such that an increasing number of young men brought up on the farms are being attracted to agriculture as a life work because the old-time stigma attached to agriculture as being the occupation open to anyone who could not make good elsewhere is disap- pearing. Today conditions are changing so that those who cannot make good in the country are drifting to the occupations requiring less skill in the cities, and the most able young men of the family are taking agricultural training and returning to the farm and to the country community, there to do their part in making rural life worth while. It should be remembered, however, that not all those re- maining in the country are becoming highly educated. The attendance at Colleges of Agriculture is made up largely of sons of well-to-do farm owners. The tenant and farm laborer class do not have adequate representation there. So, while economic changes are bringing improvement in type of farmers, that improvement appears to be affecting a limited group. The widespread interest in problems of rural life has also had much to do to correct the evil tendencies once apparent. The many surveys that have been made, superficial as some of them were, have attracted the attention of thinking men MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 151 throughout the country. The result is that already some of the most glaring disadvantages of rural life are in process of solu- tion. The continued discussion of these problems has aroused interest and attention of the country people themselves and with this increased interest and understanding has come a de- mand on the part of country people that the inefficiency in social organization and the inefficiency in professional leader- ship on the part of teachers and ministers be remedied. This demand has led to the introduction of courses in rural sociology into normal schools, colleges, theological seminaries and other institutions concerned with rural improvement. The reorganization of rural educational systems and the reform of teaching has also had much to do with this change. In many states agriculture is now being taught in the country schools and in city schools as well. This will inevitably result in higher standards as to farm practices and when some atten- tion is given, as it ultimately will be, to the principles of rural organization and to the advantages of cooperating for the com- mon good, then the advance of rural life will be much more rapid than it has been up to the present time. It is impossible to predict what the effect of general educa- tion in problems of agriculture and rural life will be but it is probable that when the children of the tenant and the farm hand are taught that there is no inherent reason why some young people must be permanently forced to earn a living as an agricultural proletariat while other children will have the direction of agricultural enterprise because of the accident of birth ; that there is no inherent reason why some families must live permanently with lower standards of living while others shall permanently enjoy the blessings of property inheritance; and that the ideal of property in rural life, regardless of what may happen in the cities, is the farm owned and operated by an independent self-supporting family with a minimum of hired help, then there will be such a wholesome discontent with present tendencies toward social differentiation that the landless groups will exert their influence through the ballot or in other ways to bring about that condition in which there 1 52 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY will be what appears to be social justice from the point of view of humanity. The ideal of service, of work for the common good, and the development of the spirit of coopera- tion, will ultimately triumph, not to the detriment of humanity at large, but to the curbing of the undue and deleterious effects of privilege based upon the accidents of birth or of social and industrial change. When this condition arrives we shall not witness so marked an effort on the part of some people to change their environment from the country to the city but will see, if anything, country people trying to develop a high civilization on a community basis on the soil itself. Movements of population have been and are now based largely upon economic interests. The increasing intelligence of the farming population has tended to hasten rather than to retard this shift, particularly from the country to the city. When once economic welfare reaches a point of higher equality as between city and country it may be expected that the shift will be less marked. This may involve a much higher cost of living for city people than now exists but if this is necessary for a wholesome and equitable rural life it should be encour- aged rather than discouraged, because the nation cannot be on a firm foundation until all classes share in the distribution of wealth in such a way as to leave a minimum of discontent in the social group. Evidences are abundant that this condition is being approached, so far as gross wealth in both city and country is concerned. The problem of distribution of wealth as between groups in the country will then be similar to the one now existing in the urban districts. In neither case will the problems be wholly solved until some system is devised whereby both employer and wage earner, landlord and tenant, farm hand and farm manager have their interests harmonized instead of being an- tagonistic to one another as they now are. This harmoniza- tion will result to a much greater degree than at present, when human beings give up the idea that success consists in doing the other fellow; when they realize that cooperation for the common good is better than fighting for individual survival; MOVEMENTS OF POPULATION 153 when instinctive tendencies toward aristocracy give way to rationalistic and religious tendencies to democracy. When these ideals are made universal in the social group through educational and religious agencies and when humanity con- sciously turns to the solution of problems of social adjustment, we shall find a much higher, better, happier rural as well as urban life than the crudeness of the present status of civiliza- tion presents. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Why is a knowledge of movements of population important to the social engineer? 2. What are the important characteristics of a sound social ag- gregation ? 3. What are the tendencies as to homogeneity of American rural population? 4. Discuss the facts of drift to the cities. 5. What are the principal causes of the city drift? 6. What evidence as to race suicide in rural communities? 7. What changes in movement from community to community? 8. What are the characteristics of movement of population? 9. What are the effects of the shift of population? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Where have the people gone who have left your community in the past ten years? 2. From where have the new people come? 3. What changes in the type of people are observable? 4. What changes in size of families are taking place? — Com- pare school enumeration .lists of ten years ago with pres- ent by ages of children. REFERENCES Merritt, Eugene. "The Agricultural Element in the Population." Amer. Statist. Assn. (March, 1916). Gillette, J. M. "Measure of Rural Migration.'' Amer. Statist. Assn. (Sept., 1915). 154 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Clark, Earle. "Contributions to Urban Growth." Amer. Statist. Assn. (Sept., 1915). Hoadley. "Movement of Rural Population in Illinois." Journal Political Economy, Vol. 20 (1913). Gillette, J. M. "Drift to the City." American Journal Sociology, Vol. 16: 645-667. Anderson, W. L. Country Town, Chapters 1-4. Baker & Taylor Co., New York. Ross, J. B. "The Agrarian Revolution in the Middle West." North American Review (1909), pp. 376-391. Holmes, Geo. K. "Movement from City and Town to Farms." Yearbook, United States Department of Agriculture (1914), pp. 257-274. CHAPTER VIII RURAL HEALTH— physical; The development of a high degree of social welfare in any group is dependent upon the existence of a strong physical and mental foundation. A high death rate of children in- volves a physical sacrifice on the part of mothers which enor- mously lowers the efficiency of family life, brings sorrow and misery into the home and permanently lessens the enjoyment of existence. A high death rate of middle-aged people cuts off from society those who are able to produce the surplus necessary to equalize the deficit incurred by society in bring- ing the child to maturity. The high death rate of the aged is normal and must be accepted as inevitable. The leader in the organization of an efficient life in any rural community should understand fully what are the conditions as to the physical and biological welfare of his people in order that he may strengthen those foundations of social well-being. The sickness rate is in many respects as important as the death rate. Lowered vitality resulting from continued ill- ness lessens the productive efficiency of the individual, lessens enjoyment of life, and increases the burden of existence. The general impression has been that the open country is the ideal place to live and that the health of country people should be taken as the standard of physical welfare. The traditional attitude toward health conditions has been that the city has been the burying ground of the race and that, if the open country did not send a constant stream of new blood into the cities, these would disappear in two or three generations. Considerable evidence has been accumulated in recent years since the problems of the open country have been given con- sideration showing that the open country is not the ideal IS5 156 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY place it has been credited with being, so far as health con- ditions are concerned. The attention that has been given to sanitation, medical attendance and to other conditions affect- ing health in urban districts has resulted in an advance in the cities that threatens the traditional supremacy of the coun- try in physical health. In the following pages the facts as to comparative physical conditions in the city and country will be presented, together with suggestions as to what is being done to remedy the evils which have been found to exist. The country still has the advantage of the city in both birth and death rates, the birth rate for the country being greater than that of the city and the death rate being less. There is considerable evidence, however, that in both these phases of physical condition there is a tendency toward equali- zation of rates. The chart on page 152 shows the tendency in this respect. This chart shows that at the opening of the century the urban death rate was 22.1, while that of the country was 15.2. The rural rate has gradually fallen until in 1913 it was 12.7, while the urban rate has fallen to 15.0. The rural rate has fallen 2.5 points, while that of the city has fallen 7.1 points. The rates for both the city and the country have fallen, but that for the city has decreased far more rapidly than has the rate for the country. The more rapid fall in the urban rate has been due in large part to the great advances which have been made in the conquest of problems of urban sanitation. The rural rate has remained fairly constant partly because conditions in the country have not in the past pre- sented such serious problems as in the city, and partly because less attention has been paid to health conditions in the country. In some parts of the country the evidence is that the city has already overtaken the country and presents conditions actually more favorable than those which are to be found in the open country. Figures recently presented for the State of New York indicate that the largest city in the United States has surpassed the rural districts in the conquest of RURAL HEALTH— PHYSICAL 157 death.^ In 1913 the death rate for New York City was 13.7, while that for the remainder of the state was 15.8. The death rate for cities and villages of 2,500 or more population was 14.8, while for places of less than 2,500 population it was 15.8. Chart III Decrease in Rural and Urban Death Rate, United States ^ 1800-1915 4LO ~ ~ ~' V ■v -!xL ■^•-, ^^ " "r ■- B _ V "2. i. 1^ -■■<> - ~^ — — 1 ~ ' . ^ T x- _ — _J. 1800 /695 ISOO 1905 1910 f9/S — — — Cities in registration states. /furai ports of rey/stration states ■ Data 1880-igio, Science. (May 37, 1910.) For cities of 8,000 or more population it was 14.5, while in places of less than 8,000 population it was 15.5. These figures for the state of New York may not be a safe criterion of tend- encies in the country at large because of the fact that such a large proportion of the population of New York City is made up of adult immigrants. The large Hebrew popula- * National Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1914, pp. 288-293. 158 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY tion of New York City also tends to lower the death rate because of the unusual longevity of the Hebrew population. Mr. Commons ("Races and Imniigrants in America") is re- sponsible for the statement that, "of one hundred American infants, one-half will die within forty-seven years, while the first half of the Jews will not die before seventy-one years." The Hebrew element of the so-called "New Immigration" settles largely in the cities and a very large proportion of the population of New York City is of Hebrew descent. The proportion of deaths at different ages shows favorably for the country districts. According to the records for the registration area the rural and urban deaths according to age, 191 1, were as follows: Death Rates, Rural and Urban Age Period Urban Number Proportion o£ Total Urban Deaths Rural Number Proportion of Total Rural Deaths Under 5 S-14 15-24 25-44 45-54 64 and over Unknown Total (a) Less than i per cent. 108,64s 14,535 25,564 78,954 94,580 91,496 186 26.2 3-5 6.0 193 22.9 22.1 (a) 79,714 12,623 21,100 47,344 63,915 117,107 1,054 413,960 100. o 342,857 23 3 6 13 18 34 (a) 100. o In the cities the proportion dying between the ages of 25 and 64 is much greater than it is in the rural districts. The rec- ords also show that the proportion of deaths of children is less in the country than in the city. This lower death rate of children in the country may account in part for the larger proportion of defective children of school age as shown by the results of investigations presented below. Deaths from certain diseases appear to be more general RURAL HEALTH— PHYSICAL 159 in the country than in the cities. Among the more important of these are: Typhoid fever (5,696 in country, 4,697 in cities in 1913) ; Influenza (4,725 in country, 2,489 in cities) ; Dys- entery (2,004 in country, 894 in cities) ; Miscellaneous diseases of the stomach, cancer excepted (4,731 in country, 3,374 in cities) ; Paralysis, causes not specified (4,224 in country, 1,983 in cities) ; Railroad accidents (4,184 in country, 3,414 in cities) ; Senility (8,602 in country, 4,408 in cities) ; and a considerable number of other diseases which are responsible for a smaller proportion of deaths. These diseases indicate that the rural community is particularly subject to diseases of the digestive tract and to diseases of the nervous system. The large number of deaths from old age shows favorably for the rural community. The deaths from nervous disorders may be in part due to the drain from the country of the more virile elements and in part to the greater exposure inci- dent to farm labor. The showing in diseases of the digestive organs points to the necessity of better sanitation and to better conditions in the preparation and use of food. Recent investigations carried on by the National Teachers' Association, the United States Public Health Service, and various state boards of health reveal some startling contrasts between the physical condition of the rural and urban popu- lation which demand very definite constructive work in the interests of rural health. These studies reveal a high degree of uniformity in rural health conditions in all sections where studies have been pursued. The presentation of typical re- sults will indicate the general condition. A recent investigation made by a committee of the National Educational Association included data of the physical condi- tion of school children from 25 leading cities of the United States, ii83r rural districts, representing 294,427 children in Pennsylvania, i county in Idaho, 2 counties in New Jersey, I county in Virginia, and i township in Massachusetts. The comparative results show that the rural children are at a de- cided disadvantage in many important respects. The follow- ing table shows the comparative percentages of defects for i6o INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY all the statistics tabulated, which includes all sections of the country mentioned above: Per cent, of Children Showing Defects Type of Disease Heart disease Mental defects Eruptions Lung disease Anaemia Unclean Skin disease Curvature Breathing defects . . . . Ear defects Enlarged glands Pediculosis Exclusions Naso-pharynx defects Malnutrition Nasal Septum defects Eye defects Adenoids Throat defects Tonsil defects Teeth defects One defect More than one defect City Rural .40 •IS ■74 .80 1-95 1.12 •32 1-5 I-2S I-6S •17 1-7 ! 3-3 3-3 • 13 3-3 2.1 1.28 13.01 18.6 4-2 4-78 8.28 II. I II. I 11.25 7-S 7-65 15-9 16.6 14.4 13-43 20.7s 21.08 12-S 20.4 16.42 33-58 28.9 78.0 23-4 26.5 28.14 48.8 28.9 78.0 This table shows a much larger proportion of the rural children defective in the organs of sense and in the nasal and throat passages. The much larger proportion of rural children who show malnutrition is also significant of diet con- ditions in the open country. One of the most valuable contributions to the study of com- parative defects in urban and rural communities is to be found in the report on the physical examination of the first million draft recruits for the United States Army during the war.' This report classifies as urban those communities having a population of over 45,000. Consequently the results are not "War Department, Office of the Surgeon General, Bulletin No. 11, March, 1919, pp, I2Inn, and disorders of the digestive and nervous systems. It has also been shown that in many important respects ch ildren in, city children. Investigations have also shown that housing and sanitary conditions around the majority of country homes are not good. The awakening of the public conscience in regard to these matters is resulting in reorganization of public health departments to secure closer supervision of rural RURAL HEALTH— PHYSICAL 177 health conditions; in the inauguration of campaigns of pubMc health education and of demonstration work in selected com- munities; in the establishment of inspection of rural school health conditions; in the establishment of visiting nurse asso- ciations and the institutions of public county and township hospitals. All these movements are harbingers of a better foundation in physical health for rural social life, and a popu- lation with more energy and with greater possibilities for efficient productive usefulness. The time is not far distant when provision for conservation of rural health will be as good, if not better, than that for cities. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Compare death rates in city and country. 2. Compare defectiveness in rural and urban children. 3. Compare sickness in rural and urban communities, 4. Discuss farm accidents. 5. Discuss rural diet. 6. Discuss use of patent medicines in the country. 7. Discuss agencies for rural health improvement. 8. What provision has been made for rural nurses? 9. What provision has been made for rural hospital service? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH I. Study use of drugs on the farm, a. Study rural diet. 3. Study conditions as to care of the sick. 4. Study rural housing conditions. REFERENCES Harris, L. H. Health on the Farm. The Sturgis and Walton Co., New York. Ogden, H. N. Rural Hygiene. The Macmillan Co., New York. CHAPTER IX RURAL HEALTH— MENTAL Just as physical health is of importance as the foundation of a good social order, because poor heahh means lowered vitality, less energy, greater social and economic cost, less productivity, and more misery; so mental health is of impor- tance because upon the mental quality of a people depends not only the degree but the character of the civilization de- veloped. Good mental fiber in a nation is like gold in a mone- tary system. As upon the quantity of gold depends the amount of business that may be transacted through the ex- pansion of credit, so upon the psychical qualities of the nation depends the expansion of its intellectual and spiritual life. The mental condition of the rural population has a vital rela- tion not only to rural civilization but also to urban life be- cause; if tendencies continue in the future as they have in the past, the civilization of the city will depend very largely upon the quality of leadership recruited from the rural districts. If the source of urban leadership is corrupt, then the outlook for future progress of civilization is indeed poor. There is, considerable evidence to show that both in the country and in the city problems of morality and religion are dependent very largely upon the quality of the mental life of the people. Where people have little strength of mind, where intellectual ambitions run low, there emotionalism runs high and the animal instincts hold large sway in community life, morality is at a low ebb and religious impulses have but a passing influence. On the other hand, where mental life is good intellectual pursuits thrive, and culture blossoms as the rose. In the study of the psychic life of rural communities it is 17S RURAL HEALTH— MENTAL 179 ^ ■ "\ ' necessary to distinguish between feeble-mindedness and in- sanity. The former is in most cases arr affliction of childhood, and, according to present interpretations of it, is largely a hereditary characteristic indicating a lack of certain funda- mental qualities of the brain. This is not always true, as it has been demonstrated that certain types of feeble-mindedness are due to malnutrition of the parent, injury to the child, or some disorder of the glands of the body. On the other hand, insanity is a disease of adult life and often attacks those of the keenest intellects whose high mental activities may in themselves indicate a predisposition to lack of mental balance. A disposition to insanity may be inherited, but it is now known that this mental disorder is due in many cases to derangement of the physical organism and that a restoration of physical health brings about a normal condition in the mental life. In other cases insanity appears to be due to lack of control of the mental processes resulting from environ- mental conditions. It is proposed in the following pages to present such mate- rial as is available bearing on rural conditions as to feeble- mindedness and insanity. The data available are not veiy extensive, yet enough has resulted from various studies to indicate tendencies and problems which must be dealt with by the leader in the organization of rural life. The problem of feeble-mindedness has attracted the atten- tion of students of social problems throughout the civilized world. The direct relation of problems of poverty, criminality, education, morality and even religion to feeble-mindedness has been abundantly proven by recent investigations which show that anywhere from 40 to 60 per cent, of these problems are directly traceable to low mentality. Very few teachers in rural or village schools have been free from the problem of the boy or girl several grades behind the normal, over whom they have worried in a vain effort to get some faint intel-* lectual response to their efforts. Very few communities have been free from the genus, popularly classified as not "all there." Very few communities are free from whole families i8o INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY from which flow a stream of criminality and which furnish the ne'er-do-wells who are good for nothing but odd unskilled jobs about the neighborhood. Most communities have had their scandals of illegitimacy which have been directly trace- able to the uncontrolled unions of these worthless elements, too feeble in intellect to appreciate the seriousness of their violations of the conventions of society. These facts, which are a matter of common knowledge, are proof of the serious- ness of the problem, of the necessity of understanding condi- tions and of the adoption of constructive measures for their control. Very few surveys have as yet been made in America of the incidence of feeble-mindedness in commimities at large. One of the most thorough studies of the problem in any country is that made in England, the results of which are given by Mr. Tredgold in his text on mental deficiency. The study comprised a survey of a number of the leading urban and rural districts of England. The relative prevalence of feeble-mindedness in urban and rural districts in England is indicated in the following table: Total Number or Aments pee i,ooo Popuiation, Typical Dis- tricts, United Kingdom, 1904 Type of District Place Number Per 1,000 Urban Manchester 3-74 3.76 1.3S 1.68 Birmingbarn Hull Glasgow Dublin 4.14 2-4S 3 96 1.48 Belfast Stoke-on-Trent Durham Cork 1 . 10 Mixed Industrial and Agri- cultural Agricultural Nottinghamshire ........ Carmarthenshire Somersetshire 3.81 3 -OS 4- 54 4-2S 4-68 3 96 4-49 Wiltshire Lincolnshire Carnarvonshire Galway RURAL HEALTH— MENTAL i8i J-. - The higher rate of amentia, which, according to Mr. Tred- gold's classification, includes idiots, imbeciles and feeble- minded, in the agricultural districts in a country which has been passing from an agricultural to an industrial stage for a longer period than America, is an indication of what may be expected in our own country unless adequate control of tendencies is instituted. In this country the extensive investigations of particular families such as the Jukes of New York, the Kallikak family, and of the people living in the Pines in New Jersey, all lead largely into the rural districts. Those in charge of feeble- minded institutions in Ohio make the statement that in the hill sections of that state is to be found a large amount of mental degeneracy which may be traced directly to the de- scendants of the paupers and other subnormal classes im- ported from England into the southern colonies several centuries ago. Of a survey of feeble-mindedness made in New Hampshire Dr. Alexander Johnson makes the following statement : "Sev- eral significant revelations, some expected and some unex- pected, are made by the report. One is that the relative amount of feeble-mindedness gradually increases from the smallest proportion in the most populous countries, showing clearly the extent of the social needs of the rural districts." ^ These illustrations, the one from English experience and the other from that of one of the older American Commonwealths, indicate that the problem of feeble-mindedness is largely a rural problem. State authorities are waking up to this fact and at the present time extensive surveys are under way in a number of states to obtain facts as to the incidence of feeble-mindedness, as a basis for formulating constructive pro- grams for its control. A number of concrete illustrations of what happens when feeble-mindedness gains full sway in a community will help to a better understanding of its significance. Not many years ago near a village in the Central Valley a feeble-minded man ' Survey, May 8, 1915. 1 82 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY married a feeble-minded woman. Seven feeble-minded chil- dren have been born to the union with the result that that particular community now has a burden of actual and po- tential criminals and paupers that will permanently burden its public institutions. In a certain village in this same valley, known as "The Village of a Thousand Souls," the record of degeneracy presented by many of the families may be directly traceable to the prevalence of subnormality in the community. The Superintendent of the Ohio Institution for the Feeble- minded reports as follows: We have in our institution eight feeble-minded children from one family. The grand-parents of these children are feeble- minded, and their entire family, consisting of two daughters and one son, are feeble-minded. Their youngest daughter is married to a feeble-minded man, and they have nine feeble-minded chil- dren; seven of these are in our institution, the other two being below the age for admittance. The husband has an illegitimate son by his wife's sister, this boy also being feeble-minded and in this institution. Such records could be repeated over and over again from all parts of the country. The need of public education call- ing attention to the seriousness of the problem and to methods of controlling it is evidenced not only by the fact of its preva- lence but also by the misguided activities of those in our public schools who keep these subnormal creatures in the same grades, year after year, as a burden to teachers who do not understand the significance of the problem they are deal- ing with ; of our court officials who commit, time after time, to the industrial schools and to other criminal institutions those who, because of their mentality, are not responsible for their conduct and who should be given hospital treatment instead of criminal punishment ; of those who, time after time, commit to the workhouses adults who, unable to resist the tempta- tions to the use of liquor, are arrested for drunkenness, and who are really mentally subnormal creatures who need medical attention or institutional care rather than punishment. Many RURAL HEALTH— MENTAL 183 communities still permit these subnormal creatures, particu- larly the women, to come and go in and out of the infirmaries, the prey of unprincipled men and the source of an additional social burden of feeble-minded children. Even the large cities, under the traditional theory of the social necessity of public prostitution, permit these creatures, many of them, as investigation has demonstrated, feeble-minded, to congregate in specified sections of the city to cater to the passions of men in many cases as subnormal as the creatures themselves. It is a commentary on twentieth century civilization that the unfortunate are thus permitted by public authority to be exploited by the community. It has not been an unknown Occurrence even in recent years for whole communities to enjoy the spectacle of a public marriage between two of these worthless creatures who could be persuaded, for a consid- eration, to permit themselves to be made a public spectacle in this way. The causes for the greater amount of feeble-mindedness in the rural districts are to be found in the changes taking place in rural life and in the peculiar conditions existing in rural communities. The past fifty years have witnessed a constant drain of young blood from the country and village communities to the cities. This has taken from the country much of the best, most aggressive element produced there, be- cause the rapid growth of urban communities has offered the largest economic prizes to those who were ambitious. The result has been a residue of more conservative, less aggressive persons remaining in the smaller communities. The greater pressure of city life has also forced families burdened with feeble-mindedness to relieve themselves of their charges by placing them in state institutions, thus automatically ridding the city of a burden which the open country has continued to bear. The greater pressure of city life has also tended to purify the group by a process of automatic elimination whereby those who were subnormal quickly found their way into criminal or charitable institutions or, through vicious living, came to an early grave. i84 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY The open country or the village, with its less severe pres- sure of existence and with its simpler social organization, has permitted these creatures to continue and in many cases to intermarry and to become the parents of children of their own kind. The result has been a much more rapid develop- ment of the feeble-minded type in the open country. More- over, the much greater intimacy of local social relations has made it much more difficult to administer law in the interest of the group, and consequently abuses have been permitted to continue uncontrolled until the entire community has be- come tainted with the subnormal traits of individuals. The control of feeble-mindedness demands the adoption of very definite plans looking toward ultimate elimination of at least hereditary variations. Among the plans that should be adopted are: 1. The introduction into the public schools of carefully prepared lessons, including what science has demonstrated as to the causes and effects of feeble-mindedness. Public edu- cation, through lectures or otherwise, should also be carried on for the purpose of informing the public as to the limits of safe intermarriage with groups which have developed marked mental variations. This type of work can probably be best done by some outside agency. The immediate results of such local study may be sorrow and some shame, but the ultimate results cannot be otherwise than wholesome for the community. If young people, looking forward to the marriage relation, could be warned as to the fundamental desirability of forming connections with strong, virile biological types in- stead of with those who may have wealth or other less impor- tant qualifications, much of the evil of present indiscriminate mating would be eliminated. 2. A definite segregation of those who are liable to repro- duce their own infirmities. One of the foremost students of problems of eugenics in America contends that at the present time it would be practically impossible to follow rigidly the rule that no member of families in which subnormality has appeared should marry, because the trait is too widespread. 13 RURAL HEALTH— MENTAL^ 185 He contends that, in forming connections, persons who have a family history of stibnormality should not mate with per- sons having similar histories. The prevention of marriage between groups with marked subnormal traits would go far toward strengthening the biological foundations of community life. 3. Psychological clinics established in connection with every' court of justice and in connection with all charitable insti- tutions so that those who are now burdening society with their criminalistic tendencies or who are paupers because of subnormality could be permanently segregated in hospitals instead of being turned out on society again after hav- ing served a specified term in a penal or charitable institu- tion. A thoroughgoing eifort to eliminate the taint of feeble- mindedness from community life would lead in a very few years to a lowering of the rate of criminality, and to the lessening of the expense of pauperism. When once the people shall have become aroused to the significance of subnormality in relation to the great social problems of both the country and the city, the first great step toward its control will have been made. Many of the states are already engaged in definite campaigns to control feeble-mindedness through segregation. Liberal expenditures for hospitals and schools are being made and the people are being educated to the desirability of placing subnormal members of the family in custody, for the sake of the unfortunate one as well as for the family. The presence of the invalid is often a burden on the family that threatens to destroy its economic independence. Moreover, uncontrolled subnormals, usually harmless, are liable at any time to become a menace to the safety of others of the family or the com- munity. Institutional care under competent trained super- vision gives to the unfortunate one far more comforts than the ordinary home can afford. The awakening public con- science in regard to these unfortunates promises a better fu- ture, both for them and for the community. 'i86 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Whereas feeble-mindedness appears to be predominantly a rural problem, insanity appears to be more a phenomenon of urban life. The data as to the incidence of insanity are, as in the case of feeble-mindedness, not abundant. Massachu- setts, New York, and Iowa present statistics as to insanity in such a manner as to make it possible to form an estimate as to the distribution of insanity in these states. A number of other states classify insane patients according to occupa- tions. These data throw some light on the problem, but the results are not entirely satisfactory. According to the United States Census records for 1910, the proportion of insane people admitted to hospitals from urban communities was twice as great as that from rural communi- ties. Of 60,769 people admitted to insane hospitals during 1910, 36,654 came from cities, villages and other incorporated places of more than 2,500 inhabitants, while 20,442 came from the smaller towns and country districts. The rural admissions were at the rate of 41 per 100,000 population, while from the urban districts they were 86 per 100,000. The explanation for this is to be found, in part, in the type of insanity from the two areas. Of the total number admitted from urban districts, 16.8 per cent., or more than one-sixth, were for gen- eral paralysis or alcoholic psychosis. From the rural dis- tricts 10.4 per cent., or but one-tenth, were of this type. In proportion to the population, cases of this kind were more than four and one-half times as great from the urban as from the rural districts. These figures from the United States Census correspond closely with the results of a study of the admissions to the New York State Hospitals. The urban communities appear to contribute to the insanity roll because of the dissipations of the city. In 1910, 17 per cent, of all men admitted and 8 per cent, of all women admitted to the state hospitals were admitted because of paresis due to venereal disease of one sort or another. It is also claimed that "fully 30 per cent, of the men and 10 per cent, of the women admitted to the state hospitals of New York are sent there either directly RURAL HEALTH— MENTAL 187 or indirectly because of the use of alcohol." It appears that rural insanity, on the other hand, is more the result of isola- tion. Melancholia and senile dementia are the characteristic rural mental disorders. These differences between rural and urban insanity suggest that in the city effort should be made to eliminate vicious conditions, while in the country the defi- nite need is for a more wholesome social and recreational life. In Iowa, for the biennium ending June 30, 1914, 46.3 per cent, of the admissions into the feeble-minded institutions and 53.1 per cent, of the admissions into insane hospitals came from the open country and from villages under 2,000 population. The ratio corresponds to the United States Census results, since 69.4 per cent, of the population of the state lives in places of 2,500 or under. Thirty-four and eight- tenths per cent, of the admissions during this period were classed as agricultural or rural. In the State of Kentucky, for the year ending June 30, ^9i5» 45 psr cent, of the admissions of male white popula- tion were classed as farmers. No record is given of the num- ber of women from the country, as all women are classed as housewives or in other groups that cannot be distinguished as rural or urban. Of the admissions into the Osawatomie State Hospital, Kansas, for the biennium 1913-1914, but little over 16 per cent, were classed as farmers. In a recent study of feeble-mindedness, epilepsy and in- sanity in the State of Michigan,^ the incidence of insanity of various forms was found to be as is shown by the following diagrams. These diagrams show a marked excess of admis- sions for insanity from villages of 2,000 to 5,000 population. They also show that urban insanity is closely related to venereal disease, alcohol and drugs, while rural insanity is due to hereditary defect, isolation, and old age. Both these condi- tions indicate the direction social control should take in deal- ing with insanity. The city and village should control vice; * Commission on Feeble-mindedness, Epilepsy and Insanity, Michigan, Report, pp. 20, 22, — Lansing, Mich., 191 5. i88 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY the village and open country should control biological condi- tions and isolation or bad social conditions. Considerable discussion has found a place in various peri- odicals as to the tendency toward insanity on the part of farm women. One statement appearing in a text on agricul- Chart IV Admissions to MICHIGAN STATE HOSPITALS from SeprUs9l3 toAuq.3I.IQI4. RaiB /oer IQOOO populat/on Urban and Rural districts. I II 11 n y Pi ? i 9. ^ i n I II ^ I ki 1^ 1^ RURfl OV£R ioojooo •51,000 laooo IOlOOO ■s.ooo POPULATION JiOOO ZOOO UNoefi zooo tural education quotes Georgia Club studies to the effect that "8o to 90 per cent, of insane asylum inmates are wives and daughters of farmers." » The State Commissioner of Common Schools of Ohio recently made the statement in a public ad- dress that in one of the Ohio State Hospitals for the insane • Leake, Means and Methods of Agricultural Education. RURAL HEALTH— MENTAL 189 67 per cent, of the women were from the country. The latter statement is probably well founded and points to a real prob- lem in country life. Such isolated statements as these, how- ever, since they are unsupported by any extensive scientific investigation, should not be taken as the basis for any whole- Chaet V Forms of INSAN/TY admmed to MICHIGAN STATE HOSPITALS from Urban and Rural CommunitiG3 Sept 1. 10 Id to Aug 31. I€I4. Forms of/nsonify^ C&eb/ol Syphitis AlcohoNDru^s Demenria Praecox Ef^leptic*Defcctive\ P£RC£Arr 10 to 30 40 SO eo 70 go ao lec Man/f Dfflrejs/iv •5en//e DemenU CMnOttr • 51,00 /eiifioo jo.ooo sale criticism of the effects of farm life upon the women. The life in the country for farm women in the past has been, it is true, too largely one of drudgery, requiring the hardest kind of work in doing the washing, cooking, care of the house and children, in addition to looking after the garden, the chickens and in many cases the cattle and in helping in the I90 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY farm operations. Lack of social life and the narrow mo- notony of housework has undoubtedly been a severe strain upon the mothers and daughters in the country home. These conditions, however, are, happily, rapidly changing and today the country home is being equipped with the latest and best devices for lightening the work and plans are under way for bringing to the women on the farm some of the advantages of social community life. It has been suggested that if a survey were made of in- sanity in some of the Western states the results would show a predominance of old men who had been broken down, men- tally by the privations and the isolation of pioneer life. No data are available on this point and it is suggested as a phase of the subject that should be fully investigated by those who have the greatest local concern in the problem. Constructive treatment of insanity in the rural community demands public education as to causes and methods of elimi- nation of that part of it which is apparently due to hereditary influences. It also requires that conditions which are con- ducive to nervous disorder, such as isolation, monotony, and undue exposure, be removed through the adoption of pro- grams of social and recreational activity which shall bring to the country community and to the country home a wider vision of life, large interests, pleasure, and freedom as far as possible from the severe strain that accompanies general farming. The treatment of insanity appears to demand social rather than biological control, and when rural life is once well organized, when occasion for discontent is removed, and when people have a larger community interest and loyalty, a marked decrease in the amount of insanity may be expected. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. How is native mental ability related to civilization? 2. Distinguish between feeble-mindedness and insanity. 3. How is feeble-mindedness distributed as between city and country ? RURAL HEALTH— MENTAL 191 4. What are some of the effects of f eeble-mindedness ? 5. What is still the popular attitude as to the treatment of the half-witted? 6. Outline a program of elimination of feeble-mindedness. 7. What will be the effect of elimination of feeble-mindedness ? 8. How is insanity distributed as to rural and urban communi- ties? 9. How does the community of 2,000-5,000 population compare with others in Michigan in amount of abnormality? 10. What is the type of insanity characteristic of the country? 11. How may rural insanity be mitigated? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Study the mental history of delinquents in your county for the past year. 2. Study mental history of families in which insanity has ap- peared. 3. What about the mental ability of the dependent families in your community? REFERENCES Dugdale, R. L. The Jukes. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. Goddard, H. H. The Kallikak Family. The Macmillan Co., New York. Tredgold, A. F. Mental Deficiency. William Wood Co., New York. Davenport, C. B. Heredity in Relation to Eugenics. Henry Holt & Co. CHAPTER X THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND The problem of community building does not end with adjustment of physical and biological conditions. Radically different standards of civilization are to be found in essen- tially similar physical environments. With the exception of conditions resulting from extremes of physical setting for social organization, such as are to be found in frigid or torrid zones, or excessive wet or dry areas, differences in the ad- vancement of mankind depend mostly upon achievement in scientific knowledge ; the development of a wholesome reUgious life ; and upon political and social relations. Of these other agencies none have a greater influence nor need more care- ful study on the part of the community leader than those habitual relations of the members of group, which are in- cluded collectively under the term "social mind." In socio- logical discussions this term is used to designate that sum of ideas common to a given group of the common existence, of which the members of the group are conscious. The con- tent of the social mind has much to do with determining the standards of living which will characterize a given community, and the problem of community progress depends in large measure on eliminating erroneous elements in the social mind and substituting therefor ideals more in harmony with princi- ples of scientific progress or social adjustment. It is not intended in this chapter to discuss exclusively the social mind. Individual characteristics resulting from the con- ditions of existence accompanying the manner of living in the open country, together with the factors which determine the individual point of view and individual response will be given consideration. Moreover, attention must be given to 192 THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 193 the forces tending to bring rural reactions into harmony with urban response to stimulus; those factors in rural life which, on the other hand, exert an influence upon urban thought; and those characteristics in which the open country social mind should continue to be distinctive. It is difficult to generalize in regard to the rural social mind of an entire nation such as the United States. In such a vast expanse of territory are to be found many different types of agriculture, each of which has its effect upon the mental content and reactions of the people. There are many different degrees of isolation, of education, of facilities of communication, of wealth accumulation, of relation to prop- erty and to one another, all of which have their influence upon the common ideals of the group. There are to be found, often in close proximity to one another, different stages of historical development, each of which retains, to a large de- gree, the characteristics of the period when that given type of rural organization was prevalent. In many rural communi- ties; particularly west of the Allegheny Mountains, the com- posite elements which make up the total population, some coming from Puritan New England, others from the Cavalier Southland, still others from Dutch and French sources, and, in many places, contributions of the newer immigration from southern Europe, all go to make up a complexity of social reaction that is almost impossible to analyze. Moreover, in the family itself, the reactions of husband and wife, of children, and of laborers are likely to be different on certain phases of the common life. All these forces must be understood and reckoned with by the one who wishes to deal constructively with problems of raising the standards of civilization in rural communities. Yet in all the apparent complexity of the social mind of the rural community may be found certain characteristics which have distinguished the rural community from the urban and which will, in part at least, continue to make the open country attitude toward life different from that of the urban group. These characteristics are in part dependent upon the 194 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY physical environment, and in part upon the political and social relationships of the members of the rural group. Among the conditions determining what shall be the habitual reactions of a given group are: 1. The density of population. In sparsely settled areas, such as were characteristic of pioneer communities where means of communication and transportation were poor, the type of relationships and the interests of the group were radically different from what they are in a densely populated fruit or truck growing section in a modern irrigated district. Isolated sections are characterized by (a) high degree of family loyalty, (b) high development of democratic relations both in the home and in the community, (c) minimum of influence of external differences, such as clothing, home equip- ment, etc., upon social relations, (d) love of forms of amuse- ment having a large measure of excitement and a greater interest in the satisfaction of the elemental wants of human nature, (e) no conventions tending to limit size of family. The isolation of the open country home in pioneer life tended to develop individual independence, personal resourcefulness, initiative, together with an apparent conservatism due to lack of contact through which the forces of imitation might oper- ate. This conservatism has resulted in the survival into mod- ern life of groups now considered as stagnant and back- ward. 2. The source of population. Certain parts of the Central Valley which were settled largely from the New England states present an almost ascetic attitude toward recreational life and an emphasis upon the value of work which has led to pathological results in the shift of population and in the barrenness of country social life as compared with the urban social organization. Other communities which received a mixture of northern and southern population have passed through a period of shifting policies in which at one time one social ideal was dominant and at another time the ideals of another group gained control. The state of Kansas during the period preceding the Civil War is a good illustration of THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 195 the conflict of ideals resulting in apparently inconsistent po- litical and social policies. 3. The nature of the business. The farmer belongs to the economic group known as enterprisers and because of that fact has been responsible for planning his own business and< for taking the risks of success or failure. The result has been that he has been to a large degree independent of his indus- trial environment. The development of habits of working alone has made him suspicious of cooperating with his fellows except in case of manifest need. This independence of spirit still survives in an environment which demands much more of the spirit of cooperation than earlier conditions made necessary. 4. The farmer's dependence on nature has been said to have some effect on his habitual reactions. It is said that he is more religious because he witnesses in his daily tasks the lincertainties of life and the working of the forces over which he has not yet established control. Whether this be true or not, undoubtedly the predominance of man's contacts with nature as compared with his contacts with his fellow beings has very materially affected his conduct in social life and has doubtless in some instances worked toward a differentiation of population which has attracted to the country those who love to deal with material forces and driven from the country those who are more interested in dealing with the spiritual or psychical forces operating in social life. Those who love to dominate nature are attracted to the country; those who love to control the conduct of their fellow creatures have been attracted to the professions of urban life. 5. The character of the home life of the open country has had its influence upon the social mind. Close association in the home tends to produce democracy of relationship and loy- alty to the small group. The intimate connection of every member of the family with the work of the farm also leads to discussion as to farm practices and policies and this tends to early maturity of judgment and strong self-reliance. 6. The monotony of many kinds of farm work is thought to 196 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY have a definite effect on the reactions of the farmer and on his mental content. As the long day passes by and the farmer turns round after round of the plowed ground, follows the harrow, or rides on the roller or cultivator there is large oppor- tunity for thought. There is reason to believe, however, that instead of passing the time in deep thought the farmer does a great deal of ineffective "wool-gathering" which lessens his powers of concentration and continued thought rather than increases it. As the story is told of the man who was asked what he did on long winter evenings and who replied, "Some- times I sit around and think and sometimes I just sit around," so it is that in the carrying on of many farm activities there is little to occupy the mind. This characteristic of rural occupa- tions is perhaps less serious than that of urban occupations whereby through a refinement of processes the individual is reduced to a machine, performing day after day, and week after week, the same identical little mechanical service. The farmer has the advantage in the change from one kind of work to another as the plowing gives way to planting and this gives way in turn to haying, wheat harvest, and finally the corn cutting and husking and other processes of equal variability. It is this variation of occupation that makes farm work attractive to many people and its effect on the mentality of the individual must counteract in great measure the monot- ony of any particular seasonal occupation. 7. The isolation of the open country has tended to develop a type of people who do not care for the attractions of the restless, noisy, urgent life of the city. It has attracted those who like to deal with nature and who like to be as free as possible from the conventionalities of so-called civilized life. It holds those who prefer to be alone much of the time, who find an excess of social life irksome. Those who prefer a large degree of personal independence with a minimum of dealings with others find the country the most nearly their ideal at the present time. 8. On the other hand, the city has taken from the country those who are socially minded. It has drawn those who like THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 197 to deal with men rather than with things. Those who love the intense life of the congested centers, even though they must sacrifice many of the comforts of material existence, have left the villages and the country and gone into the cities. Those who like to influence others, to act with others and to dominate political and social situations have sought their life's work in the places where men congregate. This difference in type of rural and urban life has tended to differentiate rural and urban population into social and unsocial groups. Owing to the lack of social relationships the farmer is likely to be more sensitive than the person living in the city. His experiences are fewer and consequently he is more self-con- scious as he comes in contact with others. He is more easily offended and remembers supposed slights longer than the urbanized individual who is too busy to notice many things that the countryman would take very much to heart. Owing to the lack of social activities to enable the farmer to give exercise to his affective nature, he is apt to give more sway to his feelings in a public meeting than is the townsman. It is in the open country rather than in the city that the emo- tional expression of religious sentiment is most marked. In public meetings in rural communities seriousness and earnest- ness of purpose characterize public discussion. The public speaker who is most successful is the one who can use con- crete illustrations and who has force in address rather than logic. The one who reads from manuscript is not well re- ceived while in the city the reverse is often the case. Lack of contact with others in public meetings is likely to result in less logical processes of thought and more emotionalism in debate than in the urban community. The countryman is likely to be slower in his mental processes than the city man. Quickness of decision is not necessary on so many occasions as is the case in the urban community and the farmer lacks the personal contact with his fellows which tends to develop quickness of thought. On the other hand, the farmer is thought to be more thor- ough in his thought than the townsman. He has time to 198 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY reflect and when the necessity for reflection comes he appears to have the power of weighing matters more carefully than the townsman. For some reason, probably because the city- born person from his youth is taken up with superficial stimuli and is unable to apply himself to a few things while the country boy has few stimuli and has time to digest the impressions that come to him, the country man appears to have a greater power of generalization than the city-bred person. It may be, too, that the very breadth of the open country, the vast expanse of territory open to his vision by night as well as by day, leads to an expansion of the soul which is in marked contrast to the narrow vision of the child brought up in the crowded streets of a great city. The one can grasp details quickly but the other can grasp general prin- ciples and organize them into a complete whole in such a manner as to give him the advantage when it comes to deal- ing with the large affairs either of the country, city or na- tion. The farmer appears to have more conservatism than the townsman. It is the country which is the mainstay of the established order. The city is swayed more by the fads and fancies of the time. It presents less stability, less continuity of policy than the open country. Its movements are in large part based on the greater prevalence of the mob-mind due to close proximity and to more uniform stimulation of thought on a given topic in a given time. All read the morning paper and are swayed in the same way, provided there are not differ- ences in class interest to move them in opposite directions. The stimuli do not reach the farmers as soon, nor do they work themselves out as quickly. On the other hand, the farmer, owing to lack of develop- ment of inhibitive powers, is likely to yield more quickly to sudden stimuli. If a project is presented in a brilliant manner and if the emotions are aroused, projects may be put across which, if held over until the next day, could not be attained. The fanners have repeatedly shown their readiness to take up with new things without serious investigation when they come THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND I99 suddenly and are presented without allowing too much time for consideration. Farmers have developed considerable suspicion of most new things because of the fact that they have been "taken in" repeatedly by those in whom they had confidence. In business matters, because of their lack of understanding of business methods, they are likely to be suspicious of practices that would go without question among business men in the city. As they develop greater business experience their suspicious- ness will gradually give place to a wholesome trust and confi- dence in men of tried probity and of good business standing. The farmer has less respect for conventionalities than has the townsman. In many sections of the country even yet the farmer is inclined to look upon the well-dressed city man as "stuck up" and to consider him as more or less of a "dude." The farmer still insists on personal Worth rather than dress as the measure of the man. In some places there is a distinct antagonism to anything like gloves, umbrellas for farm machinery or labor-saving devices, as effeminate and fit only for weaklings in the city. Democracy still persists to a large degree in the open coun- try. This democracy extends to treatment of hired help as a part of the family and to an acceptance into the community of all who have the right spirit regardless of their social or economic status. In some places this attitude is rapidly dis- appearing for reasons which will be noted later. But the home of the democracy of the old individualistic type is still to be found in the open country. Many of our rural communities do not have a wholesome respect for farming as a business. This may be due to the tendency of many people to think of the fellow in some other line of work as having an easier or better occupation. But it is largely due to the fact that the direction of individual progress in America throughout her entire history has been into the learned professions or into the larger industrial enter- prises of the city. The farm has been considered as the place for those who could not make good in other occupations and 20O INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY ,^ , consequently the ambition of parents has been to get their children to leave the farm, if they cared to secure an educa- tion, and engage in some other so-called more respectable occupation. This convention is rapidly changing, until now some of the best young men and women in the country are preparing to live in the country as the ideal place in which to live as well as to earn a livelihood. The farmer is opposed to anything that appears to be patron- izing. He does not take kindly to "Gospel teams," entertain- ment groups, or speeches intended to uplift the downtrodden farmer. He does not care to have other groups look upon him either as a subject for improvement or for exploitation. Yet when service is rendered in the right spirit, as from equals, he is appreciative of the effort and is glad to return the favor. In studying country life in various sections of Ohio the question was repeatedly asked of non-church attendants as to why they did not attend church. Almost uniformly the answer was given that the people did not go because they did not feel able to dress as well as the church people did. This extreme sensitiveness as to dress is a direct outgrowth of lack of asso- ciation on the part of country people with one another. More association would break up much of the sensitiveness which exists even in our best rural communities. The open country still clings to the traditional convention that it is unwise to expend money for the common good through governmental agencies. The tax for support of gov- ernment is one of the sore spots in country life. Cities have gone ahead developing many things on a community basis, such as streets, sewer systems, water supply, electric lights, heating plants and so on, paying for them largely out of public funds secured through taxation. The farmer does not care to spend money in this way and still looks upon public office as a means for supporting a host of unproductive parasites on the public purse. The attitude toward public office is well illustrated by a recent election, in one of the Central States, of a republican candidate for surveyor in a strong democratic county, largely because on his campaign cards he had the U THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 201 pictures of nine daughters to whom he referred as nine reasons why he should be elected surveyor. The gentleman elected was a drug store clerk with no knowledge whatever of civil engineering. In Ohio, the i per cent, tax law is kept on the statute books largely because of this feeling, while in other states legislatures are limited as to their length of sessions as a means of preventing excessive appropriations. It is not the place here to discuss the ethics of the situation but simply to note the fact that the farmer still looks upon government as a necessary evil to be limited in every way possible to the mini- mum of activity. In the training of young people the country appears to develop certain characteristics which are advantageous to them. It is said that country boys mature earlier, develop more initiative, form better habits of persistence in work, and de- velop greater physical vitality than children in the cities. It is questionable whether the country boy develops more rapidly than does the street urchin who must sell newspapers almost before he is out of the cradle. But it is probably true that the country boy and girl develop more normally, owing to the difference in the environment in which they are placed. It is maintained by students of child labor in the cities that early, long-continued labor on the part of children on the streets or in the mills or mines tends to develop them too rapidly at first and that their subsequent development is correspondingly arrested so that they do not reach the full powers of manhood and womanhood that result from country life. It is said that the country boy and girl develop an exag- gerated interest in their own personal advancement as against community welfare. If this be true it is simply because the extreme individualism of a primitive agricultural environment still persists to mold the ideals and characters of the young. With the passing of the old type of agriculture and the advent of the husbandry stage in which farming is more of a busi- ness, both young and old in the country will be brought into closer contact with the larger community movements which are now to be found principally in urban life. 202 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY The degree to which the characteristics noted above will be found in any community will depend upon the stage of its development. The question now to be considered is whether tendencies in American life are doing away with the contrasts between rural and urban psychology once so marked. There is no doubt that the changes taking place in the coun- try are tending in many respects to urbanize the rural districts and to bring the conventions and class distinctions of the two into harmony. The isolation of the country home, to which many of the differences in psychic relations have been at- tributed, is changing in type to resemble more that of the city. The isolation of the past has been due to topographic con- ditions and to the fact of location in a home so situated as to make community association difficult. The newer isolation is based more upon the tendency to specialization and the breakup of rural life into class groups. Isolation is by no means an exclusive characteristic of the country. The college professor, interested in the problems of biology, may be just as isolated as the farmer. He may meet his family at the table and in other home activities and yet find that they make but a passing impression on him. He may listen to stories of home problems and of local social affairs with no interest whatever. He may go to the class room, go to chapel and other public gatherings and be physically present and yet be as far away mentally as if he were at the North Pole. The social changes about him do not take him with them. His mind is going deeper and deeper into the mysteries of the universe of life and he goes alone, treading the fields of un- explored phenomena without a companion except that at some gathering of his fellow explorers he has some respite from his isolation. Isolation is no longer a matter of physical presence even in the country. It depends upon the number of common interests, the number of bonds of fellowship that hold the members of a group together. Country life has in it the possibility of increasing the psychic isolation while decreasing the physical basis for keeping people apart. On the other hand, the better physical basis for community life makes THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 203 pcjssible the growth of a stronger bond between the members of the group. There are a number of factors which are tending +0 bring about the urbanization of the rural community. Better means of transportation and better roads are bringing the country people more and more into the village environment. The use of the automobile over macadamized or paved country roads brings to the country home practically all the social ad- vantages enjoyed by the village center. The closer contact with village life from this source is gradually modifying the organization of rural life and transferring open coun- try centers of social life to the village communities. As the village becomes the center of rural life the reactions of the farmer will become more like those of the village resident, arid it may be that in certain respects the provincialism of the village will melt away in the presence of the larger cultural advantages that already find their expression in first class country homes. Increasing land values and rising standards of agriculture will have their effect on rural reactions. The isolated individ- ual in the country, so far as business relations go, is in many sections already a thing of the past. Modern agriculture demands that the farmer shall be as adept in dealing with problems of business as in problems of crop production and the increasing contact with hardheaded business men from the commercial world will do much toward doing away with the marked differences between the rural and the urban mind. The newspaper and the agricultural journal, together with the development of free public library systems, are tending toward a unity in mental content in the rural and the urban community. As rural reading matter becomes more abundant, the differences in type of thought between town and country will be less marked. The public schools are doing their part toward bringing about unity in the social mind. The introduction of agricul- ture in the public schools, both rural and urban, will operate to give both to the city and the country a higher appreciation 204 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY of the occupation of the farmer and will do away with much of the convention which has existed that the farmer's occupa- tion is not in a class with urban occupations. Other modifica- tions in the courses in civics and history will bring about a larger appreciation of the fact that the farmer is a part of the great industrial system and not a separate and a minor factor in wealth production. These forces are already finding their expression in marked changes going on in the rural mind. Country people are changing their attitude toward dress. The socially-minded of the rural population have always stood for neatness in cloth- ing, particularly of the clothing to be worn on Sundays or other special occasions. But there has been in many cases a marked differentiation in styles even in the same rural com- munity. The source of ideas as to style has been in many cases of an inferior sort and the results have not always been, from the urban point of view, entirely successful. Country people are becoming better acquainted with the fashions and are becoming conscious of the influence of dress in social relations. The result is greater conventionality in clothing where convention is the rule and greater adherence to fashion where fashion prevails. Again, the country man is becoming less concerned about the convention that the farmer ought not to do anything for his own comfort which might appear to indicate that he is not physically strong. Farmers with gloves on while at work, with ties on while in the field, with umbrellas over their wagons, rollers or cultivators, are now no uncommon sight. The farmer today recognizes that the test of a man's ability lies in self-protection and in eliminating so far as possible the hardships of his occupation. He recognizes that headwork is just as possible on the farm as in the city and consequently he has no hesitancy in introducing any improve- ment which will lighten physical toil and give him greater control over the forces of nature through the introduction of machinery. The farmer is becoming urbanized in his business methods. THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 205 Not many decades ago, conservative and soKd American farmers followed the principle that it was a bad thing to borrow money for use in their business and many a sleepless night has been passed by some of them in worrying over a mortgage. Townsmen have for many years done as much of their business as possible on borrowed money and have under- stood that the wise use of borrowed money is an advantage instead of a disadvantage. The farmer is also learning more about urban methods of doing business and consequently his work is being brought to a higher plane of efficiency. He is learning more about when to trust others and when to avoid questionable business enterprises. The rural community is gradually yielding to urban ideals as to recreation. The city has been preeminently the place of specialization even in recreation. The great cities get their amusement from professional baseball, from professional dramatics, music and art. The moving picture show satisfies the craving of millions of American city residents for amuse- ment. Even religious exercises have been reduced in great measure to professionalism and the people take little open part in public worship except by attending the services. The open country has been in the past the place for development of local talent and for community entertainment. Self -enter- tainment in the country has been giving way to the profes- sionalism of the village and the city and the commercialized places of amusement have been taking the place of the private social affairs, led by volunteer social leaders. The country is giving way to city ideals in its social rela- tionships. In many places the community meetings of an earlier period have given way to the family reunions, or to gatherings of limited groups based on property ownership or permanency in the community. Rural people are also yield- ing in some degree to the class distinctions that mark the city. At an earlier period the farm hand was a part of the family. At the present time the tendency is increasing to make sep- arate provision for the hired help in specially built tenant or laborers' houses. This tendency is due in part to the practical 2o6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY idea that to expect the women of the family to cook and do the washing for the hired help is too great a burden for the women themselves and in part to the fact that the type of hired help is changing in many communities from the son of the neighbor who was a hired hand only as a stepping stone to tenantry or ownership, to the alien, who is either a foreigner or an importation from an urban environment or some very backward country community. In many cases these imported laborers come into the community without introduction and with no record as to moral character, and the members of the household feel obliged for self-protection to keep themselves free from too close association with this alien element until it has proven itself worthy of admission to the rural group. Formerly, it was no disgrace for a girl to work out in a farm home for wages. Nominally it is not now a disgrace to do so. But the fact remains that it is almost impossible to secure hired help in the home in the country. In this respect the country and the city are similar and the outlook is that in the country as well as in the city housework will have to be lightened by mechanical appliances and by modifying the domestic economy and house architecture so that the family can take care of ordinary housework without outside assist- ance. Standards of living are rapidly rising in the country. The sacrifice of material welfare which was the accepted practice in an earlier period is giving way to the determination on the part of the farmer to have the best obtainable with the re- sources at his command. As his standards of living rise and as his wealth increases, the differences in material welfare between the country and the city will be less than they now are. It does not appear that the open country is being materially affected by the moral standards of the city except in instances where contact between the city and the country has been such as to affect the younger elements of the country community who do not have adequate recreational facilities in their own environment. There is abundant evidence that contact with the city has demoralized many rural communities. It should THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 207 be ronembered, however, that the standards of the open coun- try as to the use of intoxicating liquors and as to sex relations are gradually influencing the city to higher moral standards. The open country is being influenced in its religious life by the standards of the city. Dogmatic teachings are not taken so seriously as they once were ; there is less interest in religious observances such as family worship and prayer at table; and there is more interest in the practical application of religious truth to the everyday affairs of the community. The intense superstition once characterizing many rural communities is passing away and its place is being taken by a more rational, more practical belief better adapted to conditions of the twentieth century. The country has had, and still has a marked influence on ■city thought. Some of the handicaps which some of the large cities suffer today are due to the fact that the leaders in these cities were imbued with the essence of individualism and ideals of personal success which grew out of the open country pioneer environment of an earlier period. The lack of control of erection of buildings, laying out of streets, and corporation methods in high finance may all be traced to the traditional in- clination of the American farmer to give each individual the utmost freedom in working out his own salvation regardless of its effect on his neighbor. The result has been that private enterprise has run riot in America and interest in public af- fairs and centralized control has been at a minimum. This is a survival of the time when the majority of the American population lived in the open country and when the conduct of the individual did not have such a vital effect on the welfare of his neighbors. For many years also village communities and even cities were handicapped in their efforts to introduce sanitary control because of the intense rural respect for the other fellow's right to do as he pleased on his own property even though his conduct might be a menace to the health of the entire com- munity. Villages all over the country teday endure bad sani- tary conditions because of the persistence of this rural ideal. 