92 ECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE FARMER 



moned, particularly in the night, is slow to arrive, or may not come 

 at all. Indeed many country homes do not use the services of a 

 doctor at all, but depend in part on neighbors (particularly in 

 obstetric cases) and partly on the liberal use of " patent medicines." 

 True, these patent "pain killers/' rheumatism "cures," cancer 

 "cures," rupture "cures," blood "purifiers" are so adroitly adver- 

 tised in most rural papers (and in some "respectable" (?) periodi- 

 cals) that the readers are converted to the belief that their symp- 

 toms, under their own diagnosis, show them to have these dire 

 diseases. Hence not only is money wasted for useless nostrums, 

 but physical and mental harm is done by consuming various 

 chemical mixtures for imaginary diseases. The city man is near 

 a doctor, and usually near one or more good doctors. Likewise, 

 in cities of any size, hospital facilities are available, and trained 

 nurses. It is only natural, therefore, that the city born and bred 

 youth to-day is more fit physically, than the country born and 

 bred youth. 



Other Attractions. Given enough income, the farmer can have 

 a "modern" house with most of the city conveniences. But this 

 means an income considerably in excess of that now received by 

 the average farmer. Other attractions of the city, however, he 

 can have only by going to the city, just as the city man can enjoy 

 certain pleasures of life only by going to the country. 



Conclusions. Considering the risks involved and the amount 

 of labor and capital expended, the farmer's economic income 

 is too low. Economic income, it is necessary to emphasize, is 

 used here in a strict sense. What other income has the farm 

 family? The sociological economists have worked out a trinity of 

 happiness which comprises these three factors: Health, home, 

 security of income. Health is considered the chief requisite to 

 the human being's happiness. Without this he would be unhappy 

 under any conditions. The home is considered essential to a fully 

 developed human personality. Security of income but not a big 

 income is considered essential to a certain degree of peace of mind 

 which contributes to his happiness. To these three factors we 

 must add a fourth, namely, hope. The individual must see an 

 opportunity for himself or at any rate for his offspring to rise to a 

 higher level than that which he at the moment occupies (Fig. 12). 

 This ambition need not be economic but may be social, educational, 

 political or of any other kind which will bring some recognition to 

 the individual. Does the farm promise to satisfy these four funda- 

 mental needs as completely as the city promises to satisfy them? 



