ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP 71 



exercise real leadership in their communities. As a rule 

 they are elected and continued in their responsibility on 

 the basis of qualification and performance. There is little 

 formality used in choosing them as a rule and, therefore, 

 little is necessary in order to replace them. The value of 

 such leadership depends almost wholly upon the energy, 

 virility, understanding and enthusiasm of the individual 

 committeemen. 



THE QUALIFICATIONS OP LEADERSHIP 



L. H. Bailey has said that any leader chosen "should 

 be to the agricultural interests what the teacher is to edu- 

 cational interests and the pastor is to religious interests/' 

 He gives four qualifications which he considers essential 

 in good rural leadership.. 



The first of these is knowledge of a situation and clear 

 conception of problems. Such knowledge is usually gained 

 by close observation and study of the situation as it exists. 

 Good technical training particularly graduation from a 

 first-class agricultural college should contribute much to 

 one's ability to make clear analyses of problems. Personal 

 contact with residents of the locality, careful surveys to get 

 at the real facts, the study of local literature, if there is 

 any, and particularly an understanding of the farm prac- 

 tice and management experience and point of view of the 

 people who live there, are essential. A clear conception of 

 problems usually comes only with a careful observation, 

 analytical study and time, together with contact with those 

 who have it. "Knowledge is power. " 



Sympathy with a situation is no less important than 

 knowledge of it. Probably in almost ninety per cent of 

 the cases both are attained only by having been born and 

 reared, or at least by having lived long on a farm. Usually 