2o8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY In a similar manner the urban commimities have not de- veloped to the fullest extent the ideal of getting results in recreational, social or industrial life on a community basis because they do not like to do things together for the common good. The result has been the commercialization of many of the recreational and social interests of these communities and the failure to develop an efficient community life. The open country has also persisted in the ideal of providing as little as possible for these interests on a community basis and is becoming in many places the adjunct of the commercialized amusement life of the urban centers. In general, however, the influence of the country upon the city has been good. It is recognized by urban pastors that the city church would not be nearly so prosperous were it not for the rural population which gives the church its support. A large part of the regular attendance upon city churches, par- ticularly of the middle aged and older people, is of rural origin. The greater proportion of the ministry in city churches has come from the open country. The majority of profes- sional leaders in social and civic work have come from the small colleges in the Middle West. All these have contributed in large measure to the constructive social work now being done in urban centers. The influence of the rural communities on moral standards has been the hope of the country and is gradually leavening the life of the urban centers. The great movement to elim- inate the saloon and the use of alcoholic liquors has had its chief support in the rural districts and the movement toward the elimination of vicious resorts looks to the same source for ^ts extension. The open country may be ignorant as to what is best for the community, but the spirit of the country is good and this spirit is the foundation of a wholesome moral order both in the rural and in the urban districts. It is to be hoped that in the course of time some of the standards of living prevailing in the villages and the open country will prevail in the cities. The open country or the village home is the goal of every family in the city that can THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 209 accumulate sufScient wealth to provide itself with the advan- tages of such a home. It is not the poor who live in exclusive suburban districts but the fairly well-to-do business and pro- fessional people. The poor live in crowded slum districts, not entirely from choice, but because they have been caught in the toils of an industrial system which does not oifer them the opportunity either to get to the suburbs or to return to the open country. It is to be hoped that in the course of time the extreme emphasis that has been placed upon wealth accumula- tion in urban centers and which has affected rural districts to their detriment will give way to the more rational attitude of the village and the open country in favor of a moderate return in wealth with a larger measure of leisure. The ideal civiliza- tion of the future will not be found in the congested centers of the large cities but in the quieter, more natural village cen- ters, where better social life, better home surroundings and the fuller development of the cultural interests of man may find expression. The open country and the city will probably continue to differ in some respects. The open country will probably never yield fully to the conventions of the city in matters of dress. It is almost inconceivable now that the farmer will ever as a rule dress himself up in evening clothes, after a hard day's work in the field, to attend a meeting of the Grange or the evening literary society. The farmer will probably insist on clothes that are comfortable and that are adapted to the out- door life he must live. It may be that in the course of time, as rural wealth increases, some of the conventions of the city will be modified and the balance of power in control of con- ventions of dress will shift to the open country. For the time being, however, about all that can be expected is a persistent refusal on the part of country people to be dominated by the urban community in types of dress not adapted to the country. The open country should adhere to its traditional ideals of democracy. The hope of American political organization, the great experiment in popular government on a large scale, depends in large measure upon the contribution of ideals of 2IO INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY the relations of persons to one another that can be made by the country. There are evidences that the country is yielding somewhat to the city in this respect but if the country remains true to itself, it should give as one of its largest contributions to the civilization of the future, ideals of democracy which will perpetuate loyalty to the nation and prevent class conflict. The open country should also stand true to ideals of private ownership of real estate, subject to such regulations as will conserve the interests of the general social group. The experi- ence of the centuries appears to indicate that privately owned land, operated by the owner, has given the best social results. Whatever the ultimate adjustment may be as to ownership of those natural resources which tend to become monopolistic, such as timber, water power and mines, it ap- pears that land yields the best results when privately owned, and the farmers should continue to stand firmly for this principle. The rural leader should study carefully the social mind of the community in which he expects to render his service. In proportion to his understanding of the reactions of his people towards ideals of what ought to be will be his success in molding public opinion and gradually getting results in a more rational, better community civilization. Without this understanding he is likely to find his efforts premature, little appreciated and practically useless. With it he will be more tactful, more patient* and better able to judge as to methods of solution of the social and economic problems for which he is held responsible. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What constitutes the rural social mind? 2. What conditions determine the social mind of the group? 3. What are some of the characteristics of farmers' mental re- actions ? 4. In what way is the rural community being urbanized? 5. In what ways has the urban community been influenced by the rural mind? THE RURAL SOCIAL MIND 211 6. For what ideals should the rural comnronity cxintinue to stand ? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Study your own community to determine to what extent prin- ciples discussed in this chapter are applicable to it. 2. Write out ways in which your community differs from these characteristics. REFERENCES Groves, E. R. "The Rural Mind and Social Welfare." The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Ross, E. A. Social Psychology. The Macmillan Co., New York. . Social Control. The Macmillan Co., New York. CHAPTER XI RURAL MORALITY Moral conditions in any community have a definite relation to the economic and social welfare of that community. This relationship is, in some respects, reciprocal. Idleness, either voluntary or enforced, is likely to result in vicious moral conditions. On the other hand, immorality, with its accom- panying harvest of disease, low vitality, and interference with healthful interests of every kind, definitely lowers the power of the individual or the community to maintain a successful struggle for existence. To one who has had opportunity tp come into close touch with the social life of many different communities the fact becomes very clear that each community has its group ideals and standards. It also, becomes clear that some of these standards uniformly accompany a. clean environment, well- dressed men, women and children, neat, well-kept homes, absence of suggestion of the crude or the sordid in human life. Other standards are always to be found where filth in environment and filth in mind exist. The members of the communities themselves, except those y/ho have had the privi- lege of traveling widely, are unconscious of the fact that they are under the control of influences that lessen their power of securing the best that Jife can afford. To, any community the hope of enjoying the best liqs in the accomplishment of three tljings.: first, a thorough knowledge of. existing conditions; second, a definite ideal as to what ought to be; and third, a definite plan for bringing the real into harmony with the ideal. The discussion in the following pages is devoted to the first of these three objects so far as it is related to moral conditions in our country communities. 212 RURAL MORALITY 213 The investigation of which the results are here reported was undertaken to get at the truth of certain current impres- sions, stated probably by persons of limited or local experi- ence as a basis for their judgments and passed on and exag- gerated by those who were not in a position to determine the value of the information imparted. Such statements as "30 per cent, of the marriages in this community are forced," "scarcely a girl in this village preserves her chastity until after marriage," and "immorality is much more widespread in the country than people generally imagine," arouse suspicion' and concern as to what are the facts of the case. It is hoped that the data herewith presented will assist in substituting a foundation for truth for the popular impressions as to these most important phases of life. Definite data regarding immorality are very difficult to ob- tain.. The personal habits of individuals do not become the subject of public consideration except in case of flagrant vio- lation of nominal standards, and even then discussion of the topic is tabooed except in private conversation. The tradi- tional policy of the average citizen is to keep himself or her- self blind to real facts, acting on the false principle that what is not generally known does not exist and consequently can do no harm. Data as to personal morality cannot be secured from the individual himself. Morality in any com- munity must be determined by its manifestations. From the sociological point of view moral principles vary with conditions and consequently it is impossible to pass upon the moral quality of all acts. Special attention will be given to problems of sex morality and incidentally certain reactions of the rural community in business ethics will be discussed. It has been popularly believed that the great proportion of the girls who drift into vice in the cities are from the villages and the open country. But few data are available throwing light on the problem, but such as is at hand tends to disprove conclusively the truth of such a belief. Mr. Kneeland in his discussion of commercialized prostitution in New York pre- sents the following figures as to the origin of inmates of 214 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY institutions for fallen women. In the Bedford institution the distribution was as follows: Origin op Inmates, Bedford Institution Citybom....{J^^^;j-;;; 3^ } 404 82.48 percent Countiy bom {^^^y ; ; g } 85 17-47 per cent Unknown 2 o per cent These figures show a marked predominance of city-bom women in this institution. This is partly due to the fact that a large proportion of the cases committed to this institution come from New York City. In institutions other than Bedford the percentage from the city is still the greatest, as is shown by the following : Origin or Inmates, Institutions, New York other than Bedtord Number Per cent City bom 85 57-82 Country bom 1 62 ''42.18 When it is considered that the 55.7 per cent, of the popu- lation of New York state outside of New York City lived in urban places of 2,500 or more in 1910, the conclusion is that, so far as New York state is concerned, the country furnishes somewhat less than its proportion of those who finally land in institutions. The number from the city in the Bedford insti- tution is greater than the urban proportion of the population, but the proportion from the country in the other institutions more than balances this distribution. According to reports from the two industrial schools in the state of Ohio, juvenile delinquency is predominantly an urban problem. From the industrial school for girls at Delaware, Ohio, the report as to place of first delinquency is as follows : Number of girls who went wrong when living on a farm 63 Number of girls who went wrong when living in the city 314 Number of girls who went wrong when living in a large city 170 Number of girls who went wrong when living in a small city 90 Number of girls not reported as to size of city 54 RURAL MORALITY 215 The evidence is that the large city is more dangerous to yqung girls than either the open country or the village. On June 22, 1913, there were 864 boys in the industrial school located at Lancaster, Ohio, and 3,097 on parole. The superintendent of the institution states that at least 65 per cent, are received from the cities; about 20 per cent, from the villages and not over 10 per cent, from the open coun- try. A similar report comes from the state of Michigan. In the report of the Industrial School for boys in that state for the year ending June 30, 1912, of 627 new boys received during two years, 62 were farm boys, 124 from small towns and villages, and the remainder from the cities, mining regions and summer resort towns. Wayne, Kent, Saginaw, Bay and Kalamazoo counties, containing 5 largest cities, in 8 years produced 1,021 of 2,548 boys received. Thirty-three per cent, of the people sent 50 per cent, of the boys. Much general literature has been produced calling atten- tion to decadent rural communities where vicious conditions are a public menace. It appears, however, that these special districts are in areas which have long been drained of their best blood and that immorality is a biological as much as a sociological problem. The Jukes family in New York State and the Kallikak family in New Jersey are good illustrations of the rural immorality which is largely due to mental deficiency. In order to get at some accurate basis for estimate as to the extent of immorality in rural and village communities, a survey was conducted by the author in two counties in the North Central states. Data were collected in regard to (i) the number of cases of venereal disease treated during one year by the local physicians in the two counties. These data were obtained according to the different important types of disease, sex, conjugal condition, whether case was local (within the county) or outside the county, and as far as pos- sible according to the source of infection; (2) evidence of forced marriages as shown by comparisons of marriage data 2i6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY with records of birth" of first child ; (3) extent of illegitimacy as shown by the birth records ; (4) records of juvenile courts ; (5) records of criminal cases in the county and before mayors and justices of the peace; (6) divorce records, classified according to residence in the village or open country. The value and limitations of each type of data will be discussed in connection with the presentation of the data. Other data collected in addition to the above relates to the attitude of the community toward the sale of liquor, and toward amuse- ments of certain kinds that have been under popular con- demnation in the past, such as dancing, card playing, Sun- day baseball, and the theater. The community standards on matters of this kind when considered in connection with actual conditions in other respects will indicate the com- plexity of the problems of morality and the variations of standards from actual practices, or of the ideal from the real. The results of the investigation of moral conditions in the two counties may be taken as typical of conditions existing in any of the average communities in the general farming areas of the Central Valley. County A is typical of the more pros- perous agricultural areas of the section. With an approximate population of 30,000 it has one city of 8,700 population (re- ferred to as "D") and nine villages ranging in size from 230 to 1,360, the average being 664. The density of rural popu- lation was 50.7 per square mile, considerably below the average for the state in which the study was made, which is 62.6. The moral life of the community is influenced by proximity to a city of approximately 125,000 inhabitants, fifteen miles away in another county, and to a city of 50,000, the county seat of a neighboring county. Electric line connections with the city of "D" and a town of about 900 population in the northern part of the county draw many of the people to the city for social life. In County B, with practically the same total popu- lation, no cities are found, but an unusual number of villages exist. No less than 76 communities have village names, all but two of which find a place on the commercial map of U RURAL MORALITY 217 the county and 37 of which still have local post-offices. The county has twelve incorporated villages, all but two of which are entirely within it. These vary in size from about 140 to 1,420 and average 800. The unincorporated villages vary from a few families to 200 persons or more. The density of population is 63.6 as compared with 62.6 for the state. The county is also influenced by proximity to a large city of about 4CX),ooo population. Three principal electric lines give direct access to the city from the northern, central and southern parts of the county, and especially in the western part of the county these transportation facilities have taken young people to work in factories and stores and have brought busi- ness men from the city into the country for suburban homes. The contact between the city and the open country has had both good and evil effects, as will be shown by the evidence herein presented. Proximity to the large city and the prev- alence of village life in County B are among the most im- portant factors in causing the differences in conditions found in this county as compared with County A. County B does not have the prosperous agricultural environment of the other county studied. This fact has some bearing on differences in conditions. The first evidence to be presented as to moral conditions is the amount of venereal disease treated by local physicians during one year. All but 3 of the physicians in the two counties were interviewed. They represent practice in the city of D and in 25 village communities, together with the surrounding rural districts. The physicians interviewed were uniformly interested in the investigation and made every effort to insure its accuracy. In County B direct cases of venereal disease, gonorrhea and syphilis were considered, while in County A 90 cases of gleet and enlarged prostate were in- cluded. The summary of results in the 2 counties is shown in the next table. This table is significant in the showing of the total number of cases treated in a single year in the 2 counties under consideration. County B has a much larger proportion than County A both of gonorrhea and syphilis, even though 2i8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Cases of Venereal Disease Teeated County Total Gonor- rhea Per cent.of Class- ified Cases ^e Per cent.of Class- ified Cases Un- class- ified Total in County Per cent. Cases Out- side Comit7 County B 890 53S 702 383 84-4 94.6 130 22 IS. 6 S.4 S8 130 745 480 » 83.7 76.8 14s i^?* Total 1,42 s 1.08s 87.7 IS2 12.3 188 I.22S' 81.01 290 « > Including 90 cases gleet and enlarged prostate. County A has in the city of D a population of 8,700. The population of the 2 counties as previously indicated is prac- tically the same, each having a population of about 30,000. The total number of cases reported for the city of D was 162. When this amount is deducted from the total of County A it becomes evident that immorality, so far as indicated by the results in venereal disease, is much more common in County B than it is in A. The much larger proportion of cases of gon- orrhea as compared with syphilis in both counties is worthy of note. The material presented in this table tells but a part of the story of disease prevailing as a result of immorality. Several physicians who reported a small number of cases for the entire year stated that they knew of from twelve to thirty cases in existence at the time of the interview. The physicians uniformly state that many who contract disease patronize physicians in the neighboring large cities or else- where, outside their local community. Many others buy ad- vertised remedies and endeavor to treat themselves. More- over, many men use preventive methods to avoid disease. The totals given above take no account of these cases. More- over, they give no indication of immorality which does not result in disease. A careful consideration of the results given above, together with the various phases of the problem con- cerning which data are unavailable, leads to the conclusion that moral practice and conventional moral standards in village and rural communities are widely separated. RURAL MORALITY 219 The following data show the number of cases of venereal disease by sex: Venereal Disease by Sex County Male Per cent, of Classified Cases Female Per cent, of Classified Cases Unclass- ified Total B 644 477' 84.5 76.7 118 148 IS-S 23-3 128 890 625 A ^ Includes 90 cases derived from venereal disease. Evidently the problem of venereal disease is one largely arising out of prevailing double standards of morality, as 84.5 per cent, of the cases in one county and 76.7 per cent, in the other are male. The proportion of females suffering from venereal disease in rural districts is much larger than com- monly supposed because physicians are said to diagnose such cases frequently as something else to prevent family discord. Many of the cases of venereal disease found among married women are contracted from their husbands. The distribution of disease as to whether found in villages or the open country is as follows: Distribution or Venereal Disease as to Village or Open Country County Village Per cent. Country Per cent. Unclass- ified B 547 144 306 69.6 44.0 62.6 238 183 183 30-4 56.0 37-4 10? A, excluding city A, including city 136 136 The evidence from this table is that the open country is not affected by venereal disease to nearly the same extent as the village. In County B 9,230 out of 30,000 people live in incor- porated villages. Probably not over 3,000 more live in un- incorporated hamlets. Yet the minority in population furnish 220 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY the majority of cases of disease. In County A, when the data for the city D are omitted, the total cases in the open country exceed those in the villages, but when the total city and village population is compared with the open country population the same condition is found as to County B. The distribution of cases over the territory indicates that ease of transportation to the city has brought contamination to the rural village. Those communities which are difficult to reach report less disease. In County B 33 physicians gave careful classification of cases as to conjugal conditions in village or country. The following table presents the results: Cases or Venereal Disease Classified According to Type of Case, Sex, Conjugal Condition, and CotrNiRY or Village Type of Case Sex Single Married ViUage Country Gonorrhea M.263 F. 48 M. SS F. 19 29 6 70 19 31 13 186 45 46 IS 77 3 9 4 Svohilis The number of married men and women reported as suffer- ing from venereal disease is significant. One hundred and one married men and 32 married women are so reported. Mar- ried women suffer from syphilis to almost as great an extent as they do from gonorrhea. Two hundred and seventeen single men and 35 single women were treated for venereal disease. Including both men and women, over half as many married as single cases were reported. These data represent but 43 per cent, of the total cases found in the county, so that a complete account for the county would possibly result in numerical totals more than twice as large as those given above. Nearly all the cases of venereal disease among women existed in villages. Seven out of 67, or but 10.5 per cent., of the female cases were from the open country, whereas 27 per RURAL MORALITY 221 cent, of the total male cases reported were from the open country. The picture of immorality in village and rural communities presented in these figures is too serious to be ignored. Hid- den beneath the surface of the supposed moral standards of the community and caused by ignorance and indifference on the part of those who should be alive to real conditions lies a mass of sordid ideals and practices that cannot be other than detrimental to community welfare. The whole story is by no means complete with the record of local physicians for one year. The history of several years, outside practice, drug stores, and immorality protected from, or not resulting in, disease must all be included. The evidence of the extent of disease in communities con- taminated from the cities, of incest in the back districts, and of whole communities coming under the influence of de- graded ideals points to the need of able leaders, consecrated laymen, who will labor together to displace sordid interests with wholesome, constructive community recreation and social life. The second type of evidence to be presented is the number of forced marriages. The method of getting at this data was to compare the record marriages in the respective counties from June i, 191 1, to May 31, 1912, with the record of births from June i, 191 1, to March i, 1913. The results are negative, but none the less valuable in indicating that the proportion of forced marriages is by no means so great as local conditions have sometimes led people to believe. Several factors lessen the value of the results of this study: (i) The records are inadequate. In many cases births are not reported by phy- sicians. In others, 2 clerks report the same birth. (2) Persons married in the county and living elsewhere would report births in their residential community. (3) Persons going to other states to be married do not appear in the local marriage statis- tics. (4) This record cannot include data in regard to the prevalence of criminal methods of preventing birth. A sum- mary of results is as follows: 222 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Reution of Marriage Date to Date or First Childbirth County Total Marriages Considered Total Births Com- parable Number at 7K Months or Less fPercent.of Total Com- parable Number at from 7M to 9 Months Number at 9 Months or Over B 176 213 27 21 ' s 10 18. s 47.6 3 22 A 8 These data are valuable primarily in indicating that com- paratively, few births occur within the first year after mar- riage. Only 17.5 per cent, of the total births in County B and 9.8 per cent, of those in County A occurred from the marriages considered. Births are not so fully reported as marriages and this may in part account for the low per- centage. It is reasonable to suppose that the majority of these married couples settled down near the homes of their parents. The only conclusion possible, then, is that few births occur within the first year of marriage, and that the number of forced marriages is small. Owing to ineffectiveness of state legislation regarding re- porting of births, no adequate statement as to illegitimacy can be given. The data available are as follows: In 1909 there were 8 recorded illegitimate births in County B, and a like number in 1910. In County A there were recorded 13 illegitimate births in 1909, and 12 in 1910. It is estimated that about 60 per cent, of births were recorded. In no village of either county were houses of prostitution allowed. This is also true of the city of D. Such prostitution as existed was connected with the city or was of the clandestine variety. The opponents of the evil are strong enough to compel its votaries to keep their practices hidden. But be- cause the evil is hidden its effects are none the less destruc- tive. In the discussion of moral conditions as shown by criminal records, the fact that both counties are dry must be con- sidered. Most of the cases at the present time are connected RURAL MORALITY 223 with violations of the liquor law. In County A during the year 1912 a total of 171 convictions were distributed as follows : Convictions tor Crime Village Kumber 1. Population 292 13 2. Population 866 13 3. Population 1059 76 4. Population 1133 i 5. Population 1360 6 6. Population 8700 62 171 The charges covered a great variety of crimes and misde- meanors, the principal being as follows : Types of Crime Cause Number Drunk 41 Unlawfully selling Uquor 34 Gambling 21 Assault and battery 20 Miscellaneous 55 Total 171 Some of the courts had an unusual number of cases because of the practice of trying liquor cases before courts known to be favorable to enforcement of law. For example. Num- ber 3 (second table above, population 1,059) presents an un- usually large number, one man having been fined 11 different times, and having paid a total of $2,450, for unlawful sale of liquor. Ten cases of gambling from town Number 4, and seven from the city of D appeared in this same (Number 3) court. But 8 convictions were recorded on the common pleas court docket for the year 1912-1913. Very few cases appear before the juvenile court. On June 22, 1913, there were 10 boys from County A in the State Industrial School. In County B the criminal record is comparatively small. But 52 cases were found in the dockets of the Mayors and Justices of the Peace of the county. These were practically 234 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY all in 4 of the large towns, and include 22 cases of drunk- enness and disorderly conduct, 8 cases of violation of game laws, and 6 cases of assault, which is the greater part of the total; 13 cases appeared in the criminal docket for the year, of which 4 were cases of assault and battery, and the others included abandonment, burglary, violation of liquor laws, and failure to provide. The work of the probation officer is much heavier in this county than in County A. The statement is made that on an average seven telephone calls and other communications per day come to the probation officer connected with the juvenile court. Her time is occupied night and day in consultation with officials and others in different parts of the county. Her work is entirely voluntary and is an example of what may be done by one who is alive to the social problems of a community. The criminal tendencies of the open country in general as compared with the city correspond closely with the results of the local study. Statistics as to rural and urban distribution, and the dis- tribution of types of crime are not generally available. A study was made of convictions for crime for a five-year period in the state of Ohio as shown by the judicial statistics of that state. These data did not include the minor crimes which do not come under the notice of the common pleas or higher courts. The results of this study showed that certain types of crime appear to be much more prevalent in rural than in urban districts. Of the crimes which are most distinctly rural, rape, horse stealing, and assault and battery are most im- portant. The largest number of convictions for rape were in the rural counties of Paulding, Lawrence and Meigs, each of which had above 6 per 100,000 population per year. Hamilton and Cuyahoga counties, the location of Cleveland and Cin- cinnati, had under two each. On the other hand robbery and burglary are distinctly urban crimes. The counties in which Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo are located show the highest rates. RURAL MORALITY 225 The principal correlation between the crime rate and other economic and social conditions appears to be that criminality is higher in general in the hilly sections of the southeastern part of the state and in the river counties. This may be due to the less highly organized social life of those com- munities or it may be due to the changes in population which have brought into those counties elements less law- abiding than in other sections of the state. There does not appear to be any close correlation between crime rate and color, nationality or occupation. The sections of the state in which mines are located do not show an unusually high rate of crime in general. ' Horse stealing appears to be more prevalent in those sec- tions of the state where horse protective associations are not organized. This fact is evidence of the utility of some form of rural police, the known existence of which acts as a deter- rent of crime. At the present time the state of Ohio has a semi-public rural police system, which is principally of service to the members of the organization. A number of other states, notably Pennsylvania, have a state mounted police which does good service in protecting the rural dis- tricts. Divorce records indicate pathological conditions in family life dangerous to the social welfare of the community. In the two counties mentioned above the divorce records for the year 1912-13 were compiled according to whether the parties lived in village or open country. The results are significant in showing the relatively larger amount of divorce in village life. Divorces, July i, 19 12 — ^June 31, 1913 County Total Village or City Per cent. Country Per cent. Unknown Per cent. B A 18 38 14 20 77-7 71.4 4 3 22.3 10.7 s 17.9 226 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOaOLOGY These figures, coming as they do from two counties so widely different in local conditions, prove conclusively that divorce is a problem of village life rather than life in the open country. The family is a necessity on the farm. In the village the economic and social interests of the husband and wife vary so that divorce results much more fre- quently. Conclusion. — In the preceding pages the evidence as to the extent of social disease in two counties is presented. This does not take account of the wholesome and the pure to be found in the several communities visited. The data show that the village presents in many ways the greatest problems in moral life outside the cities. It appears that the larger the aggrega- tion of people the more serious the problems of social pathol- ogy become. Disease, divorce, and delinquency thrive in the village. Yet this is but in part true. The type of vice changes. The vices of the open country are those of isola- tion. There are to be found sordid, illicit, incestuous relac tions free from disease only because contact with sources of disease has not been possible. There thrive the crude, rowdy, fighting elements. Bringing people together and increasing facilities of transportation brings culture and lessens the vices of isolation, but substitutes those of congregation. The great problem for the church and the school is to take control of the recreational life of the village and of the open country so there will be an abundance of wholesome social and recrea- tional contact under proper auspices and under favorable conditions. There is need that both girls and boys, men and women, know more of the significance of vice and its effects upon themselves and the community; know more about what real uplifting enjoyment means ; learn to hate the evil and love the good; learn more of the meaning of the family and more of what is necessary to make family life helpful and happy. Both the minister and the teacher need to emphasize more and more the principles of living in modem society and to take the lead in eliminating evil by substituting an abundance of good. RURAL MORALITY 227 QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Why are moral conditions hard to estimate? 2. How does the agricultural village differ from others as to moral standards? 3. How is individual morality related to social standards? 4. How do moral conditions in the village differ from those in the open country? 5. What influences are tending to modify village and rural moral standards ? 6. What conditions in the village and rural communities need control ? 7. What is the sociological basis for constructive control of recreational life? 8. What changes in village and rural life should lessen the seriousness of the problem of morality? 9. What agencies should be concerned in the improvement of moral standards? 10. How is the village related to rural morality? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. What are the social centers of your village? Of your rural community ? 2. What is the influence of the city on village and rural com- munity morals? 3. What provision for recreation does your village and rural community make? What agencies take the lead in provid- ing recreation? 4. What amusements are moral problems in your village ? Why ? 5. Collect data as to divorce, illegitimacy, and crime for your village and rural community for the past five years, and compare. 6. How many boys and girls of your acquaintance have drifted into immoral living in the past ten years ? What were the causes ? 7. What moral infl^uence does the church exert? The school? 228 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY REFERENCES Wilson, W. H. The Evolution of a Country Community. The Pilgrim Press, Boston. Anderson, W. L. The Country Town, Chapter 5. Baker & Tay- lor Co., New York. Strong, Josiah. New Era. Chapter 8. Doubleday, Page & Co., New York. Hart, R. L. "A New England Hill Town." Atlantic Monthly, 83 : 561-574, 712-720. CHAPTER XII THE FARMER IN POLITICS One of the most significant tendencies in Western civiliza- tion during the past century has been that of the rising con- sciousness of economic groups. This movement has found concrete expression to some degree in state and federal political councils, but the probabilities are that group interests are not as yet nearly so definitely defined nor organized as they will be in the future. The latter half of the past cen- tury witnessed in American life the rise of the wage earners in the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor, and the opening of the twentieth century has witnessed the progress of this movement in the expansion of the syn- dicalist and the socialist movements. In railway development those in control have been moving toward a solidity of inter- est in their political activities. The manufacturing interests of the country have long been well organized for political action. Chambers of commerce have long represented the commercial interests of the country. The latter half of the nineteenth century also witnessed the rise of an agricul- tural consciousness in such movements as national farm con- gresses, the Grange, and Farmers' Alliance; and more re- cently the Farmers' Union and a number of national co- operative associations have appeared on the field. The importance of knowing something of the status of the farmer in the great game of political life is indicated by the type of questions that come up for consideration which may favorably or unfavorably affect rural welfare. The pro- tective tariff, forms of taxation, type of internal improvements, federal control of transportation and similar matters may seriously lessen the income of the farmer and be to the advan- 230 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY tage of better organized interests that may have a larger influence with legislative assemblies. The time has passed when farmers and other groups thought that the success of the country was bound up in the success of the party to which they belonged. Partisanship and boss rule is not nearly so strong as it once was. The place of partisanship is being taken by economic group combinations and no one knows what the outcome of the new movement will be. Writers on the subject of the place of the farmer in po- litical life have been wont to make much of the fact that farmers are conspicuous by their absence in legislative halls. In the 64th Congress, out of 435 representatives but 9 were specifically reported in the Congressional Directory as farmers, and out of 96 Senators but 7 were reported as farmers. A number of those who were so reported had other interests than farming. In the state of Ohio, the 74th to the 8ist assemblies inclusive had 8 per cent, of the total representation in the senate from the farming group or from a combination of farming with other interests. Those reported as farmers exclusively con- stituted but 4 per cent, of the total. In the legislative assem- bly 18.4 per cent, were farmers or combined farming with other activity. The farmer group constituted 14. i per cent, of the total.^ In Iowa, of 50 senators 6 were farmers, and of 108 representatives 50 were farmers. It is probable that in the more strictly agricultural states the proportion of farm- ers in the legislatures is greater than in the manufacturing areas. But in any case, in proportion to the agricultural popu- lation, the number of farmers is very small. The fact that but few farmers aspire to political honors is, however, no criterion that they are not well represented or that if they imderstand their political interests they can- not attain what they desire from the legislatures. In the United States, according to the Census for 1910, but 14 states had a majority of their population living in cities of 2,500 * Unpublished material prepared by J. P. Schmidt, graduate student, Ohio State University. THE FARMER IN POLITICS 231 or over. The village population for the United States con- stitutes but about 8 per cent, of the total population, so the rural political interest in the United States is still nu- merically very strong. It is also important to note that in the 14 states which have a majority of their population urban, 69 of the 188 congressional districts have a predominantly rural population. It is true, on the other hand, that in the rural states certain districts are distinctly urban, but there are not enough of these urban districts to overbalance the large rural element that exists both in rural and urban states. Even though the farmer does not go to the legislature or to Congress, if he is conscious of what legislation is to his interest he has the power to achieve his ends under present conditions because those who are elected are dependent upon the rural vote for the permanency of their positions. So far as the Federal government is concerned, the farm- ers control or may control the political situation. Certain changes in the states appear to be favoring the farmer beyond the point of equality in representation in proportion to the population. This favorable condition is in general not ex- treme, but in a few instances the changes which have been taking place appear to have given him a very strong political control, not unlike the "rotten borough" condition that devel- oped in England owing to the rise of large urban centers, the inclosures and the shift of population from rural to urban communities. In Ohio the constitution provides that every county shall have at least one representative. As a result of this provision, a population of 1,831,285 has 65 representa- tives, while 2,935,836 people have but 57 representatives in the lower house. In one instance 13,096 people elect a rep- resentative, whereas the apportionment is 47,671. In Iowa, another agricultural state, 1,055,473 people are represented by 65 members of the lower house, while 1,169,298 people have but 43 representatives. New York and Pennsylvania have a similar situation, but not to so great an extent The decrease in rural population in the past thirty years has tended 232 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY to make some of our earlier constitutional provisions very favorable to agricultural interests. The upper houses of the legislative bodies have a much more equal distribution of representation because of the fact that the states are districted for election purposes. Eighteen of the states have the provision that the counties or towns shall have each one representative, and in these states the possibilities of undue political influence owing to the decrease in rural population is more likely to become acute. These facts as to relative rural and urban representation in state and federal legislative assemblies indicate that the balance of power still lies with the farmer. They also indi- cate that if the farmer desires progress through political ac- tivity he has but to understand what he desires and to throw the farmer vote in favor of the things he believes to be for the good of the state. He can also prevent legislation as to taxation, tariff, etc., which might unduly burden him in pay- ing the expenses of state government or in encouraging other industries of the state. In many sections of the country the farm consciousness has developed to the point where certain county offices, particu- larly those which have to do with the appropriation of funds, are largely filled by farmers. In some counties it is said that none but farmers can hope to be elected to the position of county commissioner. This position appears to be particu- larly sought by the farming group. It is probable that as rural wealth increases and the number of well-educated farm- ers with reasonably large holdings and greater freedom from the manual labor incident to farm work increases, more of the agricultural group will interest themselves in the legis- lative aspects of political life. This tendency is one to be desired from the agricultural point of view. The power back of state and federal representation may also account for the remarkable success farmers' organizations have had in securing legislation that has since become recog- nized as of the highest type of statesmanship. During the seventies of the past century the i^fwexs in the grain ^t^tes THE FARMER IN POLITICS 233 west of the Mississippi, working through the Grange, settled the question as to whether the railroads or the people would control transportation conditions. During the nineties, the Farmers' Alliance and the People's Party, which were largely agricultural organizations, carried on an agitation for free silver that would in all probability have ultimately been crowned with success had not monetary conditions been changed by the discovery of new sources of gold so that what the farmers were demanding resulted without legislation of the type sought. The farmers have been advocates of the initiative and refer- endum, of popular election of senators, prohibition of the liquor traffic, state control of public utilities generally, and ownership of such utilities as are natural monopolies. They have advocated good public school systems, the rural free delivery, the parcels post, better banking and credit facilities and many other things which have been enacted into law. Agricultural interests have been well provided for by large appropriations both by the Federal and state governments to colleges, experiment stations, extension work, and but re- cently the Federal government has again embarked on a na- tional policy of internal improvements of wagon roads. The farmers have doubtless made mistakes in their political pro- grams, but in the vast majority of instances the things for which they have striven have represented true political and social progress. An apparent inconsistency in the farmers' attitude toward public ownership of utilities appears in the stand taken by representative organizations in favor of government owner- ship of railways, merchant marine, telegraphs and telephone lines, while at the same time saying nothing in regard to a policy of nationalization of farm lands. This inconsistency is more apparent than real owing to the fact that these large utilities tend to become monopolistic. Farm lands, as has been demonstrated by tendencies in size of farms during the past thirty or forty years, are tending to smaller holdings rather than to centralization, and as has been demonstrated by 234 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY centuries of experience, are better handled under private ownership than by the public. For these reasons the fanner will probably continue for a long time to come to be the stronghold in American society against any general extreme socialistic movement in the direction of the nationalization of all means of production. This attitude is in accord with scien- tific principles and is another indication of the wisdom of the farmer in dealing with these great public questions. The rural community is much more public-spirited so far as the exercise of the suffrage is concerned than is the urban community, as is shown by the following table: Propoetion Males or Voting Age, Ohio, Voting for President 1900, AND for Governor, 1910 Type« Vote, 1900 Vote, 1910 Urban 78.7 87.4 91.8 S4-9 673 75-1 Rural-Urban Rural > Urban includes counties having 70 per cent or more of their, population in cities of 3,500 or over; Rural-Urban those having 33 to 70 per cent; Rural, those having under 35 per cent. These years were selected because they offer opportunity for comparison of vote with census data as to number of males of voting age in the respective years. The larger pro- portion of votes cast in 1900 is probably due to the larger interest taken in national politics than in local affairs. It may also be due in part to the larger interest taken in public problems in the year 1900 than at the later period. The po- litical excitement of the 90's had not yet subsided at that time, and political lines were much more closely drawn than at the later period. The unfavorable showing of the cities is in part due to the larger number of males of voting age in the cities who are not naturalized. The proportion of this type, however, is not sufficient to invalidate the conclusion that the rural pop- ulation has a higher sense of civic duty than the urban. THE FARMER IN POLITICS • "235 Tliere does not appear to be any marked difference between rural and urban communities in the constancy of adherence to party. A comparison of rural, rural-urban, and urban counties in Ohio as to changes in the vote for the Republican candidate for President in 1908 and 1904 gives the follow- ing results: Party Loyalty Change Per cent. Urban 7.4 Rural-Urban 5.8 Rural 5.4 Of the rural counties, 43, or 80 per cent., showed gains in Republican vote from 1904 to 1908; the rural-urban counties, 6, or 22.2 per cent., showed gains, and of the urban counties but 2, or 28.5 per cent., showed gains. In view of the fact that the cities are showing the most rapid increase in popu- lation while the country districts are still losing population, these figures, considered in connection with the preceding ta- ble, indicate that the country is actually as ready to shift in political allegiance, if not more so than is the city. A study of the Democratic gains and losses show much the same results as the Republican vote. In all counties ex- cept one, the Democratic vote showed an increase in 1908 over 1904. The figures given above show the marked influence of po- litical stimuli upon the public mind in general and also show that the urban voter is more likely to shift his vote than is the rural citizen. Stability and constancy in the observance of his political relations are characteristic of the rural voter. These figures indicate that as the political situation now stands, if the farmer can be trained to an intelligent apprecia- tion of what his interests are on public questions, there need be little fear that he cannot control legislative activity. It may be argued that groups should not act in their own par- ticular interests but in the interest of the state at large. The- oretically, this is a correct policy, but practically when well- 236 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY organized urban industrial groups are given to manipulating legislative bodies in their own particular interest whenever it is possible to do so, the farmer is practically compelled to act for the interests of the agricultural group. The evidence, drawn from observation of what farmers have advocated since their group consciousness began to assume organized form, is that so far they have not been excelled by any other group in their disinterested advocacy of what is for the common good. The deep-seated moral tendencies of this group may be relied upon to direct its energies toward states- manlike policies so long as its interests are not definitely thwarted by selfish manipulation of politics by other bodies. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Why is an organized farmers' group-consciousness neces- sary? 2. To what extent are farmers represented by farmers in legis- lative assemblies? 3. How may farmers' interests be well represented by other groups ? 4. What policies have farmers advocated? 5. How does the rural vote compare with the urban vote as to stability ? 6. How does it compare as to evidence of political interest? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Make a list of voters in your community. 2. Qassify them according to political affiliations. 3. How many do not want their politics known? Why? 4. What proportion of the voters exercise their right of suf- frage? 5. To what extent are candidates pledged before election? 6. What county officials are farmers? CHAPTER XIII FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS In addition to the various group activities connected with the church and the school, rural life presents a large number of organizations devoted to particular purposes relating to the economic or social interests of the farmer. Some of these, such as state dairymen's associations, cattle or horse breeders' associations, and vegetable or poultry growers' associations, are groups of men brought together from a large area for the purpose of considering problems of improvement of prod- uct or of discussing matters of common interest to the pro- ducers of a particular type of commodity. Their interests are primarily economic and do not have a direct relationship to the social problems of the local community. They have their counterpart in local organizations, such as country agricultural societies, vegetable growers' associations and the like. It is only rarely that these organizations do anything further than to discuss their own particular problems or take action in- tended to influence legislation in their behalf. They are more or less permanent factors in community life, but do not pretend to deal with matters other than their own particular group welfare. Another type of economic organization is that in which the members of a local community band themselves together for the purpose of accomplishing some purpose of economic ad- vantage to the community. These groups are usually desig- nated as cooperative associations. They differ from the former in that in addition to the discussion of their common problems they are interested in carrying on a business for the mutual benefit not only of the members of the organiza- tion but of the entire community. The form of business 237 238 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY may be that of buying farm or hpusehold supplies, mar- keting farm products, production, manufacture, obtaining credit, conducting forms of public service, such as telephones or the operation of some common carriage system. These organizations are much more closely related to community welfare and require much more definite community action than do the ones mentioned in the preceding paragraph. It is this type of farmers' organization to which particular atten- tion will be given in the present chapter. The literature of the cooperative movement is very great, but most of it is either historical or descriptive of organiza- tion types. From the point of view of the sociologist, both historical development and form are of importance because of the lessons that may be learned as to the place of this type of organization in rural life; its relation to existing forms of industrial order; the conditions under which it is likely to appear; and its effects on the social life of the community. It is not the purpose in this connection to trace the devel- opment of the movement nor to study intensively the forms it has taken, but to draw such lessons from the history and present status of the movement as will be of practical value to the one interested in bringing about a scientific organiza- tion of rural life, both on the economic and on the social side. The cooperative movement as a world-wide phenomenon is of comparatively recent growth. During the early part of the past century dissatisfaction on the part of wage earners in the urban centers led to a variety of forms of expression. One of these was the Owenite movement in England, which had its reflection in America in such groups as the New Har- mony Community, in Indiana. These early, sporadic attempts to reorganize society by the separation of a few choice souls from the general group in the hope that the ideal rela- tions existing in those limited groups would ultimately reform all social relations, did not exert a very wide influence except to attract attention to the problems awaiting solu- tion. FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS 239 Although attempts had been made in a small way previ- ously, it remained for a little group of workingmen in the town of Rochdale, in England, to make the beginning of the practical application of the principles of humanity to indus- trial relations. The significance of that little beginning, though among workingmen instead of farmers, is so great that it deserves a large place in any study of economic organiza- tion. The source of the movement cannot be better described than in the words of one of the historians of the cooperative movement : At the close of the year 1843, on one of those damp, dark, dense, dismal, disagreeable days, which no Frenchman can be got to ad- mire — such days as occur toward November, when the daylight is all used up, and the sun has given up all attempts at shining, either in disgust or despair — a few poor weavers out of employ, and nearly out of food, and quite out of heart with the social state, met together to discover what they could do to better their indus- trial condition. Manufacturers had capital and shopkeepers the advantage of stock; how could they succeed without either? Should they avail themselves of the poor law ? that were depend- ence ; of emigration ? that seemed like transportation for the crime of being poor. What should they do ? They would commence the battle of life on their own account. They would, as far as they were concerned, supersede tradesmen, mill owners, and capitalists ; without experience or knowledge, or funds, they would turn mer- chants and manufacturers. The subscription list was handed round — ^the stock exchange would not think much of the result. A dozen of these Lilliputian capitalists put down a weekly sub- scription of two pence each — a sum which these Rochdale Roths- childs did not know how to pay.^ From out of such dire necessity has grown the great modern Cooperative Wholesale Society in England. Its growth from the year 1844, when 28 Rochdalers, with a capital of 28 pounds, opened the little store in Toad Lane, to the present, is full of significance of the place the cooperative movement is destined to hold in the ultimate organization of industrial ' Holyoke, History of Cooperation. 240 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY society. The sales of the Wholesale and Retail Cooperative Societies for the United Kingdom have increased as follows : ''■ Sales, Cooperative Societies, United Kingdom i86s $16,000,000 1870 39,000,000 187s 89,000,000 1880 112,000,000 1885 152,000,000 1890 212,000,000 189s 267,000,000 1900 393.o°°)°oo 1905 467,000,000 1910 575.000,000 The retail stores found that their existence was dependent upon engaging in the wholesale business. The Cooperative Wholesale Society has passed on to the larger task of manu- facturing its own supplies. From time to time it has taken on new activities until it now operates the biggest flour mills and biggest shoe factory in Great Britain. It manufactures woolen clothes, prepared foods, and household articles, and has a printing business, creameries and many other types of establishments. It has a bacon factory in Denmark, a tea plantation in Ceylon, warehouses in the United States, Can- ada, Australia, Denmark, Spain and Sweden.' It has its own banking establishments, is buying its own coal lands, and had in 1909 in its possession nearly 10,000 acres under cooperative farming.* The wonderful development of urban cooperation in Great Britain has its counterpart in rural cooperation in every part of Europe. The marked characteristic of the movement in all these countries, except in England, is its comparatively recent growth. In Holland cooperation is said to have been almost unknown in 1890. Now the larger part of the business of ' Gill, Social Effects of Cooperation in Europe, Report Federal Coun- cil Churches of Christ in America, 1914, p. 130. 'Harpers' Weekly, January 17, 1914. *Webb, Industrial Cooperation, p. 38. FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS 241 the fanners is on the cooperative basis. Denmark has ad- vanced along cooperative lines until today this country, un- favored in natural resources, ranks high in per capita wealth among European countries. The other European coun- tries have shown rapid increases in cooperative organization since 1890. While data as to the extent of the movement in the United States are not available, there is considerable evidence that there was about $1,400,000,000 worth of cooperative purchase of supplies in 1914. A recent United States Government Re- port estimated that there were about 400 Rochdale retail stores in the country.' While the most reliable information available does not indicate a large annual increase in this total since that time, the movement is on a much sounder and more permanent basis. The movement is growing in all parts of the world, and whereas twenty-five years ago it met with either indifference or actual opposition by state agencies, at the present time it is being fostered by all progressive governments in the western world. The United States Government is studying methods of efficient organization and management of rural cooperative societies and is co- operating^ with other nations in this work through the International Institute of Agriculture. The experience of the cooperative wholesale society in Eng- land is discussed at length because, after all, the time has passed when people live within national boundaries; and the experience of Great Britain is typical of the experience of the world, and influences the activities of men wherever means of communication bring news of developments taking place. Standardization of business methods, together with the rising humanitarian spirit, are laying the foundation for the advance of a form of industrial control which substitutes the larger community interests for those of the limited group. The spread of the cooperative movement is but one expression of this tendency toward the substitution of hmnanity for prop- erty as the aim of industrial enterprises. ' United States Department of Agriculture, Dept, Bulletin Na 30^ 242 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY The distinguishing characteristics of cooperative organiza- tion are: 1. Manhood representation, instead of property ownership representation. One man, one vote, is one of the fun- damental features of all truly cooperative organiza- tions. 