Incidentally, the trolleys and the railroad afford the opportunities for 

 many chance meetings, especially on Saturdays, when the county goes to 

 the city. The negroes, of course, have their own special centres of 

 meeting — churches, stores, lodge halls and, for the young men, often 

 certain open places in woods, where they gather for "pitch " and "craps." 



Community Leadership and Social Control 



If we take the word of the people themselves, we shall have to assert 

 that we are here dealing with a county that to all intents and purposes is 

 without leaders. There seems to be an idea abroad through these farm- 

 ing communities that to have leaders is undemocratic and savors of 

 servility. The question, "Who are your leaders?" could not be put 

 adroitly enough to the average farmer to elicit any answer that was not 

 in substance this: "We have no leaders; we all think for ourselves and 

 reach our decisions independently." Indeed, one might be led to think 

 that instead of leaders these communities were equipped with profes- 

 sional "leader killers." This condition, if actually existent, would be 

 lamentable enough, and, unfortunately to by far too considerable an 

 extent it is the case. A community, and particularly a farming com- 

 munity, without leaders, whether recognized as such or not, is afflicted 

 with a species of social disability amounting almost to impotence. 

 Definite, intelligent, \agorous leadership is always a prime necessity if 

 substantial progress is to be made. Whether the thing to be aimed at is 

 better roads, better schools or churches, better methods of farming, 

 better social conditions, more efficient cooperation or what not, leader- 

 ship is essential or nothing will be accomplished. Now, as a matter of 

 observation, there never was a community quite without leadership, and 

 neither is Montgomery County without it. The question is in part as 

 to the efficiency and desirability of the particular leadership found. In 

 general, it may be said that the chief weakness of the county from this 

 point of view is the lack of efficient leadership among the farmers them- 

 selves. In a number of districts the evident leaders are politicians; 

 among certain groups ministers are influential. The results would, how- 

 ever, be better if their places were taken by successful, well-equipped 

 farmers. In some sections, to be sure, farmers of this type are influential 

 and in quiet, unostentatious fashion are doing much to promote the 

 general welfare. 



Social control is not altogether a matter of direct leadership. Institu- 

 tions and organizations and the operation of social forces of \'arious sorts 

 are frequently of more importance, and it is so in this case. One of these 

 controlling forces, probably for the county at large the most potent, is 

 politics. The county is known as a Democratic county, but the voting 

 strength is quite evenly divided, and political lines are quite sharply 



36 



