64 



town and city, o\^ the Jjusiness and prolessional man 

 as well, is ultimately conditioned upon, and largely 

 measured by, the i)receding prosperity of the farmer. 



10. Make Farm Life Satisfying. — It is not enough, 

 however, for us to look merely at the size or variety 

 of farm crops or even at the amount of profit that the 

 farmer may obtain from his year's work. We cannot 

 fail to realize that this alone will never solve what 

 we consider today as many of our most important 

 rural problems. There must also be the enlarging 

 of the' life of those living on the farms. This means the 

 improvement of the means of communication by better 

 roads, rural mail deliveries, telephones, etc. There must 

 be the improvement of the rural school facilities so that 

 the children of the farmer may have within their 

 reach practically as good common school training as 

 is open to the young people of the town. Poor country 

 schools have been the cause of more of our best, most 

 intelligent and most successful farmers leaving the 

 farms and moving into town than all other unsatisfac- 

 tory country conditions combined. We cannot expect 

 this loss to the country to be stopped until the country 

 school is greatly improved. The country church is 

 another important factor that cannot be overlooked. 

 A high moral atmosphere is one of the most valuable 

 assets of any conmumity and certainly no less so in 

 the country than it is in the town. There must be a 

 higher development of its social life in the country 

 connn unity. And finally, but by no means least, the 

 increased prosperity of the farmer must find expres- 

 sion also in the imi)rovcment of the farm home. Bet- 

 houses, neatly kept and painted, with more convenien- 

 ces and comforts in them, for the housewife 

 especially. but for every meml)er of the house- 

 hold as well, will go far toward making the 

 farm life attractive and vsatisfactory. The health 

 of the family must be safeguarded especially 

 through the maintainance of simple and inexpensive 

 sanitary closets, thus helping to save on doctor's bills 

 and making the farm home a healthier and happier 

 place in which to live. 



Strange as it may seem to many, the coming 

 of the boll weevil is clearly and definitely 

 helping to bring about progress along every one of 

 these lines, and the campaign that is made against the 

 weevil is the agency Ihi'ough \\ hich many of these more 

 satisfactory changes for our country life shall be ac- 

 complished. 