2. Membership open to all. 3. Distribution of profits on basis of business done instead of stock held, thus giving the benefits of business to those who make the business possible and substituting community welfare for individual or limited group advantage. From the point of view of the social economist, these princi- ples represent the transition from the older belief that indi- vidual or group competition is an essential force in human progress to the theory that the largest progress of the race is dependent upon elimination of competition so far as possible and the substitution of the principle of working together for the common good. "Each for all and all for each" is the motto of the cooperative movement. It is necessary as a foundation for the advance of the co- operative movement among farmers in America that this dif- ference between the traditional competitive system and the cooperative economic organization be fully understood. In nature there appear to be two forces operating which affect social and economic relationships. The one is the competitive principle, which, carried to its extreme, results in an intense struggle for existence and the theoretical survival of the fit- test. The other is the principle of cooperation, whereby it appears that when limited groups work together for their mutual benefit they have an enormous advantage over those who have not learned the art of cooperation. Among lower animals, and even among plants and between plants and ani- mals, there appears to have developed forms of working together as a result of the competitive struggle, so that it may FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS 243 be said that even in nature the tendency is for competition to eliminate itself by bringing into existence its opposite, the cooperative principle. Among human beings the result has been the same. Groups that have learned to work together for the good of each member of the group have been able to hold positions of advantage in the industrial world and to levy tribute upon the unorganized elements. The cooperative movement described above differs from the cooperation which has found such effective expression in the modern trust in that the latter has utilized the cooperative principle for the advance of a limited group in competition with other elements in industrial society, while the cooperative movement, while limited in the number it reaches, is so limited rather by the fact of its youthfulness than by intent and stands ready to expand to include all humanity, as conditions develop which will make such expansion practicable. Unlike other social reform movements, it does not pretend to be a cure-all, but does propose to advance into a larger control of industrial life wherever and whenever conditions become such as to make such advance practicable. It also stands definitely for the principle that human beings, by scientific organization of pro- duction and distribution of wealth, can so control the condi- tions of existence that material comfort can be assured to all members of the race. It believes definitely in the possibility of substituting scientific social control of the conditions of existence for the blind struggles of the forces of nature, to which lower forms of life appear to be subject. From the point of view of the American farmer, the rec- ognition of the necessity of organization is important. To the present, the fact that he has controlled the sources of food supply has given him a measure of freedom from the intense competition finding expression in the cities. But he is begin- ning to realize that there are certain phases of industrial or- ganization that he can and should assume control of for his own protection. Organization is being forced upon him by organization in other groups, and by the changing conditions of modern agricultural production. Consequently the appre- 244 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY ciation of the necessity of working together for the common good is bringing a widespread interest among farmers in the scope and limitations of the cooperative movement as applied to agriculture, and the last few years have witnessed a rapid and stable spread of cooperative activity in many parts of the country. A survey of the present development of the movement among the farmers of America indicates certain general prin- ciples underlying its appearance and permanent growth. First, cooperation appears and continues where the farmers have a marked consciousness of a common interest in the accomplish- ment of one definite purpose. Cooperation has not developed, except around some simple interest, as the purchase of farm supplies, in the general farming area of the Central Valley. It has had its conspicuous growth in the citrus fruit-growing areas of California or of the South, in the deciduous fruit sections of the Northwest, or among truck growers in limited areas in other parts of the country. In these areas high spe- cialization and definite common interest in the marketing of a special product have not only made organization desirable but necessary. In the general agricultural areas such organi- zation as has appeared has been in connection with some one definite purpose, such as provision of mutual insurance, buy- ing of supplies, or where some one industry has sufficiently developed in the manufacture of commodities from farm prod- ucts, as in creameries or cheese factories. Before organiza- tion, can become a larger factor in the general farming areas, the people must become conscious of the advantage of such organization. At the present there is a very widespread feel- ing in these areas that many forms of cooperative organization aie not needed and in many places this is doubtless true. Second, it has been the experience of cooperators the world over that beginnings can be made more easily in the purchase of supplies than in the manufacture or marketing of farm products. It is easier to get someone to part with his goods for money than it is to get him to part with his money for goods. Consequently, the cooperative buying of supplies has FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS 245 the triple advantage of its simplicity, its ease, and its being founded on a common interest. Third, cooperation appears to thrive best when people live close together, or when they have ready means of communi- cation. The ability to associate often with neighbors and to discuss community affairs offers a fruitful source of growth of consciousness of community problems. Moreover, those carrying on intensive production on small areas appear to need group activity more than do those who are operating large farms. In the former case the greater part of the time of the farmer must be devoted to the actual labor of the farm and consequently he has little time to devote to the business phases of his work. The large farmer, on the other hand, can hire persons to do much of the manual labor and can devote himself to problems of management and of marketing or buy- ing supplies. Cooperation has been most conspicuoflsly suc- cessful in the fruit- and truck-growing areas where the ranches are comparatively small. Fourth, distance from point of production to ultimate mar- keting of supplies makes organization more necessary. The in- dividual who is producing thousands of miles away from the place where his products will be consumed is at the mercy of the middleman who handles his goods and cannot hope alone to bring about those marketing conditions necessary to enable him to produce at a profit. An organization can insure stand- ardization, deal more effectively with middlemen, secure suit- able transportation facilities, and do many other things that the individual cannot do for himself. Fifth, certain social conditions are favorable to the develop- ment of cooperation. It does not appear to thrive so readily in communities where the contrasts of race or nationality and, in some cases, of religious belief are too great. Only the most absolute necessity will bring people too conscious of social differences to cooperate with one another. It appears also that those areas in America settled by those having a heritage of experience of cooperation in Europe have been most suc- cessful in its development here, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the 246 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Dakotas, and other northern states settled by those coining from northern European countries have become best known for their success in developing the cooperative movement among farmers in this country. In a similar manner those sections in the several states into which cooperators have moved from other states show a marked inclination to its development. The appearance of the farmers' elevator move- ment in Ohio is attributed to the immigration of farmers from Illinois who had had experience with farmers' elevators in that state and their experience has been very helpful in putting the movement on a successful foundation in Ohio. Sixth, permanency of population is necessary to successful cooperative activity. In European countries farmers do not move from one section to another as rapidly as they do in America and consequently there is in every community a group of farmers who have learned to work together. Tliis condition has made the development of cooperation in Europe easier than in this country. The rise of the tenant class in America, and the appearance of group distinctions as be- tween the landed proprietor and the landless is likely to make cooperation more difficult in America in the future than it has been in the past. Seventh, cooperation has been most successful in America among groups representing a very high degree of average in- telligence. This is true not only in the western but in the eastern part of the country. This is in contrast with the de- velopment of the movement in Europe where, in many in- stances, the movement has been the means of bringing an ignorant group up to a position of intelligence and self-re- spect. Eighth, a clear recognition of the value of cooperation to a community and of the conflict between the cooperative form of conducting business and all kinds of the so-called legitimate forms of trade is almost absolutely necessary to carry the movement safely through the first steps of its existence. Lack of loyalty to the principle of cooperation when loyalty would have meant permanent success and benefit to the community FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS 247 has been accountable for many of the failures with which the beginnings of the movement are strewn. The social effects of the cooperative movement are more difficult to trace in American life than in Europe. There the movement came into country life as a last resort and was the means of helping the poor farmers to secure enough credit to buy seed and equipment; to standardize their products; and to find markets for what they were producing. It turned a hopeless, shiftless poverty into a hopeful, self-respecting energetic prosperity, until today the countries that have en- couraged working for the community through cooperation are the models for the entire world. It has resulted in a saving to the consumer on purchases of a sum said to be equivalent to 15 to 20 per cent, of what those not connected with the movement must pay. Since cooperation is primarily a thrift institution, it has promoted this quality among the people and has thus led to the gradual accumulation of bank reserves by the community. It has promoted moral standards, espe- cially in business, since reputation for promptness in payment of debts and honesty in other business relations are of direct advantage to the one wishing to benefit by cooperation. It has also promoted temperance by direct refusal to deal in intoxi- cating liquors and by discouraging their use among its mem- bers. It has encouraged self-respect, because the cooperator feels that he is in business for himself and is independent of those who formerly gave him credit. Education of the members by lectures and evening classes is a cardinal prin- ciple of the movement and in many countries 5 per cent, of the net income is set aside for educational purposes. The cooperative organization also fosters the social spirit by providing equipment and leadership for social and recrea- tional activities. Perhaps its greatest contribution has been that of promo- tion of democracy. Modem industry on the competitive basis has led to the most marked differences in social stratification. These differences in social stratification have led to the break-up of community life, even in the open country. The 248 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY very foundation of the cooperative movement is "Each fof all and all for each," the frank recognition of the practica- bility of the ideals of Human Brotherhood taught by the Master, nearly two thousand years ago. Its coming into the rural community brings men and women from all stations in life into a common group to participate in the business activi- ties of buying supplies, of conducting a creamery or a co- operative store; and the common interest in conducting coop- erative business tends to break down the differences which grow up in an unorganized community resulting from the operation of the competitive system. The relation of the cooperative movement to world politics should not be forgotten. It is not community cooperation in the largest sense that is responsible for the international diffi- culties in Europe. The great struggle which has been going on is the result, not of the growth of the cooperative spirit, nor of the effort on the part of humanity to control the sources of nature in the interests of a common humanity, but it is the outgrowth of the competitive spirit in which national groups have been playing the great game of getting the largest sources of wealth on earth for their own subjects. It is a survival of a passing regime and cannot return when once those who control the situation are interested in co- operation.* The above suggestions have been made because it is of the greatest importance to every rural community to realize that when a little buying association is formed, or when the com- munity agrees to work together for crop or livestock im- provement or sale, they are by that act becoming part and parcel of a movement deeply founded in nature and growing in modern industry at a much more rapid rate than industry itself. They must realize that their organization is not new, but has been tried and has been proved successful in many other communities; and that the weakness of the movement lies in lack of appreciation of its significance by those who take part in it, and in the ruthless combined opposition of 'Gill, Social Effects of Cooperation in Europe. 17 FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS 249 all competitive agencies when it appears in a community, rather than in weakness in principle or in form of organi- zation. Some of those interested in the advance of the cooperative movement in America have raised the question as to whether cooperation can be most readily developed before or after strong social institutions have been formed in the community. The fact that present economic influences are tending to de- stroy what democratic social life there is in the country and to substitute for it a new social order, based on differences in relation to property ownership, is strong evidence that those who believe in encouraging social life before attacking the causes of social disintegration are apt to meet with failure. When men work together in organized society for the com- mon economic good of all the members, the economic basis of democracy is, in part at least, assured, and the solution of social problems will be much easier. The truth is that social institutions make it easier to estab- lish strong economic institutions; and, on the other hand, efficient economic life paves the way for strong social organi- zation. Both go together, and the encouragement of both at the same time should be the policy of the one responsible for efficient rural organization. Many conditions have prevented the advance of the cooper- ative movement among all classes in America. The vast natural resources of the country and the vast areas of unap- propriated lands have offered a constant opportunity for the energetic from either the city or the less favored rural dis- tricts to get a new start and to profit by increases in land values as population grew. In the cities the laboring classes have devoted almost their entire attention to bettering their condition by trying to raise wages instead of trying to gain control of industrial conditions by working together through cooperation. More perfect business organization and keener competition among business men has also kept the profits to saddlemen at a close margin and the advantages of coopera- tion have not been realized so much as in other countries. 2SO INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Among farmers the mode of living in widely scattered homes with poor means of transportation and communication has tended to foster an intense individualism. This individualism has been kept up under changed conditions even at the expense of larger returns to the fanner. The cooperative movement among farmers has been delayed also because farmers have been primarily interested in the production of crops and live stock rather than in their business relations, as a result of the influence of the period when American agriculture was largely a home consumption activity. The passing of agriculture into an intense commercialism has not as yet brought among farm- ers the realization of the need of organization for dealing effectively with a highly organized industrial system. It has been more difficult also to develop organization among farmers because of the fact that producers are harder to organize on an economic basis than are consumers. The absence of a keenly felt need for economic organization and the difficulty of bringing producers together under conditions existing in American agriculture have been primarily responsible for the slowness of this type of group activity. Reference will be made in the following chapter to organiza- tions having a combined economic and social program. On March 4, 1920, the American Farm Bureau Federation was organized in Chicago. Twenty-eight State Farm Bureau Fed- erations, previously organized, were represented. This move- ment, although comparatively new, has grown with such rapidity that it has become a very powerful factor in rural economic progress. It is the outgrowth of the County Agent movement, which was fostered and developed by the United States Department of Agriculture. Credit for beginning the movement is claimed by Broome County, N. Y., where a county agent was ap- pointed in March, 191 1. Another pioneer appeared also in Missouri. (See page 302.) Bradford Knapp of the Depart- ment will always be remembered in this connection because of his faithful service in farm demonstration work in the South. The county agents, as their numbers increased, found it desir- FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS 251 able to have organizations of farmers who would give them local support and with whom they could cooperate officially in carrying out their programs. Township and country farm bureaus were organized. These were followed by state organ- izations and these finally by the national organization. Thus the movement begun by government officials has become a pri- vate organization with a program independent of the govern- ment but cooperating with government representatives in every possible way. The objects of the organization are stated in the constitution as follows : "To correlate and strengthen the state farm bureaus and similar state organizations of the several states in the national federation, to promote, protect and represent the business, economic, social, and educational interests of the farm- ers of the nation, and to develop agriculture." It claims a mem- bership of more than a million persons in thirty-seven states. It represents more than 1,600 county farm bureaus, principally in the North and West. Its influence is spreading gradually through the South. Some of the achievements claimed by the organization are: Worked out a transportation policy, thus saving the farmers $55,000,000; reduced railway valuation for purposes of com- puting guaranteed earnings $1,700,000,000, thus saving $30 for every farmer in the United States ; secured extension of War Finance Corporation's power to lend $1,000,000,000 to farmers; gave support to movements for adequate financing of the United States Department of Agriculture. Among the important phases of the program of the organ- ization is its effort to organize the market for the nation's principal agricultural commodities on a national scale. It now has a Grain Marketing Committee of Seventeen ; a Live Stock Marketing Committee of Fifteen; a Dairy Marketing Com- mittee of Eleven; a Fruit Marketing Committee of Twenty- one, and a Wool Marketing Committee of Twenty-five. It also has appointed a Women's Committee to consider the prob- lems of the home. As typical of the work of these committees that of the Com- 252 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY mittee of Seventeen on Grain Marketing may be given. This committee has organized the United States Grain Growers, Inc. Among the objectives proposed are: the stabilizing of prices; eHmination of short selling and market manipulation; the export or pool of grain surplus for export purposes; the fur- nishing of credit to farmers to enable them to hold their grain; to study conditions of supply and demand; to clean, mix, regrade, and condition farmers' grain in farmer-ov/ned plants; to eliminate unnecessary and duplicated freight and handling charges by direct shipment to miller or exporter ; and to prorate savings back to the farmer. In order to finance the program outlined, the Farmers' Finance Corporation has been organ- ized as a $100,000,000 subsidiary. Similar developments are under way in the effort to market cotton, tobacco, wool and other agricultural products. The effort to control the conditions of the market in the interest of the farmer, represented by the economic activities of the farmers through the American Farm Bureau Federation, is by far the greatest that has ever taken place in the history of American agriculture. In the process of reorganization of American agriculture a much more marked development of economic organization may be expected than has been observed in the past. The passage of the recent Rural Credit law will bring many farmers together on a definite cooperative basis and will result in an expansion of cooperative activity from credit associations into other forms of economic organization. When industry be- comes sufficiently standardized; when farmers become trained in the elements of accounting and of business organization; when they understand better their relation to the larger indus- trial activities of the community; and when they learn the economies of elimination of overhead expense, duplication of services, and of providing common storage warehouses for the purpose of better controlling market conditions; then the rural community, with the village as the center, will become much more truly than it is at the present time an economic and social unity. In some villages today the farmers own FARMERS' ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS 253 the cooperative store, which supplies the trade for the great majority of both town and country people. They own the cooperative bank, which supplies the finances for carrying on the various community business activities; they own the com- munity warehouse; the creameries, the cheese factories, the telephone, and practically every phase of business. The vil- lage, instead of being made up of a number of profit seekers, trying to make a living by controlling the prices paid to farm- ers for their products or those charged for products sold to the farmers, as it now is, will be made up of the salaried employees of the farmer, participating in the benefits of co- operation but not participating in them to the exclusion of the community. When the agricultural village becomes the economic center for agriculture, as well as the social center, the distinctions that now exist between the village and the country will disappear and all the people will be bound to- gether into a larger unity of economic and social organization conducive to the highest advantage of every member of the community. Loyalty to the group will be stronger than it now is- and the foundation will be laid in a common economic pros- perity for the best fruits of culture available to any part of the national social order. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Discuss the beginnings of the Cooperative Movement. 2. Why has rural cooperation been slower in development than urban ? 3. What are the essential features of cooperative organization? 4. Under what conditions does cooperation among farmers read- ily appear? 5. What are the principal social effects of cooperation? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. What cooperative organizations exist in your community? 2. What ones have existed? Why did they fail? 3. What cooperative activity would be adapted to your com- munity ? 254 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY REFERENCES Powell, G. H. Cooperation in Agriculture. The Macmillan Co., New York. Coulter, John Lee. Cooperation Among Farmers. The Sturgis & Walton Co., New York. Wolff, Henry W. Cooperation in Agriculture. P. S. King and Son, London. Publications of Office of Markets and Rural Organization United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Publications of International Institute of Agriculture. Rome, Italy. CHAPTER XIV FARMERS' SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS Rural social organizations may be classified in a number of different ways. They may be grouped according to the extent of organization, whether local, state or national; they may be classified according to their permanency, whether they appear once in one form and again with different membership and under different leadership; or they may be grouped ac- cording to their functions, whether they are brought into existence to meet a special need and disappear with the ac- complishment of their purpose, or whether they are the ex- pression of permanent needs in the social order. Illustrations of two types of the last mentioned possible classification may be given. The school and the church are both founded upon abiding demands in human nature, and while varying in their efficiency as functioning agencies, they are to be found in every normal community. The home, though a fundamental social organization, is not discussed in this connection, not because its fundamental importance is not recognized but because the organization of the home is a subject big enough to be made the basis of a dissertation in itself. The special topic of the present chapter is those organizations which bring people together as members of groups in the community outside of the family. The simplest groups are those local associations brought together for recreational purposes, such as parties ahd dances ; or those to consider some immediate problem of community importance. There is no thought of permanence. Usually not more than a temporary chairman is chosen, if officers are chosen at all. More frequently the one getting up the group assumes responsibility for seeing to it that it accomplishes the 255 256 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY purpose for which it was intended. The membership may or may not be open to the community. In many cases the dance is public and generally meetings called to consider immediate community problems are public. But in most cases recrea- tional gatherings are limited to special groups who may be invited to attend the functions. Next in order beyond these unorganized groups are those limited groups of a more permanent nature. These may be illustrated by the "threshers' rings," which continue through- out the year for social purposes, meeting at the members' homes, and including those who exchange work during the threshing season. Sometimes these groups pass from "rings" into regularly organized farmers' clubs, groups of twelve se- lected families, that meet once a month, and have a great degree of permanence. Special groups, like women's clubs, also illustrate this type of association. Since both these groups make a practice of meeting in the homes, the tendency is to limit membership so that the burden of entertainment is not too great on any individual family. Another type of limited group that has appeared in the last few years is the family reunion. This type has arisen partly out of the greater permanence of rural life, partly out of the growing feeling of differences in economic welfare ; and partly out of a growing interest in family and family traditions due to the passing of the pioneer individual democracy. Beyond these local associations are to be found the whole list of organizations, some of them primarily social and edu- cational, but many of them primarily economic, which are organized on a state or national basis. Illustrations of this type are the Grange, or Patrons of Husbandry ; the Gleaners, the Farmers' Equity Union, the Farmers' Educational and Co- operative Union, and the Farmers' National Congress. The various governments, state and federal, through the funds made available by the passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, are also active in the organization, in every county where a county agent of improvement associations is located. These associations are intended to be community affairs, which will SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 257 doubtless lead to a national affiliation of all farmers in a com- mon organization. In addition to these may be mentioned the recently organized National Agricultural Organization So- ciety and the National Agricultural Society, the reorganized Fanners' National Congress and the whole list of farmers' groups brought into existence for the advancement of some particular interest, such as the improvement of the condi- tions of truck production or marketing of dairy prod- ucts. As a basis for conclusions as to the place of the several types of organization mentioned, their significance in relation to efficient community activity, their relation to one another and the scope and limitations of their service to the community, a brief statement of their extent and expressed purposes will be helpful. The whole mass of unorganized groups which spring up in every community and have a more or less tempo- rary existence are not, as a rule, of more than local impor- tance. There is no way of determining accurately at any given time what is their extent of influence. It may be stated in a general way, however, that it appears that as a com- munity grows older these transient groupings tend to become less important. The author knows of pioneer communities in the western part of the country where before the advent of the automobile young people thought nothing of traveling forty miles to a dance and where some kind of social affair occupied the time of the socially-minded young farmers al- most every night in the week. One extreme instance may be given of a case in the Pacific Northwest where two broth- ers drove across country 112 miles to attend a college foot- ball game. The common impression is that as the community grows older, people become more conservative in their social relations and the spontaneous groupings found in a primitive democracy tend to disappear. In the older days farmers thought nothing of hitching up in the middle of the week and going to spend the day with a neighbor, and evening calls among the older people were the rule. This type of association has largely disappeared with the passing of the home-making 2S8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY stage in agriculture and the coming of the commercialized pro- duction in which attention has been given more to increasing bank accounts than to good living through securing the enjoy- ments that come from close friendships. The increase in mul- tiplicity of outside interests has broken down the local groups of an earlier period, and, it is to be feared, has not brought to modern life a satisfactory substitute in real pleasure of existence. Many persons caught in the pressure of modem life and in the struggle to maintain conventional standards of living rebel in their more thoughtful moments at the slavery which this pressure brings, but find themselves un- able to break away from the influences about them without sacrificing even the associations which that life brings. The limited groups, such as the farmers' clubs of twelve families each, meet a definite need for those who belong to them. From the community point of view, their influence is open to question. In the first place, they are selective groups and this results in a diflferentiation in the local community that is not always conducive to the best social life. Their presence has the appearance of aristocracy whether it actu- ally exists or not, and aristocracy is obnoxious to the truest ideals of rural life. The true spirit of service cannot find expression in the limited group, particularly in areas where the existence of such hmited groups is conspicuous. The same may be said of women's clubs that have a limited membership. The limited membership women's club probably has a greater justification from the point of view of conventional standards of association among women, but its existence certainly does not offer much hope for the socialization of those women in the community who probably need socialization most. In the second place, the taking out of a community of a select groups tends to draw from the community the leadership needed in the larger, more inclusive organization of rural life. Conditions may be such as to make much more difficult the formation of similar limited groups among those not in- cluded in the original organization. In any case, a com- munity made up of a large number of such limited groups SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 259 would not be any community at all and ideally they should give way to a larger social organization. While the great variety of local associations affords a rich field for the study of social reactions, the field has not yet been studied sufficiently to afford valuable generalizations for presentation in this discussion. The immediate problem be- fore public men today is that of bringing about a uniformity of farmers' social organizations throughout the country that will be an expression of the agricultural group consciousness and a means of making the will of the farming population effective in social control. As suggested above, there are now a number of organizations of national scope at work attempt- ing to bring about this unity, but these organizations have no interorganizational relationships and each pursues its own ends without much regard for the others. It is necessary to analyze the purposes of these different groups in order to determine to what extent they represent overlapping of func- tions and to what extent they are attacking different phases of the rural problem. The first of these organizations to be considered is that of the Patrons of Husbandry, or the Grange. This organiza- tion was founded in 1867 by O. H. Kelley and six associates in Washington, D. C. After several years of rather discourag- ing propaganda, economic conditions in the CentraKWest led the farmers of that area to appreciate the need of agricultural organization and the Grange offered to them the means of accomplishing their purposes. The movement grew rapidly until about 1875 when it had a membership of over 500,000. The early organization gradually lost membership, partly be- cause of the selfish interests of many who joined the order at that time and partly because some of the great political purposes for which the farmers then needed organization had been accomplished. During the 90's, when agricultural discontent was again at a high pitch, the Grangers again had a renewal of growth, but their growth during this period was not nearly so marked as in the earlier period. Since 1900 the organization has had 26o INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY a steady and solid growth until at the present time it is organized in 33 states and has a national membership of sev- eral hundred thousand. The Grange as an organization attempts to embrace all the interests of the farmer, except his religious interests. The purposes, as stated by the organization, are fraternal, social, educational, political and financial. The following declaration of purposes, adopted early in its history, indicates the states- manlike policies of the order: Platform or Declaration of Purposes, National Grange United by the strong and faithful tie of Agriculture, we mutu- ally resolve to labor for the good of our order, our country, and mankind. We heartily endorse the motto: "In essentials, unity; in non- essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." We shall endeavor to advance our cause by laboring to accom- plish the following objects: To develop a better and higher manhood and womanhood among ourselves. To enhance the comforts and attractions of our homes, and strengthen our attachments to our pursuits. To foster mu- tual understanding and cooperation. We propose meeting together, talking together, working to- gether, buying together, selling together, and, in general, acting together for our mutual protection, and advancement, as occasion may require. We shall avoid litigation, as much as possible, by arbitration in the Grange. We shall constantly strive to secure harmony, good will, and vital brotherhood among ourselves, and to make our order perpetual. We shall earnestly endeavor to sup- press personal, local, sectional, and national prejudices, all un- healthy rivalry, all selfish ambition. Faithful adherence to these principles will insure our mental, moral, social, and material ad- vancement. For our business interests we desire to bring pro- ducers and consumers, farmers and manufacturers, into the most direct and friendly relations possible. Hence we must dispense with a surplus of middlemen, not that we are unfriendly to them, but we do not need them. Their surplus and their exactions diminish our profits. We wage no aggressive warfare against any other interests SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 261 whatever. On the contrary, all our acts and all our efforts, so far as business is concerned, are not only for the benefit of producer and consumer, but also for all other interests that tend to bring these two parties into speedy and economical contact. Hence we hold that transportation companies of every kind are necessary to our success, that their interests are intimately con- nected with our interests. We are opposed to such spirit and management of any corpo- ration or enterprise as tends to oppress the people, or rob them of their just profits. We are not enemies of capital, but we oppose the tyranny of monopolies. We long to see the antagonism between capital and labor removed by common consent, and by an enlightened statesmanship worthy of the nineteenth century. We are opposed to excessive salaries, high rates of interest, and ex- orbitant profits in trade. We shall advance the cause of education among ourselves an(( for our children by all just means within our power. We espe« cially advocate for our agricultural and industrial colleges that practical agriculture, domestic science and all the arts which adorn the home be taught in their courses of study. We emphatically and sincerely assert the oft-repeated truth taught in our organic law, that the Grange — national, state, or subordinate — is not a political party organization. No Grange, if true to its obligations, can discuss political or religious questions, or call political conventions, or nominate candidates, or even dis- cuss their merits at its meetings. We always bear in mind that no one, by becoming a Patron of Husbandry, gives up that inalienable right and duty which belongs to every American citizen, to take a proper interest in the politics of his country. On the contrary, it is his duty to do all he can in his own party to put down bribery, corruption, and trick- ery; to see that none but competent, faithful, and honest men, who will unflinchingly stand by our industrial interests, are nominated for all positions of trust; and to have carried out the principle which should always characterize every Patron, that the office should seek the man and not the man the office. Last, but not least, we proclaim it among our purposes to in- culcate a proper appreciation of the abilities and sphere of women, as is indicated by admitting her into membership and position in our order. 262 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY During the first period of its history the Grange made the financial, or economic interests, predominant in its policies, but since that time it has tended to emphasize more the social and educational phases of its work. It has been active throughout its history in endeavoring to bring about legis- lation of interest to the farmers as a group, but has con- sistently refrained from going into politics as a farmers' party. The great results it has obtained in legislation have been through exerting its influence writh existing parties. As an organization the Grange may claim a large share of the credit for bringing about some of the most progressive legislation of the past thirty years. The Grangers were re- sponsible for settling the question as to the relation of the Government to the railways during the 70's of the past cen- tury. Since that time they have stood for the rural free delivery, the parcels post, the popular election of senators, the initiative and referendum, agricultural education, and many other measures of interest not only to farmers but also to all citizens. They have been inclined to favor the public owner- ship of railways, telephone and telegraph lines and, in some parts of the country, the single tax. While other groups were delving into the "pork barrel" of the Federal Govern- ment with the greatest freedom, the organization has stood against the distribution of free seed to farmers and has in other ways manifested the highest degree of statesmanship. ~ The Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union of America is of southern origin. The first local union was organized by Newt. Gresham, a newspaper man, at Smyrna, Texas, Sept. 2, 1902. This organization, like the other groups which have assumed national proportions, grew out of the feeling of the hardships that surrounded the life of the farm- ing population, particularly in the South. As Mr. Barret, the president of the organization, gives the account: Newt. Gresham was sitting on a log one day at a cross-roads country store, and observed the woebegone and debt-depressed farmers who came and went. . . . There came to him, as if by in— SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 263 spiration, a hope that he might be able to assist them and redress their many wrongs. He, too, was poor and, like them, had faced the credit and mortgage system then cursing the South. His in- fluence with the rich and powerful could not be said to be of any considerable extent. The more he thought over the matter the more determined he became to make the attempt. The first organized result of his effort was the meeting at Smyrna. The character of the organization is indicated by the state- ment of purposes made by the organizers in their application for a state charter and in the charter itself. In the application the purpose of the order is stated as follows : "The purpose for which it is formed is to organize and charter subordinate unions at various places in Texas and the United States, to assist them in marketing and obtaining better prices for their products, for fraternal purposes, and to cooperate with them in the protection of their interest." This charter, applied for September 17, 1902, was finally granted by the State of Texas, January 9, 1906.^ The preamble to the constitution adopted states more ex- tensively the same central purpose : Speculators and those engaged in the distribution of farm prod- ucts have organized and operated to the great detriment of the farming class. To enable farmers to meet these conditions and protect their interests, we have organized the Farmers' Educational and Co- operative Union of America, and declare the following purposes : To establish justice.' To secure equity. To apply the Golden Rule. To discourage the credit and mortgage system. To assist our members in buying and selling. To educate the agricultural class in scientific farming. To teach farmers the classification of crops, domestic economy, and the process of marketing. ' Barret, Life and Times of the Farmers' Union. .•:64 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY To systematize methods of production and distribution. To eliminate gambling in farm products by Boards of Trade, Cot- ton Exchanges and other speculators. To bring farmers up to the standard of other industries and busi- ness enterprises. To secure and maintain profitable and uniform prices for grain, cotton, live stock and other products of the farm. To strive for harmony and good will among all mankind and brotherly love among ourselves. To garner the tears of the distressed, the blood of martyrs, the laugh of innocent childhood, the sweat of honest labor and the virtue of a happy home as the brightest jewels known. The statement of the origin of the Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union and its declaration of purposes indicate that this organization grew out of feeling of economic injustice suffered by the farmer. Its later history has shown that it has placed principal stress on economic readjustment and has been only secondarily a social and educational agency. The history of the organization impresses one with the similarity of its origin and activities to those of the Grange in its earlier development. Both grew out of discontent with economic conditions ; both turned their first efforts to cooperation as the solution of their problems ; both had a period of rapid growth ; and both had their period of reaction. The rise of the Farm- ers' Union is most marked in the South and in the West where the Grange had not developed largely in the first period of its history and, like the Grange, it was an all-inclusive organiza- tion, intending to solve, through organization, the economic problems of the time. If it follows the course taken by the Grange, it will probably pass into a period of slower, more stable growth, in which it will meet much more specifically definite social and educational needs of the farming population. That the prediction made in the preceding paragraph is iictually being realized is indicated by the accompanyng charts.^ A third organization national in scope is the Farmers' Na- "C. B.Fisher, The Farmers' Union. University of Kentucky, Studies in Economics and Sociology, Vol. i, No. 2, p. 17. Map 13 Proportion of Union Members in Agricultural Population, 1910 iJ '-^ilti!Sa^v^' i^ 'i f»' :.■ ' ^■" 1 ./^^=^ 1 I "■ \ iJJuJ )M ^ ~^^r7 -^> S \ \ 1 i^^^^^w~^L u I~1 ^ ^^i^^'Ki^s^r-s j^A-5 ^\T\/ ■/^R™" r-+~njin ^ Qf __Jrti nf ^ ^h' j-'^ 1 - \ \ l.'Tv.'/; 'A ^ _^ ^^^ ^mW ^^^fc fj 1 \ ■L^^^J;-^ ^Pi »i— ^' 1 '^^^^^g— ^r f BagsgaggBK ^^^^» ^1 *^JT| ^H W* \ i.,,_ A t^>v>.^_J ^^^^ 2^ ^\--'' rvT-AI-^ ^i^^j; m 5 W/WaW OF MEMBERS pen nooo . AeacuaviUL popuiation . OVEK 500^^100-250^^ ° 2S0-500BK! 25-100 P^ UNDER 25 ES L'z: !=: DT- 1B»- _ ■" ^ i»- Map 14 Proportion of Union Members in Agricultural Population, 1919 '«*i^'^»'f^^f^^^^ //UMBER OF MEMBEHS PEfi 10,000 _ /fSmCULTURAL POPUtATm (MX SDO^^ 100-2501 250-500^3 ffi-100 26s 266 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY tional Congress. This organization was formed about 1880. But little of its origin or early history is known further than that a session w^s held in 1881 in Chicago/ and annually after that to the present time. For many years the Congress appears to have had as its prime purpose simply that of "con- sideration of national questions related to agriculture in a broad, national manner." * Nov. 11, 1912, the Congress adopted a new constitution, which gives for the purpose of the organ- ization the following; 1. To affiliate in a National Society all state, interstate and na- tional organizations, the members of which are engaged in farm- ing and farm home-making, and agricultural institutions, such as State Agricultural Departments and Agricultural Colleges of state and nation, as the Farmers' National Congress, for the purpose of considering national questions related to agriculture and farm life in a broad national manner; provided that this federation shall not interfere with the autonomy and freedom of action of state, interstate and national organizations thus federated in this Farm- ers' National Congress. 2. To aid in establishing in each state, in each county and in each rural district, organizations devoted to agriculture and coun- try life. 3. To secure the cooperation of producers in agricultural pro- duction and distribution. 4. To aid in the technical, civic and general education of farm- ers, and to promulgate facts which will assist farmers and farm- home makers. 5. To further the passage and execution of laws which will promote the general welfare and remove unjust restrictions in the way of advancement of farmers as a class, and especially im- prove the conditions of those who do the work on the farm and in the farm home. The Congress is a delegate body made up of representatives from organizations according to the membership in those organizations. * Proceedings of the twenty-sixth annual session, 1906. ' Constitution of the Congress, Art. I. SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 267 Among the specific problems in which the congress is inter- ested as outlined by its secretary at the 33rd annual session were eugenics, education, reduction of official salaries and government ownership, equitable taxation and exemption of a certain portion of homestead from taxation and from distraint or sale, domestic science and home economics, limitation of fortunes, forest conservation, employment of soldiers on pub- lic highways, soil conservation, prevention of race amalgama- tion, control of immigration, preservation of the recognition of man's obligation to God, parental respect, freedom of speech, duty to future generations, old age pensions for farm- ers and laborers. This program is very comprehensive and is suggestive of the type of work the farmers hope to accom- plish through the Congress. Another national organization brought into existence in 1915 under the auspices of the National Conference of mar- keting and farm credits in Chicago is known as the National Agricultural Organization Society. This organization has been in existence too short a time to permit the formation of an estimate as to the place it will occupy in the larger organization movements in the United States. The compre- hensive plans outlined by the society are suggested by its statement of purposes in its provisional constitution. These are: (a) To cooperate with central bodies and local branches of societies or other associations for the promotion of "Better farm- ing, better business, and better living." (b) To organize agriculture and other rural industries in the United States on cooperative lines. (c) To examine into the methods of production and distribu- tion of farm products with a view of evolving a system of greater economy and efficiency in handling and marketing the same. (d) To encourage and promote the cooperative organization of farmers and of those engaged in allied industries for mutual help in the distribution, storing, and marketing of produce. (e) To aid in the economical transfer of agricultural produce from the producer to consumer. (f) To supply instructions and lecturers upon the subject of 268 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY cooperation among farmers, auditing and accounting experts and legal advice in matters relating to organization. (g) To issue reports, pamphlets and instructions, that will help in spreading knowledge of the best means of rural betterment and organization. (h) To encourage and cooperate with educational institutions, federal and state departments, societies, educational centers, etc., in all efforts to solve the questions of rural life, rural betterment and agricultural finance and marketing and distribution of produce and the special application of the facts and methods discovered, to the conditions existing among the farmers of America and to the solution of the problem of increasing cost of living. (i) To investigate the land conditions and land tenure with a view to working out better, more equitable and fairer systems of dealing with this problem so vital to the social and economic well-being of the country. (j) To call from time to time such conferences or conventions as will carry out the above mentioned objects. An analysis of the expressed purposes of this organization indicates that it is primarily interested in the organization of agriculture along cooperative lines. Other topics are included, such as improvement of rural life, marketing, farm credits, and the solution of the land problem, but manifestly it is expected that the development of cooperative activity will solve in large measure the problems presented by these other interests. Still another organization of recent appearance is the Na- tional Agricultural Society. The avowed purpose of the organization is "to serve as the mouth-piece of the farmers of the United States in agricultural questions of nation-wide interest.'" Some of the subjects which it is announced will be taken up are "rural credits, uniform agricultural legisla- tion, the promotion in congested centers of population of an interest in rural activities, cooperation in the conservation of natural resources and cooperation among farmers in estab- lishing better methods of marketing and distributing farm products." ° Farmers' Open Forum, May, 1916, SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 269 The Ancient Order of Gleaners, established in 1894, now has, after 28 years of existence, approximately 8o,cxx) mem- bers in 1,300 local arbors, located in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa. The purpose of the organization is ex- pressed in its creed: "No interference in politics or religion; cooperation the basis of all business transaction, preservation of the home, elevation of mankind and practice of practical benevolence." Its principal task has been that of development of cooperative activities, both of marketing and buying of supplies. The organization' had assets, December, 1915, of $758,632.00. The order has developed principally in the state of Michigan, where, in Sept., 1916, it had 1.024 local lodges with a total membership of 59,647. One of the most recent developments in the field is that of the American Country Life Association. This organization was formed at a national conference held in Baltimore, 1919. Its purposes are: "To facilitate discussion of the problems and objectives in country life and the means of their solution and attainment ; to further the efforts and increase the efficiency of, persons, agencies and institutions engaged in this field ; to disseminate information calculated to promote a better under- standing of country life and to aid in rural improvement." The organization has held annual meetings and has given special attention at each conference to some special rural life interest. It has held sessions for the purpose of discussing rural health, rural organization, the relation of the village to the open country, and to other phases of the rural problem. One of the most important phases of its work is with the affiliated group known as the National Council of Rural Life Agencies. There are at present (1922) twenty-five public and private agencies formally affiliated with the National Coun- cil. The list is given below to indicate the widespread present organized interest in rural life. Agencies Affiliated with the National Council American Farm Bureau Federation American Home Economics Association 270 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY American Library Association American National Red Cross Child Health Organization of America Church and Country Life Department; Board of Home Missions, Presbyterian Church of the U. S. A. Community Service, Incorporated 'Department of Rural Work, Board of Home Missions and Church Extension of the Methodist Episcopal Church Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America ; Home Missions Council Girl Scouts, Incorporated National Child Health Council National Child Labor Committee National Catholic Welfare Council National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teachers Association; Country Life Department National Education Association; Rural Education Department National Grange National Organization for Public Health Nursing Playground and Recreation Association of America Russell Sage Foundation Young Men's Christian Association; County Work Department Young Women's Christian Association; County Department Office of Farm Management, Rural Life Studies, U. S. Depart- ment of Agriculture States Relations Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture U. S. Bureau of Education U. S. Department of Labor, Children's Bureau U. S. Public Health Service The above list is remarkable in view of the fact that it is but fourteen years since the appointment of the first country life commission by President Roosevelt. These agencies have definite programs of service for rural life, and already much advance has been made in the improvement of conditions in which the several agencies are interested. The purposes of the several organizations mentioned have been given in detail because it is necessary to understand clearly their relations to one another. It should be observed that there are now many organizations concerned with the SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 271 improvement of the social as well as the economic condition of the farmer. The Farmers' National Congress, accord- ing to its constitution adopted in 1912, is interested in federation of organizations, both economic and social. The Grange is characterized by its emphasis upon the social and educational side of farm life. It has also always been dis- tinguished by the active interest it has taken in legislation of interest not only to the farmer but to the general public. The summary of purposes of the difiFerent organizations now interested in agricultural progress leads to the conclusion that there is need of closer cooperation of the efiforts of the different groups. Those groups which have been formed in the past few years have resulted from the growing apprecia- tion of the necessity of bringing all rural social and economic organization into a national unity and of the formation of plans for extension of organization on a national basis. These different movements were started at a time when no organiza- tion in the field was strong enough to act as the centralizing agency for all those interested in the work which all recognize should be done. The American Country Life Association is designed to bring into a harmonious relationship all the independently organized movements. One national group giving adequate representation to all the interests concerned should become the basis for a continuous, prosperous, and effective movement for rural organization. The field of both social and economic organization awaits large development in America. It is estimated that in the state of Ohio, outside of church and school associations, there are probably not over 15 per cent, of all farmers eligible to membership in organizations who are actively affiliated with such groups. The need of such organizations, particularly those which are intended to conserve the social, educational and political life of the country, is very great. The social instinct of humanity is one of the most fundamental ones and the community which lacks adequate facilities for giving ex- pression to this instinct is likely to present pathological condi- tions in immorality, insanity, discontent, provincialism, and 2-]2 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY other phenomena incident to isolation. The organizations which attempt definitely to meet this social need find a hearty response from the rural communities. Probably the basis for the persistence and growth of the Grange during recent years is due to the fact that it has definitely placed the social interests of the community first in its program of service. Other organizations having economic welfare as their prime function are performing a service no less important but of a different type and it has been found by experience difficult to care efficiently for both social and economic welfare in the same group. In ultimate efficient organization of any rural community there apparently is no reason why both social and economic organizations should not exist and consequently the apparent duplication of effort by some of the national groups is not necessarily a real one since the purposes of the groups apply to different interests. Organization for social interests of the rural community in groups aside from either the church or the school appears from the experience of local leaders to result in the greatest social progress. The leaders in both school and church work have repeatedly fostered independent farmers' organizations and have found that their efforts have resulted in a richer religious or educational life. Harmony and cooperation be- tween the agencies responsible for, religious, educational and social leadership is of greater importance than organization in one common group. Every community presents two types of people, the one with social instincts highly developed and the other with but little interest in social life. A survey of the actual social relation- ships in the typical rural community will reveal the fact that the families represented in one organization are likely to be the same as those represented in all the others. There are many individuals in every community whose social relation- ships are very limited. It is for the sake of these individuals, who need the social relationships that come from community organization, that definite efforts should be made to get every member of the community into an organization of some kind SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 273 or other. Those who are not connected with rural organization of some kind do not, in many cases, feel the need of association, but, as race experience shows, unless socialization is developed, the non-socialized are likely to live on a less efificient plane than if they were more fully a part of the community. Certain functions cannot be welL performed by any other than a separate farmers' social organization. The problems of legislation which must be considered by the farmer cannot well be taken up by a religious organization, nor can they be taken up by the school. But a separate farmers' group, pos- sibly under the auspices of the church or the school, can deal with these problems effectively. The present nation-wide movement toward bringing together into a scientific organiza- tion all those engaged in farming is well founded and has more promise of success than any preceding effort that has been made. Affiliation by ' local groups with some national organ- ization is very important. The local organization without out- side connections is likely to thrive for some time but it has been the observation of those most familiar with the subject that such local groups, unless they are founded on some aristocratic impulse, tend to disintegrate. Affiliation with out- side organization brings to the local group the visits, inspection and suggestions of the representative of the larger group; it brings, for consideration and action, communications in regard to matters of more than local importance; it strengthens the national movement; and brings in turn to the local movement the feeling of solidarity and of participation in large affairs that lends dignity and sense of worth to the activities of the local group. Some problems of considerable practical importance need attention. The question as to whether a society should be secret or not has been a point much discussed in rural organization. Without attempting to answer the question finally it may be said that the secrecy that is a part of some national organiza- tions is not of such a nature as to seriously hinder their influ- ence. These organizations are open to the public and any 274 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY respectable individual who is of the proper age is welcome to become a member. Moreover, the occasional repetition of ritual, properly presented, serves to renew in the minds of the members the great principles for which the order stands. Those who have taken the degree work in some of these organizations will never forget the lessons taught in the impres- sive ceremonies. Secrecy is to be distinguished from limitation of member- ship. The former does not exclude anyone whose personal character makes him eligible for association with his fellows. Limitation of membership, while sometimes it appears to be necessary, inevitably tends to break up community life through centering the energies of leaders in advancing the interests of limited groups instead of organizing the larger commimity life, and through introducing class feeling. In any case it is desirable for the secret order to make its meetings as public as possible for the sake of the community. The ideal farmers' social organization is one which provides for the social life of all and conserves the interests of social progress in all its phases. The secret organization should, through making entrance into the order easy, through the adoption of definite projects of social service, and through providing community entertainment, attempt to reach every person in the community in need of social life. Many organizations have lessened their efficiency by devot- ing too much time to business affairs. Women and children who have come to a literary meeting do not care to listen too long to questions of purchase of supplies. On the other hand, even in the literary program, there is danger of having too much attention given to the problems of the farm and too little to the welfare of the home. Children may not be ade- quately provided for. The efficient organization will study carefully to organize its activities so as to meet the needs of all. ■Modern tendencies appear to favor the location of the headquarters of the organization in the village rather than in the open country. Good roads, the location of the school house, the church and the market center in the village, together SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS 275 with the fact that many of those who have retired from the farm are living in the villages, all point to the desirability of such location for the farmers' organization. A recent study of rural organization in Ohio showed that the membership of such organizations in villages was, as a rule, much greater than in the open country. In conclusion it may be stated again that the time has arrived for a nation-wide movement for rural social organiza- tion in every community. Economic organization is also needed in many of them, but not every community needs the same type of economic organization; but the social interests of rural life are based on instincts common to all humanity and definite provision is needed for the play of those instincts. The tendency is toward breakdown of rural social life in the past few' years through the substitution of the commercialized pleasures of the village or the city for the autonomous social relations of an earlier period. It is believed that these social affairs, under proper leadership, can be renewed to the ad- vantage of those living in the smaller communities Close coordination of efforts by rural social organizations with those of other rural agencies is necessary, not only to prevent duplication of effort but to insure effective service in every way the community needs. The home, the church, the school, and the farmers' social organization are all foimded on deep-seated, abiding instincts, and the effort now being made to develop each of them to its highest efficiency has large promise of great success. When the community again looks to itself for the provision of its own social life, and when consciousness of community interests becomes stronger, the life of the village and of the rural environment will become richer and more satisfying than it has been. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. In what ways may rural social organizations be classified? 2. What is the basis of temporariness or permanence of social organization ? 276 INTRODUCTION JO RURAL SOCIOLOGY 3. What is the tendency as to number of local unorganized as- sociations ? 4. What is the effect of the limited group on rural life? 5. What are the purposes of the Grange? 6. Discuss purposes and scope pf the Farmers' Union. 7. Discuss purposes of the Farmers' National Congress. 8. Discuss purposes of National Agricultural Organization So- ciety. 9. How does the National Agricultural Society differ from the above ? 10. What is the present status of farmers' organization in Amer- ica as to total number of farmers affiliated with organiza- tions ? 11. Discuss secrecy in relation to organization. 12. Should economic and social aims be included in the same organization ? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. What social organizations have you had in your community? 2. Why have organizations died? 3. What proportion of your people now are actively interested in some social organization? 4. What is the social life of those not so belonging? 