RESULTS OF AGRARIANISM 261 



tent leadership. The farmer has not been able to 

 define his enthusiasm in understandable terms. He 

 has been fully aware of his difficulties and problems 

 as a producer, but he has not been able to state 

 clearly the remedies that were required to relieve 

 his situation. This explains his slow progress. But 

 the results of his efforts in recent years are con- 

 clusive proof that he is beginning to think through 

 his problems and uniting his efforts for the accom- 

 plishment of definite results. 



Another question arises with reference to the 

 future of agrarian activities. Will the influence of 

 the farmer increase or decrease in future years? The 

 farm population is relatively on the decline. There 

 seems to be justification for the belief that the 

 quality of the farm population, taking the nation 

 as a whole, is declining also. This would seem to 

 indicate that the farmer's capacity for organization 

 would become less and, correspondingly, his influ- 

 ence on public affairs would decrease. 



The hopeful side of this question grows out of 

 the fact that farming is becoming a many-sided 

 industry. The business aspect of farming has 

 extended greatly the influence of agriculture. Agri- 

 cultural influence today cannot be accurately meas- 

 ured by the number of farm producers. The 

 thousands of business men who are engaged in mar- 

 keting, transporting, and manufacturing farm prod- 

 ucts are vitally interested in the prosperity of the 



