Digging to the Roots of a Dying Tree 29 



1 00,000 and over than in all rural America, though the 

 big cities had only 22.1 per cent of the nation's total 

 population, against 53.7 per cent for the country dis- 

 tricts. 



Even in the absence of such a searching national 

 survey and analysis as might be desired, it is perfectly 

 safe to conclude that the cityward trend is not unfortu- 

 nate for society from the standpoint of mental develop- 

 ment. 



When it comes to studying the relative spiritual de- 

 velopment in town and country the wise man walks 

 carefully. It is not a matter to be hastily determined 

 by the weight of the visible evidence, since the things 

 of the spirit are invisible. The highest spiritual ex- 

 pression of which the world has ever heard came from 

 the quiet places in Palestine. And we have the assur- 

 ance that we shall lose God neither in the desert nor in 

 the crowded thoroughfares of the great city. 



"Whither shall I go from Thy spirit, or whither shall I flee 

 from Thy presence? 



"If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost 

 parts of the sea, 



"Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall 

 hold me." 



But if the measure of spiritual development is or- 

 ganized religion there is no question about the superior- 

 ity of urban life. There is hardly anything more 

 pathetic than the state of the country church, viewing 

 the subject as a whole. This fact is nowhere more keen- 

 ly realized than in the councils of the great religious 

 denominations. They have made repeated surveys in 

 selected localities, all pointing the same way. One 

 such survey covering three counties in northeast Mis- 