5. Do you need a separate women's club? Why? REFERENCES Cyclopedia of Agriculture, Vol. IV: 489-91. The Macmillan Co., New York. Perry, C. A. The Wider Use of the School Plant. Russell Sage Foundation, New York. . How to Start Social Centers. Russell Sage Founda- tion, New York. Ward, E. J. The Social Center. D. Appleton & Co., New York. Stern, Renee B. Neighborhood Entertainments. Sturgis and Walton Co., New York. Annual Reports of National Grange, Farmers' National Congress, and other national organizations. CHAPTER XV THE SCHOOL AS A FACTOR IN RURAL LIFE The school differs from most other rural organizations in that it is under the direction of professionally trained persons who devote their entire time to maintaining the efficiency of the work attempted. The effectiveness of their efforts depends in large part upon the breadth of vision of those responsible for the direction of educational institutions. It is the purpose in the following pages to analyze the reasons from the socio- logical point of view for the maintenance of a school system and then to note some of the activities that should logically come under the auspices of the schools in the fulfillment of their social function. At different stages in educational progress different ideals have dominated educators. Among those which have found a place in American rural schools have been, first, the ideal that the end of education was to develop the mental faculties of the child through exercise. According to this theory it did not matter much what was studied. The principal criterion for determining whether or not a particular subject should be included in the course was whether it was easy or difficult. The more difficult the subject, the greater favor it met among both teachers and patrons. This theory led to the introduction of mental arithmetic, to the study of all kinds of advanced abstruse mathematical problems that had not the faintest relation to the life of the child. Indeed, it appears that definite effort must have been made to find material that was the farthest removed from practical life in order that the child might get the benefit of applying itself to problems in which it had not the slightest interest. This ideal still survives in the belief on the part of many parents trained at an earlier ^7 278 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY period that the "practical" things now taught in the schools are not of truly educational value and in their insistence that teachers shall emphasize arithmetic even to the exclusion of more useful knowledge. It also finds its survival in many of the "required" subjects in high schools and colleges, through which children must go in order to be permitted to enter on courses of study they really want and need. Another ideal of less influence in the country schools be- cause of the necessity of limiting themselves to teaching funda- mental technique is that of regarding personal "culture" as the end of education. The aim has been to take the individual and put him through a course of work which should result in turning him out a refined, spiritually developed product, fit for entry into the more polite circles of society and for the enjoyment of the better things of life. The emphasis was placed on individual development and only incidentally was the relation of individual development to social welfare taken into consideration. A third ideal closely related to the last but approaching a more modem concept of the purpose of education has been that of training for productive efficiency. This ideal has given rise to technical schools and to the agitation for training for weahh production in the public schools. It has had some very definite results, particularly in unsettling the older so- called culture theories of education. But it has been weak in that it still places the emphasis on the training of the indi- vidual for personal advancement, on the theory that if all individuals are well trained their productivity will be so in- creased that all will enjoy more of the material good of life. Personal success is the inspiration of modern utilitarian edu- cation and advocates of this theory are wont to show how their type of education has resulted in markedly increased salaries or wages. Normal schools and colleges are still largely imbued with these ideas in one form or another. The great majority of training schools place almost entire emphasis upon psychology as fundamental in the training of teachers, forgetting that THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE 279 psychology has to do only with the methods of development of the individual and offers no criterion as to the direction of development desirable, nor as to the effects of education on social organization. A few schools are requiring that teachers take courses in sociology but these are still in the minority. The rapid advance in social science during the past thirty years has brought about a change in the concept as to what is the real purpose of education. The individual is still con- sidered as the subject to be dealt with but the purpose of development of the individual is gradually ceasing to be that of enabling him to achieve personal success in competition with his fellows and is becoming that of preparing him for service in community life. The social aspects of education are rapidly becoming of prime importance as determiners in educational practices. As a social agency the school may be said to have two fundamental purposes, similar to each other in many respects but differing primarily in that the one is devoted to maintaining standards of culture already attained while the other is given to contributing to social progress or raising the plane of civi- lization. Humanity differs from animal life primarily in that the social organizations of animals are the result of instinctive reactions while human society has developed largely as the result of rational adaptation to changing conditions. It is believed that these reactions of animals are the result of ages of natural selection and, consequently, the organization of a hive of bees or a hill of ants in all its complexity does not represent any planning ability on the part of the creatures concerned. Human beings, on the other hand, have, through the faculty of understanding, not only attempted from time to time to adjust themselves to their environment through means invented by them, but also have devised a wonderful system of adapting their environment to their own purposes. They have never been exactly satisfied with the results of their work but in spite of all the imperfections of those results, human beings would rather have the privilege . of trying 28o INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY to adjust matters for themselves than to act on a purely instinctive basis as the lower animals are supposed to do. In many respects human coordinations represent an effort to control the instinctive tendencies. The conventions which have grown up around the sex relation; the moral and legal regulation of property and personal rights; in fact a very large part of the machinery of social adjustment has been the result of man's attempt to bring about an organization which would enable men to live together in peace while at the same time giving due play to the fundamental instinctive tendencies of human nature. As population has increased these conven- tions and customs have continued to increase in complexity until today it is impossible for any human being to grasp fully the significance of them all. Yet the demands of living in this artificial civilization require that the growing child be instructed so far as possible in the elements of the social organization in which he is living, so that he may conduct himself in harmony with social demands and may not find himself either unable to maintain a place in the organization or out of harmony with it. The first duty of the public schools, then, is to train young people for citizenship, that term meaning not merely ability to vote and perform the duties of public office but also ability to understand the principles of social ethics so that, as they grow up, they will have the proper attitude toward their fel- lows and will be reliable, trustworthy, efficient factors in com- munity life, supporting themselves and their families and doing their part in maintaining the necessary social coordina- tions. This is citizenship in the largest sense and it is the point of view that must be kept in mind by the teacher who wishes to make his work most efficient. Modern social de- mands are so rigorous and complex that at least fourteen years of the life of the growing child are required by parents and educators for the purpose of preparing it for those demands, and the tendency is to extend this period. If the child has been prepared to become a reasonably conventional creature THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE _ 281 in that time society appears to be satisfied with the accomplish- ment of the school system. But another, and at present time, equally important work must be performed by the public school system. This task is that of fitting the young people to become factors in social progres^. This does not necessarily mean that they shall contribute to an increasing complexity of human relationships. It may mean that they shall be able to simplify social life and relieve what to many appears to be an abnormal pressure on the individual resulting from present social adjustment and ideals. It does mean that the public schools should ac- quaint the children under their charge with the great problems of modem society so that they shall at least understand what those problems are and have the right point of view in ap- proaching the solution of those problems. This demand will involve some very radical departures from traditional school theory. It will require the abandonment of the ideal that the end of education is to prepare the child for personal success in competition with his fellows. Instead of training the child primarily for self-culture and self-develop- ment for its own sake, it must train him for larger service in the interest of social culture and community progress. The individual psychology which today is the foundation of normal school training will give place in part to social psychology as a vital element in the equipment of the one who expects to deal wisely with human groups. More attention will be given to community opinions and ideals and less attention to indi- vidual characteristics. Again, the school will assume relationships to many more groups in community life than it has in the past. Heretofore the school has been looked upon as a place for the training of children under a certain age. The modern ideal in education recognizes no close dividing lines in the educational system and the school is becoming an instrument of service to the entire community, both old and young. It is a recognized principle of community organization that there is no hard and fast division of labor between formal 282 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY groups. A function will be performed by the church in one community that is performed by the school in another or by the farmers' organization in another. It is recognized that, in the interest of community welfare, any agency has the right and the obligation to go ahead and do anything for the benefit of the community that is not being done by any other agency. Churches have introduced public libraries and have conducted schools. Schools, on the other hand, have repeatedly helped in the social and recreational organization of community life, and have in some instances taken the lead in bringing ma- terial improvement to the community. With this principle in mind it becomes obvious that the social obligation of the school teacher is as wide as the community and his work is that of building civilization in every part that is not receiving ade- quate attention by other agencies. In the ultimate division of labor other agencies may take up the work started by the school; but in the meantime it is the duty of the school to use its equipment and its forces to their utmost in raising the standards of civilization in every way the community requires. In the following pages little will be said about the social function of the school in the organization of its courses so that they will meet the larger social needs. Teachers are making rapid progress in the task of eliminating useless sur- vivals from the courses of study and in rewriting textbooks which include those things of essential value to the pupil. Particular attention will be given to the larger community problems that the school may logically undertake in its at- tempt to render service to all classes of the community. One of the most important services now needed in the rural community is that of teaching the children how to work to- gether for the good of the community. It is ever)rwhere recognized that one of the principal difficulties of organiza- tion of the farming group in their own interest either for economic or social purposes is their extreme individualistic tendencies, their inefficiency in the conduct of organizations and their suspiciousness of the motives of one another when they try to work together. If the public school will teach THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE 283 less of personal success and more of community service to the children; if it will teach more of the inherent worth of working for and with the community for the common good; and if it will give the children opportunity for practical ex- perience in actual organization, the whole aspect bi the rural problem will be changed in the next few years. One of the best ways in which this can be done is through organized recreation. When children have learned to play together in an organized game like baseball, each doing his part whether it be great or small and fitting into the general scheme of the game, then they have learned the first lesson in community organization. But in addition to this not only should the principles of organization be formally studied in the class room but the children should be given practical ex- perience in organization for unifying and standardizing their methods of production in their courses in agriculture, in the marketing of what they produce and in buying their supplies for their agricultural activities. When the children grow up familiar with the methods of organization, then there will be less trouble in securing efficient and productive organiza- tion among the future grown-ups in the country. The children should be brought to a larger sense of loyalty to their own communities. Rural education has in the past been too much inclined to impress country children with the idea that the way to happiness was away from the farm and into the professions or into other activities of urban life. As American social life becomes standardized people will find less and less incentive to try to better themselves by leaving their own immediate environment. When the children are taught to try to make the most of the environment in which they are placed and to improve that environment, there will be much more loyalty to the farm, to the home and to the community than now exists in American life and some of the most precious experiences of attachment to local groups await those who participate in the life which will be the expression of a renewed community loyalty. The school can and should become the center for lectures \ 284 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY and scholarly entertainments for the adults of the community. This function has long been recognized and needs but little discussion here. Communities should endeavor so far as pos- sible to bring themselves into contact with the best thought of this generation on the various phases of human progress. This should be done to prevent the tendency to intellectual lethargy and insensible sinking into a comatose condition of mental vacuity and self-satisfied sloth. Rural communities in the great Central Valley of the United States need not plead poverty as an excuse for not having much of the best literary talent available on the lecture platform, because every village and rural community has its full quota of citizens who are comfortably situated so far as this world's goods are concerned and who give liberally for those things which they have been educated to think worth while. There is need of emphasis upon the fundamental cultural value of evenings spent in listening to someone who has become an authority on some topic of community interest, or in enjoying the best musical {or dramatic production available. The public school as the educational agency for the entire community is the logical center for bringing to the adult population these advantages. The school should become the art center of the community. The American people have been so busy with problems of wealth production that they have not learned to appreciate the value of the beautiful in life. Many men, and women, too, cannot find within themselves any response to the delicate touches of artistic beauty to be found in a good literary pro- duction, in a good painting, or in music. The picture of the poor man in "Pilgrim's Progress" as he spent his days in drawing together the dust of his room while just over him were the real treasures is applicable to the present when so many are losing the real values of life by failing to take time to develop art appreciation and by spending night and day in a mad rush for wealth accumulation. The social discontent which is spread over the United States today because the few have succeeded in this struggle for wealth and because the many who would like to have succeeded still must live in 19 THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE .285 dark, crowded rooms in the city slums or in the miserable shacks erected by mining companies for their human help, will never disappear until American ideals are fixed more upon the attempt to bring a larger portion of enjoyment into the community for the community at large. The school will fail unless it teaches people how to live as well as how to make a living and one of the essential features of living is the devel- opment of keenness of the faculty of discriminating between that which is pure and good and that which is corrupt and sordid. The development of art appreciation should help the growing child to that refinement of character which will make the vulgar offensive and the beautiful attractive. In making the school the art center, definite provision should be made for making the building itself as attractive and artistic as possible. In the furnishings, moreover, the school should not hesitate to expend money liberally for the best examples of artistic work in paintings or sculpture. The public schools should find in many communities boys and girls whose talents may be developed until they contribute not only to the precious art heritage of the race but bring renown to the communities in which they have grown up and in which they have donp their work. Such an ideal is of course out of harmony with present conventions which tend to consider the person who spends his time in artistic work as impractical and unfit for the money making world in which he lives. But America will tire after a while of the constant domination of wealth standards and then this country will begin to produce the finest civilization the world has ever seen. Every small community will become a little center, proud of the contribu- tions of those who have lived within its borders, and the public school will be responsible for much of this advance in culture. The public school in most places should become a museum for preserving the archives of the community. No community can be most loyal to itself until it has a history. The trouble with many of our communities at the present time is that they have grown so rapidly and have changed so frequently in popu- 286 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY lation that there is no unity, no loyalty to the group. In the dynamic conditions which have existed there has been an almost complete lack of community building. The public school must endeavor to build up a community loyalty and one of the most powerful ways of accomplishing this aim is to establish a repository for community history. In this museum should be placed the remains of an earlier civilization which are still to be found in the community. Some of the so-called Indian relics have been sold to collectors from distant points and have passed forever from the posses- sion of the local group. But still, in the open country, often- times collected in the homes but frequently lying in out of the way places about the farms are to be found stone hammers, deer-skinners, flint arrowheads, and other implements of various kinds belonging to a primitive age. Under present conditions these precious relics of a past civilization are fast disappear- ing, never to be recovered. The public school should provide a safe repository for these things and should ask for them for the sake of the community. Many people would be glad to give them to the school while others would be willing to loan them if assurance were given of their safekeeping. Thus it would be possible gradually to build up a collection of relics which would not only be of interest in the public school build- ing and useful for purposes of instruction but which would be the foundation for a community history. In addition to the relics of the prehistoric age there are still relics of the period preceding the introduction of the fac- tory system. These remains are more perishable and are gradually disappearing through the ravages of fire or through lack of appreciation of the materials on the part of the owners. When death or removal breaks up the family these old things are destroyed or lost. The old spinning wheel, the candle molds, the old candle lanterns and oil lamps, candle snuflFers, and the many other devices of the pioneers may still be found in many communities. The public school would be rendering a public service by bringing this material together and provid- ing a place for its safekeeping. THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE 287 Such material has a value for more than that of developing community spirit. It becomes an important adjunct to the equipment of the live teacher of history. The course of human progress and the significance of human achievement is much more real when concrete illustrations can be given of how people got along before the development of the modern system of machine production. These relics offer a valuable approach to the whole problem of tracing the lines of progress from primitive life down to the present time. As with the material resources of the community so is it with the written records of community life. In many of these communities may still be found men and women who knew pioneer life. No more interesting and profitable exercise can be found than that of outlining what would be valuable of the experiences of these pioneers and having the children, as a part of their school tasks, get the picture of life from their grandparents or others and record that picture for the perma- nent records of the school. These are but suggestions of the possibilities of utilizing the resources of the community for the purpose of developing community spirit and loyalty. The school that has a collection such as has been suggested may consider itself the proud owner of one of the most valuable aids available. The school is the logical library center for the community. In a number of counties throughout the United States County Library Systems have been established. From a central library smaller libraries are sent out to substations in the public schools and to other agencies that are convenient to the homes of the people. In addition to this local service books may be delivered from the central library by parcels post. One of the most effective examples of the county library system is to be found in Vanwert County, Ohio. The Brum- bach library in this county is the gift of a local citizen and is supported out of county funds in accord with a state law passed for the purpose. It is said that an average of nearly 100,000 volumes per year are in circulation from this source. When one considers how Uttle reading material other 288 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY than the daily papers is to be found in the average rural home, the conclusion is inevitable that in the course of time libraries of this kind are destined to become one of the most valuable aids to culture in the rural community. The public school as a substation for the county library can have a good foundation in standard texts. In addition to the books the library should become the depository of the most useful material on agriculture and other topics of community interest published by the United States Department of Agri- culture and by colleges and experiment stations of the several states. This material can be selected by the teachers and can be used in connection with the class work or may be loaned to any farmers who may be interested in the special topics discussed. The students can also prepare digests of the best material and present it to the farmers' organizations as a part of the regular programs of these organizations. In many states the state library maintains a circulating de- partment which aids local groups that do not as yet have library facilities. These departments have done good work in stimulating local interest in the development of libraries. For the children at least the public school should be the connecting link between the public health agencies and the people. Most rural communities do not as yet have any in- spection of the physical condition of the school children. Public health nurses should be appointed who will visit the school periodically and advise with the teacher and parents as to the care of the children. The nurses should also have a large responsibility in supervising the teaching of hygiene in the public schools and should have a close acquaintance with home conditions in order to direct their work more intelli- gently. The school building should be the place for the discussion of political questions. When communities get away from the idea that politics exist for the sake of victory for one party of office seekers or another and when it is recognized that the settlement of policies for the welfare of communities is public business, then there will be no hesitation in opening the school THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE 289 building for the discussion of community problems of every kind. Today many care more for partisanship than they do for truth. The public school building ought to be open at all reasonable times for the expression of opinion on public topics regardless of whether that opinion agrees with the preconceived notions of those in control or not. The modem movement which is advocating the wider use of the school plant urges the use of the school building as a social and recreational center. Modern school architecture has al- ready taken cognizance of this new demand and is providing models of buildings which have facilities for the social life of both children and adults. Whether these functions should be provided for in the public school building or in a separate recreation building in the immediate environment of the public school is, in the judgment of the writer, still an open question. Some of the architects who have discussed this question main- tain that separate entrances must be provided for the recrea- tional departments of the buildings. Owing to the varied demands that should be made upon such a place and because the public school building is generally poorly located for social activities it appears that in many cases there is a real need for a separate building for social and recreational pur- poses. The relation of the village school to the rural community should be mentioned. The tendency at the present time is to combine the educational work of the hamlet and that of the surrounding open country. This tendency appears to be justi- fied in that the open country can have its life organized most efficiently by centering its activities in the village. The school curriculum should take into consideration the welfare of the open country as well as that of the village. The entertain- ments should not be confined to or dominated by the town. Both should work together for the common good and for the increased happiness of all. One relation of the school to the community needs special attention at the present time. In the recent rapid advance of agricultural extension work many communities are now re- 290 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY ceiving the services of county farm bureau agents and ©t special investigators of farm accounts, records and results of different types of farm practice. The public school has a large service to perform in its agricultural environment through the direct contact of the high school teacher of agri- culture with the farmers. The teacher of agriculture should not only be a teacher in the class room but he should establish connections with his community so that he can bring to the community most quickly and effectively the practical use of the latest developments of agricultural science. When the agricultural high school teacher is properly equipped for his work and when he has the proper personality and interest in his work he will become a community adviser for the area from which he draws his pupils and under the direction and in cooperation with the farm bureau agent he will become a valuable aid in raising the standards of agriculture and rural life in his community. There is need at the present time for a closer relationship between the farm bureau movement and the public schools and this closer relationship should bring the teachers of agriculture into more active contact with their respective communities. In carrying out the program suggested it must not be for- gotten that the aim of the work of the school is not to do things for the people but to train them to do things for them- selves and then so far as possible to provide them with the facilities for efficient self-activity. The school leader should know his people well. He should learn what members of the community have musical talent, and should endeavor to bring into existence musical organizations which will enable the people to give trained expression to their talent. There are very few communities which do not have abundant talent to supply good vocal music or to provide a local orchestra. In many of them will be found persons of sufficient training to assist the teacher in carrying on the work. The teacher should also discover which of his people have dramatic or artistic ability and endeavor to develop these qualities in every way possible, and to organize expression of them for the com- THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE 291 mon good. The tendency at the present time appears to be toward specialization in amusement as well as in industrial or professional life. The moving-picture show has taken from many communities the incentive to develop art in expression of music or drama. While specialization undoubtedly has ad- vantages in production of wealth, it is a mark of deterioration when the people fail to develop the ability to amuse them- selves and to get enjoyment from taking part in the games themselves. The one on the sidelines never gets as much out of a game as does the one who is playing. The schools should endeavor to encourage the development of local talent for the sake of the richer life that comes to the community through the exercise of its own talents. The question has been raised as to whether the school or the church is the logical social and recreational center of the com- munity. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages that may be mentioned in favor of the school is that the public school building is open to all since it is sup- ported out of the public funds. Consequently the poorest citizen does not hesitate to attend public functions held there. Indeed, as a citizen he insists on his right to go to the public building whenever any public meeting is to be held. In contrast with this it is thought that many people of limited means do not take seriously the statement that salvation is free in the modern well-equipped church and consequently they do not attend public meetings held in churches. Doubt- less, the public building does have an advantage in this respect and the church today is reaching neither the most nor the least fortunate but the middle class of people. The school is in constant touch with many of the families for at least nine months of the year for five days in the week while the church is in touch with but a few families once or twice a week. This tends to lessen the effectiveness of a church as a community agency. It also increases the efficiency of the school in that it can bring to the parents and to the home stimuli that are much more immediately effective than the less frequently applied stimuli of the church. 292 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Again, there is likely to be less of factionalism in the public school environment than in that of the church. The churches are so full of traditionalism and so broken up into petty groups that their power as social agencies is threatened by other organizations. The school leaders, while in many cases preferring that the churches do the work of directing the social and recreational life of the community, realize that the community cannot wait upon the church, and have gone ahead with the task under the auspices of the schools. So long as the church's power is dissipated in interdenominational com- petition, just so long must other agencies be depended upon to do the work that in the judgment of many of the leaders could be done most effectively by the churches. Finally, school leaders today are among the best trained persons of the community. The ministry has given place in this respect to the teaching profession because of the rigid requirements that have been made of applicants for the admin- istrative positions in public education. So long as teachers are the best educated leaders in the community, just so long will the schools have the advantage as social and recreational centers. The disadvantages of the school lie rather in the lack of certain elements in its relationship to the community which it is thought the religious center supplies. It has been said that the school lacks in the inspiration necessary for character building. It has been accused of failing to give through the intellectual training it has to offer those high ideals of service and self-sacrifice which the church has emphasized through- out its history. It is said that the school actually hinders social progress in some cases by developing a careless, easy- going type of individual, indifferent to the welfare of his fellow men; and that social and recreational activities carried on under the auspices of the church would supply this ele- ment more effectively than if they were under the control of the schools. There is no doubt that there is much room for improvement on the part of the school in this respect. But if the accusation THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE 293 is just there is also no doubt that it is possible to remedy the condition by the introduction into the courses of more subject- matter dealing with the problems of human relationships and social ethics. And there is no doubt that recreational ac- tivities carried on under proper direction and in a proper environment will produce a high type of character. The answer to the question as to whether the church or the school is the logical center is one which can best be deferred until further consideration of the church in its relation to the community. When an estimate has been made of present religious conditions and needs it will be possible to determine more accurately the relative functions of these two important agencies in the organization of village and rural life. In order that the program of service to the community sug- gested in the preceding pages may be carried out effectively the reorganization of the traditional rural one-room school system will be necessary. The old-type one-room school which was the best available in a pioneer stage is passing away and the consolidated or centralized school is taking its place. The movement toward consolidation has been most rapid in the last ten or fifteen years or since rural communities have be- come conscious of the shift of population from rural districts, which has cut down attendance in rural schools- The im- provement of roads has also made consolidation and transpor- tation of pupils by wagon practicable. In many sections of the country the movement toward consolidation is still opposed. The principal objections to consolidation appear to be fear of increased expense, objection to transportation of pupils, and natural conservatism. A recent report of the United States Bureau of Education states that Experience in consolidated schools proves conclusively that the cost of education per child per day in such schools as a rule is much less than in one-teacher schools, provided that largely in- creased salaries are not paid to the teachers in the consolidated schools. The consolidated school may be, and usually is, made more expensive, due to the fact that consolidation follows an edu- cational awakening which demands not so much the centralization 294 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY of buildings as the educational advantages made possible through centralization: longer terms, better equipment, trained teachers, supervising principals, and the addition of high school grades.^ Among the social activities carried on in the consolidated schools in various parts of the country are the institutes and evening schools for adults ; meetings of farmers' organizations or parent-teacher associations, special school days, such as convocation day, school fairs, or commencement day; literary and social programs, the preparation of school exhibits and the making of surveys of the economic and social life of the community. Where consolidated schools have been placed in charge of community-minded superintendents they have become powerful agencies in developing community spirit and in enriching rural life.^ In a number of the Central States a difficulty appears to have arisen through the survival of township control of the public school system. Questions are continually coming up as to where the consolidated school should be located. In some cases farmers want the school located in the center of the township regardless of whether villages are in that part of the township or not. Villages quarrel with one another for the schools and in many cases bitter local factions develop. Two questions are involved in the solution of the problem of the location of the consolidated school. The first is whether it should be located in the open country or in a village. The other is what is the logical basis as to area for the location of the school building. The best argument appears to be in favor of the location of consolidated schools, whenever possible, in a village or near the edge of it. The contention that there should be separate agricultural schools in the open country is contrary to funda- mental ideals in American education. The establishment of separate agricultural schools would justify the establishment of separate schools for every vocation. The principal ob- 'U. S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1914, No. 30, p. 55. 'U. S. Bureau of Education, Bul„ 1914, No. 25, pp. 40-53, THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE 295 jections to separate schools are summarized by Prof. E. Dav- enport of the University of Illinois, as follows : 1. Separate schools can never be so good. They cannot be so well equipped and lose more in breadth than they gain in depth. 2. Such schools would tend strongly toward peasantry among farmers. They would be unjust to the farmer boy. Many of those brought up in the country must ultimately find a livelihood in urban occupations. The elementary schools at least should be schools for education and not for technical training. 3. Such schools would often be too far away from home to permit the children to remain at home while in attendance. 4. The other industrial interests and agriculture need mutual contact. The objections usually raised to having consolidated schools in the villages are, first, that agriculture will not be given due attention in village schools, and second, that the moral condi- tions in villages are not suitable for rural children. ,These objections are objections to conditions that may be avoided rather than to any fundamental evil. The first may be obviated by the establishment of a special four-year course in agriculture for the benefit of those looking forward to farm- ing. The other objection points to the necessity of constructive control of moral conditions in village life. When conditions giving rise to these objections are eliminated, the added advan- tage to the country boy and girl of contact with the cultural and industrial life of the village makes the village, wherever possible, the logical place for the location of the consolidated school. The other difificulty, rising out of the survival of township control of school finances, points to the necessity of the separa- tion of school organization from other forms of political organization. The time has now arrived, particularly in the Central States, when state-wide surveys should be made which 296 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY will determine what are the natural community centers. Then industrial, educational, religious, social, recreational, and so far as possible, political boundaries should be so reorganized as to conform to the natural centers. When townships were originally surveyed six miles square, there was no means of knowing what social changes would result from the building of railroads, the opening of public highways, the growth of cities and the shift of rural population. These matters are now all much better understood and the forces operating in the agricultural areas of the United States are sufficiently standardized to aflford a basis for scientific conclusions as td the proper location of community centers. The weakness of much of American social organization is in the inability of the people to think in more than local terms. In educational matters the school district, or in some cases where railways afforded to a limited area the opportunity to secure a larger tax, the special district has been the limit of statesmanship. The time has arrived when we need at least state-wide organization of public school systems and state- wide support of the public school, so that those in the less fortunate agricultural sections may not be handicapped by the quality of their schools but that all the state may be brought through education up to the maximum of productive efficiency. Better schools in the poorer sections of the state would ulti- mately yield larger returns in financial support of public enter- prises through the increased prosperity of those sections. In the appended list of references may be found an abun- dance of practical material showing what has been done in various sections of the country in socializing the schools. That this movement is in the right direction is proved by the fact that the teachers who have caught the vision of connecting the school with community life and working from the com- munity point of view have been in great demand not only in their own districts but elsewhere. The socialization of the school vitalizes the work of the school. The parents begin to take an interest in the school and realize that the educational system is providing something more than mere intellectual THE SCHOOL IN RURAL LIFE 297 gymnastics. They look to the school for advice and assist- ance in increasing the efficiency of the home and the farm; and their support of their schools becomes correspondingly more liberal. The one who is ambitious to become a super- intendent of public schools in rural communities should pre- pare himself by every means possible for the service of com- munity building through the wider use of the facilities of the public school. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What are the two social aims of education? 2. In what respect are the educational theories of the past cen- tury not adapted to the present? 3. What service should the school perform for the older people in the community? 4. Why should training in social organization be included in the curriculum? 5. What is the function of the lecture course ? 6. How may the artistic taste be improved ? What is the social function of art? 7. What is the social function of a museum? 8. Why should constructive effort in dramatics and music be encouraged ? 9. In what ways may the school provide for the physical wel- fare of the community? 10. How may the school increase its efficiency in relation to agriculture ? 11. What public meetings may best be held in the school build- ing? 12. What should be the relation of the school to the church in social service? 13. What advantages has the school over the church as a social center ? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Study relation of how time is spent outside of school hours, to school efficiency. 2. Study conditions in the homes of pupils retarded in edu- cation. 298 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY 3. Study elimination of pupils from school as to ages and causes. 4. Compare grades of village and country children. 5. In what ways is the school curriculum not adapted to com- munity needs? 6. Study physical condition of school children. 7. How many and what people attend lecture courses? The Sunday baseball games? REFERENCES Hart, J. K. Educational Resources of Village and Rural Com- munities. The Macmillan Co., New York. Perry, C. A. Wider Use of the School Plant. Russell Sage Foundation, New York. Ward, E. J. The Social Center. D. Appleton & Co., New York. Carney, Mabel. Country Life and Country School. Row, Peter- son Co., New York. United States Bureau of Education, Publications on Rural Schools. Washington, D. C. Foght, H. W. The American Rural School. The Macmillan Co., New York. Cubberley, E. P. The Improvement of Rural Schools. Houghton Mifflin & Co., Boston. CHAPTER XVI OTHER RURAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES In the preceding chapter attention was called to some of the ways in which the local school should serve the community and to changes necessary to make such service most effective. In the present chapter attention will be given to the work of the higher institutions of learning, the experiment stations and the state and federal departments of agriculture. In 1862 what was known as the Morrill Act or Land Grant Act was passed, providing for a college of agriculture and mechanic arts in each of the commonwealths of the Union. This first act was supplemented in 1890 by the second Morrill Act, which provided an additional income of $25,000.00 to each state and again in 1908 an amendment was made provid- ing a maximum of $50,000.00 additional income. For many years the state colleges of agriculture were such in but little more than name. Their courses were made up largely of such material as they could bring in from other fields, such as botany and zoology and there was very little of what would today be recognized as agricultural science. In order to remedy this condition Congress passed in 1887 what was known as the Hatch Act, which provided for the experiment stations. Congress provided an annual appropria- tion of $15,000 for the support of these institutions. In 1906 the Adams Act was passed providing for a maximum of $30,000.00 a year of Federal support for these institu- tions. - In 1889 the United States Department of Agriculture was formed. Since its organization this department has constantly increased in scope and activities until at the present time its annual budget is about $35,000,000.00. Its work is largely 299 * 300 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY that of research and coordination of the work of the various other agencies interested in agricultural development. An analysis of the important activities in which the United States Department of Agriculture is interested will give some idea of the scope of work carried on by the Federal Govern- ment as well as by the research institutions in the several states. The work of the United States Department of Agriculture is divided among a number of bureaus and offices, each of which is subdivided into a vast number of research divisions. Among the principal bureaus and offices are: 1. The Weather Bureau. This bureau has charge of the forecasting of the weather ; the gauging and reporting of river stages; collection and transmission of marine intelligence for the benefit of commerce and navigation; and the taking of such meteorological and seismological observations as may be necessary to determine the climatic and seismatic conditions of the United States. The service of the bureau appears to be of special advantage in coastwise navigation and in agri- cultural sections where products especially susceptible to sud- den changes in temperature are raised. The bureau results in large savings to farmers every year through the warnings of changes in temperature which enable the producers of perish- able products to prepare for the changes. 2. The Bureau of Animal Industry. This bureau includes the animal husbandry division, which is interested in the study of the breeding of farm animals and in studies of cost of production and improvement of poultry products as well as in organization of boys' and girls' clubs in cooperation with the States' Relations Service ; the biochemic division, which is interested in the study and control of animal diseases; the dairy division; the field inspection division which is at work on eradication of scabies in cattle and sheep, cattle tick, glan- ders and other diseases and is also in charge of inspection of transportation regulations intended to protect live stock in transit and to prevent interstate shipment of diseased stock; meat inspection division; pathological division, which is con- 20 OTHER EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 301 cemed with investigations of animal diseases; quarantine di- vision ; and zoological division. 3. The Bureau of Plant Industry. This bureau has to do with plant diseases, soil bacteriology and soil fertility investiga- tions; acclimatization and adaptation of crop plants; grain standardization and the investigation of special crops, such as tobacco, corn, other cereals, fiber plant; biophysical, seed-test- ing, forage crop, sugar-beet, and horticultural and pomologi- cal investigations. One of the most interesting phases of the work is that of foreign seed and plant introduction. Agents of the department visit all parts of the world looking for plants that may be suitable for cultivation in America and have introduced many plants that have become of commercial im- portance. 4. The Bureau of Chemistry. The Bureau of Chemistry has to do with investigations of food and drugs to determine their purity and usefulness.. Problems relating to the storage and preservation of foods are of particular interest. 5. The Bureau of Soils. This bureau studies the relation of soils to climatic and organic life. A nation-wide survey of character of soils is under way as the foundation for the ulti- mate rational distribution of agricultural production and the control of soil conditions. 6. The Bureau of Entomology. The Bureau of Entomology studies insects and the means of their control. Among the divisions of the work of this bureau are the investigations of insects affecting deciduous fruits, truck crop and stored prod- uct insects; insects affecting the health of man and animals; and gypsy moth and browntail moth. 7. The Bureau of Biological Survey. This bureau studies the distribution of wild birds and mammals in their relation to agriculture; and the methods of extermination of injurious species and the protection of useful ones. 8. The Bureau of Crop Estimates. This bureau carries on investigations as to the condition of crops and crop production in the United States and in foreign countries. This is of par- ticular value in enabling dealers in agricultural products 302 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY to determine the market value of agricultural products. In addition to the bureaus there are several offices. The Office of Farm Management conducts investigations of costs of production of crops and is in charge of the demonstration work in the States Relations Service. The Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering is egaged in research work on the various types of roads and the effects of different kinds of traffic on the roads. It also has to do with farm engineer- ing such as building, drainage and irrigation. The Forest Service has to do with forest protection, control of grazing, control of public forest lands, and the study and dissemination of information in regard to the conservation and utilization of the forest resources of the United States. Through the passage of the Smith-Lever Act, the States Relations Service has become one of the most important phases of the work of the United States Department of Agriculture. This service, in addition to having supervisory relations with the experiment stations, carries on special investigations of agricultural instruction in schools for the purpose of making it of the greatest practical use. It also studies the work of farmers' institutes and movable schools in order to make this type of extension work more efficient. In addition to the research work noted, the farmers' co- operative demonstration work is of the greatest significance. This work has grown out of the impression that the older methods of publishing material in bulletin form and distribut- ing the bulletin indiscriminately among farmers was not ac- complishing results desired and that some means must be devised of bringing knowledge of scientific method to the farmer in some direct manner. It was believed that demon- stration of good methods in a community would be far more effective than sending bulletins or telling the farmers about it. In carrying out the idea of direct demonstration instruction, the modern County Agent Movement began. The County Agent Movement is not more than four or five years old. In Missouri an institute worker by the name of Sam Jordon made such an impression on one of his audi- OTHER EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 303 ences that the people decided that they ought to keep Mr. Jordon in their county as a permanent adviser. The result was the first county agent in the northern part of the country. In the South the movement had its beginnings through the efforts of Bradford Knapp, connected with the United States Department of Agriculture. Mr. Knapp had long had an intimate touch with agricultural conditions in the South and realized that little could be done to raise the standards there unless definite demonstration work was instituted. The result has been a widespread movement which at the last report (1922) of the United States Department of Agriculture needed the services of 53 state agents, 127 assistant state leaders and district agents, 2,094 county agents, 155 local agents, and for the general organization and for home demonstration and girls' club work, 45 state agents, 97 assistant state leaders and district agents, 718 county agents, and 78 local agents. For the boys' and girls' club work there were 57 state leaders, 54 assistant state leaders, and 186 county leaders. These were employed cooperatively with the states. In addition to these there were employed on United States Department of Agri- culture funds 3,591 additional representatives to be assigned to similar work. As the appropriation under the Smith-Lever law increases to the maximum a large part of the funds available will be expended in the extension of the county agent work. In the not far distant future it may be expected that practically every county in the United States will have at least one agent and many of them will have special agents for organization of special types of associations, such as stock improvement asso- ciations, cow testing associations, marketing organizations, and so on. The interests of the farm women will also be provided for by advisers on all phases of home making. The functions of the county agent are summarized by the United States Department of Agriculture as follows : I. He studies the agriculture of the county to learn what is being done and what is worth while agriculturally in each 304 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY part of it. This study includes farm financial organization surveys. 2. He gives the results of his studies to farmers, not in the way of advice, but as facts observed and conclusions drawn. This is done through the local press, lectures, institutes, cir- culars, short courses, and personal interviews. 3. He organizes clubs, associations and the like, based on these local studies and the ascertained needs of the county, and solicits individuals to undertake definite Hues of agricul- tural improvement on their own farms. He also forms or- ganizations for cooperative buying and marketing and the standardization of farm products. 4. He endeavors to coordinate all existing agricultural agen- cies within the county, so that all may work unitedly and efficiently. 5. He develops local leadership. The task of improving the agriculture of an entire county is so stupendous that the agent must be primarily an administrator. He must inspire and accept the help of voluntary assistants in the work. 6. He acts as the connecting link between the scientists of the research institutions of the state and nation and the farmer, presenting the results of investigations in such a way that the farmer can use them and calling attention of scientists to the local agricultural problems of the county and soliciting their assistance. 7. He gives advice. This may relate to spraying, seed treat- ment, mixing fertilizers, combating insect pests, cultural prac- tices, or other miscellaneous matters which are the stock in trade of every well-informed agent. The giving of advice is seventh on the list, because in actually improving the agricul- ture of the county it is probably of least importance, although in point of time it may be the first work undertaken. The county agent, in cooperation with the officials of the local county improvement association known as the County Farm Bureau, organizes a program of work to be done during the year. This program is the result of an understanding of what the most immediate needs of the community are. Th& OTHER EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 305 work begun in one county may be radically different from that in another. One agent finds that good roads should be the first accomplishment because the products of a community are kept out of good markets on account of the conditions of the roads. Another finds that the farmers need organization for buying supplies. Another finds that hog cholera is a burden to the farmers and organizes a campaign for the treatment of cholera. And still others find that improvement of live stock, betterment of marketing methods or radical change in the type of farming are the things that need most immediate attention. In the development of the work of the county agent it is probable that there will come a much closer relationship be- tween this movement and the teaching of agriculture in the public schools. At the present time it appears that there are two distinct systems of education developing in rural com- munities ; the one, under the direction of the county superin- tendent of schools, is devoted to the education of the young people. The other, under the direction of the extension de- partments of the State Universities, working in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, is giving attention to adult education. When the concept becomes popular that the public schools are for all, old as well as young, the demand will rise for a unifying of educational activities so that all will be under one agency, namely, that of the county superintendent of schools and men big enough to direct the education of all the community will be demanded. The teachers of agriculture in the public schools will be given time and assistance enough so that they can do much of the work now done by the county agent under his supervision and in a much more intensive manner than it is possible for him to do it. Another development that bids to be of far-reaching im- portance in the federal service is that of the Office of Markets and Rural Organization. During recent years there has been considerable agitation in the public press because of the fact that for many products placed on the market by farmers, the margin between what the farmer receives and what the con- sumer pays appears to be excessive. In some cases the margin 3o6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY going to the middleman is 200 to 3CX5 per cent, of what the farmer receives. In New York State it was found that the farmer was receiving in general about 40 per cent, of the consumers' price, whereas, in the judgment of the students of the problem they should have been receiving at least 70 per cent. The office of markets has been brought into ex- istence to investigate methods of marketing as a basis for bringing to the farmer and consumer the benefits of a more efficient marketing process. The office is now engaged in making extensive investigations of the marketing of all the leading products and is publishing information as to how, through standardization of products and organization, the farmer may receive a larger share of the consumer's price. The office of markets has also recently established a market news service for the purpose of keeping producers and dealers in the leading producing and marketing centers informed as to crop movements, thus making it possible to prevent congestion of given markets and equalize distribution to the advantage of producer, consumer and dealer. This news bureau is in- tended to render in marketing a service similar to that rendered by the weather bureau in its furnishing information as to changes in the weather. It is expected to be a permanent service which cannot be performed by the individual farmer. The Office of Markets and Rural Organization also main- tains a division which is interested in the definite problem of increasing rural social and economic efficiency through the study of forms of organization, both social and economic. This organization studies such subjects as forms of coopera- tion, women's clubs, the relation of the village to the rural community, cooperative law and cooperative educational ac- tivities. This service is destined to become, in the course of time, one of the most important activities carried on by the federal government. The movement for rural organiza- tion is of constantly increasing importance throughout the civilized world and the interest in better business and better living is greater in this country than ever before. Other Federal Agencies interested in agriculture are the OTHER EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 307 Bureau of Education, and the Department of Labor. For a number of years the former agency has been making special effort to increase the efficiency of the rural schools. In the pursuit of this object it has had a number of experts in the field making studies of conditions both in this country and abroad, with the result that rural schools have made marked, progress in the past few years. The Bureau of Education has published a number of bulletins dealing with phases of the rural school problem, such as the consolidation of schools, the preparation of teachers, social aspects of rural schools, and the work of agricultural high schools in Denmark and other countries. These studies have increased the professional interest of country teachers in their problems and have raised the educational standards of rural communities. The United States Department of Labor, in cooperation with the Post Office Department, has been dealing construc- tively with the rural labor problem by attempting to bring to the attention of persons in large urban centers information as to opportunities for employment in rural communities. This work has been of service in helping the farmers in the wheat producing areas to secure sufficient help to harvest their crops. The Children's Bureau has also been interested in studying problems of rural life as related to child welfare. These various agencies, with the exception of the Rural Organization Service of the Office of Markets and Rural Or- ganization and the Bureau of Education, have been dealing more with the economic than with the social side of rural life. The States Relations Service, in cooperation with this office, has undertaken demonstration work in rural social organiza- tion in a number of states. Kansas, Minnesota, Massachu- setts, Kentucky, Tennessee, New York, Oregon, Illinois and Wisconsin are among the states which have definitely em- barked on a program of attempting to bring rural organization to a higher degree of efficiency. The work consists of assist- ing rural communities in organizing and of helping them to make their community service effective through good programs, furnishing speakers, reference material for the preparation of 3o8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY papers or debates, and in unifying and strengthening the work of the organizations generally. The social eifects of all the activities enumerated above are tending to make the country a more attractive place in which to live. The criticism of much of the work of the Federal and State Agencies to the present has been that they have given too exclusive attention to increasing agricultural productivity and too little attention to problems of making the country a suitable place in which to live. The result has been a marked exodus of country people to the cities as soon as conditions would permit them to go. This tendency has been most marked in sections where agricultural prosperity has been greatest. The modern movement to study problems of rural life and to help to increase the content of living in the open country will counteract the tendency on the part of many of the alert young people to leave the country and will bring rural civilization up to the standards of the urban community. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What was the purpose of the Morrill Act? 2. What was the purpose of the Hatch Act? 3. Discuss the work of the different Bureaus of the United States Department of Agriculture. 4. What was the purpose of the Smith-Lever Act ? 5. What is the work of the County Agricultural Agent? 6. What is the service of the office of Markets and Rural Or- ganization? 7. In what ways should the activities of State and Federal edu- cational agencies be modified? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH I. What use is made of State and Federal educational agencies by your community? REFERENCES Bailey, L. H. Encyclopedia of Agriculture, Vol. IV. The Mac- millan Co., New York. OTHER EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 309 United States Department of Agriculture, States Relations Service. Publications. United States Bureau of Education. Bulletins on rural schools. United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Experiment Stations. Bulletins on rural education. CHAPTER XVII THE CHURCH AND COUNTRY LIFE Of all the institutions concerned with the building of a rural civilization none has received more attention in recent years than has the rural church. Less attention has been paid to the religious life of the people than to the welfare of the institution intended to conserve that life. The growth or de- cline of the church may be taken in part, at least, as a criterion of the religious tendencies of a given community because the church is the recognized organized agency for the expression of the religious impulse. In some respects, however, the decline of the church, where it has lost some of its former prestige, may simply mean that true religious impulses are finding their expression through agencies better adapted for the time being to such expression. In the discussion of rural religious forces it is necessary that one keep clearly in mind certain fundamental distinctions in social organization and in social function. In the first place, it must not be forgotten that true religion has a dual relation- ship. The first is to be found in the commandment in the Scriptures, "Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind." This is the expression of the relationship that should exist between the human being and his Creator and is the first essential of religion. The other relationship, which comes as a part of the same command is "and thy neighbor as thyself." This is the social relationship which has been receiving increasing emphasis during the past half cen- tury. The first has to do with the concept of the immortality of man's soul and the eternal life of the individual spirit in pontact with its Maker. It has to do not only with the concept 310 THE CHURCH 311 of ideal social relationships in an earthly social order but also with an ideal society in a heavenly kingdom. Through a large part of the history of the Christian church the social organiza- tion in a heavenly kingdom has received primary consideration and the life on this earth has been considered as of secondary importance. This world has been looked upon as a prepara- tion for the world to come and ethical and religious stand- ards have been determined very largely in terms of their effect upon one's chances for entrance into a heavenly king- dom. The second concept, that of man's relationship to his fellow man here on earth in an ideal social order, or in a kingdom of heaven upon earth, takes little account of relationship in a spiritual kingdom into which one enters after death, but has much to do with the welfare of humanity in the world of the present material universe. It is concerned primarily with the increasing of human happiness in the realm of the assured life on this side of the grave and has less to do with what will happen in the life beyond. In the first concept, the life after death is the prime idea; in the other, the life on this side of the grave is given first consideration. The recognition of the dividing line between these two con- cepts will help in understanding tendencies in religious life not only in the open country but also in the city. The church and its subsidiary organizations is the only agency that con- cerns itself with the ideal of the immortality of the soul and of a heavenly kingdom. Many other agencies besides the church are concerning themselves with man's welfare on this side of the grave and these other agencies must be taken into account in answering the question as to the scope and limita- tions of the church as a social agency. The recognition of this contrast between man's relation to a spirit world and his relation to earthly human beings will also help to determine whether the prosperity of a church is based upon its spiritual or upon its social functions. In one of our Central States an active worker in the ranks of the church 4escrib?s her cpijimunity as being of a very high grade so far 312 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY as social activity, community harmony and cooperation are concerned. Yet, though the church has an unusually able minister, church services lag conspicuously behind general community progress. Social affairs connected with the church are well attended but religious worship is not. In cases such as this the community has evidently failed to keep alive in the minds of the people the first part of the commandment of the Master, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God," and has over- emphasized the latter, "and thy neighbor as thyself." The point to be remembered is that a church may become a social agency of power in a community but if it becomes this alone it is only partly religious and is diificult to differentiate from the many other agencies which are dealing with social welfare in the modem world. It may degenerate into an ethical club, interested in man's relationship to man as the only thing of importance, and this is what is likely to happen unless the leaders of the church keep clearly in mind that the central function of the church is, after all, to keep alive in humanity a wholesome respect for the Creator of the Universe, in whom man lives and moves and has his being; and that, after all, the concern of the church in social life is only as an adjunct to its more important function and should be consid- ered as only an effort to establish the kingdom of heaven upon earth as a part of a general spiritual kingdom instead of mak- ing the perfection of human relationships the end of its service. While it is impossible to separate a discussion of religious conditions entirely from that of the welfare of the church or the moral life of the community, there are some tendencies in church conditions which indicate changes in the religious tone of rural communities in the Central Valley and, to a lesser extent, in the entire United States. While church membership cannot be taken as a final evidence of the religious status of a community, yet, since the church is the organized agency repre- senting religious interests, membership must be considered as one of the most important of the evidences as to what religious conditions are. THE CHURCH 313 Many people are apt to think of the days when the Puritans settled in New England as the period when religious influences were at their height on American soil. It has been shown, however, that such is not the case. The pioneer communities had their full share of non-church membership and, as a matter of fact, were far below the standards of the present time. Mr. Anderson, quoting from The Congregationalist of Dec. 29, 1900. gives the following figures as to growth of adherents to churches in the past century. Proportion of Evangelical Communicants to Total Population ' 1800-1 communicant to 14.50 people. 