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own observation. These conditions in tlieiuselves present a very serious prob- 

 lem. Indeed, tbey are a series of problems, some of which seem inevitable and 

 perhaps Incapable of satisfactory solution. Among the:-e I mention : 



(1) The tendency away from the farm, which is so manifest as to l)e the 

 cause of great anxiety in many communities. There can lie no doubt that our cities 

 have had a large accession of the best material in the rural districts. These 

 persons, with a certain moral superiDi'ity and excellence of natural endowment, 

 and with manifest inferiority in education, have forced their way to the front 

 in the cities and have become the living examples of the splendid quality of 

 liody and mind and heart produced on the farm. This efficiency is to be 

 accounted for in part on the theory of personal taste. Not every jierson l»orn 

 on the farm is adapted to farming imrsuits. People are disposed to follow their 

 likes and avoid their dislikes. The ambitions of men oftentimes reveal their 

 cherished Ideals. This, however, does not completely account for the marked 

 tendency awa.\- from the farm. We nuist recognize the prejudice there is against 

 Ihe drudgery associated with much of rural life. We must also recognize the 

 fact that the American people regard the rural accunudations as inadequate 

 and oftentimes as too slow. We recogniza also that the rural population has 

 not cultivated a just appreciation of its own importance and of its own dignity. 

 The proverb has it that "every man wants to live in the next county." This 

 restless discontent and unwillingness to solve the problems of life in spite of our 

 surroundings is an evil that grows by what it feeds upon. Something is to be 

 said also concerning the failure to give young men and young women proper 

 opportunities for personal advancement. The young business man feels that he 

 can win when he has opportunity. The business world recognizes that no loss is 

 sustained by giving such young men opportunity. I do not undertake to discuss 

 the reasons in the case, but I thiniv we shall agree that the facts warrant the 

 statement that many a farmer's boy lacks the opportunity for individual initia- 

 tive so essential for independent positions. The prospect of dependent subor- 

 dination being continued too long naturally arouses a young man's ambition for 

 a jtosition where he can do for himself. He desires to be his own man and to 

 conduct his own business. There can be no just criticism upon that kind of 

 ambition. It is essential to the per]ietuity of a free people. These several 

 items named above operate to help the young man in his decision toward the 

 business world and away from the productive world. The agricultural college 

 has been unjustly charged with educating young men away from the farm. We 

 may as well recognize, however, that in spite of the agricultural colleges this 

 tendency continues. It is no small part of our work to cultivate such a senti- 

 ment as will retard this tendency. We should not fail, however, to recognize 

 that under absolutely perfect conditions a large number of rural people should 

 lind their way to the city. We can not make lawyers out of all sons of lawyers. 

 Just now the ministry is decreasing in numbers, but we can not look to the 

 manse as the only base of supply. Farmers should not expect all their children 

 to follow the plow or be queens in the kingdom of domestic economy. Such an 

 ideal, if realized, would encourage the class system and open the way for a large 

 amount of inefficiency while closing the door to many and making impossible 

 some of our greatest achievements. There should be a free movement toward 

 the city and an equally free movement toward the farm. In other words, farm 

 life nuist not be the last resort; it must not be the refuge of necessity; it 

 should be the life of choice, and I may say of enthusiastic choice. It is evident 

 that it has not always been such a choice, but in many instances men have 

 dignified themselves and the farm by deliberately choosing to lead an inde- 

 jiendent life rather than to rush into the miserable artificialities of much of our 

 city life. It is to the population capable of such a choice that we must look for 

 the elements that will check the too strong current away from the farm. 



(2) This tendency is increased, in my judgment, by the fact that fewer men 

 are needed in agricultural pursuits. Ihe improvement of machinery has done 

 something to intensify farming at certain periods of the year and rendered it 

 unnecessary to keep a large force of men constantly available. The law of 

 supply ^nd demand would therefore cooperate to reduce the rural population. 

 On the other hand, the multiplication of machinery in civilization has increased 

 the demands for men through the opening uj) of so many new methods of 

 business. The modern methods of transportation have reduced the hours of 

 laiior. and the specialization of labfH' has combined to give the lalwring popula- 

 tion a larger share in the earnings of society and a wider distribution of these 

 earnings. We must recognize also that the improvement of farm machinery 

 has greatly increased the investments necessary for successful farming. Not 



