58 



zation of fanners, and even the churcL. must be invoked before we can expect 

 tlie best ajL^ricultural advancement. And the end is after all a social one. The 

 maintenance of class status is that end. 



This analysis of the rural problem is necessarily brief, almost crude, but I 

 hojie that it reveals in some degree the scope and nature of the problem ; that 

 it indicates that the farm (piestion is not one merely of technicjue, fundamental 

 as technical slcill must be; that it demonstrates that the problem is also one of 

 profound economic, [lolitical. and social siicnificance. If this be so, do we need 

 to argue the proposition that the function of the agricultural college is to help 

 solve all phases of the problem? We all recognize the place of the college in 

 assisting our fai-niers to greater technical skill. By what \Aeai- shall we gain- 

 say the mission of the college in ministering to rural betterment at all points, 

 whether the conditions demand technical skill, business acumen, industrial 

 prosperity, political power, or general soci;il elevation? Why shall not the 

 agricultural college be all things to all farmers? 



Assuming that this statement of the permanent mission of the agricultural 

 college is an acceptable one, the practical in(iniry arises. Does the college, as 

 now organized, adeciuately fulfill its function, and, if not, by what means can 

 the defect be remedied? The colleges are doubtless serving the industrial 

 and social need to some degree. But I believe that it is not unjust to assert 

 that the existing courses of study in agriculture, the organization of the college, 

 and the methods of work are not adequate if the college is to secure and main- 

 tain this supreuje leadership all along the line of rural endeavor. This is not 

 criticism of existing methods. The colleges are doing good work. But the 

 present effort is partial, because the emphasis is placed upon the technical, and 

 especially upon the individual, phases of the problem. The industrial, the i)oli- 

 tical, and the social factors are not gi^'en due consideration. Our present-day 

 agricultural course, on the vocational side, is chiefly concerned with teaching 

 the future individual farmer how to apply the principles of science to the art 

 of farming, and in training specialists who shall make further discoveries either 

 in the realm of science or in tlie apidication of the scieutilic i)rinci|jle to the 

 art. The technical element absolutely donnnates the vocational portion of the 

 agricultural course. \evy slight attention is given to the discussion of other 

 phases of the farm problem. To meet the needs of the future the whole spirit 

 and method of the agricultural college must be "socialized" — to use an over- 

 worked pbr;ise for want cf a better one. We nmst get away from the idea that 

 the individual and the techiiical aspects <if agricultur.al research and teaching 

 are the sulticient solution of The farm ])roblem. 



When we ask, What are the means for "socializing" the agricultural college? 

 the expected answer may be. The study of rural social science, or " rural econ- 

 omy." But I am pleading not merely for the addition of a few sultjects to the 

 course of study, but for an educational iiolicy. The answer, therefore, will not 

 be quite so simple. What, then, are the methods by which the college may more 

 fully assume its function of helping to solve all phases of the farm problem? 



(1) The indispensable re(|uirement is that the college shall consciously 

 l)urpose to stand as sponsor for the whole rural problem. It is to assume a 

 place of leadership in the camiiaign for rural betterment. Whether or not it 

 is to be the commander in chief of the aruues of rural progress, it should be the 

 inspiration, the guide, the stimulator of all possible endeavors to im])rove farm 

 and farmer. This attitude of unnd is purely a matter of ideals, deliberately 

 formed in the light of the abiding needs of the farnnng class. It is the intan- 

 gible but i)ervasive influence of an object which is perfectly definite even if 

 avowedly spiritual. It is a question of atmosidiere. It is a matter of insight. 

 The college must have a vision of the rural i)roblem in its entirety and in its 

 relations. At the college we should find, if anywhere, the cai)acity to under- 

 stand the ultimate question in agriculture. We know that this ultimate ques 

 tion in agriculture can not be expressed alone by the terms nitrogen, or balanced 

 ration, or cost per bushel, but must be written also in terms of the huniaai 

 problem, the problem of the men and women of the farm. So we shall see the 

 college consciously endeavoring to make of itself a center where these men and 

 women of the farm shall find light and inspiration and guidance in all the 

 aspects of their struggle for a lietter livelihood and a broader life. The college 

 must avow its intention of becoming all things to all farmers. Whether this 

 means the study of fertility, of animal nutrition, of soil bacteriology, or 

 whether it means the consideration of markets, of land laws, of transportation, 

 of the country church, of pure government, the college will lead the way to the 

 truth. 