1850-1 u " GS7 I870-I u " S.78 1880-1 (C " 5.O0 I890-I u " 4-53 I900-I H « 4.28 ' Anderson, Country Town, Chapter i6. The report of the Federal Council of Churches for 1916 shows a total church membership of over 40,000,000, or i in 2.5 of the population. This percentage is based on the church membership of all denominations, Protestant as well as Catholic. These data are for the country at large. The in- vestigations made of rural church conditions in many parts of the United States during the past few years do not show nearly so encouraging a record. Some of the typical figures are given in the next table. These data as to membership may be questioned on the ground that they are in large part the result of a comparison of the total church membership reported by the churches in the communities surveyed with total population and do not take into account church members in the country who may belong to churches in other communities. The results of house to house canvasses in the communities studied, how- ever, compare very closely with the results found by the ap- proach from the institutional point of view. It is probable also that on the average as many persons living out of the county would be members within it as there are persons liv- 314 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Per cent op Population Church Members, Rural Communities' State Ohio. Indiana Maryland . . . Kentucky. . . Illinois Pennsylvania Tennessee . . . County Butler (lo townships) Darke (13 townships) Montgomery (9 townships) Clermont Greene, rural church membership Six Counties, S. E. Ohio Four Counties, N. W. Ohio Daviess Marshall Boone' Montgomery Co Webster C0.2 Thirteen counties Eight counties Gibson Co Per cent. 27.6 29.4 20.2 33 -S 22.8 31. o 32.5 27.4 41.6 350 32.0 31.0 42.0 38.0 > Large Catholic population. • White population. • S»irveys made In Ohio by Ohio Rural Life Survey and in other states by Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. ing within the county who have membership in other communities. Other studies have been made in the New England States, New York, and in a number of far Western States. The re- sults from all these sources indicate that the proportion of- population included in country church membership falls far below the proportion reported for the total population by the United States religious census for the year 1906. These data in themselves indicate that, so far as actual open adherence to the organized agencies of religion is concerned, the open country is far from being religious. In one study made in the Ohio Rural Life Survey it was found possible to make comparisons between the membership of a number of churches in a typical county in 1913 with the membership of the sanie churches in 1880 as recorded in a county history. The following table and chart show the tendency in church membership in this particular county : THE CHURCH Church Decline, Clermont Cottnty, Orao 315 Item Percent. Decrease, 1880-1910 Per cent. Decrease. 1900-1910 Population Church membership 52 churches 26 country churches. . 26 village churches. . . 56 churches 30 country churches. . 26 village churches . . . 36,713 S.632 2,152 3,480 5,592 31,610 2,308 3,284 29,551 4,646 1,269 3,337 4,975 1,776 3,199 19-5 17-5 41.0 3-0 6-5 II. o 23.0 2.0 While the total number of churches for which data were obtained have more than held their own in the period 1880 1910, this condition has been due to the vitality of the con- gregations located in villages. The open country churches have declined more than twice as fast as the population. Since 1900, the churches for which data were available have declined nearly t\vice as rapidly as the population. A dis- crepancy of three years from 1910, the census year, to 1913, the date of investigation, is not sufficient seriously to invalidate the result. The 26 village churches again demonstrate their vitality by showing a rate of decline slower than that of the general population. Other studies made of church attendance show that the decrease in church membership is not so marked as is the growing lack of interest in religious worship. Mr. C. O. Gill, in his studies of church conditions in Tompkins County, New York, and in Windsor County, Vermont, found that after making allowances for the decrease in rural population the church attendance in Tompkins County fell off more than 19 per cent., 1890-1910, and in Windsor Coimty more than 29 per cent., 1888-1908.^ While no data showing tendencies in rural communities in relation to formal observance of religious ordinances in the home are known to the author, the almost uniform opinion of *Gill, Country Church, p. 16. 3i6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY large numbers of students from different sections of the coun- try is that family prayers are not nearly so generally observed as they once were and that the time honored custom of asking divine blessing at the table is also largely a thing of the past, It has been contended that the disappearance of these formal expressions of the religious spirit is not evidence of a decline in true religion. It is the judgment of the author that they are distinctly an evidence of such decline. The rise of the social spirit is an ethical movement which does not take largely into account the relation of humanity to a divinity and it appears that the church is failing in its principal function of keeping alive a normal recognition of the essentially religious nature of human existence. In the mad rush of the twentieth century for material gain, and in the emphasis being placed upon ethical relationships, to- gether with the growth of a hedonistic philosophy accompany- ing the better material environment of western peoples, truly religious impulses have suffered a decline. The danger is that the church may lose the clear concept of its prime func- tion and become largely a social and ethical rather than a religious agency. In tabulating the results of a house to house canvass in Butler and Preble counties, in Ohio, the fact became apparent that the decline in membership of the rural churches was most marked in the number of young people being reached by the churches. The following table shows this tendency: Distribution or Persons According to Age and Sex in Butler AND Preble Counties, Ohio Number Per cent. Age Group Total Male Female Total Male Female Total 2,069 810 297 962 1.03 s 382 SOI 1,03 s 428 I4S 462 100.0 39-0 14.6 46.4 100.0 369 143 48.8 100.0 20 and under 21 to 29 41.4 14.1 445 30 and over S) THE CHURCH 317 Distribution of Church Members According to Age and Sex Number Per cent. Age Group Total Male Female Total Male Female Total 729 1 54 136 439 379 71 68 240 4S0 83 68 299 100. 21.1 18.8 60.1 100. 18.7 18.0 63-3 100 20 and under 21 to 29 18.4 IS-2 66.4 30 and over These figures, while limited in the field represented, are significant in that they indicate a fundamental movement going on in the age of those belonging to church. The per- centages show that, while 39 per cent, of the group studied are under 21 years of age, but 21 per cent, of the church members belong to this group, while over 60 per cent, of the church members belong to the group over 30 years of age, which represents but 46.4 per cent, of the population studied. Almost three times as large a proportion belong to the second group as to the first. These figures apply to both men and women. As a matter of fact, it appears that the change in relative proportions is affecting the female population more seriously than the male. 18.7 per cent, of all the male church members reported belong to the group under 21 years of age, while but 36.9 per cent, of all the males in the total population belong to this group. On the other hand, 18.4 per cent, of the females who are church memtsjrs are under 21 years of age, while over 41 per cent, of all the women are below this age. Those 30 years of age and over show a larger comparative proportion of women belonging to the church. It may be that modern life is bringing interests to women that compete with the church for their attention more than they once did, thus bringing men and women more on a basis of equality as to the influence of the church upon them. When these results are compared with the distribution of the population according to age, their significance is further emphasized. Of the 57,000,000 people 10 years of age and over in the United States in 1900, 51.2 per cent, were under 30 years of age and 48.8 per cent, were over 30 years of 3i8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY age. Less than 27 per cent, of all the persons studied in the group under 30 years of age were church members, while 45.6 per cent, of the group 30 years and over were members of the church. The indications are that the membership of the church is like an inverted pyramid. The question in- evitably rises as to what will be the status of church mem- bership when the present 27 per cent, pass into the group of those 30 years of age and over. The following chart shows graphically the tendencies dis- cussed in the preceding paragraph. Chart VI MEMBERSHIP DISTRIBUTION AaORDING TO AGE 30ANDOVERr60.1% UNDER 30,-39.9% POPULATION DISTRIBUTION ACCORDING TO A6E,1900 30AND0VER,-48.8% IP TO 30,- 51.2% In order to verify the tendencies brought out in this study a further investigation was made in another county during the following year, with the following results: Age or Church Members, Clermont County, Ohio Age Number Per cent. Under 21 594 51° 1,119 1,488 16 1 21—20 13-7 30.0 40.1 ^0— Ao •* ^y ; SO and over Total 3,7" THE CHURCH 319 Over 70 per cent, of the membership of the churches studied were 30 years of age and over. Normally a much larger percentage of the membership should be under 30 years of age. Chart VII Where Are the Young People ? Age Record of 3,711 Church Members, Clermont County, Ohio ig.S% Church : :||::::::::::::: membersunder3o J J 51.8% Population :::::;::i:::::::::;: llllllllllllllll 1 of Ohio under 30 llllllll llll llllll llllllll lllllll III IH 1 398 Records of Ase of Joining Church, Clermont County 94% Period Illllllllll'lllllllllllllllllllllllilll 1 under 3"| 1 II 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 II 1 ■ -1 77.5^ nnder.21 ::::::::::::::::::::: IIIIINII1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIII 1 1 Approximately 50% of the church membership should be under 30 years of age. What will the church of the future be unless the church now reaches its young people? The suggestion has been made that this abnormal condi- tion might be accounted for by the exodus of young people from the country to the cities. This would not account for all unfavorable conditions. The seriousness of this tendency is shown by the results of studies made of the age of joining church in typical com- munities of Ohio and Indiana. In Butler County, Ohio, of 398 persons from whom data were obtained, 309, or 77.6 per cent., joined church under 21 years of age or during the period which the previous tables show now have the smallest pro- portion of church membership. Similar data have been col- lected by representatives of the Sunday School Associations, and all point to the fact that, unless some very definite change 320 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY is made in adjustment of the church to community needs, the outlook for the rural church of the future is worse than facts as to present church membership indicate. The evidence appears to be abundant that twentieth cen- tury rural life is becoming social rather than religious; that as the ethical consciousness rises the religious consciousness falls ; that "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God" is giving way to the second part of the commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"; and that many people today are finding their soul satisfaction in a life of social service instead of a life of communion with a spiritual being; that humanity to- day is substituting human beings for a divinity as their object of affection; and that their service is motivated by the desire to do for the sake of their fellow men rather than for the sake of Christ. This may or may not be a good tendency, but those who believe in the inherent value of an essentially religious civilization will not look lightly upon the substitu- tion of an ethical culture for a religious inspiration of human conduct. Many conditions are contributing to the present tendencies in religious life and the welfare of the church. So far as the rural church is concerned, one of the most important influences contributing to its decline has been the marked shift of popu- lation from the open country to the villages and to the cities. As has been shown in the chapter on movements of popula- tion, many sections of the country have shown in the past thirty or forty years a constant decrease in the total open country population. When this country was first settled, con- ditions of travel made it imperative that churches should be founded in places where the people could congregate con- veniently. Moreover, the sectarian influences of that period did not appear to conflict with community needs because it was expected that in the natural order of growth of population there would be a need for all church buildings erected. The reverse has been the case and consequently in many sections of the country once thriving churches have been abandoned and their membership transferred to larger units in the vil- THE CHURCH 321 lages or other rural communities. The hundreds of abandoned church buildings to be found in the Central States are no criterion of a declining church, but rather of a process of re- adjustment made necessary by changes in the population. The open country church has suffered, however, by the change and its place is being taken by the village organization. The drift of young people to the cities has taken from many rural communities the social interest that once found its ex- pression at religious meetings. This drift has also taken from the country many of the young people who at an earlier period would have been community leaders. The disappearance of leadership has weakened the hold of the church upon the community. Class consciousness is gradually finding its way into the rural community and this consciousness is affecting the life of the old-type owners' church. The social effects of tenantry and of the increase in the wage earning population in the country has already been discussed and need only be men- tioned here. The agricultural resources of a community have a definite effect upon the religious life. The curse of the poor is their poverty. The people in the less favored agricultural sections find it necessary to work longer hours, to use more primitive agricultural methods, to be contented with a smaller margin of profit at the end of the year, than those who live in better areas. This smaller margin of return that is available at the close of the season reflects on the educational, the social and the religious life of the community in less efficient teaching force, less efficient ministry and poorer material equipment for carrying on the work of the church. More- over, lack of good educational facilities and lack of contact with the currents of progressive life possible in more favor- able communities affords a prolific ground for the growth of all sorts of emotional and irrational beliefs which are a detri- ment rather than an aid to the culture of the community. This close relationship between religious strength in com- munity life and the economic welfare of the people indicates 322 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY that the church has a direct interest in building up the eco- nomic welfare of the community as a basis for conserving a wholesome religious spirit. The doctrine that religious wel-i fare and economic welfare are inconsistent with one another is no longer acceptable. The twentieth century does not accept the doctrine that poverty, filth, and unsanitary physical sur- roundings are necessary to develop the best spiritual life. Modern religion is lined up with other social forces in a definite attempt to deal constructively with man's material welfare as well as the welfare of his spiritual nature and recognizes that a good material environment is conducive to the development of the best mental and moral life. A good physical environment is not alone, however, the cause of good religious conditions. It is to be feared that to carry material development too far without regard to man's moral or spiritual ideals may tend to atrophy of the spiritual nature and result in a self-satisfied, non-social, non- religious c+vilization. As man develops his material life he needs also to develop those tastes and wants which will lead him to a higher cultural life instead of degrading him to the unregulated satisfaction of the primal instincts of his nature. The country church in the past few years has failed to keep pace with other agencies in the efficiency of its business organization. The rural church has been passing through a period of financing by means of engaging in commercial en- terprises. Ice cream festivals, oyster suppers, box socials and all kinds of devices have been used to raise money to carry on the work of the church. Every device has found favor except the straight business proposition of going down into the pockets and paying cash for services rendered. This weakness is fortunately passing away and many rural churches are today working on a budget system which more than suffices to meet their local needs. A part of the business weakness of the country church has been the traditional belief of country people that they could not afford an expensive religious institution. Instead THE CHURCH 323 of proceeding on the theory that the best is the cheapest be- cause the most efficient, they have in too many cases yielded to the thought that the cheapest was all they could aiford. Consequently the rural church has been forced to content itself with an apprenticeship ministry or a ministry that has already rendered its best services in other fields. This false economic policy has also tended to drive from the country able men who would like to serve the country community but who have found it impossible to do so in view of the obligations devolving upon them on account of the training of their children. So long as country people accept it as a matter of course that they cannot afford as good a ministry as the urban community, just so long will able leaders be forced into fields less congenial but more remu- nerative. One of the greatest difficulties the church has had to face has been that of the survival of sectarianism. Fifty or more years ago rural people took much more seriously than they do now the thought that doctrinal beliefs as represented by their particular denomination were the only true expression of scriptural truth. Many a denomination appeared as the result of a hairsplitting interpretation of a passage of Scrip- ture and these non-essential distinctions in belief survive today in a multiplicity of church plants in almost every village and rural community in the country. The separation into different religious groups is today continued in large measure because differences in belief have been displaced by loyalty to a given institution. People brought up in the Methodist church or the Presbyterian church are averse to severing their connections with their own denomina- tion because they feel that they would be breaking connec- tions that they have learned to love. The loyalty to the in- stitution continues even after the people recognize that there is no essential difference between Methodism and Presby- terianism and even after the people recognize that for the sake of the community the uniting of forces for the common good is desirable. 324 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY It has also been advanced by certain religious leaders that two or more churches of different denominations in a given community are a good thing on the same ground that gave rise to the expression in business that "competition is the life of trade" and they believe that religious life will be stronger when several congregations exist in a given com- munity. This attitude, which does not find expression in the public school organization nor in the organization of the postoffice or other community affairs, aids in perpetuating an essentially bad condition and prevents the enlargement of the ideals of religious agencies to include the entire com- munity. Some religious leaders have also maintained that different denominations must be maintained to reach persons of differ- ent mental characteristics. The emotional type need one church, the intellectual type another. The workingman should have his church and the business man his. The weakness in this theory, which has tended to keep churches apart, is that Christ came, not to adapt religious life to existing mental or material differences in man, but to mold a unity in thought and action on a brotherhood basis and that accordingly the function of the church is not to adapt itself to human dif- ferences, but to attack and eliminate those differences which tend to prevent the consummation of the ultimate human ideal of brotherhood. When institutions once come into existence with paid lead- ers an economic motive appears to prevent harmonious action on the part of these leaders. The loss of a church in a com- munity, even though that loss might mean the advancement of the kingdom, is not looked upon with favor by leaders because it may materially lessen „the income of some church superintendent or pastor or lessen his standing when the records of the year's achievements are presented at conference. Before final adjustment of sectarianism is possible, some arrangement must be made whereby local leaders will be protected in their efforts to serve the community and mem- bers of all denominations will get together on some policy THE CHURCH 325 whereby sectarianism will be subordinated to communitj welfare. The country church has not had a large vision of the pos- sibilities of service in the community. For many years the prevailing ideal of the function of the church has been that of keeping alive certain doctrinal beliefs, of bringing into the church through a process of conversation the unregenerate souls in the community and of affording a place for worship and religious instruction. Very little attention has been paid to the possibilities of using the church as an agency for defi- nitely attacking the problems of raising the standards of wel- fare in the community except as such standards might be raised through the effects of rejuvenating souls, or of making hearts right with God. The church has seen other agencies develop to take its logical place in conserving the social and moral life of the community, little realizing that in its narrowness of functioning it was actually giving place to more virile institutions. The over-emphasis upon the regeneration of individual souls as the prime work of the church led to the periodical revival and the periodical period of religious laxity in community life. No definite program of community improvement has marked the policies of rural church leaders in the vast majority of cases. The result has been the making of religion synonymous with emotionalism instead of with consistent moral and reli- gious progress toward an ideal social system. Another weakness has been the changes in functioning of certain church agencies which have made certain forms of organization less efficient than they once were. In the Metho- dist Episcopal church, as an illustration, the circuit rider or itinerant minister was one of the agencies for the remarkable spread of that denomination. This devoted group of men, spending their lives on the road, traveling thousands of miles year after year, going from church to church, were among the most picturesque and the most useful servants of a pio- neer civilization. Their services, however, were ably sec- onded by a faithful group of assistant pastors and local class 326 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY leaders who were responsible for the welfare of a given local group of people and the work of the pastor was much more similar to that of a district superintendent at the present time than to that of a present-day pastor. In the course of time the class leader became of less importance and the pastoral work in the local community has devolved very largely upon the itinerant minister. The result is that he has now a task that is too great for any human being to handle successfully. The circuit system, which was once a valuable method of dealing with a given situation, is no longer adapted to con- ditions and a reorganization is demanded whereby the minister will be given an assignment which will enable him not only to preach the gospel, but which will also enable him to do the pastoral work needed by both the members of the church and those who do not profess to be followers of Christ. The modern demand is for a church which will deal with com- munity problems instead of church problems exclusively, and under present conditions this work cannot be done ef- ficiently. The church has found other agencies developing which tend to take its place in satisfying the social needs of the com- munity and in dealing with other problems of social prog- ress. The development of the telephone, of the rural free delivery, and of better means of transportation have all had their effect in raising moral standards and general culture while at the same time lessening the popular reverence for the church as an essential agency in community life. The illustration given by the member of a dying church in a pros- perous rural community who, while lamenting the decline of the church, admitted that the community was getting bet- ter morally, educationally, and socially, indicates con- cretely how the church is giving way to other agencies better organized to function in the improvement of community life. As a concrete illustration of some of the conditions that affect the welfare of the rural church, no better material can be found than that presented as a result of the Ohio Rural THE CHURCH 327 Life Survey.' The correlations between conditions and church prosperity are so perfect as to admit of little doubt as to their significance. The following chart shows concretely the lack of adaptation to present conditions of the circuit system of rural church organization. Chart VIII Ministerial Vivisection and The Growth of Churches. 1190 ehurches 'with* • aMInular. ^ erica* witha • 4» a Minister . ^ AAA with a Vi aHinistcr ' ■•• with a Whale Hinijter as** aire Growing: S^£ Is hardyor o-p^iriofa. man iodoa yrhole mansmrk. 19 ©ourrties. Ohio RtiraJ Life Survey. No comment is needed on the efifects of, as the author calls it, ministerial vivisection. The logical need is that definite effort be made so to reconstruct the organization of the church that the minister will have a definite station parish, wherein he can exert his full time in community service instead of dissipating his efforts in a fruitless competition with other denominations and in an effort to save the few church mem- bers now on the rolls of the local churches. The following chart shows the effects of having a minister residing in the community he serves: ' Charts VIII, IX, and X were prepared by Rev. Herman N. Morse, Historian of the Ohio Rural Life Survey. 328 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Chart IX The Failure of Absent Treatment With Resident Rastot- With Non Resident BastoT- Without Minister 51% *re grcnwing 26% tl% arc gnjwing «regTxjwii>g The following chart shows the relation of size of church to church growth: Chart X The Survival of the Fittest. One way in which Natural Selection is solving the problem of Over_-Churchin^ Churches vvith a membersHip of SSorless 26-50 SHOO 101-150 ISI-ZOO ZOlorover • n e © ® ® Zfo 17% 34% 48% 59% 73* are Growing! %e lat^e Church is the more efficient working Rrce Small.weak churches would fare better if combined. 19 eounties-; Ohio Rural Life Survey. The small church lacks in financial ability to provide effi- cient leadership. It lacks in numbers to provide the necessary THE CHURCH 3^9 social stimulus to public service. It does not command respect in the community that the larger group does. On the other hand, there is considerable evidence that an overgrown church unit is just as likely to be inefHcient as the small group. Probably a medium sized church of 300 to 500 members will give larger opportunity for efficient serv- ices and a wider scope of service for members of the com- munity than a community church which includes everyone in the group. Some plan should be worked out whereby serv- ices distinctly religious or educational in religious affairs can be carried out in medium sized units, while the members of all churches unite on community service that can be best or- ganized on a community basis. Recreational activities that require club rooms, gymnasium facilities, auditorium, etc., could be best provided for by a community house under the auspices of all the churches. The principal difficulties in the rural church situation appear to be: 1. The survival of dogmatic beliefs of non-essential charac- ter as a basis for sectarian divisions in rural community life. 2. A narrow loyalty which places institutionalism before com- munity welfare. 3. A denominational organization of religious life which, for financial reasons, binds church leaders to denominational support, rather than to community welfare. 4. Absentee pastorates which give spiritual instruction to church members but fail to give a community adequate pastoral service. 5. Weakness in rural ministry as to training and as to vision of service in rural communities. 6. Lack of adaptation of church plant to present needs be- cause of social changes which have taken place. 7. The competition of other agencies, in many respects devel- oped to greater efficiency for community service than the church. 330 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY 8. A drifting away from older beliefs on the part of the people resulting in a tendency toward an ethical as against a religious civilization. In the following chapter some of the constructive measures advocated for dealing with the situation outlined will be discussed. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Why is the village church of increasing importance? 2. Why has the church been losing influence? 3. What hopeful signs for the future are there? 4. What advantages has the church as a social agency? 5. What can the church do as a socializing agency? 6. What function must it render that cannot be rendered by other agencies ? 7. How may denominationalism and community service be recon- ciled ? 8. Outline a plan for a community social center under church auspices. 9. Why should the church organize the social life of the com- munity ? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH I. Find total church membership of the village and of its rural environment. a. Compare membership with total population in village ; in rural community. 3. Estimate total cost to village of religious service (including interest on plant, depreciation, salaries, and running ex- penses), 4. Analyze contributions to determine who support the church. Do the wealthy pay in proportion to their ability as much as the poor? 5. Find total attendance at church services of the different kinds. 6. Study social service performed by the church. THE CHURCH' 33i REFERENCES Vogt, Paul L. Survey of Greene and Clermont Counties, Ohio, pp. 60-76. Miami Univ., Oxford, Ohio. (Editor). The Church and Country Life. Mission- ary Education Movement, New York. Butterfield, K. L. The Country Church and the Rural Problem. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. Wilson, W. H. The Church of the Open Country. Missionary Education Movement, New York. Gill, C. O., and Pinchot, Gifford. The Country Church, pp. 193- 210. The Macmillan Co., New York. Platen, Chas. D, The Priest and Social Action. Long^mans, Green & Co., New York. Presb3^erian Board of Home Missions, Surveys of Rural Com- munities, New York. Vogt, Paul L. "Church Cooperation in Community Life." Abing- don Press, New York. CHAPTER XVIII THE RURAL CHURCH— MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT In the last chapter evidence was presented as to the present status and some of the problems of the rural church. The facts presented are not given in the spirit of criticism, but in the earnest hope that their presentation may be of some service in bringing about a realization of the position in which the church finds itself today when such great burdens are coming upon it. There is no fear of the ultimate disappear- ance of the religious impulse from rural life. The organized expression of that impulse may for the time being be handi- capped through lack of adjustment to changing conditions, but it is characteristic of any organization which represents permanent impulses in human nature that when once the lead- ers of the organization recognize the maladjustment existing and the necessity of readjustment, the readjustment is made and the organization enters upon a renewed life of efficient service. It is believed that the church today is on the eve of one of the greatest renewals of its service to humanity that the world has ever seen. It appears that all economic and social changes are working together for the consumma- tion of those conditions which will make possible the rapid spread and the triumph «)f those principles for which the Qiristian Church has stood throughout the ages. The church in the small community will have no small part to play in the renewal of life which the signs of the times portend. It is accepted by the closest students of the rural problem that the hope of the future in building a sound rural civili- zation depends upon the efficiency with which the rural church performs its service. Whether the church carries on its work through subordinate organizations of its own or whether 23 332 MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT 333 it works through other organizations in the community, to it belongs the essential function of molding the social re- lationships of the community on right lines. That com- munity which builds its civilization without the church will find that, after all, an ethical civilization is a civilization with- out hope and will be lacking in those spiritual impulses for which religion stands. This discussion is undertaken in the hope that what was written in the preceding chapter and what is presented in the following pages may help to bring the church again into a position where it may render its largest service in rural life. The location of the church plant is one of the most impor- tant considerations. Some of the most influential leaders in religious life today are advocating the renewal of the church in the open country as the proper method of approach to the problem. This principle is advocated on the ground that the interests of the open country are different from those of the village; and that the village is too degenerate for the association of country people. While no rule can be laid down that can be applied to all communities, the burden of proof is that, in general, the church of the country-side is in the future going to be located in the village. There are many reasons for this statement. The statistical evidence cMIected from all parts of the country show that the village church is more than holding its own, while the open-country church is on the decline. (See statistical tables, page 315, preceding chapter.) This shift of membership from the open country to the village is not a mere passing phenomenon, but represents a gradual change going on in rural life, whereby the village is becoming more and more the center of rural social activities. The advent of good roads and of better means of transpor- tation is affecting the rural church as it has the rural school, and local open country units which were once adapted to conditions are now breaking up and giving way to larger centers located in the villages. The retirement of the older farmers from the country to the villages is bringing about 334 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY a closer relationship between the country and the village than once existed, and is making the village much more naturally the rural center. The gradual growth of rural economic inter- ests centering in village life, as cooperative marketing and purchase of supplies, manufacture of farm products, co- operative banking, and storage of products is gradually increasing the number of those in the village who may be considered the paid agents of the farmers instead of an inde- pendent group of middlemen, thus lessening the distinction once existing between the village and the open country. The recreational activities of the village also appear to fit into rural needs better than the open-country recreational life of an earlier period. The size of the church is not subject to control. The data presented in the preceding chapter indicate that too small a congregation has a harder time to exist than does a larger unit. So far as the writer knows, no correlation has yet been worked out to show whether church growth and efficiency increase continuously as to size, but a priori reasoning leads to the belief that it does not. Too large a congregation tends to increase the complexity of organization and to lessen the feeling of individual responsibility. The medium-sized con- gregation permits such a duplication of services in church activities on the part of members of the congregation as tends to increase loyalty to organization and to increase personal efficiency in service. The probabilities are that a congrega- tion of from 300 to 500 souls will be more efficient than a congregation of 1,500 on the one hand or of 15 on the other. Separate congregations in village life, even of the same de- nomination, need not interfere with religious unity, but may even strengthen the same. Division of labor in ways that are adapted to such division need not interfere with unity of services in other directions. On the same principle it is not inconsistent with efficiency that churches be maintained at convenient points in the open country for religious services so long as these churches con- stitute a part of a single parish and so long as the social MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT 335 unity of the parish is not thereby lessened. In many parts of the country the abandonment of the open-country church would result in a definite lowering of the religious life, and wherever conditions are such that the retention of the open- country place of worship is desirable it should by all means be retained. Definite changes must be made in ideals of church equip- ment. The traditional frame church with but one room was adapted to a period when the church was looked upon solely as a place where people met for the purpose of worship and of receiving religious instruction. The modern church must, either as a part of the churdi building or in a separate struc- ture, provide for the service the church is expected to render to the community in advancing social welfare. It is coming to be recognized that the parish house is an essential part of the equipment of the modem church. There appear to be very good reasons why some types of social life should be provided for in a building separate from the place of wor- ship. Such separate provision obviates many of the objec- tions now raised by some of the loyal members of the church who think of the church building primarily as a place for worship of God and who do not wish to have it turned into a social center. The social activities of the community can be better organized and carried on in a building specially adapted for that purpose than they can in the place of worship. The church has been handicapped in its community service by certain beliefs. The traditional belief of the inherent un- regenerate nature of human beings has led to the position that the natural place for young people is outside the church and that they can only get into it by going through some process of individual regeneration. Consequently a compara- tively small number of young people join the church in child- hood and, if statistics of church membership are correct, a very few of them ever become church members. The old doc- trine of unregenerate humanity should give way to the doc- trine enunciated by the Master when he said: "Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of 336 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY heaven." If, instead of following the theory that the church is unnatural and that people must give up their natural tend- encies to become members of it, the church were looked upon as the most natural thing in the world and non-church mem- bership unnatural; if instead of throwing upon the child the responsibility of getting into the church, the responsibility for getting out of the church were placed upon him, a much stronger hold would be had on the young life, and it would be much easier for the young people to grow up to useful service in the advancing religious welfare of the community. Rural churches need to change their ideals as to finances. The extreme individualism and strong family interest of the country people have not been conducive to the greatest liber- ality in the support of public institutions. The penny collec- tion of forty years ago has tended to persist into a period when farm families, particularly owners, have resources equal to those who live in the villages or the cities. This lack of willingness on the part of farmers to pay in actual cash for services rendered or needed in the community has led to the development of all sorts of schemes for financing the work of the church, many of them far more expensive than direct payments to the support of the church. The first step toward reform in financial administration is to secure a definite recognition on the part of the people that the work the church is doing is worth while. If there is some question as to just what services a church is rendering in a community, it should immediately formulate a definite program of service that will appeal to the people as being of value. It has been the experience of rural ministers that securing support was not difficult when tangible service was being rendered. When service is recognized theil support will follow. After the value of service is recognized, then some defi- nite plan must be worked out whereby the people will be ex- pected to pay their obligations at certain definite times, and whereby the burden of support will be distributed according to ability. The budget system, now used in many rural MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT 337 churches, should be extended to other groups still depending on haphazard methods of money-raising or upon the sales- manship abilities of the women's auxiliary societies. The test of a thriving church is the amount it gives toward the support of activities not directly affecting the life of the local community. The real test of public spirit is that of giving toward the spread of the Gospel in foreign lands or in other parts of this country where conditions are not so favorable. Confidence in the value of the work being done; understanding of the relation of the service to the advance- ment of humanity; and belief in the principle of service for others as the highest expression of the Christian spirit; all find their reflection in liberal giving to mission work. The rural minister has a vital service to perform in giving the people in the country the world vision of Christian progress and in enlisting their efforts in the great task of developing a world-wide Christian civilization. The vision of the service the church must render to the community must be broadened. The fact that the little, one- roomed church was closed except for the brief time on Sun- day morning devoted to Sunday School and worship is an evidence of the narrowness of vision dominating the rural church. The church needs to recognize that the Sunday serv- ice and the annual revival are but small parts of the possi- bilities of reaching the commynity in the interest of a reli- gious civilization. It needs to recognize that everything that is conducive to true human happiness and welfare is con- ducive to the enlargeiment of the spiritual life. The recogni- tion of this fact will lead the church into the larger field of dealing with every condition in rural life that is related to human welfare. It will lead the church to support and encourage improvement of economic conditions, whether they be better farming, better housing conditions, better roads, or better business relations. It will lead to encouragement of education and of better facilities for reading. It will lead to the conservation of the recreational life of the old people as well as of the young. It will recognize that the saving 338 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY of the gang is often easier than the saving of the single indi- vidual. It will lead to the organization of the home so that the greatest harmony and peace will prevail. And it will lead to the encouragement of community organization which will be conducive to the largest measure of democratic life and the greatest degree of socialization of all the people in the community. It will lead to all these things while not neglecting the fundamental necessity of keeping before the people the fact that all is done for the sake of the Master's kingdom, and of dealing with the intimate personal problems of the group in their joys and sorrows, their ethical prob- lems, all things for which a community needs a spiritual adviser. In order that effective service may be rendered by the church to the community, it is necessary that readjustment be brought about in the relation of church plant to community needs. In a number of churches the so-called circuit system still prevails. This system of assigning from four to six or seven congregations to one pastor was undoubtedly adapted to an earlier period when religious work was carried on dif- ferently than it is at the present time. In one of the strongest denominations in rural communities the class leader was an integral part of the system forty or fifty years ago. The class leader was responsible for much of the pastoral service the minister was unable to do. When pastoral service was ren- dered on a voluntary basis by some member of the com- munity it was possible for some itinerant minister to visit a large number of communities at regular periods and look after their spiritual welfare. But the past half century has brought a change in the position of the class leader. Mem- bers of the community no longer take readily to the pastoral service once expected of them and the result is that the min- ister has a charge entirely too great for any one person to handle adequately. The problem would not be so serious were the several charges in an area that might properly be. considered a parish. But they are so distributed that many times the minister has to drive fifteen or twenty miles to MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT 339 some of the local churches. The result is that, in many cases, the community as a community does not have pastoral service at all. The minister attempts to visit the fainilies on his church books at least once a year, but except at the annual revival he comes only indirectly into touch with those in the community who most need his services. The ideal solution of the problem would be such a reorganization as would give to each minister a station, or central charge, which would be- come the headquarters for all the religious activities of an entire community. A recent survey of the rural church situation in the State of Ohio revealed the fact that about one-fourth of the town- ships in the state are without resident pastors. House to house canvass in many counties in the state during the Ohio Rural Life Survey revealed the fact that many families in country communities did not have pastoral calls more than once in two or three years and frequently families were found that had never been visited by a minister of the Gospel. These conditions exist in communities where churches of several de- nominations lift their spires as representatives of dogmatic beliefs without a concept of community service. If the^rural church, including in that term the church in the village which is supposed to minister to the country-side, is to do effective service, the lack of adjustment now existing, which handi- caps the efforts of the men most consecrated to the cause of human progress and prevents the largest service to the people of the community, must be eliminated in a constructive, states- manlike way. A constructive policy of rural church readjustment necessi- tates the cooperation of people, ministers, and church admin- istrative officials. It involves the formation of a state-wide plan. of readjustment agreed to by the representatives of all denominations concerned. And it involves the cordial sup- port of such a plan by all connected with the different denominations. In the State of Ohio, the Ohio Rural Life Association, working in cooperation with the Church and Country Life 34Q INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Department of the Federal Council of Churches, is engaged upon such a state wide program of rural church readjustment. The first step in the program was the inauguration of a state- wide survey by extensive correspondence whereby the location of every rural and village church has been ascertained. Facts as to the residence of the pastors, church member- ship, denominational connections, and other items of impor- tance have been collected. An interdenominational committee has been formed, membership of which is open to all de- nominations concerned with rural life, and this committee has formulated policies of dealing with the rural church problem and has already taken definite steps toward readjust- ment in local fields. After the completion of the survey it is proposed to work out a constructive plan which will involve, among other things, the following activities: 1. Assignment of every part of rural and village territory to some pastor as his specific field in order to pre- vent the present overlapping of service in some com- munities and the lack of pastoral representatives in others. 2. Plans for elimination of overchurching at points where such overchurching is unfavorable to church efficiency. The method of elimination will depend upon local conditions. In some cases withdrawal or trading with some other denomination will be best. In others fed- eration of denominations in common services while maintaining denominational connections is desirable. In rare instances the abandonment of both old de- nominations and the substitution of an entirely new one may be desirable. 3. The working out of a comprehensive plan of service to the community for rural churches of all denominations. The great stumbling-block in the way of adjustment of the church to the rural community is doubtless the loyalty of the people to traditional beliefs and to limited group organiza- MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT 34i tion, on the one hand, and the complications arising out of financial considerations and other conditions in any attempt to adjust relations between denominations. The one inter- ested in human social progress is not particularly interested in differences in beliefs as to man's relation to God or as to the methods of gaining immortality. The moral results of such beliefs have not been a matter of serious concern from the point of view of social organization. But the one inter- ested in social progress is very much concerned that beliefs in regard to the world to come shall not prevent efficient organi- zation for a happy life on this earth. The simplest solution of the problem appears to be by a middle course whereby groups may maintain their autonomy so far as religious be- liefs are concerned but will cooperate for the sake of the common good of humanity. Such cooperation in a village and rural community might involve the erection of a common par- ish house for social and recreational purposes, controlled by a joint committee appointed from the different denominations concerned. Separate religious services could thus be main- tained, but the recreational and social life of the community, which ought to be developed on a common basis, would find its center in the common headquarters for that purpose, main- tained by the joint action of all the denominations. A specially trained leader could be engaged at a cost to the community comparable to the cost of maintaining one min- ister and thus one of the most effective and most needed agencies of the conservation of the recreational life of the young people under the auspices of the religious forces would be assured. The plan of districting the state and assigning a representa- tive of some denomination to each district as his particular charge will go far toward bringing about constructive com- munity service. The one placed in charge of a district or parish will then feel his responsibility to all those in his area, whether church members or not, and will be in a position to organize constructive social work for all those in his parish. He will have the cooperation of all the ministers and other 342 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY social workers in his field because all will recognize that in other areas other ministers are the appointed leaders and each is expected to cooperate with the leader in the respective parishes. The working out of a comprehensive plan of rural social and religious progress will require the heartiest cooperation of colleges and theological seminaries. The young men who are looking forward to the ministry must not only be given a vision of the large field for service in the small communi- ties, but must also be given technical training for the service they are expected to render. Not only must the ministers be trained, but the people must also receive a vision through the training given to college men and women who expect to re- turn to the rural community and must be ready to cooperate with the leaders of the religious forces in making the church an agency for community progress. Two other recent movements in rural religious life demand attention. The first is that of correlating religious education with the work of the public schools. This movement had its beginnings in the city of Gary, Indiana, where credit was given for a certain number of hours of work done in weekday religious education, of standards approved by the public school authorities. More recently the movement has spread to cities such as Van Wert, Ohio, and now many examples may be found in villages and even in the open country. The religious forces of America were facing the alternative of witnessing the development through the public schools of a generation, many of whom were receiving no religious instruction what- ever except the inadequate training given for part of one hour a week in the Sunday schools, or of starting private schools where religious education could be given. The present tend- ency is to adopt the former alternative and to offer approved courses in religious education as a supplement to the public school system, thus avoiding the implications that would result from a widespread movement on the part of religious forces to build up a rival school system which would include subjects usually taught in the public schools. MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT 343 This movement toward strengthening religious education in connection with the primary and secondary public schools is also finding expression at tax-supported higher institutions. As higher education continued to develop under state aus- pices, thousands of yOung men and women were attending these institutions and graduating from them without an ade- quate appreciation of the service rendered in the past, and now being rendered, in moulding a world civilization founded on the social principles of rehgion. Instead of assuming a critical attitude toward tax-supported institutions, the modern tend- ency is for religious forces to cooperate with the state in pro- viding those phases of education that do not fall within the field of service by the state. The result is a broader, more sympathetic attitude on the part of students graduating from these schools toward the religious forces in modern life. The second tendency is that toward coordinating religious forces within a given area, generally the county. The Chris- tian Associations have been pioneers in this effort and they have rendered great service. More recently the demand ap- pears to be growing for a more comprehensive organization which will give united expression not only to the religious impulses of young men or the young women but also to religi- ous education and to such activities as generally find a place in church federations. While the movement toward adjustment of relationships in local communities has made considerable prog- ress in certain sections,' as in Vermont, Montana, and Ohio, the type of movement mentioned here is that of so coordinating all religious forces that they may present a common front in dealing with problems of community welfare in which all are interested. Rural America is considerably behind the cities in this move- ment, but the spirit of tolerance is growing and the future is bright with the hope of better rural church adjustment and program. The time is now ripe for one of the greatest forward move- ments in religious life the world has ever seen. The influ- ences which have kept peoplg^apart in many religious camps are dying out; the realization of the fact that the church is 344 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY an essential organization in community life is growing; and the recognition of the services the church ought to render to the community is becoming widespread. An increasing num- ber of live, well-trained young men are offering themselves to the cause in which they so firmly believe, and the present century should witness again, as past centuries have witnessed it, the assumption on the part of religious leaders of their proper place in the direction of progress toward the final ushering in of the Kingdom of Heaven. The earnest efforts now being made by leaders in religious life throughout the country deserve the most loyal support of all for the sake of the advancement of a Christian civilization. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. How is location of church plant related to church efficiency? 2. How is location of the pastor related to church efficiency? 3. Should the church be located, in general, in the village or the open country? 4. How large should the church's vision of service to the com- munity be? 5. How may the desire to retain denominational beliefs be har- monized with the desire to engage in community service? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Make a map showing location of all churches in your county by denominations. 2. Make map showing residence of pastors. 3. Make a community map showing where church members and non-church members live. 4. Make community map showing where owners and tenants live. Compare with church map. REFERENCES References same as in preceding chapter. CHAPTER XIX THE COUNTY FAIR Few institutions connected with rural life have had such a long and continuous existence as has the fair. During the middle ages, when social life was not yet sufficiently settled to permit of highly organized and regularly established trade between different parts of the country, the fair afforded op- portunity for people from all sections to gather together and display and exchange their wares. The fair in modem times has materially changed in its function from that of the earlier exhibit. In the earlier times it was largely a trading center. At the present time, although trading is still carried on to some extent, and the fair is used as a place for advertisement by concerns engaged in various industrial enterprises, it is theoretically considered rather as a place of exhibit of the year's progress in agriculture. This implied purpose of the fair is an indication of the important place the fair should occupy in rural life, provided it is con- ducted along lines which will serve the purpose for which it was intended. The first fairs held in America after the formation of the new nation were during the first years of the nineteenth cen- tury. The first fair held was an exhibition at Washington, 1804. The first fair association was in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in 1810. In 1819 the state of New York gave the first state aid to the movement. During the first part of the century the development of fairs was gradual until from 1850-1870, according to President Butterfield, of Massachu- setts Agricultural College, this county witnessed the "Golden Age" of the agricultural fair. During this period it appears that the leaders of the movement had a much truer concept 345 346 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY of the purposes of the fair than have some of their successors. In a report of the Miami County, Ohio, Agricultural Society for 1846, the statement was made that the benefit to be at- tained from a fair was "not so much in the production of extraordinary results, as in the discovery of means and proc- esses by which a given result may be obtained with the least expenditure of labor or capital. Skill and intelligence are to be encouraged. ... In short, we believe the premium should be awarded to the man rather than to the bullock or porker brought for exhibition." ^ It was also during this period that emphasis was placed upon definite educational work through having addresses by public men. Some of the best known literary men of the time were accustomed to appear on the program. For a period of several years in the more recent history of county fairs, they appear to have undergone a course of degeneration from their original intent. For some reason, probably because of the fact that country people lost sight of the real purpose and possibilities of this annual get-together occasion, and because the fairs fell into the control of others than farmers, they lost very largely their original form and became rather places of amusement of a type that in many cases did not meet the approval of the country people. Among the elements which have lessened the value of the fairs in many places are : first, the tendency to do those things which in the judgment of the officials will swell gate receipts, regardless of their real utility as educational agencies. Many fair boards have shown a lack of discrimination as to the types of amusements allowed, or "privileges" sold. On some fair grounds it was no uncommon sight to see whole rows of devices which could be classed as catering to the gambling tendency. Ring throwing, throwing at dolls, wheels, and all sorts of devices wherein the object secured depended on the chance of the throw. In some cases the device kept within the letter of the law by insuring to the customer something of more or less value for every throw. But the intent of all * L. O. Lantis, unpublished report on County Fairs in Ohio. THE COUNTY FAIR 347 these devices was to utilize the chance element as the draw- ing card. The type of sideshows permitted was also far be- low what decency would justify. Shows that would be tabooed in any up-to-date city have flourished in the rural fairs. Farm- ers in many cases would not patronize these resorts, but they drew the underworld from the villages and cities and thus swelled the gate receipts. Exhibits of human deformity, such as victims of elephantiasis or other disease, were also to be found as a part of the supposed amusements. Second, there has been too much emphasis upon the racing features of the fair. Large premiums have been paid to pro- fessional horse racers. The men in charge of the fairs have justified their policies in this respect on the ground that unless racing were made an important feature the people would not come. This was a direct admission that the fair could not be made what it ought to be but had to be made what the "people" wanted. As a matter of fact, this catering to the element in the population which wanted horse racing pri- marily led many fair associations into debt and kept from the grotmds the elements of the population that would have been attracted by a fair in the truest sense. Still other fairs appear to have been operated largely for the purpose of giving vendors of food supplies a chance to dispose of their products at exorbitant figures. It appeared that a definite attempt was made to prevent developing con- veniences on the grounds, such as drinking facilities, etc., so that persons would be compelled to purchase drinks of those who had paid for stands. These conditions need not be discussed in detail. Happily, in the past few years there has been an awakening through- out the country to the fact that the county fair is not to be made a gambling headquarters where things may be run openly ; that it is not to be made primarily a professional rac- ing meet to the support of which the bulk of the gate receipts from those wanting racing as well as those opposed to it should go; that it is not primarily for those seeking vulgar stimulation ; but that it is to be made an affair for community 348 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY progress. The passing of the objectionable features under the influence of an enlightened public opinion has made way for a new type of activity which is likely to bring to American rural life again another "Golden Age" of the agricultural fair. Any discussion of the county fair, to be most profitable, must be in the nature of deduction from recognized princi- ples as to what ought to be found at the fair, and the follow- ing pages will be devoted to a survey of some progressive measures that have been taken and of others that it appears should find a place in fair development. There is need of an enlarged concept of the function of the fair in community life. It is today recognized primarily as an organization for the advancement of agriculture and of those interests directly concerned with agriculture. The time has come in most parts of the United States when this concept should be enlarged to include all interests in the com- munity, both rural and urban. Moreover, the concept has prevailed that the fair is primarily for the purpose of encour- aging the improvement of farm products. This concept needs enlargement to include the idea that the fair is intended not only to record the progress of production but serve as a means for the advancement of every phase of rural life. This idea is already finding its expression in the emphasis being placed on the development of educational exhibits. But there are still many phases of rural and village life that do not have adequate attention. Two types of exhibits may be distinguished. The first is a record of the achievements for the year. The exhibit of map-work or breadmaking from the public schools for the year and for which a prize is awarded may not be so good as that for the preceding year but it represents the best pro- duced during the period and it is recognized that some mark of distinction should be awarded. The second should repre- sent progress; that is, in this type should be found the best that has ever been done in the area for which the fair is a means of exhibit. This type of exhibit has not to the present THE COUNTY FAIR 349 time been made a marked feature of fair exhibits. Yet from the social point of view it is the most important type of exhibit that could be presented. As an illustration of the latter type of exhibit, may be given the production of wheat. Under given conditions, Farmer A, has succeeded in producing, to the acre, 40 bushels of wheat of a variety that, according to the investigations of the experi- ment stations, is of greatest net value. Under present methods of awarding exhibits, his production is graded according to its appearance and no account taken as to how representative it is of his achievement. In other words, it is a contest of ability to show well instead of ability to do well. Not only should the product be graded but the conditions under which it is produced should be taken into account. Moreover, at the close of the fair, when Mr. A. takes his exhibit home and banks his premium all record of his achievement is lost. Some provision should be made whereby a record of his achievement would be kept and he would be permitted to hold or to have held for him at some public place, some trophy cup of value with the record of his achievement inscribed on it. At the next exhibit Mr. A. would be under the necessity of again competing for the honor of first place in production and the desire to hold the place of honor in skill in production would lead to a county-wide annual test of skill. The record for one year would become the gauge of achievement in agricultural production in that particular section and would set a standard by which the farmers of the entire district could gauge their own skill in crop production. Such a standard would also offer an incentive to improvement with the hope of bringing the record to a still higher level. This method of awarding premiums for record of progress could be applied to live stock production as well as to other types of crops. It would become the basis for intercom- munity comparisons and would ultimately lead to the gradual elimination from farm practices of a given community, those types of production which are least profitable, and the cen- tralization of attention on those types of production which 350 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY experience had shown were most profitable and best adapted to the given environment. Improvements in methods of judging products should also be made. As it is usually carried on, spectators stand around the judging pavilion watching the work of the judges and when the prizes are awarded many of them go away wonder- ing why a particular award has been made. The judging period could be made a time of profitable demonstration in qualities of product. At given times during the judging period, the judges could takfi' samples of the goods on which they have passed and tell the people assembled why they judge as they do. No better demonstration opportunity could be found anywhere than at the time when the best in the county is on exhibit. Then the qualities that should be found in the ideal product could be emphasized and the exhibitors as well as others could return to the farms with a better idea as to what points should be worked toward in the production of good stock or crops. In addition to exhibits now to be found in a progressive fair, such as agriculture, live stock, machinery and other urban products, and public school exhibits, place should be found for the exhibit of results of particular farm practices. This type of exhibit would have to be in the form of models of farms and charts showing crop rotations, use of fertilizers and other data which may be helpful in determining the value of the practice. This type of exhibit would emphasize the fact that, after all, the prime consideration of the farm from the individual economic point of view is maximum net profits instead of maximum products. The two have been shown to be largely synonymous but not always so. It has been dem- onstrated that from the point of view of successful farming, the exhibits at the fair are not always a criterion of increase in wealth but may represent an actual loss in the total farm operation. Such exhibits would be very helpful in emphasiz- ing the "better business" phase of farm management. Very little popular attention has yet been given to com- munity achievement. Place ought to be given to the results THE COUNTY FAIR 35 1 of community organization in organized buying and selling of products, or in the manufacture of farm products through creameries or other agencies. Charts showing the amount of fertilizer and other supplies purchased by given communities, their form of organization of local associations, and their methods of operation would go far toward increasing the efficiency of rural economic life and would stimulate the spirit of working together for the common good. In like manner communities should present the results of their efforts at social improvement. Models of rural churches with charts showing the social activities which have increased the content of rural life would be helpful. An exhibit of the mode of equipment of a well organized community would stimulate organization elsewhere and would help much in the movement toward a scientifically organized rural life. The school and farm organization could show the work done by each of them in actually raising the standards of rural life. The county fair should be a general round-up of the eco- nomic and social life of the county. When local communities are well organized and have some definite form of representa- tion, the fair week can give opportunity for those interested in the various phases of rural life to get together and give competitive expression to their respective interests. Probably no other time in the year would be more suitable for having an intercommunity music festival than at the county fair. Not all the people from the county would crowd in to hear the production of classic vocal music at the music hall but there would be enough interested to make the attempt worth while, and the competition of the different sections of the county in this way would stimulate local effort and result in a higher standard of art appreciation. The opportunity to hear well-rendered music in this way would also aid in developing musical taste. This would contribute very largely to the standards of culture in community life. The county fair could also be made the place for intercom- munity athletic contests. The ball teams or the field day en- thusiasts of the different groups could make this the time for 352 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY rtieir annual contests. Instead of prizes being offered to the different groups, trophy cups, to be held by the winning group of the year, could be used. In this way the development of community spirit would be stimulated and community harmony enhanced. The county fair could be made the place for the stimulation of interest in painting and sculpture. If representations of their work could be made by communities as well as by individuals, and if real encouragement were given to this type of rural life, much of the lack of interest in the artistic would disap- pear and the results on general culture would be incalculable. The fair will continue to have, as it has in the past, as one of its most attractive features, the opportunity for people in different parts of the county to get together and renew ac- quaintances. The social features of the fair should be en- couraged. Arrangements can be made to have special meetings of various county groups, such as the Grangers, the Improve- ment Associations, the old settlers, or other groups that have an important place in the life of the county. The fair could also be made the occasion for family reunions. Every effort should be made to widen the acquaintance of the people and to strengthen personal relationships as the basis for true democracy. In many of the newer sections of the country the practice of having annual community gatherings in which the people of the countryside will come together and camp for several days is popular. Many of the fair grounds in the eastern part of the country are not adapted to this kind of recreational life. The necessity, in the general farming areas, of being at home a part of each day to attend to the chores also increases the difficulty of an entire family's going away to camp for an ex- tended period. With the advent of the automobile, however, and by arrangements whereby a part of the family attend to home duties for a part of the week and the others for the remainder it should be possible to have in almost every rural community a camp ground to which the people could come at least once a year for relaxation and social life. If the county THE COUNTY FAIR 353 fair grounds were enlarged and equipped with water and toilet facilities and divided off for convenience in pitching tents, and if conveniences were provided for cooking, there is no reason why in the area of general agriculture the fair week should not become a time of recreation for rural and village communities. The communities which have the custom of spending some time in camping show a larger degree of con- tentment and appreciation of country life than do those where these forms of recreation are lacking, and it is desirable that such recreation should be encouraged. The fair could be made more of an educational agency than it now is by providing for programs dealing with public topics for the evenings. Programs consisting of music and drama could be arranged and opportunity could be given for public officials, both local and state, to discuss topics of interest to the rural communities. Tendencies in the direction of increas- ing the recreational and educational features of the fairs are to be found in many parts of the country. As leaders in rural life become better acquainted with the purposes and possibilities of the annual economic and social round-up at fair time, and as public appreciation of things truly educational grows, the fair will become one of the most powerful stimuli for rural advancement available. Much progress has already been made. It still remains for many communities to reorganize their expenditures so that the bulk of the money taken in at the gate will not go to the support of those things which are not of permanent value and which cater to the interests of a minority but will be expended in providing those forms of amusement and education which will be a real aid to social and economic progress. