No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 6»1 



onstrating that a unified system of education can be built up for 

 country people, and for the professional or technical classes needed 

 in building up the rural industries. To develop country-life educa- 

 tion as instruction for our city people is developed, two important 

 changes are necessary. First, there is needed in every rural Con- 

 gressiontil district an agricultural high school with capacity to ac- 

 commodate several hundred students, and second, rural schools 

 should be consolidated. In these two points unanimity of opinion 

 is being slowly but surely reached by those who have paid most at- 

 tention to this subject; and the next large public expenditure for 

 education made by the American people should be for the con- 

 solidation of our rural schools, the development of agricultural high 

 schools, and the development of industrial work in country-life and 

 in our city-life schools. 



It is easy to believe that if a way appeared whereby the necessary 

 funds could be provided, all Avould agree to these important develop- 

 mental changes. Our farmers say that they cannot afford the ex- 

 pense of discarding the little rural schools and erecting fine central 

 school houses and assume the additional annual expense of hauling 

 their children to and from the consolidated school. Our states even 

 in these prosperous times feel conservative in appropriating the 

 money to .equip each of several agricultural high school and the 

 money necessary for the current expense fund of each such school. 

 Our cities and towns during the period when their development ex- 

 penditures for streets, sewers, waterworks, and general school 

 buildings are large do not feel that they can add to their budgets 

 large items to equip and maintain instruction in mechanic arts and 

 home economics. The States and cities argue that even if free in- 

 industrial education would pay the community, its cost is more than 

 their present financial ability will warrant. 



Investigations to discover how best to finance movements to im- 

 prove the conditions of our farmers, our city workers, and our home- 

 makers have led to the discovery of a fact worthy of the most se- 

 rious consideration. In its early days the country being small and 

 jeopardized by external foes, the General Grovernment received the 

 right to levy indirect taxes as on imports on the other hand raise 

 their revenues by more direct taxation as on personal property on 

 the incomes of corporations and of individuals and on inheritances. 



It so happens that since the General Government and the State 

 were allowed these sources of income, vast economic changes have 

 taken place placing the Federal Government greatly at an advan- 

 tage as compared with all the States combined in securing taxes. 

 With the enormous development of manufactured products and the 

 increased power of the people to purchase them, and with the greatly 

 cheapened transportation resulting from the circulation of vastly 

 greater quantities of commodities, the revenues obtained by the Fed- 

 eral Government have enormously increased. The States on the 

 other hand find it impracticable to secure such large amounts of pub- 

 lic revenue from the more direct forms of taxation. This is clearly 

 illustrated by the fact that the Federal Government thus secures 

 in taxes revenues amounting annually to |800,000,000. This is -IIO 

 per capita, or nearly foO per family. The States on the other hand 

 annually bring into their State treasuries only |2 to |2.50 per capita, 



