748 THE RURAL COMMUNITY 



the last half-century there was a gain of 500 per cent in the value of 

 farm property, while the non-urban population increased 250 per cent. 

 Agriculture has been one of the chief elements of America's industrial 

 greatness; it is still our dominant economic interest, and it will long 

 remain at least a leading industry. The people of the farm have 

 furnished a_ sturdy citizenship and have been the primary source of 

 much of our best leadership in political, business, and professional 

 life. For an indefinite future a large proportion of the American 

 people will continue to live in a rural environment. 



In a thorough discussion of the " social problems of American 

 farmers " it would be desirable first of all to analyze with some detail 

 the general question which we have called the farm problem. Only 

 thus can we understand the social difficulties of the rural community, 

 the significance of the social agencies designed to meet those diffi- 

 culties, and the real ambitions and needs of the farming class. But 

 time will permit merely a concise, and necessarily a somewhat 

 dogmatic, statement of what the writer believes to be the ultimate 

 farm problem in America. We may perhaps most quickly arrive at 

 the conclusion by the process of elimination. 



Current agricultural discussion would lead us to think that the 

 farm problem is largely one of technique. The possibilities of the 

 agricultural industry, in the light of applied science, emphasize the 

 need of the farmer for more complete knowledge of soil and plant and 

 animal, and for increased proficiency in utilizing this knowledge to 

 secure greater production at less cost. This is a fundamental need. It 

 lies at the basis of success in farming. But it is not the farm problem. 



Business skill must be added, business methods enforced. The 

 farmer must be not only a more skillful produce-grower, but also 

 a keener produce-seller. But the moment we enter the realm of 

 the market we step outside the individualistic aspect of the problem 

 as embodied in the current doctrine of technical agricultural teaching, 

 and are forced to consider the social aspect as emphasized, first of 

 all, in the economic category of price. Here we find many factors 

 transportation cost, general market conditions at home and abroad, 

 the status of other industries, and even legislative activities. The 

 farm problem becomes an industrial question, not merely one of 

 technical and business skill. Moreover, the problem is one of a 

 successful industry as a whole, not merely the personal successes of 

 even a respectable number of individual farmers. The farming 

 class must progress as a unit. 



But have we yet reached the heart of the question? Is the farm 

 problem one of technique, plus business skill, plus these broad eco- 

 nomic considerations? Is it not perfectly possible that agriculture 

 as an industry may remain in a fairly satisfactory condition, and yet 

 the farming class fail to maintain its status in the general social 