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Trace history of county fairs. 2. What have been the weaknesses of the fair during recent years ? 3. What may be done to improve the fair as to type of amuse- ments ? 354 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY 4. What improvements as to judging? 5. What improvements as to the type of reward? 6. What improvements as to kinds of exhibits? 7. What are the limitations of literary features of the fair? 8. What are the social possibilities of the fair? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Study the receipts and expenditures of your local fair. 2. Study amusements permitted. 3. What classes of people make most use of the fair? CHAPTER XX THE VILLAGE IN RELATION TO RURAL LIFE No final organization of rural life will result without in- cluding in that organization the village. There is evidence on every hand that the village is becoming more and more the center of rural life. The data presented in the discussion of the tendencies in the rural church show that the open-country church is giving way to the village church as a religious center. The village is becoming the center of the recreational life of the open country. It is also tending to become the educational center of rural life. And it has been for many years the industrial or market center of the country-side. The im- provement of roads and means of communication, together with the gradual increase of control of the business side of agriculture on the part of farmers, will increase the impor- tance of the village as a factor in rural economic organization. Since the village is in so many ways becoming more intimately related to rural life it is important to note some of the in- fluences which are working toward making the village more or less efficient as a rural center. Very little literature is as yet available on the subject of the rural village, and such as is available tends to emphasize the tangible aspects of village life, such as street paving or tree planting, rather than the intangible but really more important aspects of social structure and social function. An occasional article appears in current journals about the church, women's clubs or boys' gangs, but little systematic work on the psychical problems of village Ufe has yet been done. The United States Census gives but little data on the smaller communities. The larger places are fully reported but the villages are merged into the life of the country and thus neglected. Local studies 355 356 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY to which reference will be made in the course of the present discussion indicate that the village as such presents problems of existence that make it more important than either the open country or the city. Throughout history the village has occupied a place of large influence, and there is reason to believe that it will again as- sume a place of considerably more importance than it now does. If this be true it is worth while that careful considera- tion be given to the problems of the village in order that the increasing proportion of the population which will pass their lives in these small places may control their existence in such a manner as to yield a maximum of wellbeing for the group. That such wellbeing may, by definite attention and control, be increased has been repeatedly demonstrated. It is the pur- pose of the discussion in the following pages to bring together such data as are now available concerning village life and to make such suggestions as may be helpful to communities which may be looking forward to a larger, better existence and to a larger service to the particular environment in which the village is located. The concept conveyed by the term "village" will probably be different to different persons. To some will come immedi- ately recollections of the little hamlet out in the country several miles from a railway, reached only by the daily hack, with its quiet shady streets and its leisure class occupying the boxes or benches in front of the village store. To others will come the picture of the little town which has secured some manufactur- ing plant and which is already, with its busy ways, its chamber of commerce, and its new bank, fancying itself a city. Or it may be that some hamlet recently connected by street car or electric railway to a large city will come to mind. This is the village that someone has called a "sleeping community." Here the people come out to make garden and to pass the night, but their business and many of their social activities are carried on in the neighbormg city. The mining camp, the company- owned factory town, the pleasure resort, and the refined, aristocratic, cultured, educational center, all present other types THE VILLAGE 357 and problems that make generalizations about village life very difficult indeed. Size does not determine village activities nor distinguish the village from either the city or the open country. Some villages are country-minded and have stand- ards of living which are applicable to the open country ; others are urban-minded and are simply extensions of the city. Yet •while no hard and fast line can be drawn between either the village and the open country or the village and the city, aggre- gations of people of a medium size bring problems different from those of either the open country or city. In the present study so far as size is concerned incorporated places of under 2,500 inhabitants have been made the basis of statistical in- duction. Until a place approaches ten thousand inhabitants conditions remain relatively similar. After passing into the group of places having ten thousand and upwards distinctly urban problems become more marked and the characteristics of the village disappear. Thus the village discussed in the following pages is not a political entity, nor is it necessarily the embryo city with city characteristics but it is a collection of families living in close approximation and in a relatively stable manner, thus bringing about personal relationships of such a continuous and intimate nature as to make possible not only some of the richest of social experiences but under certain circumstances some of the worst pathological conditions to be found in the entire social structure. It is with this aggrega- tion of population that the present discussion deals. Distribution Population According to Size of Communities' Number Per cent, of Total Population Type of Place 1920 1910 xgoo 1890 1880 1920 1910 1900 i8go 1880 10,000 or more in- habitants 2,500-10,000 inhalj- 746 2,041 12,905 595 1,718 11,832 440 1. 361 8.930 35» 1,06 J 6,490 227 87a 42.4 9.0 8.5 40.1 37-0 8.8 8.9 45.3 31-7 8.3 8.3 51-7 21.6 7.8 7.6 57.0 21.8 7-7 Incorporated places less than 2,500. . . ' Fourteenili Census United Sitates, "Population," p. so. 358 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY The relative importance of communities of this size is indi- cated by the results of the last census. The accompanying table shows the relative numerical importance of villages as compared with that of open country and of cities. Although powerful influences have been at work to increase the importance of the city at the expense of both the village and the open country, the above record shows that while the open country has been decreasing absolutely in numerical importance, the village has slightly increased. The rate of increase has not been so rapid as that of the city. However, the fact that incorporated places of under 10,000 inhabitants contained nearly 18 per cent, of the total population in 1920 and that there were in all 14,946 such places at that time shows that one of the important phases of modem social life has been neglected or subordinated and included in the discussion of the entirely different problems of the open country. The rapid increase of the total number of such places from 1900 to 1910 also indicates that a discussion of the problems of life in village communities demands careful attention. It is the purpose of the discussion in the following pages to emphasize the psychical rather than the physical phases of village life and to deal with the physical phases of the problem only in so far as they are a basis for the psychic life and as they are an evidence of progress and an aid to the psychic life. The relation of the village to the rapid growth of cities will be noted and an attempt will be made to determine to what extent the present movement to the cities represents a pathological influence or a temporary departure from normal social growth, and to what extent an increase in interest in village life may be expected. As the problems of village life are increased in their com- plexity by the variety of types of villages, discussion in the following pages will be devoted primarily to that type of community to be found so often in the Central Valley of the United States, the small place surrounded with a rich agricul- tural district and dependent principally upon this district for its economic welfare. The city suburb, the mining camp, the THE VILLAGE 359 pleasure resort and the small manufacturing town, present problems somewhat different, and these types of villages will be considered only as a basis for the better understanding of the conditions in the type first mentioned. Moreover, emphasis will be placed upon conditions and problems in the older sec- tions of the country because the newer places in all probability will go through such a course of evolution as ultimately to present problems similar to those now existing in the more densely settled and more standardized areas. Some of the data presented may be considered as too limited in their scope but it may be said that there is a similarity in the life of these communities that renders these data valuable as indicative of what may generally be found. The customs, con- ventions, and social ideals of these communities lead to reac- tions common to all of them and for many purposes a study of a few of these villages is equivalent to a study of all of them. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Why have village problems been neglected? 2. What has been the nature of most recent studies of the vil- lage? 3. Make an outline of the different types of villages. 4. In what ways do these villages differ? 5. In what size of social aggregation do problems characteristic of the village appear ? 6. How does village population compare numerically with the population of the open country? Of the city? 7. How does increase in village population compare with that of the open country? Of the city? 8. What is meant by the term "village" ? 9. Why is a knowledge of village problems important? 10. Which is more important, a knowledge of village physical environment or of village social relationships ? Why ? 11. How is the study of village life related to that of the city? 12. In what ways is the village related to the open country? 13. What food supplies provided in the village environment are purchased from the neighboring city wholesale houses ? 14. Why is there not a closer relation between the village and the country in this respect? 36o INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Make a map of your county showing the location of hamlets (unincorporated places) ; villages (incorporated places un- der 2,500 population) ; cities (places over 2,500 population). 2. Make a list of the principal products of your county. Com- pare with production from other counties in your state. 3. Study villages in your state as to (i) new incorporations in the past decade; (2) increase or decrease in population of the different villages. REFERENCES Hart, J. K. (Editor). Educational Resources of Village and Rural Communities. The Macmillan Co., New York. McV^y, F. R. The Making of a Town. A. C. McClurg Co., Chicago. Farwell, P. T. Village Improvement. Sturgis & Walton Co., New York. Anderson, W. L. Country Town. Baker & Taylor Co., New York. Farrington, Frank. Community Development. Ronald Press, New Ygrk. Douglass, Paul H. The Little Town. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1919. CHAPTER XXI THE VILLAGE IN HISTORY To understand the village as it exists in western civilizatiftn requires a survey of the village in its origin in primitive life, the functions it has performed and the place it has occupied in general social development. From this survey it will be pos- sible to get a point of view from which to judge the place of the village in modern life and to determine in what ways the functions of the primitive village have continued into modern life and in what ways the modern village must function differ- ently if it is to remain a factor in social organization. The researches of specialists in the study of primitive life reveal the fact that the village is the predominant mode of primitive human grouping. Both the scattered open-country residences such as are common in the western agricultural world and the densely populated urban centers which are so characteristic of modern civilization were then unknown. The composition of these small groups, however, was such that other characteristics than that of living in close proximity to one another were the prime ones. The primitive village group was the result of the existing tribal organization. It was an incident of blood relationship rather than of commercial or industrial needs. It does not appear that the true village developed among the wandering herdsmen of the desert but it was undoubtedly a universal characteristic of the hunting and fishing and of the early agricultural stages of industrial progress. The remains of the cave men of Europe and the piles of shell left by other primitive people about their dwellings indicate that long before the dawn of history men lived in groups of relative stability and in close proximity to one another. The primitive village as an incident to blood relationship 361 362 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY grouping is indicated by its position in a typical social organi- zation such as that of the American Indians. Professor Gid- dings describes the condition among them as follows : A tribe usually claimed a large territory within which its mem- bers might roam in hunting and fishing, and within which they lived in small villages that were usually placed on the shore of a lake or bay, by a waterfall, or at the mouth of a creek which flowed into a larger stream. Even the smaller tribes often included several villages. For example, the small Algonquin tribe of Wepanaugs or Potatucks, which in 1639 claimed the Housatonic and Naugatuck valleys of western Connecticut, from Long Island Sound to the Massachu- setts line, were settled at that time in three places, namely, where now are the towns of Milford, Stratford, and Derby; and prob- ably also at other places further to the northwest, including Wean- tinock and Metichawan, where New Milford is now, and Scata- cook in Kent, for the latter settlements were found when the whites first penetrated to that region. After selling their lands at Stratford and Milford, the Indians of those villages moved up the Housatonic valley and established at least four villages in the regiori between Derby and New Milford, namely, Wesquan- took, now Squantuk, Potatuck in Huntington, Potatuck in New- town, and Pomeraug in Woodbury. . . . Wentworth Greenhalge, who made an adventurous journey west- ward from Albany through the Iroquois country from May 20 to July 14, 1677, found the Mohawks living in five villages. The smallest contained but ten houses, the largest thirty. One con- sisted of twenty-four houses and each of the remaining two of sixteen houses. The Oneidas had but one settlement, of about one hundred houses, but it must be remembered that the Oneidas were a new tribe split off from the Mohawks. The Onondagas had one large settlement of one hundred and forty houses and a smaller one of twenty-four. The Cayugas had three villages about a mile apart, comprising in all one hundred houses. The Senecas had four villages, the largest containing one hundred and fifty houses; the next in size, thirty miles distant, contained one hundred and twenty houses. Four or five miles distant from each of these was a smaller village, one of thirty and the other of twenty-four houses. THE VILLAGE IN HISTORY 363 The early history of Rome typifies similar conditions. Tra- ditionally, that city was made up of three tribes located in little groups on as many hills; later these three were increased to seven. These villages were made up of the patricians or members of the original tribal organization of the state. The villages existed simply as family groups, the members of which lived together in close proximity and with a relatively high degree of permanency. Similar examples might be cited from the accounts of social life of primitive peoples in different parts of the world. Mr. Fowler in his discussion of the origin of the city-state of the Greeks and Romans enumerates four leading character- istics of the early village. The first of these was kinship, "Kinship was the foundation stone of the society." In the course of time this leading influence lessens but as it loses its primal force it gives way to a fictional bond of brotherhood or, as it has done in Russia and India, to a bond of interest only. Yet there is a survival of feeling which distinguishes the village community and which could have been gained, accord- ing to Mr. Fowler, in no other way. The second characteristic mentioned is that "the government of the group was in the hands of a council consisting of the heads of the families constituting the group, sometimes with a head man to preside over it. This simple government doubt- less exercised customary judicial power, as it does in Russia at the present day, and regulated the property of the com- munity." ^ The third characteristic was the form of cultivation of the land from which the group derived its subsistence. The simi- larity in the method of holding land in different parts of the world is most striking. The land may have been held from some overlord, some original proprietor or some conqueror to whom rent was, paid but the tenure of the land was a com- mon village tenure rather than an individual tenure and the land was cultivated for the common good. The evidence is that the overlordship is a later development resulting from 'Wallace, Russia, p. 198. 364 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY military conquest. In most cases it was divided into two parts, the one arable, which was divided into strips and assigned to the different families and redistributed from season to season. The other was the waste land or commons on which the vil- lage live stock was pastured and from which the village fuel was brought. The village itself appears to have been divided into lots under permanent private ownership. Fourthly, the village doubtless had a common religion. This characteristic probably owes its origin to the fact that the village was made up originally of descendants of a common ancestor. The village became the headquarters for the wor- ship of this ancestor. The several families later developed their own family worship but the village god still held them together in a common allegiance. The advance of the village to a position of primacy over the tribal organization as a part of the social structure comes with the introduction into village groups of interests other than those of blood relationship. Gradually alien elements found their way into the tribal group. Traders, refugees, slaves, wanderers, came from distant points and some adjust- ment had to be made to their presence. In the Roman world at first they were attached to the patrician households as clients, then later as the group increased they formed the plebeian element in the population which finally dominated the state and turned it from one of family organization into one of political organization. These brief illustrations show that the village was the gen- eral form of social aggregation in primitive life, first as an incident to family organization and later as the dwelling place of a group held together less by bonds of blood relationship than of common interest. The evidence is that the manorial village of Europe was of this latter type, although the relation of the manorial village to the land is similar to the relationship found in most primitive agricultural villages. Students of the history of the village are inclined to believe that, at no time after the disappearance of the original tribal organization was the village autonomous but was under the control either of an THE VILLAGE IN HISTORY 365 overlord in a feudal system or was a part of a larger political state. The modern village has lost the characteristics of the earlier period. It is an aggregation of an entirely different type and of different origin. The village of today which has advanced to the dignity of incorporation takes no account of family relationships with the exception of the survival of limitation of suffrage rights to actual or potential male heads of families, in its institutional organization. The social aggregation has had its source in so many different places that family life and relationships are no longer identical with community relation- ships. For many purposes the political organization, the church and the school do not recognize the family unit but deal with individuals. Family influences exist and in some cases are a most potent factor in determining the social activi- ties of the village and have much to do with its welfare and advancement but these influences are not recognized to so great an extent in the official organization of the community. Thus the village has assumed a position of primacy over the family, whereas in primitive life the village was an incident to family organization. The second important change to be noted is that even in so-called agricultural villages in America, the village as a group has severed direct connection with agricultural produc- tion. The manorial system has disappeared. No longer does the headman of the village or the village council apportion plots of land to residents of the village for cultivation; nor does he make rules as to the use of the common land. Com- munal cultivation of the soil has given way to private owner- ship and production. Other interests have come to dominate the life of the village and today it is the center of the com- mercial, financial and manufacturing interests of the territory in which it is located. Some farmers may reside in the village but these are the few gardeners who supply the village with vegetables, men who have retired from the farms to pass their old age in the better material environment of the village and to give way on the farm to their children, and the occasional 34 366 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY wealthy farmer who lives in the village and oversees the labor of hired tenants on his country place. These men are not the controlling factor in village life and in many cases become the element opposing efforts to advance the material welfare of the village. The ancient village, since it was a family affair, depended largely on natural increase for its growth. And for this reason growth of the village was dependent upon the attitude of the group toward family life. The modern village, while depending in part upon natural increase to main- tain its numbers, looks more to attracting new families through social or economic advantages offered. Resources to be de- veloped, such as mines, special forms of agriculture, new opportunities for trade, the growing wealth of an agricultural environment, educational facilities, or unusually good resi- dence attractions become the basis for appeal to prospective citizens. However, many villages show, decade after decade, a fairly constant population maintained only by natural in- crease and by the addition of the stream of older people retiring from the farms. Social conditions in these communi- ties are apt to be on a much lower plane than if the village is receiving a normal influx of new blood from other communi- ties. In this natural increase family relationship does not come to the front as of prime importance. The communal system of agricultural land ownership and cultivation in the ancient world has been mentioned. The modern village is moving toward communal ownership of other things. The modern tendency is for the common ownership of living conveniences. The streets are improved, the lighting facilities are provided by the community in its cooperative capacity. The water supply and the removal of waste and control of food supplies become matters of communal con- cern. The educational system, including the public library, is also traditionally a matter for public support. The village still adheres to private enterprises in its care of the physical welfare of its members, in the care of its moral and religious life, in its recreation and in its business. These are in most cases on a commercial basis and conditions result which, while THE VILLAGE IN HISTORY ,367 highly profitable to certain individuals, either lower the social welfare of the community or delay its progress. Few of these activities were to be found in the ancient village. While cer- tain writers are lamenting the disappearance of the village community of the old type, they should not forget that the centuries have brought under common control many utilities of another type just as essential to group welfare as the utilities which have passed into private hands. The modern village has a definite relationship to the state in which it exists. The ancient village was an incident of living in the family which it represented. It was as autonomous as the family group in which it was found. The modem village has been formed by a miscellaneous aggregation of unrelated individuals each seeking his own ends and has been given legal standing by the state within whose domain it exists. It thus becomes a part of the political system of a larger state, subordinate instead of autonomous and with a definite physical location and boundaries and with a power of existence independent of the human units composing it. Moreover, the members of the village are held individually responsible to the state for their obligations to that political unit instead of being held responsible because of membership in a village group. In other words, the village as an organization does not assume responsibilities for the conduct of its residents beyond the eifect of that conduct upon its own life. The state has also taken the place of the overlord who controlled the village under the feudal system. Finally, social groupings in the modern village have a source different from those in the ancient village. Business men and their families, retired farmers, professional men, become socially self-conscious and social cleavage appears. Social standing was fixed more by custom in the ancient world than it is at the present time. The modem village as a political and social unit has many things in common with the city. In many of them the am- bitions of the citizens are similar to those of urban residents and the improvements necessary are like those of the city. 368 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Many villages are nothing more nor less than embryonic cities. Yet they are in that trying period of their development in which they are tempted to have the advantages of cities without the wealth accumulated to pay for them, and the results of their efforts to improve conditions sometimes work hardship for many years. The conclusion from the comparison of the ancient and modern village is that the village of today is a distinctly mod- ern product, closely related to the industrial development of the past century and that the ancient world has little of value to yield in knowledge for the constructive development of the life of the modern village. The modern village must recognize that it is an integral part of the entire community; that its progress depends upon that life; that it cannot control its own growth independent of its environment, but will increase in functions as its environment demands and no faster; that its advance must be in those improvements needed by the community it serves ; and that wise leaders will study in what ways the village can more effectually serve the purpose of its existence. It must recognize the fact, however, that the life of the small group exemplified by the ancient village is in har- mony with instinctive social tendencies resulting from ages of natural selection and that in modern social organization these tendencies must be reckoned with. The life of the mod- ern community must be made to harmonize as far as possible with these instinctive tendencies. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What were the bonds of union in the primitive village? 2. What reasons are there for thinking that the village rather than the open country or the city represents the normal form of social grouping? 3. How did the primitive village differ from the modem one in relation to land cultivation and ownership? 4. How did the primitive village differ from the modern one in relation to the state? 5. How does the modern village differ from the ancient one as to origin of population? THE VILLAGE IN HISTORY 369 6. By what bonds is the modern village held together? 7. What changes have taken place in the relation of the family to the village? 8. What changes have taken place in the relation of the indi- vidual to the village ? 9. What village interests are provided for out of common fvmds? 10. What interests are provided for by private enterprise? 11. Make a list of things that in your judgment should be pro- vided for the community out of common funds. 12. What should be provided for by the individual or by the family? 13. What should be provided for by the state? 14. Formulate the principles on which you base the answers to the three preceding questions. TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Trace the steps in the transition to the modern village. 2. Make a map showing the corporate boundaries of your vil- lage. 3. Make a list of state laws limiting the village. 4. Study village ordinances to determine: (a) Which are dead letters; (b) What conditions the village attempts to gov- ern; (c) What regulations have to do with non-residents. REFERENCES Fowler, W. W. City State of Greeks and Romans. Macmillan & Co., New York. Fustel de Coulanges, N. D. The Ancient City. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, Boston. Giddings, F. H. Principles of Sociology. Macmillan and Co., New York. Maine, H. J. S. Village Communities in the East and West. Henry Holt & Co., New York. Seebohm, F. English Village Community. Longmans, Green & Co., New York. Baden-Powell, B. H. Indian Village Communities. Longmans, Green & Co., New York. . Origin and Growth of Village Communities in India. Scribncr's, New York. CHAPTER XXII VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE In any scientific organization of the social life of a village community it is necessary to consider first the influences which tend to destroy any social adjustment which may be devised. Among the most fundamental and least understood disturbing factors are the causes of change in the social aggregation. The Central Valley of the United States is now sufficiently well developed socially to afford a basis for determining some of the more permanent influences in this phase of American life. The results of statistical investigation herein presented apply principally to conditions in the State of Ohio. This state, because of its relatively high development and because of the variety of industrial and social conditions presented, miay be considered as typical of that entire territory included north of the Ohio river to the Canadian border and extending from the Atlantic coast to the semi-arid belt beginning in Kansas and Nebraska. Here are to be found some of the largest cities, the best agricultural lands, the most important mineral resources, and the most highly developed transporta- tion facilities in the United States, together with the most typical illustrations of legal and political influences upon in- dustrial and social coordinations. The results obtained from this state should be typical of the entire section mentioned. The problem of village growth is closely related to that of increase in the general population. The population of the state of Ohio, according to the 1910 census, was 4,767,121. This was an increase of over 600,000 during the decade. Each census period since 1850 has shown an increase over the pre- ceding one varying from 13.2 to 20.0 per cent. If the present rate of increase should continue, Ohio would have a popula- 370 VHJLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE 371 tion of S.ooOjCXX) or more within the next five or six decades. Will this increase result in a doubling of the population of all classes of communities or will it go primarily to the larger centers ? Should the forces now operating continue they will probably produce results similar to those indicated by the census records as already tending to take place. The sta- tistical resources available afford the best means of arriving at some answer to the question as to what the probable future effect of present operating forces will be. The problem of village growth and decline is of special importance because many of the villages in their ambition to foster their own growth already have unpleasant memories of thousands of dollars spent by public-spirited citizens or of grants of land by village councils to industrial concerns which had no more hope of success than if they had been located in the moon. There has been a failure to understand the scope and limitations of growth in a given environment and a failure to appreciate the type of industrial advance that would have the largest chance of permanent success. Moreover, other villages have been delayed in their development because local interests have opposed the introduction of means of trans- portation in the belief that such means of transportation would transfer trade to the larger centers and would thus injure business. A more scientific understanding of the forces oper- ating to make villages grow and of the natural limitations to the rapidity of growth of some of them should help other communities, imbued with ideals of progress, to determine what is the best course to pursue with reference to proposed improvements in village industry. It should also help in determining what should be the true aims of the small com- munity as to growth and as to organizing the social life of the present with reference to that growth. Some of the questions which rise in this connection are: What villages grow and why? What villages decline and why? Are new village centers appearing? What forces are operating to change past tendencies ? To what extent would it be possible to stay urban centralization by encouraging village growth? Can a village 372 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY community, by taking thought attract population and if so along what lines may village industries be safely encouraged ? The answer to these questions should help very materially in the solution of some of the problems of our smaller com- munities. In attempting to arrive at definite conclusions in regard to the cause of village growth and decline data have been col- lected in regard to incorporated places in Ohio having a popu- lation of under 2,500 in 1890. The rate of increase or de- crease between that date and 19 10 has been determined. The evidence from this study tends to refute popular ideas as to the effect of certain influences on village growth. In the first place, proximity to a large city is not necessarily disad- vantageous. The principal effect of proximity to the city is to be found in the change in social and industrial organization and relationships rather than in social aggregation. The subur- ban town is likely to become an appendage of the city and to be transformed into a residence place for people who have most of their business and social connections in the nearby city and who choose the village for residence in order to have such advantages as larger houses, yards, cheaper rents, etc. The connections are with the city instead of with those living near. Another conception which appears to be discredited is that electric lines tend to injure the growth of a community. While in some cases villages tapped by electric lines have lost in population, in general, when all electric-line villages are considered, the influence has been helpful. The effect of the electric line, like proximity to the city, has been upon the business and social organization rather than upon social ag- gregation. Electric lines have an effect upon the kind of trade, amusements, local community solidarity and to some extent upon morality and religious life. Their total effect is doubtless beneficial because they increase the possibilities of socialization and do away with the crudeness and lack of progressive spirit which thrives in communities not brought into contact with the larger currents of social life. VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE 373 A third influence often overrated is that of location at a railway junction point. The study showed that in a number of cases junction point towns have actually lost population while in the imrhediate environment towns with but one rail- way connection have increased. Village growth appears to be affected more by local relation- ships with nearby villages and by local economic conditions than by urban connections or transportation. Good wagon roads, better stores, special effort to please the farmers and to provide for their comfort and needs, cooperation with them in getting facilities best suited to the development of the rural environment, affect village growth more than do the more distant factors. Tendencies brought out by a study of the distribution of growing and declining villages are proven further by the tabulation of the relation of villages to the different types of transportation facilities. This tabulation applies to villages of less than 5,000 population in 1910 which were incorporated before 1890. Influence' or Tkanspoetation Facilities on Growth and Decline 1890-igio of Villages Incorporated Before 1890 and Having Less than 5,000 Population, 1910 '■ Type of Transportation Number Inc. Dec. Per cent. Inc. Dec. No railway On river or lake only On electric railway only On I steam railway only .... On 2 or more railways (steam or electric.) On electric railway regardless of other railway connections . 17 S 12 108 171 145 39 S 18 71 40 44 30-4 50.0 40.0 60.9 81. 1 76.8 69.6 So.o 60.0 39-1 18.9 23-2 1 In a negligible number of cases the exact transportation facilities could not be ac- curately determined. The most favorable situation appears to be a combination of steam and electric facilities. The least favorable is to 374 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY have no railway connection of any kind. Electrid railway connections alone, so far as the period under consideration is concerned, do not appear to be favorable to village growth, possibly on account of lack of facilities for handling heavy freight. 60.9 per cent, of the places on i railway have been growing. The laws of Ohio preventing discrimination on the long and short haul may be in part responsible for this con- dition. The problem of village growth is one that concerns primarily the social aggregations now in existence. The organization of new villages, "Garden Cities" except as "satellites" to a large city or as suburban industrial centers will never be a factor of large importance. The number of incorporated places of under 2,500 population increased 122 or 20.6 per cent., 1890-1900, while the total increase in incorporated places, 1900-1910, was 78 or but 8.6 per cent. The corresponding figures for places under S,ooo population are in numbers of places, 1890-1900, 18.2 per cent, and 1900-1910, 9.4 per cent., and in population, 1890-1900, 10.4 per cent, and, 1900-1910, 7.8 per cent, respectively. This slower rate of increase was spread over a larger number of villages, however, during the last decade than during the decade preceding. The following table shows this more clearly: Per CENT. Ohio Villages Increasing or Decreasing in Popttlation, Decades 1890-1900, 1900-1910 Decade Number 1890-1900 1900-1910 Number IPer cent. Number Per cent. Increasing 312 270 4 52.2 46.0 .8 301 172 2 63.3 362 • s Decreasing Stationary Total 586 100.0 475' 100. > Total by actual count of incorporated village! under 2,500 population 1890 included m table 3, statistics of population, Ohio, U. S. Census 1910. Total given in introductory table by census for iSgo is 486. VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE 375, In attempting to determine the influence of rural free de- livery on village growth the following tabulation has been made. In this table incorporated villages having a population of less than 2,500 in 1900 have been considered. In a number of cases incorporated villages in the neighborhood of large cities had no separate post-office so the records in this table do not correspond exactly to the census tabulations of in- corporated villages. Growth and Decline of Incorporated Villages in Ohio Having Less Than 2,500 Population in igoo. According to the Number or Rural Free Delivery Routes in 1911 Increasing Decreasing Rural Routes Number Less Than 10% More Than 10% Total Less Than 10% More Than 10% Total No. I Per cent. 2 No. 3 Per cent. 4 No. 5 Per cent. 6 No. 7 Per cent. 8 No. 9 Per cent. 10 No. II Per cent. 12 20 IS 31 20 2t 12 3 2 30.8 38. S 47.7 47.7 52. S So.o 2S.0 33-3 4S 24 34 22 19 12 9 4 69.2 61. S 52.3 52.3 47. 5 50.0 75.0 66.7 65 11 42 40 24 12 6 39.7 45-9 62.5 SO. 7 71. 5 ?!:? 66.7 31 17 19 34 rs 7 5 3 31.4 37.0 48.8 58.6 93-8 87.5 83.3 100. 68 29 20 17 I I I 68.6 63.0 51.3 41.4 6.3 12.5 16.7 0.0 46 39 il 8 6 3 60.3 37. S 49.3 28. 5 3 4. c 25.0 33-3 33.3 6::::::::::: 7 124 42.4 169 57.6 293 53.2 121 46.9 137 53.1 258 46.8 This table shows that the per cent, of decrease is much greater in those villages having no rural routes centering in them. The per cent, of villages growing in population in- creases almost constantly until six routes are reached, then the per cent, falls back to 66.y for those places having 6 and 7 routes. In view of the many other factors responsible for village growth and decline it is improbable that the fact of carrying mail from a certain center to a given environment gives that center an advantage over the others. The recent introduction of the parcels post might work in this direction. Persons living in the rural districts by a liberal use of the telephone can get promptly by parcels post from the rural route centers, 376 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY articles that formerly were secured by a trip to the neighbor- ing small country store. This influence, however, is too new to be measured. The probabilities are that instead of rural routes being the cause of village growth both the location of rural routes and village growth are due to the existence of good roads in certain sections and to certain initial advantages as distributing centers, that some villages have over others. The fact that 28.5 per cent, of the villages with four rural routes, 25 per cent, of those with 5 rural routes and 33.3 per cent, of those with 6 and 7 rural routes were decreasing indicates that something more fundamental than rural routes is responsible for village growth and decline. In order to get at local judgment as to the cause of growth and decline a questionnaire was sent out to the mayors of 86 villages, 43 on the decrease and 43 on the increase during the last census period. Fifty-eight replies were received, 36 from villages that had increased and 22 from those that had de- creased. An analysis of cause of the increase shows the following : Cause of Increase IN Village Population Cause Number of Cases Percent. Railroads S 4 5 4 14 2 2 14 Retired farmers II Natural resources 14 Efforts of the ceonle II Industries 39 Natural growth S 6 Other Evidently by far the most important cause of village growth is industrial development. In a number of cases several dif- ferent causes were given so that the figures in the above table are not comparable with the total number of villages. The villages which declined were also predominantly in- fluenced by industrial conditions, as is shown by the following : VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE Cause oi Decrease in Village Population %ir Cause Number of Cases Per cent. Failure of natural resources 12 S 2 3 5S 23 9 13 Decline of factories Fire Mistake of census taker Coal mines gave out or oil fields had failed in 12 of the 22 cases, and in 7 cases closing down of factories or fire had lessened industrial activity, thus compelling shifting of popu- lation. The decline represented in most cases a return to a normal relationship to economic environment. While it has been impossible, from data available, to study the effects of manufactures on growth of villages under 2,500 population, the U. S. Census of manufactures, 1899 and 1909, shows that places under 10,000 population have been increas- ing in number of establishments, number of wage earners employed and in value of product in Colorado, Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina, Ten- nessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The increase in these states indicates that the smaller places have the greater oppor- tunity of industrial growth when they develop manufactures adapted to the material resources in their environment. The day of encouragement of any and all types of manufacturing by grants of free land, exemption from taxation or liberal stock taking by local parties, is, or should be, past, and any industry which desires to locate in a small community should be of sufficient stability and so related to the environment that it is a real addition to community life. It should also be able to take care of itself without charitable subsidies from local agencies. In conclusion, the data indicate: I. That the prime cause of village growth or decline is economic. 378 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY 2. That railway and electric line communication favors rather than hinders village growth. 3. That close proximity to a city aids village growth. 4. That location on one railway does not necessarily interfere with village growth. 5. That location at junction points does not necessarily aid village growth. 6. That good roads rather than the rural free delivery aid village growth. 7. That the parcels post may ultimately favor rural route centers. 8. That industrial activities in the village, unless the village is a "satellite" of some large city, will have the larger chance of success if they are closely related to the natural resources of the rural environment. Lumber yards, brick manufactures, creameries, canning establishments and similar activities closely related to the production in the community grow most naturally. 9. The village tends to maintain a close relationship to the economic development of its environment, prospering or declining as that environment prospers or declines. The village community in an agricultural section will serve itself better by working for the development of its environment rather than by trying to exploit that environment by price agreements, neglect to provide for the comfort and conven- ience of its customers, and by trying in general to get the most out of the territory with which it is connected instead of trying to put the most into it. The village has now and will have in the future large possibilities for growth, but those possibilities will only be realized as the village discovers the lines of natural development and puts its energies into them. An analysis having been made of the facts of village growth and decline in a typical state it is now in order to analyze the attitude of the village population toward the problem of growth and to determine what ideas as to growth are rational and what present tendencies need control. VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE 379 In the first place the unquestioned conventional acceptance of the belief in the inherent desirability of growth finds ex- pression in the village just as it does in the city, and in a reflex manner in the depopulation of the open country. Every little village is as much interested in the census reports as to its size as is the metropolis which is looking forward to the distinction of being the largest city in the nation or in the world. This spirit is as strong today as it was in the ancient world when the ancestor of the Hebrews received the com- mand from God that his people should increase and multiply. Whether rational or not the instinctive interest in growth as it finds expression in the desire to see increase in village and city population is one that must be reckoned with. A closer examination, however, reveals the fact that the supposed love of living in the large city is not nearly so strong as the drift to the city would indicate. It is the economic rather than the social motive that holds the great mass of city population, particularly that part of it which has had the opportunity to live in the village or the open country. The term "economic motive" as used here does not mean wealth seeking, but opportunity for making a living in the broadest sense. The machinist must live by the factory, the clerk near the counting house, because both time and income prevent going far from the center of activity. Many people who long for another type of existence remain in the crowded city environ- ment because they have been caught in the great machine of modern industry and cannot escape without running the risk of being thrown to the bottom of the social scale through lack of employment. The evidence that those who make the most financially in the city do not like the city as a place to live is to be found in the fact that their homes are not in the crowded sections but are out in the suburban villages or in the open country. Others would like to be there but the con- ditions resulting from unregulated city growth during the past century condemns them to existence in the congested centers with all the disadvantages that congestion brings. It is unnecessary to present further evidence that mankind. 38o INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY except for business reasons or for occasional recreational pur- poses, has no natural interest in or love for the abnormal aggregations of population found in the large city. More- over, it does not appear that the separate farmhouse system as found in America is any more natural to the average human being. Man has inherited an instinctive love for the small group. As has been shown in the chapter on the village in history, the village is the primitive form of himian aggre- gation and it may be concluded that either the large city or the separate open country home as fourid in America is a departure from the instinctive experiences of the race. An analysis of motives as to growth as found in different classes of village residents reveals the fact that not all are equally inclined to enlargement of the social aggregation. As pointed out above, the one who has his business in a large city and who can thus separate his economic from his social motives does not encourage the expansion of the suburban village in which he has his residence. He does not want fac- tories to come nor the workingmen whose incomes necessitate lower standards of living. To prevent this he establishes restricted districts which may preserve the appearance of vil- lage environment even though the city grows up around them. But those who are interested in making a living through trade in the local community or whose incomes are increased through growth of population are constantly urging the inherent desirability of growth. The retail dealer whose patronage increases with the increase in number of people located in the village and whose profits are thus enlarged is uniformly to be found on the side of any movement which tends to bring more people to the village. He gets up the street fairs, and organizes public movements to bring people to his town in order to get them to buy at his store. Some have been known to encourage an open town in the belief that lift- ing the lid helps business. They oppose improvements in transportation which would increase the comfort of those who like to live in the village, because it might lessen the amount of buying at home. Their economic welfare places them in VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE 381 opposition to those who for social reasons like the small place for residence. Village growth finds an ardent supporter in the one who owns real estate. Through increase in the social aggregation comes an increased demand for property. This results in an increased selling price and increased renting value. The land speculator is always interested in village growth and does what he can by advertising the advantages of his village to secure a growing community. In addition to these groups all those whose livelihood de- pends upon industries incidental to growth of population are interested. Those who live by building or by dealing in building materials or who may be interested in banking or other industries which prosper with trade want to see the village grow. In the conflict of interests between those who want the village to become a large city for economic reasons and those who wish to see it remain small because of the better social life possible in the small place, the latter have the best of the argument. The great failure of the civilization which has developed during the past century is that it has sacrificed the beauty, the art, the moral side of life, to the economic motive. The great problems presenting themselves to those interested in social improvement in the cities today are in large part the result of the unregulated, uncontrolled working of the money-making spirit. So long as American civilization is gauged by the money standard of efficiency, and so long as our villages and rural communities yield allegiance to this stand- ard, just so long will an efficient village life founded on more wholesome principles be impossible. Owing to the more limited market area available to the village, it cannot hope to offer the large economic prizes that the city promises to the ambitious. It can, however, offer other things that in the past gave an abundant life full of those finer satisfactions which are lacking in the more artificial urban community of the present. The first offering which the village has is leisure. To those 25 382 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY i«^o are thoroughly imbued with the convention that personal achievement in wealth accumulation is all that is worth while in this world that statement will appear to be sarcastic. To them the leisure that the village offers is anything but desir- able. To them the leisure of the village is synonymous with slowness, fit only for those lacking ambition. The term brings to their minds pictures of village leisure as it is in many places, not as it might be. The village grocery keeper, opening his store at five o'clock in the morning and closing it at nine or ten at night, waiting throughout the long day for the chance customer, is not an inspiring figure when compared with the business manager in the city who comes to his ofRce at nine in the morning and leaves at five or earlier. The little gather- ings of store-box philosophers from the village and the coun- try-side in the evenings going over the time-worn discussions of topics long since laid aside in other circles as useless; the mental vacuity that is so evident ; the monotony ; the round of petty factional quarrels; and the senseless gossip; all appear to be things to be got away from by the one who really wants to get the most out of life. But this picture is that of unor- ganized, decadent village life; the picture of what remains after the city has drawn from the village much of the best that it produced. It is the picture of the village without a social consciousness; without ideals; without leadership; of the village discontented with itself and wishing it were some- thing else and without hope of making life what it might be, and without knowing what it might be. Instead of consider- ing leisure as a blessing and one of the most promising ad- vantages of village life it is looked upon as an enforced evil. The rush of the city, the domination of the economic mo- tive, the greater struggle for existence, the multiplicity of demands upon the time and energy of the resident of the city, the demands of the great industrial machine of which the urban resident is a part, crush out of the lives of the great masses of the urban residents that individuality, that devotion to work or achievement for the sake of the thing achieved which is so necessary in any really great civilization. Urban VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE 383 civilization today is on trial and so far as the great malses are concerned, it must be accused of making automatons instead of artists out of most of its products. The leisure of the village, if Organized and utilized as it should be, has in it the possibilities of some of the most beautiful products that any civilization could hope for. The growth of the village into the large urban center might bring more nominal wealth, but it would be accoinpanied by the sacrifice of one of the most priceless heritages which the village has to oifer. Real social progress lies in the direction of utihzing and expanding the best the village provides instead of attempting to eliminate village leisure by the substitution of urban life. The village offers closer personal relationships than does the city. Throughout the ages poets and philosophers have sung the praises of friendship. Relationships in the city are too often tinged with the motive of economic advantage. As soon as mutual gain ceases to flow from the relationship it tends to disappear. In other words, personal relationships in the city are essentially selfish. Men join clubs, affiliate with parties or attend social functions because by so doing they are building a larger clientele or are maintaining a foothold already attained. True, in the city one has greater freedom of choosing friends because of the greater number from which to choose. But economic friendships are so predomi- nant in importance that any attempt at formation of true friendships based on appreciation of personal qualities is liable to suspicion. In the village where people are thrown together in daily business activities and are together in a social way, the opportunity for forming friendships founded on the basis of appreciation of personal qualities is much greater. Con- trary to popular opinion the instinct of gregariousness has a much larger opportunity for expression in the village than it has in the city. It is the natural gregarious unit. The true aim of village life should be fullness and richness of life in sympathetic relationships with fellow men free from the intensity of struggle for material gain which finds expres- sion in the city. It should aim to develop in its citizens a love 384 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY for the true, the beautiful and the good. It should endeavor through the use of its leisure time to develop a self-sufficing social life and to find within itself all that goes to make a cultured community, such as artistic taste and expression in music, dramatics, handicraft. It should develop men and women of scientific spirit who are interested in studying the mysteries of nature. It should have its poets and philosophers. Is there anything to prevent the villages in America from doing what was done by the villagers of ancient Greece if once they emancipate themselves from the domination of the wealth-seeking motive and devote themselves to the higher things of life? The modern village has many advantages over the ancient village in this respect. Means of transportation and com- munication bring to the village that contact with the outside world which does away with the provincialism so character- istic of small places in the past. The modem villager may choose his outside contacts or he may avoid them as he pleases. The ancient village resident was limited in his field of activity. The modern one has at his command, through the press, the schools, and through travel, the best that civilization affords. The ancient villager could not secure these things except at great personal risk. The time is ripe for a renaissance of village life and for the development of a culture in the village which will equal that of any other part of the social system. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the physical advantages that lie within the power of the village resident to possess. He has what the city resident would like to have, i. e., large yard space, opportunity for gardening, good light and air, and the possibility of housing that provides ample and comfortable rooms, well heated and lighted ; and as soon as community consciousness permits he may have toilet facilities and water supply as ample as the best residences in the city. Moreover, he can enjoy the best music and art of the larger centers as often as he desires at a reasonable transportation cost and with greater appreciation because he does not take advantage of them as often as the city resident. The disadvantages of VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE 385 the village do not lie in lack of material enjoyments so much as in the failure to organize and utilize the resources for enjoyment that lie at hand. In addition to emphasizing the ideal of the good life instead of material gain, the village should definitely study how it can be of the largest service to its environment. In the course of development of the village into a political entity separate from the surrounding territory there has grown up a feeling of antagonism between the village and the country. The coun- try man feels that the villager is attempting to exploit him. Consequently many attempts are now being made on the part of the farmers to free themselves from the domination of the village by establishing cooperative organizations to assume the functions which have been performed by the small retailer in the village store. The feeling of antagonism in some cases becomes very marked. Were there not some foundation for the attitude of the farmer on this subject the reaction against the retail dealer would not be so general as it is. If the village resident could realize that service rouses no antagonism and if he would study how to make his business of the largest benefit to the farming community a much better relationship would exist. If, instead of trying to persuade the farmer that he owes it to the village storekeeper to trade with him instead of the mail order house because the storekeeper pays taxes, contributes to the village fair fund, or puts up cash prizes for the fat man's race at the picnic ; and if, instead of attempting to keep farmers out of small trading in the town by high license on huckster wagons, he would study the farmers' wants and adjust his business so he could best supply those wants, his business would thrive and he would not fear the outside agency. The village is the natural center of rural life. Both village people and the farmers should study how to make the school, the church and the industrial life of largest service to the whole community. In the agricultural community the time will probably come when those who live in the village will be in fact in cooperative business with the farmers. As the cooperative movement ad- 386 INTilODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY vances, instead of profit-seeking storekeepers there will be salaried managers of cooperative stores; instead of corpora- tions for profit in the manufacturing of farm raw materials into finished products, there will be found the cooperative creamery and cheese factory, the elevator, gristmill, packing and storage houses. Instead of profit-seeking banking cor- porations the farmers will have their own banks. And instead of having schools designed to train children for an aristocracy or for money making, the schools will be places of training for cooperation for the common good. Instead of teaching how to get the most for the least service the training will be how to render the largest service to the community. The develop- ment of the social spirit in village life rests primarily with the churches and schools and the indications are that both these agencies are waking up to the sense of their opportunity and duty. The social service movement is gradually giving to our smaller communities a larger vision of life. We may expect an ever increasing appreciation of the fact that quality of civilization and not size of group is the essential; and that the present wide-spread worship of size of social aggregation must give way to a more normal ideal of village life. