362 PRINCIPLES OF RURAL ECONOMICS 



or to produce the finest cattle or horses or hogs in the world, 

 any really useful purpose, in fact, if it will unite the people and 

 call out a common and universal enthusiasm, will do more to 

 dignify the social life of the village or township than all the pur- 

 poseless social entertainments that could be invented. A social 

 life is not created by merely saying, Go to, now, let us be sociable. 

 It is created by having a common purpose, worthy enough to 

 commend itself to all right-minded people, and large enough 

 to demand their attention, their time, and their hard work. The 

 young men and women in particular, of our race, have never 

 yet failed to respond to a call to hard work and self-sacrifice, 

 when the work and the sacrifice were for an object of common 

 good which they really thought worth achieving. 



Next to a common interest and enthusiasm, the most important 

 factors in the creation of a wholesome and agreeable social life in 

 the country are opportunities for meeting and ease of communi- 

 cation. Aside from all the purely religious services rendered by 

 the church, the mere fact that it brings people together in the 

 room once a week is of immeasurable value. The most civiliz- 

 ing influence in the world is contact of man with man. Men 

 cannot habitually meet together and look into one another's 

 eyes without developing some kind of a sense of unity ; nor can 

 they live entirely separate and apart from one another without 

 becoming suspicious, morose, and unsympathetic. The school, 

 likewise, in addition to its purely educational functions, renders 

 a service by the mere fact that it brings the juvenile population 

 together day after day. 



In addition to these regular occasions for meeting, there are 

 the extraordinary occasions, such as national holidays and special 

 rural festivities. Unfortunately we have, in this country, failed 

 to live up to our opportunities in the way of rural sports and 

 festivities. In earlier days the corn huskings, barn raisings, 

 quiltings, and a multitude of other occasions of the same general 



