THE FOOD CRISIS AND AMERICANISM 85 



ment, it would seem that no opportunity should be 

 missed to emphasize this danger, and to impress such 

 facts -upon the farmers of America, to the end that 

 they should not allow such a disastrous practice to be 

 repeated in our younger States. 



The most highly desirable class of farmers is fast 

 disappearing. Though in the foreign-born (Slavs, 

 Sicilians, Greeks, et a/.), who are taking their places, 

 there are great potentialities for good, great possibili- 

 ties for citizenship in the future, they will not, in a 

 generation, if un- Americanized, be qualified to pass 

 upon those intricate and momentous post-war ques- 

 tions which must be met. These immigrants are in- 

 clined to settle in colonies, each of its own nationality. 

 Unless there remain in each community at least a few 

 intelligent, forceful Americans, alien language, habits 

 and traditions will prevail, and it will require genera- 

 tions to assimilate and Americanize this foreign mass. 

 The forceful and intelligent American will not remain 

 on the farm under present economic conditions. He 

 can do better in other vocations. 



In passing, I would remark that a land boom was 

 the last boom the one just preceding every great 

 panic in the history of this country. 



The intelligent farmer is conscious of the fact that 

 if he had tilled, and used for his vegetable garden and 

 home, one acre, instead of trying to till 160 acres, and 

 had worked for others at 30 cents per hour, the labors 

 of himself and family would have been less arduous, 

 their cares infinitely less, and the net financial results 

 greater than are now his. 



Our country has dire need of the farmers' products 