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What tendencies are there as to incorporation of new vil- lages ? 2. How is village growth affected by proximity to a large city? 3. What is the relation of railway transportation facilities to village growth ? 4. What is the effect of wagon road improvement on village growth ? 5. Has the rural free delivery affected village growth? 6. How is the parcels post likely to influence village growth? Why? 7. What kind of industry has the least chance of succeeding in the village? 8. To what extent in your judgment can city growth be diverted to village? Give reasons for your answer. VILLAGE GROWTH AND DECLINE 387 g. What agencies are interested in village growth? Why? 10. Which are not? Why? 11. What should be the first consideration in village improve- ment ? Why ? 12. What influences are tending to make the village more a part of its rural environment ? 13. What advantages has the village over the city as a place to live? 14. What disadvantages? 15. What advantages over the open country? 16. What disadvantages? 17. To what extent can the disadvantages as compared with the city or the open country be overcome ? QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH 1. What new industries have started in your village in the last ten years ? 2. What enterprises have been started and failed? Find out why they failed. 3. What has been the effect of the parcels post on your village? 4. What are the principal causes of the growth or decline of your village? 5. In what ways does the city affect the industrial and social life of your village ? 6. Make a study of the retired farmers in your village as to age, property ownership, reasons for retiring. 7. What changes in the character of the population in the past ten years? 8. Is the number of agricultural laborers increasing? REFERENCES References same as in Chapter XX. CHAPTER XXIII SOCIALIZATION OF THE VILLAGE Having discussed the economic, physical, and moral aspects of rural and village life, it is next in order to consider prob- lems of socialization and social organization. Many village residents have been so concerned with looking out for them- selves or for their immediate family circles that they have failed to see that in many respects their own welfare would be conserved if they would work with their neighbors a little more for the common good. Some of the more thoughtful who have recognized this truth have been borne along in the general current of self-seeking because this has appeared to be the way of the world. The one who does not conform to the practices and standards of his group is likely to become either an ostracized human being or be forced into the ranks of those unsuccessful ones who are the recipients of public charity. Since the village as such has had a course of development so different from that of the open country it will be necessary to consider the phenomena of village socialization separately. After a similar analysis of the development of social organi- zation in the open country it will be possible to note to what extent the social life of the village and of the open country will ultimately become unified and to what extent rural and village forms of social organization, respectively, will pre- dominate in a social order where the two are assimilated. Problems of socialization may be more effectively considered if attention is at first given briefly to what human experience appears to have sanctioned as legitimate aims in village social improvement. Social science has come to fairly certain con- clusions in regard to some of these aims as being in the direc- 388 SOCIALIZATION 389 tion of that ideal world which humanity has pictured evti'r since the human mind was sufficiently developed to consider the reasons of man's existence and the outcome of human progress. Other conditions desirable in the village as well as in the open country are discussed in the introductory chapter. (See p. II.) Of these aims attention should be given to three of the most important. The first of these is the development of like- mindedness in the group. So long as members of the group have diversity of interests which leads to conflict; so long as disagreement and lack of close personal touch grow out of radical differences in training or ideals as to human conduct; so long as tendencies exist which make men try to separate themselves from the group into limited circles, the ideal so- ciety cannot be developed. Conditions must be brought about wherein people will be accepted in community life on the basis of worth instead of birth, wealth, or some other factor connected with the accidents of the social environment. One of the most hopeful agencies in bringing about this like-mindedness is the development of social science itself. True, as yet about all the social science which is taught is to be found in the larger universities and the more progressive colleges and as a side issue in civics courses in the public schools. The public press has been doing a great work in arousing a popular interest in social problems. But any defi- nite attempt to acquaint the masses of the people with the principles underlying the social organization in which they live and move and have their being is practically unknown. When secondary school courses are so modified as to give opportunity for training young people in the true principles of citizenship and in acquainting them with the problems they must solve as citizens, then, in the village life as well as else- where, we may hope for a more scientific organization of society and for a more common agreement on the funda- mentals of human relationships. This like-mindedness should include common standards and ideals of the function of the family, the home, the community. 390 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY the different types of social organization found within the community, and the relation of these to the individual and to each other. If such standards existed, many of the problems of home and community life that now are sources of local factionalism or internal disorder would disappear. They grow out of ignorance on the part of the people of what con- stitutes social efficiency and social justice. A second ideal which is fundamental is that of human brotherhood as taught by the Christian religion. Christianity has stood, in principle at least, throughout the centuries for this ideal. Whenever the church has departed from this prin- ciple it has separated itself from the masses, has become a social club for the classes and its power has passed to new religious organizations growing up among the people them- selves. When it has had to face such problems as serfdom or slavery or the subjection of women it may have tried for a time to justify distinctions in social position between different classes of humanity. But these temporary attempts at justifi- cation of inequality has been brushed aside, as men with the vision of the greater brotherhood have come to the front and have brought the church back again to its true ideals. The large urban community is not the only place where the brotherhood spirit needs extension. In the villages, particu- larly, and to an increasing extent in rural communities, are to be found the most rigid class divisions and the sharpest expression of social distinctions. The Sorosis Society or the Women's Monday Club may become a real disintegrating fac- tor deadening forever anything like true socialization. Village and rural life cannot be ideal until the true spirit of democracy prevails and until sympathy pervades the entire group. In the third place community cooperation for the good of the entire group must be fostered. The village in America still suffers from the fact that many of its ideals, so far as co- operative activity is concerned were formed under the sepa- rate farm home environment. Consequently, cooperation for the common good is lacking. Leaders in social work should SOCIALIZATION 39i strive to develop community loyalty and an interest in com- munity projects, because many human needs can be provided for much more economically by the community as a whole than they can by each individual working alone. When once the antipathy to working with neighbors, which is the expression of a separate farm home individualism, is overcome, then there ought to be in village life a much larger content of social enjoyment than there is at the present time. Much of the class distinction based on differences in property ownership will disappear and there will be developed a community de- mocracy much like that in the primitive village, the natural form of human association. This community cooperation can find its expression in com- mon provision for education as it now does; in common ma- terial equipment and civic beautification ; in common recrea- tional and social activities, provided for by the community instead of being furnished by commercial organizations for profit ; in provision for public health ; and in common religious expression through a community church. In none of these ways would the group be approaching communism in any un- desirable degree, but would be simply carrying out the devel- opment called for by the social and industrial changes in the past century. Before rational policies of socialization can be formulated completely sociology will have to go much farther than it has yet done in the direction of placing on a scientific foundation the principles of social organization. Many problems of so- cialization in village and rural life are as yet practically un- touched. The social psychology of boys' gangs has been studied somewhat in the larger cities but the tendencies and problems of the village group offer many interesting problems. Typical ones are : The effect of the boys' gang upon the indi- vidual members. Does it tend to make as many who cannot lead as it does those who can? Are the natural tendencies of the gang good or do boys' groups naturally tend to do the thing that is unconventional? How may these tendencies be practically utilized in child training? Do girls tend to go in 392 INTRODUCTION. TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY gangs or are they more individualistic? What are the in- fluences which determine the social cleavages among girls? These and many other questions offer abundant field for study for the one vsfho is of a scientific turn of mind and who finds his life's work in a smaller community. Some of the richest veins of truth in social science remain as yet practically un- touched in these groups. As with the children so it is with adult associations. Is there anything fundamental in the attitude of men toward each other in community life? Are popular people born popular or do they learn the art of popularity? What is the basis of social distinction which determines which shall join the Sorosis and which shall not? Is democracy in the small community prac- ticable? If it is, then what should be the means of hastening the process of socialization and what forms should socializa- tion take? These are some of the problems that present themselves. Every village presents a variegated picture of institutional life which is the expression of its attempt to secure coopera- tively its common needs. The village government is the largest local form of this common life. Within this setting may be observed the play of interests operating through subgroups. These subgroups may be political parties, religious organiza- tions, fraternal organizations, or sets of young men holding together for personal ends or as the following of a strong personality. The subgroups are in some cases of long stand- ing while in others they appear for a brief period and then disappear to give way to new combinations around different interests. The problem of socialization also involves the de- termination of what institutions in a given community are continuous and what ones need no particular attention because of their ephemeral existence. Social science may leave the latter very largely to the caprice of the individual or of the subgroup. The perennial organizations growing out of con- tinuous needs in the human soul demand much more careful attention, and the welfare of the community will be best con- served when these are organized in such a way and in such a SOCIALIZATION 393 relation to each other that there will be a minimum of social friction and a maximum of provision for these needs. In general, it may be said that the perennial organizations in village life are educational, religious, social and industrial. These organizations find a place in practically every village. It is impossible to draw a clear line between the functions of different types of organizations in a given community. Organizations primarily industrial have their social and educa- tional aspects. In like manner organizations primarily social have both educational and industrial influences. The best that can be done is to consider each group according to its primary purpose and to consider that whatever other function it per- forms is similar in character and conforms to the same prin- ciples as if it were performed by another organization de- voted to that particular purpose. In every small community there exist to a greater or less degree small groups composed either of one sex or of both sexes. Among men these organizations generally take the form of secret organizations like the Masonic Order, or the Odd Fellows. Among women the organization may be the counterpart of the men's organization, like the Eastern Star, or may be an exclusive social group devoted ostensibly to some particular purpose, like the study of literature, civic improve- ment, or purely social enjoyment. The influence of these organizations varies with the community and with the sex. One who has had opportunity of visiting the gatherings of secret orders of men at their regular meetings often wonders just what functions such organizations perform. The at- tendance is generally small, rarely more than ten to fifteen per cent, of the membership, the program is made up largely of going through the ritual, and those who are present gen- erally consist of a few faithful ones who seem to have a liking for the formality of secret work. Yet the fact that these organizations persist in the different communities and that their counterpart may be found throughout the history of mankind, even among primitive savages, indicates that they meet a very definite demand in human nature. They have in 394 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY most cases certain philanthropic functions, such as care of the sick or looking after their needy and unfortunate members. Yet with the development of modem urban civilization and the disappearance of close personal relationships this function has tended to become unnecessary. It probably has a much more important place in village and rural life than in the large urban centers. They also undoubtedly afford one and some- times the only place where men can gather together for social intercourse outside of the saloon or in business houses and thus make possible the development of closer personal rela- tionships. The ritual provides a diversion from the monotony of village life and the variotis offices afford an opportunity to give expression to the instinct of service and sometimes of distinction. Moreover, men sometimes use the lodge as a means of enlarging acquaintance for political or business rea- sons. It would be hard to determine the extent of the latter influence in the life of fraternal orders because no one would admit that as his purpose for joining, but it probably has some part in holding the group together. Among men's organizations the relationships in the group are democratic and friendly. In most cases, providing the applicant has a good standing in the community, admission is easily obtained. Probably, in most of the older groups at least, the membership includes the most reliable elements in com- munity life. A few of the organizations which have found a place in the smaller as well as the larger communities have had a reputation of being resorts for dissipation, drinking clubs, etc., and there is no doubt that they have had a definitely lowering influence upon the moral life of the com- munity. These organizations must continue to be primarily social in their aims. It is neither desirable nor possible to turn every sort of organization into an agency for civic improvement or educational activity or business. The aim of these groups should be so far as possible to put into their program of work such things as will yield the largest measure of recreation from the duties of the day. Their social service should be kept SOCIALIZATION 395 scrupulously free from any taint of amusement that may be debasing and they should so far as possible extend their in- fluence until all in the community who care to belong to such an organization and who are of the proper moral character and standing have had opportunity to affiliate with one or the other of these groups. Many village fraternal organizations could have their social life materially improved if through co- operation they would provide for an attractive meeting place. The village club house with its rooms for the different orders and with common recreational activities under the control of a trained director of game rooms, baths, etc., would result in a much more effective social life for these organizations and in a much larger service to the community. Little work has yet been done on the sociology of women's clubs. But enough has been learned to justify the conclusion that they, too, have a place in the community life, and that the sphere of woman is no longer exclusively the home and the church. Modern industrial activity has materially changed the place of the home in the social scheme even in the village community. Modern improvements in the way of clothing manufacture, food preparation, heating, cleaning and washing have relieved the women from many of the tasks that once kept them close about the hearth. Coincident with this change in home work has come the taking of the boys and girls out of the home to the factory and the store to help earn the family living. This has lessened the influence of the home environ- ment and increased that of the community at an age in the life of the growing youth when he demands special parental over- sight. If the mother is to have that control over her child which is necessary she must broaden the home interests until they cover the working place, the school, the church, the amusements and recreational life of the child in the com- munity. This is the justification for women taking an active part in the political and social activities of the town, because in many communities the best efforts of the mother in the home are nullified by the uncontrolled gang spirit of a group on the village streets, together with the agencies of evil which 396 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY under a mistaken notion of personal liberty are permitted in smaller places. The women's club, properly organized, may become an effective instrument for seeing to it that community life is kept on a wholesome moral plane. The modern women's club has distinguished itself by its interest in community improve- ment. The records of these organizations show a surprising list of definite contributions to more efficient life. Some of the things they have accomplished are: street and lawn im- provement; better schools; sanitary groceries; libraries; rest rooms; recreation centers; organization of social service; elim- ination of saloons and other questionable resorts; and better public health service. It appears to be woman's natural in- terest and ability to look after living conditions in community life and in many respects it appears that villages would be much better run if the political organization, with the excep- tion, perhaps, of the night watchman, were turned over to the women. They know better what the community needs and their interest in the protection of the home and of the physical, mental and moral welfare of the people would make them act more nearly in the interest of the community than do men who are interested more in the salary attached to position than they are in service to be rendered. Primitive woman had a very large part in determining the policies of village life. Modern woman, especially in the smaller places, could do very well by following the example of her ancestry, in dealing more and more with community problems. Many problems of women's group relationships have not yet been worked out. The same is true in regard to the reac- tion of women toward public regard. In many cases it appears that women are much more concerned about the personal credit they are to receive for public service than men ; that they take praise and blame much more seriously than men ; that they are harder to reason with; lack the breadth of vision that men show in dealing with public affairs. It has not been demon- strated, however, that these characteristics are natural distinc- tions between men and women. Rather it appears that while SOCIALIZATION 397 the mental reactions of the sexes do differ in certain respects, so far as the above distinctions are concerned they grow out of differences in the training and environment of the two sexes under present conditions. Some of woman's disadvantages, such as greater refinement of nervotis organism, quicker in- tuitive faculties, and greater keenness of discernment become real advantages in dealing with some of the more serious moral problems of village life. The existence of the double standard of morality makes women more particular as to their female associates, hence limiting the democracy of life among women to a much greater degree than among men. Moreover, it appears that the posi- tion of woman as a sort of dependent on man during the course of history of private ownership of property has increased the intensity of social competition among them so that class dis- tinctions are taken much more seriously than among men. It may be that the aristocratic circle persists because closing the doors to the larger groups lessens the intensity of competition for recognition by the other sex. With the gradual increase in property ownership by women and their growing inde- pendence through means of self-support open in modern in- dustry, greater democracy among women should develop. This tendency should find its expression in the village as well as in the larger communities. Democracy probably finds its fullest expression as yet in the open country. Many other more temporary types of organization are to be found in village life. Some of these have much the same function as the organizations discussed above but are under the auspices of some religious society. The ladies' aid, the foreign missionary society, the Queen Esther Circle and many of the other groups performing tasks connected with the social work of the church provide social satisfaction to many of the community under the best of auspices. In the past these organizations connected with the church have functioned most largely in the social life of the women, men having found their social life more in the saloon or the fraternity outside of the church. More recently the Men's Brotherhood organizations 398 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY have been attempting to tie the interests of the men as well as of the women to the church. Among younger people the more general Christian Endeavor movement seems to be giving way to the organized boys' and girls' clubs and Sunday School classes. These smaller groups approach more closely to the gang idea and for that reason may be more firmly founded on psychological principles than the larger grouping which found expression in the Endeavor movement. The mass movement which today has popular support is the boys' and girls' con- gress. All these organizations have something to contribute to the general task of socialization and, properly controlled, should continue to be very important factors in village life. In addition to these organizations must be mentioned the large number of more ephemeral organizations such as card clubs, dancing parties, young married people's clubs and many others too numerous to mention. These change in their personnel from time to time and need not be taken into con- sideration in a program of community organization. In general, it may be suggested that the principal task of the different types of organizations mentioned is to work definitely toward the socialization of a larger part of the community. Data of membership in these groups indicate that village popu- lations are for some reason divided into two great classes — those who are socially inclined and those who take little or no interest in associating with their fellowmen. Some of our best citizens are not sociable but the probabilities are that the most useful from the community point of view are those who are to be found actively engaged in promoting the various social organizations with which they may be connected and that true democracy and true culture will be much more advanced in those communities where the masses of the people enjoy being with their fellows and have a strong sense of social obligations. Close personal relationships growing out of association lay the foundation for considerate treatment in business and for that spirit of sympathy and mutual appreciation which makes human existence so full of meaning. Much remains to be done in most of our village communities in bringing about SOCIALIZATION 399 conditions in which close personal relationships and the culture that comes from the attempt to merit the approval of one's fellows in those refinements that characterize social life, will have a free opportunity for expansion. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. In what ways do problems of socialization of the village differ from those of the open country? 2. What ideals are necessary in socialization? 3. What problems of social psychology need further local study as a basis for socialization? 4. What permanent interests in the village afford a basis for permanent organization ? 5. Why are women's organizations likely to be less democratic than men's? 6. What social functions have village social organizations? 7. Do factions develop more easily in villages than in the open country ? Why ? 8. Do they develop more easily in villages than in the city? Why? 9. How do associations in the village differ from those in the city? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Study women's club membership as to (a) occupation of hus- bands; (b) number of children in family; (c) church mem- bership. 2. Study men's club membership as to (a) occupation; (b) church membership. REFERENCES References same as in Chapter XX. CHAPTER XXrV HEALTH AND SANITATION IN VILLAGES The modem village has problems of health and sanitation that diifer very materially from those of the large city or of the open country. These problems are rendered more difficult because many of the most influential citizens are from the country and have the ideals of the open country. Many of the sanitary practices on the farm, while not healthful for the particular family concerned, affect only indirectly the community. Lack of care in dealing with the fly pest, improperly protected outbuild- ings, insanitary location of wells, neglect of houses as to venti- lation and heating, have come to be looked upon as personal and not public matters, because the open-country system of living prevailing in rural life in America has been favorable to the development of such ideals. This attitude has worked hardship in the village because the village needs more social control, and country-mindedness has prevented the enforce- ment of adequate control. It was the lot of the author at one time to live within thirty feet of a neighbor's horse barn in a western village. The manure pile was between the barn and his residence. One year was the limit of this experience, but during that year for the sake of experimentation an attempt was made to improve conditions by trying to have the manure pile at least removed to the other side of the barn. The only result was a screening of the pile with boards and an occa- sional removal of the manure. Any adequate solution of the problem would have involved the entire removal of the barn. Inefficient administration, local relationships and respect for property, and more serious still, the failure of the village to provide ordinances at an earlier date prohibiting the building 400 HEALTH AND SANITATION ;40i of bams within a certain distance of dwellings made the situa- tion an impossible one and the only result of effort to improve conditions was some personal antagonism. The village is probably more troubled with the fly pest than any other social aggregation in American life. In our largest American cities there are but few flies even in the most crowded sections because public ordinances require the daily removal of garbage and other sources of fly breeding. The village presents the picture of people living under semi-urban conditions and controlled by ideals adapted to the open coun- try. Respect for individual liberty takes precedence over desire for health and cleanliness. The barn, livery stable and outbuildings are left absolutely to the care of the owner and the people attempt to make shift by buying screens and fly catchers. There are few exceptions to the rule that in this fair land, villages which have beautiful homes, well-kept lawns, -and streets lined with stately trees, villages which to all ap- pearances are the acme of gentility and culture are in reality, through their devotion to the principles of non-interference, the victims of a pest as serious as any of the insect pests which tormented fee ancient Egyptians and which from the sanitary point of view are a standing commentary on the cleanliness of the inhabitants. May the time soon come when the village will look upon the wire fly trap on a public street as a disgrace. What is needed, however, in dealing with the fly nuisance as well as with other phases of the village problem is not to lament over evils but to point remedies. If humanity is to be placed above property and if the welfare of the group is to take precedence over the convenience of a few who would like to keep live stock, then banishment of bams and outbuild- ings from the village limits must be insisted on. As soon as possible the village should provide for a system of sewage and a water supply on a community basis. Until these im- provements are provided ordinances should be enforced pro- viding for sanitary outbuildings and a proper care of waste material of any sort that might become the breeding place for 402 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY flies. These regulations represent only a rational demand for sanitary living and a demand for conditions in the village that living in close proximity requires. The illustration of the difficulty of securing sanitary condi- tions in a western village is typical of conditions existing wherever the administration of law is left to the local com- munity. Offices are elective and poorly paid; standards of efficiency in public health administration are unknown. Those entrusted with public office are often those who cannot keep themselves busy with private affairs and consequently are often below the general standards of ability. If by chance a physician is given the position of health officer his fear of antagonizing patrons or possible patients keeps him from rig- idly enforcing the law. Consequently matters that in a large city would not be allowed to go unheeded for a day drift along in the village, a public nuisance and a community disgrace but without adequate machinery to deal with them. The failure to remove filth from the village is but one illus- tration of the situation. Many of our villages have had the problem of controlling the sale of food supplies in the in- terest of the health of the community. Too often the people do not appreciate the seriousness of penpitting vegetable and other perishable material to lie out along the public street to gather dust from the road, or to afford a resting place for the swarms of flies that infest the village street. Too often when a few of the more intelligent in the community engage in an attempt to have these things regulated in the interest of the public health they are stigmatized by the business men as cranks and meddlers. Instead of working with those who ought to be their best customers, the grocers oppose them and try to force upon them an inferior product. Moreover, in the laudable efforts sometimes made by women's clubs, effective- ness is nullified by the fact that some storekeeper's wife is a member of the club and consideration for her prevents com- pelling her spouse to clean up his place of business. Happily, the campaign for cleanliness which has taken place during the past few years has very materially improved conditions. HEALTH AND SANITATION ,403 But one does not have to visit many villages even now to be- come convinced that much is yet to be done in raising the actual standards of sanitation in the local markets. A still further weakness in the local village is the lack of adequate inspection of the milk product. In the large cities where milk is imported in wholesale quantities by concerns adequately equipped for handling the supply, the quality of the milk as it reaches the city is fairly good. In the village, how- ever, every retired farmer who wants to keep a cow for himself and sell a little milk to his neighbors can go into business. Conditions revealed by investigations around some of the dairies supplying village communities is almost beyond be- lief. Stories of adulteration with preservatives ; of tubercular stock; of use of milk bottles returned from homes in which contagious disease, sometimes of very serious character, is present; of washing bottles in offensive receptacles in the home; and of bottling the milk in a filthy environment, are by no means uncommon in this connection. The people are not entirely to blame in this matter. Farmers are not more dishonest than others even though it is admitted that even they are not angels when it comes to the observation of ethical principles. Many of the abuses about which so much agita- tion has been raised in recent years arise out of two condi- tions. The first is that the unstandardized condition of local trade is such that some people cannot resist the temptation to profit by the sale of an inferior product. The other is that inefficiency is due to absolute ignorance on the part of both producers and dealers. Our public schools have failed to teach the present generation standards of quality and methods of producing that quality. Consequently inefficiency in production and inferiority in products marketed continue because people do not know how to produce better things. Public ignorance is by far the greatest cause of existing difficulties. In addition to the lack of sanitation in food supplies the village suffers from lack of adequate and pure water supplies. The increase in the typhoid fever rate in the cities is in the 404 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY autumn when people return from their vacations in the vil- lages and the open country. Many of these cases can be traced directly to some insanitary condition in the village. Many villages are never entirely free from typhoid. In many instances the village suffers more from this disease than either the open country or the city. The lack of good water supply may often be traced to the control of the water supply by a private concern and in others to no public water supply at all. Whether the water supply be under public or private control, it is necessary that the residents of the village make a deter- mined effort to free themselves absolutely from every source of contamination of the supply, realizing that the existence of typhoid fever is an evidence of uncleanliness and a reflection on the community. When village residents finally develop a community con- sciousness they will see nothing unreasonable in the suggestion that as a group they should profit by the lessons offered by the experience of some of the larger private corporations. These corporations have long followed the practice of employing a company physician whose services are available to any em- ployee or his family at any time for a nominal charge of, say, 75 cents per month. The system has gone beyond the experi- mental stage and its utility has been abundantly demonstrated. Is there any reason why the village community should not employ its public physician or physicians on the same basis? Persons who would care to employ a private physician could do so. The village today insists upon having its public schools ; and it is generally recognized that public roads, public water supply, sewage system, and correctional institutions are desir- able. But for some reason physical health has not been included in the same category with mental growth or material equipment and though we have a public system for mental training, a public system of caring for physical welfare of the citizenship is practically unknown. It is a commentary upon our civilization when we still find our village communities pay- ing their public health oflScers $100.00 per year and paying pri- vate physicians thousands of dollars on an antiquated fee basis. HEALTH AND SANITATION 405 The growing community consciousness will some time provide? amply for much more public service in the care of public health than now exists and public spirited young people will not be lacking to fill these positions in the interest of the common good. Another very important phase of village health is the status of mental life. The village appears to be in a special degree bound into a biological unity. In the city the defectives sink to the bottom of the scale and are gradually eliminated through early death, segregation in correctional institutions or in hos- pitals for defectives. The village and the open country shelter these abnormalities, and, providing the family ii^ general has maintained a good community standing, ignorance of the sig- nificance of defectiveness appearing in the family line permits continued intermarriage with the type and perpetuates the ab- normal variation. It is necessary to give illustrations at length in regard to existing conditions. Anyone even slightly acquainted with village life will, when considering the situation, be surprised at the extent of defectiveness to be noted in certain families, not all of them by any means criminal or poor. Fortunately, a number of influences are operating to correct this condition. If this were not so, the more prolific tend- encies of abnormal types would act like Gresham's Law in money movements and the subnormal would drive out the good. The first and most important of the forces operating toward raising village biological standards is the publicity given through newspapers, books, etc., to results of recent scientific investigations. When once a question is raised in regard to the biological dangers of indiscriminate marriage, or marriage for wealth or beauty alone, the thoughtful youth will not so quickly contract the marriage tie. They will give prime place to the family record on the biological side in making their decisions. Parents will be more careful in advising their children as to the good and the questionable families in the neighborhood. A better understanding of the fact that human beings differ in mental qualities and ca- 4o6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY parities just as do the lower forms of life will become one of the most powerful influences in the maintenance of present standards of civilization and will contribute much to social progress. A second purifying factor is the higher death rate of de- fective elements. Superintendents of feeble-minded institu- tions state that the average length of life of defectives is about 20 years. This is less than half that of the normal American citizen. In spite of the fact that girls of the moron type are in many ways a menace to social welfare because of their lack of in- hibiting power, even they appear to be subject to biological influences tending to their elimination. When they become prostitutes indiscriminate intercourse and disease tend to ster- ility. Their mental condition, when once understood in the small community, acts as a bar to marriage and even to social connections except with other abnormals. Society seems to have within itself, to use the biological analogy, a power of self-healing and of purging itself of waste or diseased ele- ments. But while Nature's forces are slowly operating, there is a constant problem of dealing with results of defectiveness which could be largely eliminated by rational control. The activity of the modern state in providing special insti- tutions for defectives is aiding in purging society of sub- normals. There is reason to believe, however, that neither is public education nor segregation of the unfit accomplishing at all what should be accomplished in the village communities. The burden of transforming opinion and developing intelli- gent popular support to rational policies of eugenic reform lies with the colleges, normal schools and theological semi- naries, and the schools and churches which get their knowledge of social needs from these institutions. In one respect village communities will be able to respond more quickly to the modern-science teachings with regard to mental defectiveness in relation to marriage than the larger centers. Urban conditions prevent the close personal ac- quaintance with family history on the part of those who meet HEALTH AND SANITATION 4o7 by chance in the great cities. It is possible that each party to the proposed marriage contract has come from some distant environment, or if both have been brought up in the city the possibiHty of concealing family connections is so much greater that the city offers a much more difficult problem of rational control of marriage than does the small community. In the village family histories and characteristics are a matter of common tradition. Departure from the conventional standards of morality, tendency to too free use of intoxicants, insta- bility in matters of financial obligation, unreliability in office of public trust, lack of public-spiritedness, or quarrelsome tendencies within the family, all become matters of public knowledge and become the basis for social cleavages. There is both an individual and family character attaching to each per- son and sometimes the family character outweighs the indi- vidual character in preventing personal advancement in one case or in preventing loss of caste in others. If the village group is informed as to the significance of feeble-mindedness and as to the methods of control, it has the advantage of the city in its power of purging itself gradually of defectiveness and of laying a strong biological foundation for social prog- ress. The process of purging may bring bitter personal expe- riences to some people but far better is it to have these experi- ences before marriage than to have the lives of both parents and children blasted and fhe welfare of the group threatened by unwise connections. Feeble-mindedness becomes a serious problem in that it is responsible for much immorality which becomes a problem for the religious leader who believes in individual regeneration as the method of social progress ; for much of the shiftlessness of certain families who become a burden on the township authorities; and for much of the lack of progress, and indif- ference to the stimuli of modern civilization. It also becomes in many of our smaller communities a serious problem in the public schools. Too often a conscientious but ignorant teacher in a village school finds a child in her grade that has had every advantage but has failed to make good. Such children, often 4o8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY so extreme in their variation from the normal as to become serious problems of discipline in the classroom, are carried along and finally passed to the next grade to get rid of them. What is needed is some system of thorough inspection to de- termine whether a given child should remain in the regular class or be given special treatment. We are as yet backward in our knowledge of all the causes of mental retardation and it may be that in the course of time we shall be able to elimi- nate, through adequate physical treatment, many cases of seeming mental defect. The opening of the village to contact with the larger life of the city has had a wholesome effect in two ways. In the first place it has drawn off from the village many of the subnormal into the vicious elements of the city. This from the point of view of the individual is to be considered a misfortune. But from the social point of view of the small community it ap- pears to be one of Nature's methods of purging society of the unfit, and will continue until society is ready to make ample provision for these subnormal creatures, thus preventing their misery in vicious living in the city or in criminal institutions. On the other hand increased contact with outer life has brought into many villages interests which tend to raise the plane of existence and to increase the general intelligence in regard to moral relations. There is still little room for con- gratulation of the American people on this score, however, when even cities which pride themselves on their intelligence will close a gala event with a public marriage between a town character and a girl of no less questionable eligibility for the marriage relation, and when the most intelligent people in the village approve of the show. Crudeness of social ideals in certain respects is appalling when compared with what science indicates ought to be. There is abundant evidence that much remains to be done in public education in regard to these things. Without going into further details about health conditions in villages let us conclude with a brief summary of con- structive suggestions as to provisions needed to meet adequately HEALTH AND SANITATION 409 the problems presented. It appears that the key to village health control is the provision for the appointment of a public or community physician who will devote his entire time to health matters. If village consciousness would permit, the engagement as public health officer of a regular physician who has received training not only in the ordinary practi- tioner's art but also in public health and in social problems, at a salary that would enable him to devote his entire time to the work and which would compare favorably with the salary of physicians in private practice, would work wonders in the physical efficiency of the community. Our progressive colleges today have physicians regularly in their employ at good salaries to look after the physical development of the young people. Is there any more reason for private or special institutions to engage men for this work than for a village community to do so? Does the boy in college need direction and training more than the clerk in the store who cannot go to college? Does the middle-aged man need oversight and facilities for adequate exercise less than the one who is attending school? Scientists are warning the middle-aged about the necessity of taking ample physical exercise to prevent the increase in death rate of those just past middle age which seems to be a characteristic of modern life. A public health officer would have as one of his most important duties the organization of the physical life of his community so that there would be less need of med- ical attention because living would be reduced to a rational basis. The public health officer would also become the instructor of the adults in matters of hygiene that were not considered during their school days. Not only among the middle-aged manual laborers and those who had to drop out of school in the lower grades but also among college and high school graduates is to be found a lamentable ignorance of some of the most elementary principles of hygiene. As Director of Public Health the public physician or physical director would strive to remedy this defect in his community. 4IO INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY He would, moreover, establish close relationships with the public school teachers of hygiene and would become at least ex-officio director of the public health course in the schools. Prevention of illness and the building up of good vitality and strong physical life in both young and old would be his prime business. A public health officer in the small town who does these things at the present time is practically unknown. The public physician would become in truth the guardian of the health of the people and would become responsible for the conditions surrounding the children in the public schools, on the playgrounds or in their homes. Many of the abuses men- tioned above would not exist if the public physician were pro- tected in his position by the civil service and were a part of a state system of administration of health and responsible to the state for his efficiency in dealing with local problems. He would become responsible for the condition of the food supply. He would inspect the dairies and food factories. He would see to the sanitation of local stores and guard the city against contamination of food and water in every way possible. All this he would do firmly but kindly and he would gain results through public instruction of a reasonable people in what ought to be, and would look to their cooperation in carrying out these necessary regulations instead of enforcing them in a tyrannical manner. The public health officer would become inspector of health conditions in the public schools. Today only the larger cities have realized the necessity of careful inspection of children for physical defects such as adenoids, defective teeth, poor eye- sight or hearing, and this inspection has already resulted in much good. The villages and rural communities must follow this example if they hope to do the best for each child under their direction and care. The public physician could be director of the village hospital operated on a community basis which would provide for the members of the community care that under present conditions they cannot receive. Moreover, he would become the direc- HEALTH AND SANITATION 4" tor of the local free dispensary and would be available for free consultation on the part of the citizens who wished to discuss health matters with him. These recommendations and suggestions will doubtless ap- pear to many to be impracticable. The principal objection that might be made to such suggestions is that they are different from what we now have. This is not a serious objection be- cause it is the one that has been brought against every change for the better throughout all human history. Some people may say that they are socialistic or communistic. The fact that some of them may have been advocated by socialists is no reason for discrediting them, because it has already been dem- onstrated by experience that many of the things for which the socialists have struggled are right. The tendency of civiliza- tion in the modern highly interdependent industrial system of which we are a part is toward greater communization of the essentials of material satisfaction. The experience of the past in communization of the public school system makes the com- munization of public health a logical step in advance and in all probability the time will come when villages will have their public health officer who will be the chief medical practitioner in the village instead of the figurehead he now is, particularly in his public capacity. Control of mental health will also be to some extent in his charge. This is a matter, however, which must be controlled through public instruction in the schools and any rapid readjustment on this score in village life must not be hoped for. What is needed in village life is right ideals as to what ought to be. When a group once determines to make its life as good as that of any other community; when it definitely begins to study its resources to find what can be and ought to be developed; when it is willing to break with tradition, if necessary, in order to secure adequate machinery for the pro- tection and improvement of public health, then we will find that the village will become one of the happiest, most health- ful parts of the entire social system, and will offer the foun- dation for that normal development of culture against which 412 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY both the extremely large city and the most sparsely settled open country militate. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. Why does the village have difficulty in dealing with prob- lems of sanitation? 2. What are the prevailing conditions as to (a) CleanHness; (b) Food inspection; (c) Milk production; (d) Water sup- ply? 3. What are the duties of the health officer? 4. What salary does he usually receive? 5. What are the conditions as to improvement of mental health ? 6. What natural influences aid in preserving mental health in village life? 7. How is mental health related to problems of morality and religion ? 8. How related to education? 9. Outline a plan of service for a public health officer. TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Investigate the inspection of milk supply in your village. 2. What control of groceries and other food distributing agen- cies is there? 3. Do you have a public weigh-master ? A sealer of weights and measures? 4. Do you have physical examination of school children? 5. Study conditions as to mental defectiveness in your village. 6. What agencies are working toward improvement of health conditions in your village? REFERENCES References same as in Chapter XX. CHAPTER XXV VILLAGE POLITICAL LIFE It is not intended in the present discussion to make an ex- haustive study of village government from the point of view of political science. The standard texts on civics have pro- vided ample material on the problems of village incorporation, the organization of the government, the relation of the village to the state and to the nation. It will sufiSce for present pur- poses to consider briefly certain phases of village political organization which it appears should be improved for the sake of greater community efficiency. As a result of the traditional ideals of the American people, those ideals which led our ancestors to make a declaration of independence and afterward, in the organization of a government, to hedge that government about with all sorts of checks and balances to prevent its being an effective agency for either progress or oppression, our village governments are still looked upon as necessary evils. The American people have become accustomed to the ideal of the private corpora- tion controlling the welfare of thousands of lives and the disposal of millions in money. People do not hesitate to invest their money in the shares of the more important of these or- ganizations and to comply without question to the rulings of the officials who may be selected by a very limited number of stockholders and who may operate the organization for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. They accede without question to the most rigid autocracy in business rela- tions as found in the great industrial corporations. But be- cause the village corporation is a part of government it is the traditional attitude to have as little to do with it as possible ; to keep its activities down to the lowest possible sphere and to 37 413 414 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY pay as little as possible in its support. Economy rather than efficiency is still the watchword in village government. In addition to this attitude toward government as an active agent in public service the attitude toward the selection of persons to serve in the capacity of public officials is also in striking contrast to that of the private corporations. No private corporation of any pretensions whatever would think of entrusting its interests to any persons who could not com- mand a salary of from $3,000 to $10,000 or more per year. The usual village corporation would never forgive itself if it paid its manager more than $500 per year. The result is that no one devotes his entire time to the management of village affairs and as a rule no one of the highest business capacity has either the time or the inclination to accept the mayor's office under our American elective system. The result is that the biggest corporation in the small community is run on the cheapest, most inefficient scale of all of them. Many of those local municipal corporations control the water plant, the sewer system, the lighting plants, the street paving and many other utilities affecting the interests of the community at large. Yet these public affairs are entrusted to men who devote but part time to the public service and yet we wonder why villages do not have more efficient or better public facilities. This traditional ideal in regard to public service in the vil- lage must give way, as it is giving way in the larger communi- ties, to the ideal of management by efficient, highly-trained men, competent to handle the business of the community on the same basis as is the management of the best corporations. Instead of housing public offices in dingy, dark, dirty town halls that are rarely cleaned and are the most forbidding places in the villages, the time will come when the office of the mayor will be equipped with the best furniture, and will have every facility for the efficient keeping of the records of the community political organization. Men will be ap- pointed to manage public utilities on the basis of their training and efficiency instead of because they are looking for a job as reward for small political services. The municipal cor- VILLAGE POLITICAL LIFE 415 poration will be looked upon as a real business proposition, more democratic than the ordinary private business corporation because every adult male citizen of sound mind has a right to vote on the policies of the concern and we will consider the municipal corporation as an agency for bringing to the com- munity those common benefits which it is not wise to entrust to private profit seeking concerns. There is no inherent reason why in modern life the public corporation should not be as efficient a business agency as the private concern. Wljen public affairs are entrusted more largely to public servants people will take a much keener interest in the election of public officials. The traditional attitude toward taxes is an outgrowth of the prevailing opinion in regard to the functions of government. This attitude finds a larger expression in the open country, however, than in the village or the city. But in both cases community efficiency depends upon the more liberal expendi- ture of public moneys through public channels and for public purposes. When the village community once learns the economy of providing out of common funds those things that should be enjoyed in common it will be possible to have a much higher standard of social efficiency than exists at the present time. One or two special problems need attention. One of these is the problem of dealing with the delinquent classes. Few people realize the extent to which small communities are infested with vagrants. It is estimated by those most familiar with the vagrancy problem that the wanderers cost the rail- roads about $25,000,000 per year in destroyed property and in other ways. These creatures stop at villages, particularly those which are provided with good lockups, and after begging meals at the homes go to the lockup and get free accommoda- tions for the night. Next day they move on either by rail or on foot to spend the night at the next town. Many officials think that they are solving the problem if they take the vagrants to the edge of the town and forbid their ever return- ing, but as a matter of fact no organized effort to deal with 4i6 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY the vagrancy problem has yet been put into action. The experience of a small village in southwestern Ohio may be taken as typical of what villages may do in dealing with the vagrancy problem. This village, located on the main line between Cincinnati and Chicago, was blessed with a particu- larly clean and well-kept lockup located in the town hall. The sympathetic tendencies of the town officials also insured the prisoners good nourishment while stopping at the free hotel maintained by the village. As a result it was no unusual thing to have as many as 500 vagrants to care for in a single year. Word was passed up and down the line as to the ad- vantages of the place and no vagrant deemed his travels com- plete without making the town a visit. The mayor of the village determined to try the experiment of making every traveler asking for accommodations earn his lodging and meals by breaking a certain amount of stone before releasing him from the custody of the town marshal. As a result the number of vagrants stopping at the town decreased from over 400 in one year to less than 50 during the year following. Ar- rangements were made with the citizens of the town whereby in case anyone should ask for food he should be referred to the town authorities. There he would get both ample care and also a liberal supply of food, together with the opportunity to render service to the community in exchange for the service rendered him. This example is given because it offers at least a partial solution of the vagrancy problem. No village, however, can solve the vagrancy problem alone. In order to enforce local ordinances in regard to vagrancy it is necessary to have in the background the possibility of extended detention in some public institution. In many cases this is at present impracti- cable because the village sentencing a vagrant to the work- house must not only pay for his support while at the distant workhouse but must also pay his transportation expenses there together with the transportation expenses of the official accompanying him. This local burden induces many officials to take the easier but useless method of driving the vagrant VILLAGE POLITICAL LIFE 4i7 out of town. Adequate dealing with the problem demands that some state system of workhouses be established whereby vagrants needing institutional treatment may be committed to these institutions at state expense, thus putting the control of delinquency into the hands of the state, where it belongs. It is necessary also to work out some system of state em- ployment agencies whereby men who are really out of work and willing to accept employment may be assisted to positions. According to the stories of these men, many of them are going from one place to another because they have heard of work in some distant city. After the jobs on which they have been engaged have been completed they travel about on the basis of rumored openings elsewhere. The result is that many of the men arrive at the prospective place of employment only to find that the positions are already filled and they again take to the road in search of other rumored openings. If unem- ployed men are not vagrants in the beginning the continuance of this kind of life will ultimately make them vagrants. The village can cooperate in the solution of the employment prob- lem with some of the larger cities in its environment and there the labor exchanges ought to have information not only in regard to local conditions but also in regard to the other parts of the industrial field. The other problem needing attention is that of relief-giving. This is not so serious a problem as that of vagrancy but there is evidence that in many cases local authorities do not know how to deal adequately with it. Under present conditions it would probably be best if each county had a county welfare bureau to wHich all cases of dependency could be referred for constructive control. These county bureaus could deal with all cases in both village and rural communities and could co- operate with relief committees made up of representatives of the different churches and other organizations in the different villages. Under the direction of the county bureau it would also be possible for the local village committees to deal witH cases of juvenile delinquency, with mothers' pension cases and with all problems affecting the interests of the social 4i8 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY debtor classes. Such a program would increase the efficiency of the local group in dealing with these unfortunate cases. The need of a constructive program of dealing with prob- lems of public health and public recreation has been consid- ered in other connections. If the village plans for a trained official body and works out a system of cooperation with other communities in dealing with these problems there is no reason why the village should not have a much more wholesome community life than it now has. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What is the traditional village attitude toward public serv- ice? 2. What is the attitude toward taxation? 3. What change in this attitude is necessary? 4. Discuss the vagrancy problem as related to village commu- nities. 5. What problems of dependency need control? TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Study the problem of vagrancy in your community. 2. Make an analysis of the municipal budget. 3. Analyze the expenditures for the past year. 4. What public improvements are needed in your village? 5. What agencies are interesting themselves in securing public improvements ? 6. What cases of public relief existed during the past year ? 7. How much is given for public relief and to whom? 8. How much is given for relief by private agencies? 9. Examine the birth and death records for the past five years. REFERENCES References same as in Chapter XX. CHAPTER XXVI THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE RURAL PROBLEM The problem of rural life cannot be separated from the larger national problems presenting themselves for solution to the American people. In the chapter on "Movements of Population" the effects on the rural community of these move- ments were discussed. Those who go from the country to the villages and the cities do not separate themselves entirely from the rural prob- lem but take with them the ideals of the open country, and in most cases their sympathies for the farm and for the folks who stay on the farms is as great as ever. The old homestead can never be obliterated from their memories and the longing to get back again to the farm and live again those experiences of childhood will come to all, whether in their new location they have forged to the front or whether city life has been largely a failure. It has been popularly assumed that the boys and girls have left the country because of the larger economic opportunities offered by the urban communities. This assumption may be accepted as true but it is likely to be misleading unless taken in connection with other factors. It is too often that the alternative is given to the boys and girls of staying around home with little or nothing to do or of trying their fortunes in the neighboring city, even though the promise of advance- ment in city life is not great. It is the lesser of two evils and many boys and girls have left the country, not because they did not like the country, but because the outlook in the country was not good. The college men taking four-year courses in agriculture insist that they would like to return to the country after graduation but that there does not appear to be any 419 420 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY opening for them unless they can secure capital with which to make a start. Since lack of opportunity to gain a foothold in the country is responsible for the failure of many young people to remain in the country even though they are in sympathy with country life, these country-minded people really remain a part of the rural problem after they get to the cities. Their welfare is a part of the great problem of general welfare and it becomes necessary to inquire as to what actually happens to these young people who are forced off the farms to seek what appears to them to be the more desirable alternative. The problem of the retired farmer must also be considered, as the retired farmer group constitutes another distinct element in the shift of popu- lation and the causes of shift, persons affected and results of shift present problems peculiar to themselves. Some very encouraging figures have often been quoted as to the place the country boy and girl occupy in urban life. State- ments have become current that anywhere from 60 to 90 per cent, of the leaders in urban life are from the country. These statements fail to take into consideration a number of circum- stances that must ultimately have a bearing on the problem. In the first place, it must be remembered that the men who today find a place in "Who's Who" are largely the product of a period when the influx of country population into the cities was quite marked; when cities were growing rapidly; and when urban institutions were in a highly dynamic state, offer- ing large opportunities for the energetic youth to strike out for himself with large hope of achieving personal success; and when persons bom in the city had not yet arrived at that stage in their development when they could begin to assert them- selves as the rightful leaders in urban life. The time has arrived for a revision of the figures as to the success of the rural immigrant in urban life. The probabilities are that while some country boys will forge to the front as they always have done, there will be a much larger proportion of the positions of responsibility occupied by relatives of men now in control. The poor country boy in the accounting room notes the pres- THE RURAL PROBLEM 421 ence of the son of the president of the concern in the same room. He realizes that if there is any native ability in the president's son at all, as there probably is, he will have all the advantages of college training, and of getting the all-round experience in the establishment which will in all probability put him in line for preferment to the best places in the or- ganization. Of the 40 or 50 bookkeepers in the establish- ment the president's son has the inside track, other things being equal. The president, a product of another period, may have come from the country but his son is a city product, and in like manner the sons of other men who hold large share in in- dustrial corporations have the inside track for preferment in the same or in other establishments. In the second place it appears to be characteristic of achieve- ments of country boys that most of them have become noted in professional lines as teachers, ministers, lawyers, or doctors, where success is more quickly noted than is moderate business success. The coming generation of young men from well-to-do families in the cities will give a good account of themselves in city life. Another factor of great importance is the relative educa- tional advantages of country and city boys and girls. The records show that of the children from the country not over one-third complete the grades. In the cities the young people of American parentage must be unusually dull if they are not automatically carried through at least eight grades of the public schools and an increasing proportion of them are going on through the high schools and entering the city and state colleges. Country boys and girls are more than likely to be handicapped in the future by present tendencies to overem- phasize agricultural education for farmers, thus lessening the efficiency of those who care to leave the farms for the com- petitive sthiggles of city life. While no data are as yet available as to what actually hap- pens to country boys and girls when they go to the cities, a priori reasoning from known conditions proves conclusively that the shift from country to city has not been as rosy as 422 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY many have pictured it. The number of positions open for business advancement in the cities, as has been shown in the chapter on Farmer's Labor Income, is not great. In the city of Columbus, Ohio, with a total population of over 200,000 people there were in 19 16 approximately 700 retail grocers and grocers' firms ; 800 contractors, 400 real estate men, and other businesses to correspond. The proportion of business open- ings to laborers' positions correspond closely to those given by the United States Census as shown in preceding chapters. The conclusion, then, is inevitable that the wonderful records made by country boys in urban life must be conspicuous prin- cipally because they are exceptions. The vast majority of people, whether from the city or the country, are compelled, at the opening of the twentieth century, to live from hand to mouth as wage earners, and the great majority of them are, if not in absolute poverty, to be classed as poor people. The lack of education of country boys and girls compels them when they come to the cities to seek unskilled employ- ments until such time as they can by training lift themselves from the ranks of the unskilled. It is commonly stated that certain types of concerns make a special bid for country boys, partly because in the country they knew nothing of regular hours of labor, have no fear of exerting themselves to the point of physical exhaustion, and have not learned the art of com- bining for the sake of protecting themselves as a class through tollective bargaining. A large proportion of street railway employees are said to be from the country. The report comes from a number of cities that young men from the farms, taking employment as wage earners, do not make rapid ad- vance but in the course of a few years begin to show the physical strain of urban life and ultimately fall into the scrap- heap of labor. It is not within the province of the present study to give a detailed account of living conditions of wage earners in the larger cities. Many investigations have been made of cost of living of wage earners' families by both public and private agencies and the conclusion appears to be inevitable that the THE RURAL PROBLEM 423 average wage in the city makes impossible living conditions that can at all compare with the possibilities of even the poorer country homes. Those who succeed in gaining a foothold in the smaller businesses or in the professions have an income that enables them to have at least comfortable homes, but the problem of securing ample and good food supply and the pre- cariousness of business is a constant burden upon the bread- winner. As time passes, the probabilities are that an increasing number of young people coming into the cities from the village or the open country will find it impossible to pass over from the wage-earning to the employing class, and will have to endure the hardships incident to congested living conditions in the cities. The significant feature of the economic phase of the reverse side of the rural problem is that to an increasing degree the surplus of rural population that cannot find an opening on the farm because of rising land values or because land is already appropriated and farmed by those who have gained a foothold in the country will be caught between the upper and nether millstones of modern industrialism and will be compelled to accept what remains after those having special relations to productive property through ownership are satisfied. Excep- tional instances of country boys and girls achieving marked distinction in urban life will continue to occur, but they will be notable principally for the fact that they are exceptions. This increasing number of landless and propertyless Ameri- cans cannot become otherwise than a disturbing element in political life and ultimately some adjustment will have to be made whereby equality of opportunity to all will be as- sured regardless of accident of birth or inheritance. While no statistical data can be presented, it is the common observation of urban ministers that the foundation of urban religious life lies in the addition to church membership from those coming into the city from the country. The stable religious element in the city church is that group which has received its training in the country homes and in the country church. If the city church is to make a vital appeal to the 424 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY coming generation it will have to undertake bravely the solu- tion of the great economic problems which have resulted in such glaring differences in urban distribution of wealth. When the church does this, it will not only have the sympathy and support of the laboring classes but it will also be rendering the largest service in bringing ^bout the ideal democracy for which it theoretically stands. The reverse side of the rural problem also has its expression in the movement of older persons from the open country to the villages. This movement has been most marked in the past fifteen or twenty years. A study of this movement was made in a number of typical villages in the state of Ohio. This study was made because to the present but little attention has been given to the causes of the movement of entire famiHes to the villages and cities. Neither has definite information been available as to the effect of this movement upon the country district from which the families go, nor as to its effect upon the villages to which they move. Comment has not always been favorable to the farmer living in the village. Some have accused him of not taking part in village improve- ment ; of not contributing to community affairs ; of not being active in social or industrial organizations in the village; of not contributing to the support of the village church ; and of using an income from the farm to support himself in town in such a way that nothing is left from the produce of the farm to keep it in repair. In this study the term "retired farmer" was defined so as to include all farmers who had moved to town within the past seven years, regardless of cause or of occupation after having left the farm. Sixty-nine farmers in all in i6 villages in Adams, Auglaize, Butler, Greene, Clermont and Montgomery Counties, Ohio, were visited. All the retired farmers who could be reached in these communities were interviewed, so that the results, although compiled from a small number of cases, may be taken as typical of existing conditions. The evidence is that the older people who leave the farm do not go to the cities to spend their latter days but prefer to find THE RURAL PROBLEM 425 a resting place in the medium-sized neighboring village which has been their customary market place. Of 26 farmers who reported the distance from their village residence to their farms but 4 had moved more than 6 miles from the location of the farm. But one had moved 12 miles and 2 a distance of seven miles. On the other hand the young people do not stop in the village but pass on to the large city, there to take ad- vantage of the real or fancied better opportunities of earning a livelihood. Of 69 farmers interviewed but 9 had been tenants before retiring from the farm. Of the 60 owners 23 sold their places and 37 rented to others. In 2 instances the farmers had sold a part of their land and were renting the remainder after mov- ing to town. The proportion of farmers who rent their land after retiring is much larger in sections where land vajues are high than in those communities where land values are low. In the majority of cases the farmer who owns his farm before moving to town owns his village residence. The reverse is true of the tenant who moves to the village. The data are shown in the following table. Number Ownersliip of Village Residence of Fanners Farm Owners who own village residence 42 Farm Owners who rent village residence 17 Farm Tenants who own village residence 2 Farm Tenants who rent village residence 6 Total 67 Over 70 per cent, of the farmers who owned their farms be- fore moving to town owned their village residences while 75 per cent, of the former tenants rented village property. The desire to live in his own home is a powerful influence with the farmer. The size of the farms differs materially in the different sections studied. The average for 69 farms was 133.6 acres. In Greene County the average size of farm was 196 acres, while in Clermont County it was but Siyi acres. 426 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY The reasons assigned for the retirement from the farm in- dicate that the movement is neither abnormal nor necessarily undesirable. Thirty-six of the 69 families left the farm on account of ill health of the husband or the wife or on account of old age. Thus over half of the retirements are due to conditions incident to advancing age. The other causes are quite varied. One gave loneliness in the country as a reason for moving to town. Another had been a blacksmith and returned to his old trade. Eight did not think they could make as much money in the country as they could in town. Four could not find suitable farms. A number said they could not get help and had to rent or sell as the only means of getting anything out of their investment. About 8 in all left the farm to give way to sons or other relatives. An increasing number leave the farm because rising land values make the management of the farm too technical for them to handle successfully and they go to the cities to seek posi- tions demanding lower-grade ability. Thus the retired farmer movement does not necessarily mean land abandonment nor rural decline. It is in part a process of displacement of those who have done their work by those who are now ready to take the places of their parents in production of wealth, and in part an elimination of the inefficient from country life. Early retirement due to ill-health could be remedied by a better control of problems of rural hygiene, by lessening ex- posure and lightening toil by improved farm equipment. But in these days of enlargement of the farm unit and of ex- haustion of profitable unexploited farming areas some displace- ment seems to be necessary and the retirement of the older members is simply one manifestation of these causes. The data as to the age of retirement indicate that most of the farmers do not leave the farm until they have achieved suc- cess in their chosen vocation. The following table shows the distribution of ages at time of retirement. Over one-half were between the ages of 40 and 60, while about one-third were 60 years of age or over. Over 50 per cent, were 50 years of age or past. These figures indicate that THE RURAL PROBLEM 427 _ . . Number Age Penod Retiring Under 30 i 30-39 8 40-49 14 S0-S9 22 60-^9 13 70-79 9 80 or above i Total 68 the farmer does not generally go to town because he wants to be idle. He is not given to idleness and retires because of other influences more fundamental. Most of those moving to town engage in some form of work. Of the 69 reporting 37 were engaged at some gainful occu- pation. The amount of work done varies with the income from property owned. The farmers engage in a great variety of occupations is shown by the following list. Bank president, I ; butcher, i ; manage farm, 6 ; groceryman, i ; blacksmith, i ; laborer, 6 ; teamsters, 3 ; operate brick factory, i ; merchandise store, I ; carpenter, 2 ; bookkeeper, i ; ice business, i ; automo- bile repairer, i ; contractor, i ; stock buyer, i ; salesman, i. This list indicates that most of the men prefer to go into busi- ness for themselves. Only 6 out of 37 reporting were engaged at common labor. The relation of the retired farmer to the social life of the village remains to be considered. Of the 69 farmers inter- viewed 50 were members of churches and but 19 not members. 30 of the 50 members belonged to churches in the village be- fore moving to town and but 4 transferred their membership to the village church on moving into the village. The indica- tions are that the farmers do not freely become a part of the village religious life if they have been accustomed to the religious environment of the country church. Not a single retired farmer reported himself as affiliated with any subsidiary religious organization. This is due, how- ever, to the lack of such organizations for men rather than to lack of willingness to take part in them. 428 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY Of the 39 farmers giving data as to their contributions to the church 25 reported giving something and 14 gave nothing. The distribution of their contributions was as follows : Number Amount Contributed Annually Contrib- uting None 14 Under $10. 00 8 10-19 S 20-29 7 30-39 I 40-49 I S0-S9 2 60 or over i Total 39 The average contribution was $19.75. Over half contribute less than $20:oo per year to religious purposes. About one- third contribute less than $10.00 per year. These facts should be considered in connection with the data that the average size of farm held by retiring farmers was 133 acres. No contributions to other than religious purposes were reported. Of the 69 farmers 25 report membership in some fraternal organization. Eight men belonged to some lodge but not to a church. Thirteen of the 50 church members were reported holding some official position in the church. Evidently they are holding their full share of positions in religious ad- ministration. The retired farmer does not find village life one of unmixed enjoyment. "More company," "less work," "nearer to school and church," are typical reasons for liking the village. On the other hand "too much gossip," "too many people interested in your private affairs," "no work for the children during vaca- tions," "less healthful," "more tramps and beggars," "food not so good," "too much noise," "can't have stock nor horse and buggy," "too many ways to spend money," are reasons which show that the retired farmer does not enjoy fully his village life and would enjoy himself better if he could have the advantages of the village in the open country without its dis- THE RURAL PROBLEM 429 advantages. The round of idleness and busying himself over little things does not appeal to the man who has been accus- tomed to the strenuous life which required working from sun to sun on the heavy tasks of the farm. It may be said that this study of a few cases, while not finally establishing any principles, has indicated that certain changes have been taking place which have influenced the adult farm owner and operator to leave the farm, as well as the young members of the farm family; that the movement from country to village has been due in large part to health conditions and to lack of conveniences; that in an increasing number of instances persons are leaving the farm because modern agriculture demands a degree of skill and business ability they are not able to provide and they seek their places in the unskilled occupations of villages and cities. It has shown further that in many cases the farmer leaves his farm to renters and retires to the village, expecting to live there on the rent of the farm, thus introducing the problem of allowing the farm to run down because of lack of income sufficient to support the family and to make the necessary repairs on the farm. In cases where the parent retires to give way to the son or other relative this trouble is not so serious, but all through the Central Valley may be found repeated instances of once magnificent country residences now in bad condition because the owner does not care to keep up property for the sake of a renter not related to him. The study also shows that in many cases the farmer does not enter into the life of the village but remains a member of the country community from whence he came. The retirement to the village of farmers who have given way to their children is not to be considered as entirely bad. The alternative is presented of either building another house in the country or of moving to the neighboring village where convenience of medical attendance, water supply, modern toilet facilities, light and heat, may be had at reasonable figures and where there is plenty of room for a good sized garden and other interests sufficient to occupy the time of the one who 430 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY cares to continue agricultural activities. The objectionable features of the movement are the tendency to rent on terms which yield an income sufficient to keep the family in town but which fail to keep up the country home, and the failure in many instances of the farmer to become a social asset to the village into which he moves. Unaccustomed to many of the things which group life demands, and naturally opposed to taxation for public utilities, he becomes a definite hindrance to the material welfare of the village community. He should recognize that he is moving into an environment which de- mands cooperation for the attainment of common benefits and should be willing to do his part in helping to secure these for the community. Many of the advantages which the retiring farmer finds in the village may ultimately be provided in the country and thus the motive for moving to the village should decrease. Im- proved homes, roads, schools and social-center activities should give to the farmer interests which will lessen his desire to leave the open country for the village life. For those who do move to the villages, facilities should be provided for comfortable common meeting places and such other conveniences as local interests and conditions would dictate. Thus many of the objectionable features and disadvantages of retirement would be eliminated and the life of the village would be enriched by the presence of the older people who have come in from the country. In conclusion, it may be said that of the two marked types of shift from the country to urban centers, the one of young people to the cities is by far the most serious. The movement of farmers to the villages is a natural shift of those who have been compelled by advancing age to give up their country residence, and it is undoubtedly the better plan for the older people to come together in the rural village than it is for them to build extra houses on the home farm. The apparent dis- advantages of village life can be largely overcome by con- structive effort on the part of the village community ; and the advantages of living in the village far outweigh the disadvan- THE RURAL PROBLEM 431 tages. The fact that so many older farmers move to the vil- lages is in itself, in spite of the protests of theorists to the contrary, an evidence of the farmers' good judgment. And the fact that when once in the village few of tiiem ever return to the open country is still further evidence of the wisdom of their course. The movement of young people into wage-earning classes in the city because forced out of the country is a much more serious problem. It remains for both city and country people to unite in a constructive effort at economic adjustment which will not work hardship on the young people who are compelled to leave the country because they do not see any opening for them there. This is one of the most serious problems America must solve in coming generations and its solution will require the most able statesmanship and the most faithful application of the principles of democracy to present tendencies in Ameri- can life. It is in this phase of the rural problem that the interests of the wage-earning classes of the city and of the tenant and wage-earning classes of the country are united. When once this fact is recognized the movement toward the advance of social democracy will be given a powerful impetus and the outlook for a contented, loyal citizenship will be greater than it has been during the years of the past century when class differences based on property ownership have been developing so rapidly. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What is the traditional belief as to what happens to coun- try boys and girls going to the city ? 2. What evidence is there that this is not always true? 3. How is the city problem of poverty related to the country boys' problem of inability to gain a foothold in the coun- try? 4. Discuss the characteristics of the movement to villages. 5. How does the village movement differ from the movement to cities? 43^. INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. What is the present condition of boys and girls who have left your home community for the cities in the last ten years ? 2. What are the farmers doing who have gone to the villages ? REFERENCES Veiller, Lawrence. Housing Reform. Charities Publication Com- mittee, New York. United States Department of Labor, Publication on Wages, Wash- ington, D. C. CHAPTER XXVII METHODS OF APPROACH TO THE RURAL PROBLEM Many articles have been written in recent years in regard to how to make social surveys of given communities, but little has been done so far toward making application of the prin- ciples of the survey to the organization of the life of our smaller communities. It is the purpose of the present chapter to make application of such principles as appear to have most practical value to this type of community. The effort will be made to approach the problem from the point of view of the social engineer, the new professional public servant whose business is to apply the principles of efficiency to social or- ganization as business managers in private life apply the prin- ciples of efficiency to their work. The first task of every organizer is to get acquainted with his field of service. Other things being equal his success as an organizer will be in proportion to his knowledge of the problems with which he must deal. The survey is the first step in this task and one of the essential elements in the train- ing of every leader is that of knowing the scope, function, and methods of making this survey. A thorough mastery of the principles of the survey may be obtained by a careful perusal of the references appended on that subject. It will be neces- sary in this connection to call attention to only a few of the more important phases of this preliminary step. The leader must determine definitely what he wants to know about his community. Among the first factors to be consid- ered are the scope and functions of existing organizations. He must find out to what extent the community is now or- ganized and to what extent existing organizations are perform- ing the functions for which they were intended. He must 433 434 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY find what proportion and what elements of the population are being directly reached by these organizations and what is the indirect effect of their existence. He must learn to what ex- tent they are under the control of efficient leadership; what their relations are to one another; whether they are dupli- cating effort; or whether they are failing to supply definite needs of organization in the community. When he knows these facts and others allied to them he can determine to what extent his own particular group is needed and how it can coordinate its efforts with those of other groups in community life. He can also determine to what extent new organization or reorganization may be necessary in carrying out his com- munity program. In addition to the organization survey he must learn as rapidly as possible the community needs. What are the facts as to community health? What is the situation as to sanita- tion and as to the enforcement of health ordinances? What is the situation as to the moral life of the people? Are the ideals of the group as to culture what they should be? Is there a good community spirit ? Is the community democratic in its makeup or are there a number of distinct classes which do not associate except in a business way? What is the edu- cational status and what are the educational ideals? What proportion and what parts of the population are interested in educational work? What is the condition as to religious life? What people are directly reached by the church services and what elements of the population are not ? How effective is the present religious grouping and what factors are lessening reli- gious efficiency? What are the amusements of the group? Do they find their own activities sufficient to provide for the cravings for amusement or is the community an appendage of some other community in this respect? In what types of amusement are the people interested and are they the types that conduce to a good civilization, or do they handicap the community and corrupt the social life ? What is the economic status of the people ? Are there marked disparities in property ownership and what is the basis for such disparity? What METHODS OF APPROACH 435 is its special effect and to what extent must it be taken into consideration in organizing a social program? The more rap- idly the leader can get information in regard to these things the more quickly will his chances of "making good" be as- sured and the less likely will he be to make mistakes. His survey work should not stop with this preliminary study of his field but should continue as a part of his regular work since even the complexity of village life is such that no one person can master all the facts at hand which will be useful to him. After making his survey he should check up the facts with his ideals as to what a community should be. These ideals should be the result of careful study of sociological principles. The science of social organization has now gone far enough to be able to present certain principles which are applicable to organized social life. These principles are founded on bio- logical and psychological discoveries and offer hope of a ra- tional social organization. After passing judgment on the social efficiency of his com- munity as that efficiency compares with these principles his next task is the formation of a social program of community improvement. If by chance he may have found a community that is ideal his task is that of maintaining the status quo. So far as we know, however, no community of the latter type exists and the need is that of planning to raise the standards of civilization or, in other words, of contributing to social progress. The social engineer is in need of infinite tact in carrying on his work. He must recognize the fact that communities can- not all be formed over the same pattern, that sometimes one type of organization will accomplish results while in other cases still another type is necessary. In carrying out the pro- gram, of improvement of social organization it must be re- membered, moreover, that social organization is the result of a process of very slow growth and that no one can come into a community and begin at once to tear up existing coordina- tigns. The present organization is the result of years of slight. 436 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY and in many cases almost imperceptible, changes here and there in the social structure. Since these changes have been made on an opportunistic basis, that is, since the modifications have been introduced on the spur of the moment in order to meet an immediate need without regard to an ultimate ideal social organization, they have resulted in a distribution of functions that to the trained sociologist often appear to be illogical and in some cases absolutely wasteful of the social energies of the community. But the people have become accustomed to them and force of habit makes them easier to bear than another theoretically more ideal organization. Since this is true the social organizer must begin where he finds things and endeavor through a series of years to work over the organization into that type which is theoretically the most efficient. The social worker must have infinite tact in doing this if he does not want to lose his hold on his problem and find himself relegated to some other field of service. In spite of our cult of progress in western civilization we must recognize that the great ma- jority of people and particularly those who have achieved positions of responsibility in the world are "standpatters." This makes it necessary that the process of improvement be carried on gradually and that advance steps be taken with the greatest tact, only after the most careful consideration and after the moral support of the most effective elements in the community has been gained. This moral support need not always be that of the most highly educated nor of the most wealthy. It has been proven repeatedly that both these classes sometimes ally themselves with social organization manifestly not in the interest of the community. Before the abolition of slavery some of the best elements in the nation were honestly allied on the side of a mistaken cause. In village and rural life powerful interests may from time to time be found opposed to recreational pro- grams demanded by the conclusions of social science. But the movement must have the approval of those who will give the most lasting support because of the inherent worth of the innovation they represent. METHODS OF APPROACH 437 In addition to tact the social organizer must have infinite patience. He must reckon with opposition as a part of his business and take it cheerfully, never giving up his love for his people, and his interest in them, but always taking rebuff as an evidence of lack of understanding on the part of his people rather than any personal opposition to the leader. He must reckon with apparent failure. After having a commit- tee meeting at which he has secured half-hearted support or after finding that some measure has been blocked by interests over which he has no immediate control he must not be dis- couraged but must consider that his next task is that of de- vising some means of solving the problems presented. He must not know the word "fail." So long as he has the loyal support of a little group of socially minded and faithful mem- bers of the community he can well afford to return to the task with renewed vigor, knowing that ultimately his work must prove successful. Again, he must carry on his work of organization with due consideration of the functions being performed by existing agencies. It may be that in one community the church is the logical group to undertake a certain task while in another the school has the equipment and personal connections which will make it the most successful. Or it may be that in still an- other the representatives of the various fraternal bodies are the key to the solution of a certain social situation. It appears that social organization does not conform to any hard and fast rule but that there is a large variation in the services that may be performed by any one given organization. Increas- ing social functioning should be performed by the agency best equipped for the task until such time as the community sees fit to transfer such functions to the agencies logically adapted to the work. An illustration of this proposition may be found in the ac- tivities of some of our village and rural ministers at the pres- ent time. Some of them are introducing libraries into their communities when it would appear that library equipment should be supplied by the public schools. When the schools 438 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY fail in performing their logical tasks, however, the minister is performing a real service in developing this village and rural interest. Another illustration is that of providing adult education to the community by the church through establish- ing relationships with the state university departments of ex- tension. These movements have been very successful and the church has made a real contribution in pioneering the way to better educational facilities. The Christian associations in the large cities have made a similar contribution in providing night schools for young people, and by pioneering along social and recreational lines, and ministers in smaller com- munities have done well to profit by their example. The agency should be utilized in accomplishing social improve- ment which is at the time equipped for such service and in the course of time the logical agency may be expected to take up the work. It is only necessary to mention the necessity of the social engineer's being of a high moral character. In the small com- munity departure from the conventional practically nullifies the influence of persons who may be otherwise most admirably equipped for service. The individual is given much more freedom in determining his personal conduct in the larger centers, and what he is capable of doing is given much greater weight in determining his efficiency. But in any case the so- cial organizer must meet the approval of the group with which he is working in his essential standards and ideals of Ufe. Social organization, much more than business organization, is on a moral basis and unless the organizer is a part of his work it cannot be very effective. Regardless of what the practices in a given community are, it must be recognized that the moral principles that the people would like to consider themselves as loyal to, are high, and they will not permit departure from the observance of these principles on the part of those con- cerned in organizing for social efficiency. The social organizer and the people should avoid certain de- fects in organization. In the first place they should avoid overorganization. The difficulty with village and rural life METHODS OF APPROACH 439 in many places at the present time is that it is overorganired through the existence of duplicate institutions. This is par- ticularly true of the religious activities. Where four denomi- nations are struggling along in a small community, each at- tempting to convert the community to its particular brand of Christianity, they tacitly admit that there is radical disagree- ment of opinion among them as to what Christianity really is. The leaders of the denominations, and the people, too, are in fact not willing subscribers to this admission but their failure to get together handicaps their usefulness as represen- tatives of Christianity in a supposedly Christian country. The time has arrived when a radical readjustment is necessary in this respect in the interest of greater efficiency in religious or- ganization. The schools have developed on the basis that one system is sufficient for all. No one can say that this development has lessened the efficiency of the public schools. The same thing should be said of the churches. The community should not be organized to the extent of burdening its members with services and meetings that they would rather not attend. Some persons become overchurched in that they think they are not doing their duty unless they attend every service offered by the church on the Sabbath Day and as a result they find the day of rest the most strenu- ous of the week and look forward with pleasure to the com- ing of another Monday morning. New organizations should not be formed for purposes that can be just as well performed by an existing agency working through a committee. The advantages of extending the func- tions of an existing agency are many. It prevents the dupli- cation of plant. The existing agency can furnish rooms which are provided for out of a common maintenance budget. It supplies the machinery already in existence for developing new phases of community life. It is attached to an organiza- tion which already has the approbation of the group and con- sequently prevents or lessens the opposition so often experi- enced by social change. It has available a budget system and •440 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY is more easily financed by the fact that people may be per- suaded more easily to increase their appropriations for an ad- ditional service by an old organization than they can for the services of a new one. It lessens opposition on the part of leaders in the old organizations and instead of dissipating energies it tends to centralize them and to strengthen the ex- isting organized life. For these reasons new organization should be undertaken only after the most careful considera- tion and only when conditions appear to demand it. Some of the conditions demanding new organizations are: (i) Such a relationship between existing organizations that none of them can successfully undertake the new work without encountering the opposition of others. When several religious denominations exist in a given community it is not wise for any one of them to undertake the development of recreational life for the entire community. Moreover, it is not in the best interests of the community for any one of them to undertake extensive improvements in the way of recreational facilities for their own members because such extensive and expensive improvements will either break up the more natural develop- ment of such activities on a community basis or will result in expensive duplication of plant on the part of other organi- zations. Either a passive resistance to recreational develop- ment or an active competition in this field is undesirable in the smaller community. (2) Existing organizations dominated by interests not favorable to social change that would be helpful to the community. (3) The development to be made differing so radically from the work of existing organizations that it can not receive either sympathetic or efficient support by them. Christ said that new wine should not be put into old bottles and he doubtless had in mind the necessity of starting radical modifications in community life with a new organization of those most interested in the innovation. His problem was one of passing over from one type of social organization to one diametrically opposite and it would have been just as possible for him to utilize the old Jewish synagogue as a means of social reform as it would be to evolve democracy out of an METHODS OF APPROACH 441 absolute monarchy in the political world. The same thing is true today. Innovations involving the change of economic and social status of privileged groups or the elimination of waste- ful duplication of plant and of services must be carried on by organizations specially designed for the service in mind. There should be on the part of the members of the com- munity a rigid avoidance of selfish personal ambition in con- nection with group life. The ideal of self -advancement is so firmly fixed in our conventions that this principle will prob- ably not receive more than theoretical support for a long time to come. Too many people still think more of themselves than they do of the welfare of the community and the at- tainment of positions of power is still taken as the end of ex- istence. As Christ said, the truly great among us is the servant of all. When this principle gets a wider acceptance even in village and rural communities, we shall witness less of social- climbing and more of true democracy. Instead of feeling gratified at what they have achieved for themselves, people will think more of the opportunities for service which preferment brings and with true humility recognize that the demands of social responsibility are greater than they are personally able to live up to. The ideal of service, in honor preferring one another, will eliminate much of the aristocracy in social rela- tionships and put men of high and low degree on a common democratic basis of working together for the common good. Factions should be avoided as the death of community life. The subgroups which appear in many small communities are doubtless founded in large part on the tendency of people to struggle for control. They do not care particularly for the scientific foundations of the principles for which they are con- tending. The group which is in harmony with the minister or the superintendent and his policies is likely to be antagonis- tic to his successor because the other group is now favoring him. The effort should be to discover some solid foundation in common interest for social policies. Then the factions which are an evidence of narrowness, ignorance, and selfish- ness will disappear. When people cease to take themselves or 442 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY their own beliefs too seriously and are willing to work with others in the effort to arrive at a scientific basis for social conduct, there will be a better opportunity for a more efficient social organization. The tendency to give special attention to the innovator is at times unjust to others in the community. A clearer concep- tion of the nature of social duties may help in making a valu- ation of the different types of service, and should lead to a greater appreciation of those types which do not often get public recognition. Social duties are, in general, of two kinds. The first are perennial, and consist in the continued per- formance of those functions necessary for the continuance of the social organization. The daily tasks of the school teacher, the minister, or of the business man who opens his shop from day to day are of this type. The others are occasional and consist primarily in the fact that they result in social change. The work of the reformer comes in this class. Now, there is too little tendency to give credit to the quiet, unostentatious routine efforts of the Sunday School teacher in the small com- munity who prepares her lessons from week to week and who meets her little group on Sunday morning, doing her best to help mold those characters into a form which will merit the approbation of the community and which will carry the young life through the pitfalls that surround the steps of youth. She does not get into the newspapers with glaring headlines as does the transient innovator who brings about a change in the social coordination. Yet how typical of the great part of social life is her work and how much credit should be given to the one who is content to do the regular things of life because in some way or other the performance of these duties seems to con- tribute to the continued happiness of mankind and to aid in the prevention of deterioration into a lower stage of civiliza- tion. The ones who plan for the children's entertainment days, for the annual clean-up days, for the tree plantings, and for the thousand and one ordinary things that go to make up the great bulk of human life are really the foundation of human society and we should not forget that honor is due to them just METHODS OF APPROACH 443 as much as it is to the one whose business it is to take the lead in social change. The occasional work resulting in social change may be illustrated by general surveys, by the inaugura- tion of new organizations and the reorganization of old ones. These functions must be performed but they should be per- formed not for the sake of personal credit resulting from ef- fecting social change but for the service that such occasional duties render to the community. Another caution as to social direction is necessary. Some persons become so imbued with the intrinsic worth of what they represent that they wish to turn everything into some form giving expression to their ideals. The devotees of social service or social progress would like to have the chamber of commerce become an agency for philanthropic activity. They would like to have the women's clubs, the fraternal organiza- tions, and every other type of group existing in community life become agencies whose prime business is social improve- ment. The attitude of some people toward social service is duplicated by others who may be interested in business. In dealing with community life it is necessary to avoid the riding of hobbies in any group. The literary society has its place for the study of Browning and Shakespeare, or the modern novel. The ladies' aid may be interested in building the new church and may be doing as effective work as if it were studying problems of street improvement or household sani- tation. Let the social leader be reasonable in his demands on the various organizations for service to his particular in- terest and he will find much more loyal support than if he tries to turn everything into an agency for the advancement of that interest. QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1. What is the first step in organization? 2. What should the leader know about existing organizations ? 3. What should he know about community needs? 4. Why is tact necessary? 5. Why must the organizer be patient? 44! INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY 6. Why is a rigid rule of distribution of functions among or- ganizations impractical ? 7. When is a community overorganized ? 8. When is it underorganized ? 9. Should there be duplication of organization for the same function ? 10. What conditions existing in an old organization will justify the formation of a new one? 11. In your judgment, what is the principal basis of factions, ignorance or selfishness? 12. Compare the work of the innovator and of the performer of routine service. 13. What is probably the best form for coordination of social agencies ? 14. Summarize the course of discussion in this text. 15. Outline what you believe to be possible in a well organized village community. TOPICS FOR RESEARCH 1. Study characteristics of persons you consider to be leaders. 2. Study causes of failure of organizations. 3. How may your village cooperate with others in social serv- ice? 4. How may you increase your own social efficiency? REFERENCES Cooley, C. H. Social Organization. Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York. . Human Nature and the Social Order. Chas. Scrib- ner's Sons, New York. Fiske, G. Walter. Challenge of the Country. Association Press, , New York. Gowin, E. A. The Administrator in his Control of Men. The Macmillan Co., New York. Carroll, C. E. The Community Survey in Relation to Church Efficiency. The Abington Press, New York. Felton, Ralph A. The Study of a Rural Parish. Missionary Education Movement, New York. CHAPTER XXVIII CONCLUSION The discussion in the preceding chapter has had reference primarily to methods of approach to problems of organiza- tion in village and rural communities. The question remains as to what group connections the community organizer should have. Under present conditions it appears that an inter-de- nominational religious or civic group made up of representa- tives of the different organized interests in the community should be his point of contact with the community. If the churches were organized on a community basis there is no doubt that the community pastor would be the social engineer. But with the division of interests now existing it is better that the pastors of the churches, the public school teachers and others interested in the community in a professional capacity cooperate in supporting a common agency to do the work of social coordination for which the limited groups represented by each are unfitted. If the community should see its way clear to select a trained man for village manager it is possible that the well-rounded community life, including social and recreational development, as well as the more strictly industrial interests, could be under his direction. A community club house, which provides ample needs for the social life of the entire group, presided over by a trained social director, ap- pears to offer the solution to most of the serious social prob- lems presenting themselves to villages at the present time. In the preceding chapters the attempt has been made to show how the village is historically the natural form of human ag- gregation. It has been shown that in primitive life, whether in the hunting and fishing stage or in the later pastoral stage, little hordes of human beings lived together in village groups 29 445 446 INTRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY even though the social organization was tribal as to its form of control. It has been pointed out that in early agriculture and as a matter of fact in the agricultural life of a great part of the world at the present time, the village is the predominant form of social organization. The family basis of control has passed to the political basis and certain characteristics dis- tinguish the modern village from the ancient one, but still the village organization persists. The theory has been pre- sented that both the open country type of agriculture and the massing of people together in congested sections of large cities are departures from the normal tendencies in human nature and that the village is still the form of social grouping best adapted to yield a maximum of human welfare. The village is the most natural social aggregation from the point of view of historical tradition and from the point of view of inherited biological tendencies. People who live in the large cities get into the suburban village as rapidly as economic independence and leisure to travel will permit. In like manner people who live in the open country show a tendency to retire to the village as soon as their resources will support them there. Neither the open country nor the city has succeeded in overcoming this biological tendency and as soon as condi- tions are right it begins to express itself. The future of civili- zation must reckon with such a reorganization of social life as will permit a much larger development of the village than we have yet witnessed in the modem historical period. An analysis was made of the causes of growth and decline of villages and the conclusion arrived at that the future social organization will probably not have many more village centers than now exist but that the present villages will be so organ- ized that they will yield the maximum of welfare while pro- viding the best facilities for the development of a reasonable industrial life. The village, through the development of co- operative activity among country people will become more completely the social center of the rural environment. Im- provement in means of communication and wagon road trans- portation will make the country people much more nearly true CONCLUSION 447 village inhabitants than they have been in the past, thus les- sening many of the objections to country Hfe that have found expression in recent years. The movement of certain great industries from the city to the village will result in a better environment for the working people and in better economics in wealth-production. The various social institutions of the village and the rural community have been analyzed and their relation to the solu- tion of some of the problems of socialization have been dis- cussed. The strength and weakness of the different agencies have been estimated. The necessity for providing for some coordinating agency both in equipment and leadership was emphasized as the best means of developing that community loyalty, community autonomy in social life, and democracy in relationship which students of social science have long recog- nized as an essential of good social adjustment. Finally, prob- lems of approach to the task of socialization have been dis- cussed and the need of dealing with village and rural life from the point of view of advance of the welfare of the entire group on the basis of a well organized plan, has been pointed out. In conclusion it should be emphasized that one of the great- est opportunities for advance in the solution of modern social problems lies in the constructive organization of the village and in the adjustment of both urban and rural life to the development of this natural center. The evidence from a sur- vey of modern tendencies indicates that the time is advancing when some of the brightest products of modern civilization are going to find their source and development in the quiet, ra- tional, cultured existence of the American village, renewed, revivified, proud of its advantages, and offering those satis- factions which answer to the most fundamental cravings of human nature. INDEX Accidents, farm, 163 insurance rates for farmers, 164 Adams Act, 299 Adult education and rural schools, 284 Agricultural economics, relation to rural sociology, 16 Agricultural legislation, 299 Agricultural science, relation of, to rural sociology, 16 Agriculture, United States De- partment of, 300 teacher of, and rural com- munity, 289 type, changed by go^ roads, 50, 70 / effect of rising Cost of living on, 69 Altitude and rural welfare, 28 American Country Life Associa- tion, 269 American Farm Bureau Federa- tion, 250 Arkansas, rural health measures, 171 Animal Industry, Bureau of. United States, 300 Automobile, effect of, on rural life, 54 and medical service, 55 moral influences of, 56 Avenues of transportation and rural social organization, 29 Biological Survey, Bureau of. United States, 301 Camp grounds, rural, 352 Chemistry, Bureau of, United States, 301 Children's Bureau, United States, 307 Christian associations, 343 Church, age of joining, 319 competition in, and religious life, 324 decline of, in village and open country compared, 315 difficulties of, 328 double function of, 310 and economic welfare, 321 importance of, in rural life, 332 and other rural agencies, 322 326 rural decline of, and shift to villages, 315 and rural leadership, 321 village, and retired farmer, 428 strengthened by good roads, 54 Church attendance, decline in, 302 and tenantry, 95 Church finances, 336 Church membership, according to age, 316 increase in, 313 and tenancy, 94 Circuit system, 327 Cities, growth of, 132 location of, and agriculture, 31 City, effect of village growth, 372 City-state, characteristics of, 363 Citizenship training, 280 Clergymen, incomes of, 116 Climate and rural welfare, 27 Communities, lack of pastoral service in, 339 449 450 INDEX Community, needs of, must be known, 434 rural, description of, 18 resident forces to be devel- oped, 290 small, reasons for preserving, 381 Community activities, interest in, lessened by tenantry, 91 separate building needed for, 289 Competition, opposed to coopera- tion, 242 Connecticut, rural health, 172 Consolidated schools, cost of, 293 Cooperation, literature of, 238 as aid to social life, 247 causes for delay of, 249 conditions essential to success in, 243 in Denmark, 241 development of, 238 essentials of, 242 in Holland, 240 opposed to competition, 242 social effects of, 247 in the United States, 241 Cooperative Wholesale Society, growth of, 239 Com harvesting, improvements in, 36 Cost- of living, effect of, on type of agriculture, 69 Country church department. Fed- eral Council of Churches, 339 County Agent, functions of. County Agent Movement, extent of, 303 County Farm Bureau, 303 Courses of study, difficult, fa- vored, 277 Cradle, when invented, 36 Crime, rural, 222. Crop Estimates, Bureau of. United States, 301 "Culture"' ideals in education, 278 Death rate, rural and urban com- pared, 156 Death, average age by occupa- tions, 166 Defectives, death rate of, high, 406 Defectiveness in villages, 407 Defects of school children, 159 Delinquency, state control of, 417 Democracy, 14, 199, 205 Department of Labor, United States, 307 Diet, rural, 168 Diseases, rural and urban com- pared, 158 typically rural, 161 venereal, in country, 218 Divorce, rural compared with vil- lage, 225 Economic and social functions, separate organizations for, 272 Economic organizations, types of, 237 Education, Bureau of. United States, 307 social functions of, 279 Efficiency, of tenant, capitaUzed by landowner, 110 and tenancy, 94 Electric railways, effect of, on vil- lage growth, 372 Employment, village and city, 417 England, rural, feeble-minded- ness in, 180 housing in, 85 Enterprisers, rural compared with urban, 113 INDEX 451 Entomology, Bureau of, United States, 301 Ethical culture, increasing, 316 Exhibits, fair, 348 of social improvement, at fairs, 350 Exodus, rural, and feeble-mind- edness, 183 Factions, 441 Fairs, county, history of, 345 horse racing at, 347 objectionable features of, 346 origin of, 345 social functions of, 351 Family, and modern village, 366 rural, decrease in size of, 135 Family history in relation to vil- lage biological conditions, 406 Farm management, office of. United States, 302 relation of, to rural sociology, 16 Farm practice and tenantry, 82 Farm women, insanity of, 188 Farms, large, social effects of, 72 in United States, size of, 71 Farming, types of, and tenancy, 82 Farmers, retired, age of retiring of, 426 attitude of, toward village life, 428 and home ownership, 425 occupation of, 427 reasons of, for retiring, 426 relation of, to church, 428 and villages, 424 Farmers' Educational and Coop- erative Union, 262 Farmers' National Congress, ac- tivities of, 264 origin of, 266 purposes of, 265 Farmers' Union, development similar to Grange, 264 purposes of, 263 Feeble-mindedness, 178 means of control of, 184 in Ohio, source of, 181 in New Hampshire, 181 relation of, to morality, 179 rural, in England, 180 rural exodus and, 183 and rural life, 184 Flies, evidence of low sanitary standards, 401 Forces, social, as cause of change, 21 Forest Service, United States, 302 Function, social, definition of, 21 George, Henry, on land problems, 62 Georgia, health measures, 173 Gleaners, origin and development of, 269 Grange, declaration of purposes of, 260 origin and growth of, 259 public policies advocated by, 262 Great Britain, land problems in, 65 Hatch Act, 299 Health regulations, difficulty of enforcement of, 402 public service. United States, 169 rural, as causes of bad condi- tions, 166 conditions of, 162 Arkansas, 171 Connecticut, 172 Georgia, 173 Maine, 171 Maryland, 170 Michigan, 172 452 INDEX Minnesota, 172 New York, 172 Ohio, 172 Pennsylvania, 171 Health regulations, rural, Vir- ginia, 170 Washington, 172 and schools, 288 Hebrews, land problems of, 63 History, local, and schools, 287 Hobbies, dangers of, 441 Home life and social mind, 195 Homogeneity, of conditions in rural communities, 124 factors affecting, 123 Hospitals, county, laws authoriz- ing, 175 rural, 174 Household work, improvements for, 37 Housing, rural, 167 Ideals, rural, that should control society, 210 village, 381 Illegitimacy, rural, 222 Immorality, and mental defective- ness, 215 Incomes, of clergymen, 116 farmers', according to United States Census, 106 compared with tenants', 120 compared with urban salaries, 115, 112 compared with urban wages, 114 farm management surveys of, 107 and land ownership, 110 limited, 3 nature of, 103 teachers', 116 tending to remain constant, 106, lOP Incorporation of new villages de- creasing, 374 Indian villages, 362 Insanity, 179 Insanity, farm women, 188 methods of control of, 190 rural compared writh urban, 186 village, Michigan, 187 in United States, 186 in Western States, 190 Institutions, existing, must be utilized, 438 social, tending to crystallize, 21 Interdenominational adjustments, 339 Invention, extends limits of phys- ical environment, 32 Isolation, rural, change in type of, 202 and social mind, 196 Italy, land problems in, 64 Judging at fairs, 350 Junction points, effect of on vil- lage growth, 373 Kansas, tenancy in, 96 Kinship, village bond, 363 Laborer's farm, wages of, 117 wages of, compared with ur- ban, 120 Labor, farm, change in type of, 38 migrant, 142 rapid comparative increase of, 39 Land, United States, freedom of transfer of, 68 Land ownership, and farm in- comes, 109 Land problems, in Greece, 64 among Hebrews, 63 in Mexico, 65 rise of, in America, 62 INDEX 453 Leadership, rural, and population shift, 148 urban, changes in source of, 419 Library, Brumbach, Ohio, 287 school the center for, 287 Licinian laws concerning land, 64 Machinery, and hours of labor, 42 raising social status of farmer, 38 and shift of population, 39 Maine, rural health conditions, 171 Manual labor, versus control of nature, 35 Market area, widened by good roads, 51 Marketing time, shortened by good roads, Markets and Rural Organization, office of. United States, 305 Marriages, forced, 221 Maryland, rural health measures, 170 Medical service, improved by automobile, 55 Medicine, patent, use of in coun- try, 168 Mental defectiveness, and im- morality, 215 Migrant labor, 142 Milking, improvement in methods. Milk supply, village, 403 Michigan, high rate of insanity in villages, 187 rural health measures, 172 Mineral resources, tendencies in ownership of, 76 Minnesota, rural health measures, 172 Monotony, of farm work, and so- cial mind, 195 Morality, and feeble-mindedness, 179 rural, popular impressions of, 213 Morrill Act, 299 Mortality, given occupations, 165 Mosaic law, concerning land, 63 Museum, school, 285 National Agricultural Society, purposes of, 268 National Agricultural Organiza- tion Society, purposes of, 267 Nature, of business and social mind, 195 New Hampshire, rural feeble- mindedness in, 181 New Harmony Community, 338 New York, rural health measures in, 172 Nursing, public health and, in country, 174 Offices, county, held by farmers, 232 Ohio, constructive rural church program, 340 rural health measures in, 172 Rural Life Association in, 339 Rural Life Survey of, 339 rural mental health in, 181, 182 Organizations, existing, when not available for constructive work, 440 scope and functions must be studied, 434 secret, effects of, 274 village headquarters desirable for, 274 Owenite movement, 238 Ownership, centralization of, ten- dencies toward, 1Z 454 INDEX Owners' homes, compared with tenants', 88 Overchurching, 323 Overorganization, 439 Parcels post, eflfects of, on rural life, 58 Parish plan, of rural church, 327 Partisanship, political, decline in, 230 Patent medicines, use of, in coun- try, 168 Pennsylvania, rural health meas- ures in, 171 Physical environment, cause in diflferences in social wel- fare, 26 and density of population, 30 and wealth distribution, 31 Physician, public, needed, 404 Plant Industry, Bureau of. United States, 301 Plow, cast iron, when invented, 36 Policies, public, advocated by farmers, 233 Political representation, 230 control of, by farmers, 231 Population, and decrease in size of rural family, 135 density of, and social mind, 370 eastward shift of, 138 rural, numerical importance of, 8 decrease in, origin of, 134 source of, and social mind, 194 Population shift, ameliorating in- fluences of, 137, 150 attractiveness of urban occupa- tion and, 146 cause of, primarily economic, 144 to cities, 2 educational influences on, 148 effect of, on tjT)e of rural pop- ulation, 150 and financial support of social agencies, 149 between local communities, 141 and machinery, 39 rural housing and, 147 rural leadership and, 148 rural recreation and, 147 social influences of, 146 types of, 131 summary of tendencies of, 142 Prizes, fair, method of awarding, ! 349 Productive efficiency ideals in education, 278 Propertyless classes, outlook for, 423 Progress, social activity not synonymous with, 22 Public health officer, duties of, 409 Public physician, 404 Public relief, 417 Public Roads, Office of. United States, 302 Prostitution, in rural communi- ties, 222 Railway connections, and village growth, i73 Railway transportation, effect of, on rural life, 58 Railways, electric, effect of, on village growth, 372 Rainfall, and rural welfare, 29 Real estate owners, desire for vil- lage growth of, 381 Recreation, organized, social value of, 283 Red Cross, rural health work of, 174 Religious beliefs, and efficiency, 332 Religious education, week day, 342 INDEX 455 Retired farmers, 424 Road improvement, as aid to re- ligious life, 55 causes for recent advance in, 47 effect of, on land values, 49 on type of agriculture, 50 increasing social life, 51 lessening distinctions between village and open country, 52 making better schools possible, 53 reasons for delay in, 46 widening market area, 51 Roads, poor, loss from, 49 Rochdale store, origin of, 239 Roman villages, 363 Romans, land problems of, 64 "Rotten Boroughs,'' American, 231 Rural exodus, and social mind, 197 Rural free delivery, effect of, on rural life, 57 and village growth, 375 Rural housing, conditions in Eng- land of, 85 and population shift, 147 Rural life, some deteriorating in- fluences of, 9 effect of automobile on, 54 effect of parcel post on, 58 effect of railway transportation on, 58 effect of rural free delivery on, 57 effect of telephone on, 57 in United States better than in foreign countries, 22 United States, varied, 23 Rural literature of, character of, 4 Rural organizations, proportion of farmers belonging to, 271 Rural problem, definition of, 10 past and present, 4 Rural reading, effect of tenancy on, 93 Rural schools, and population shift, 147 Rural society, absolute homo- geneity of not necessary, 13 characteristics of ideal, 11 homogeneity, in essential insti- tutions desirable, 13 in relation to property desir- able, 12 in race desirable, 11 Rural sociology, definition of, 15 relation of, to agricultural economics, 16 to agricultural science, 16 to farm management, 16 Rural wealth, should be compar- able to urban, 13 Salaries, compared with farm in- comes, 115 School buildings, artistic, needed, 285 Schools, and adult education, 284 and art appreciation, 284 and community loyalty, 283 consolidated, cost of, 293 social activities in, 294 educational ideals controlling, 277 improvement in, made possible by good roads, 53 and local history, 285 one-room, not suitable, 293 and public health, 288 separation of, from political or- ganization needed, 294 as social centers, advantages of, 291 disadvantages of, 292 training for cooperation in, 282 456 INDEX village, and rural community, 289 village location of, versus open country, 294 Sectarianism, 320, 323 Segregation of defectives, 406 Selfishness, 441 Smith-Lever Act, 302 Social aggregation, desirable char- acteristics of, 123 Social center, school as, 291 Social and economic functions, separate organizations for, 272 Social engineer, qualities needed for, 435, 437 Social functions and rural institu- tions, 281 Social life, improved by good roads, 51 Social mind, characteristics of, 197 conditions determining, 193 factors of change in, 203 rural, influence on urban, 207 urban influence on, 203 and urban, permanent differ- ences in, 209 types of, 192 Social organizations, exclusive, effects of, 258 national, 256, 271 tendency of, to crystallize, 257 types, 255 Social progress, education and, 281 Social relationships of men and women compared, 393 Social status of farmer, effect of introduction of machinery on, 38 Social tendencies, progressive and destructive, 9 Socialism and tenantry, 97 Socialization, village, problems of, 389 Sociology, importance of, to com- munity leaders, 5, 6 rural, a part of general, 17 Soil, and rural welfare, 28 Soil fertility and tenancy, 83 Soils, Bureau of. United States, 301 Solon, laws of, concerning land, 64 Stability, rural, conditions of 133 Standards of living, rising, 206 State colleges, of agriculture and adult education, 305 States Relations Service, United States, 307 Street railway companies, demand for rural help of, 422 Structure, social, 20 Success, chances for, in city, 422 Survey, essential to constructive leadership, 433 Tact, needed by social leader, 435 Teachers' incomes, 116 Telephone, effect of, on rural life, 57 Tenancy and church attendance, and church membership, 94 economic effects of, 91 and education, 94 farm practices and, 82 lessening community interest, 91 social effects of, 98 and socialism, 97 and soil fertility, 83 tendencies in, 78 type of farming of, 82 and rural reading, 93 Tenant houses. United States Government plans of, 85 INDEX 457 compared with owners' houses, 88 Tenants, age of, rising, 80 organization of, 98 "Threshers' rings," 256 Timber land, tendencies in own- ership of, 74 Transportation, wagon, costs on different kinds of roads of, 48 Uncertainties of agriculture and social mind, 195 Under-organization, 431 United States, cooperation in, 241 public health service in, 169 Urban leadership, changes in source of, 419 Vagrancy, control of, 415 Vanwert County, Ohio, rural li- brary of, 287 Venereal disease, extent of, in country, 217 prevalence of, as to type, 218 in villages, 219 Vice, a factor in elimination of subnormals, 406 urban, sources of, 213 Village, advantages of living in, 381 and country, relations of im- proved by good roads, 52 decline, local reasons for, Till divorce in, 225 effect of city on, 408 government of, not efficient, 413 Indian, 362 milk supply, 403 modern, contrasted with an- cient, 365 relation of, to state, 367 natural center of rural life, 355 primitive, relation of, to tribe, 361 Roman, 363 and rural community, relation of, 385 sanitation standards in, 400 social problems of, to be inves- tigated, 391 Village growth, 358 causes of, 373 demand for, economic, 380 persons interested in, 380 summary of conditions of, 377 Village ideals, needing develop- ment, 411 improvement of, forces tending toward, 405 Village life, attitude of retired farmers toward, 428 instinctive basis for, 368 true aims of, 383 Virginia, rural health measures, 170 Vote, shift in rural, 235 Voting rural and urban com- pared, 234 Wages, urban, compared with farm incomes, 114, 120 Washington, rural health meas- ures in, 172 Water power sites, tendencies in ownership of, 17 Water supply, village, 403 Wealth, rural, compared with ur- ban, 104 Weather Bureau, United States, 300 Women, change in work of, 37 reaction of, to public opinion, 397 Women's clubs, sociology of, 395 (") wm m iiiiiiiiiiiiitiftiii 11