i8 The State and the Farmer 



following letter; this letter I publish because 

 it is an expression of the way in which some 

 of these questions appeal to an experienced 

 person on the spot; how widely it applies I 

 do not know. 



"The neglected farms of L should 



not be charged against either indolence or 

 agriculture, because the main business of the 

 township, extending over a period of twenty 

 years or more, has been a religious war. There 

 are three churches in the Town Center, repre- 

 senting as many denominations. Sometimes 

 one has flourished, sometimes another, but 

 sentiment respecting all of them is ever active. 

 I have known crops to be neglected, work 

 delayed, families divided, while the combatants 

 awaited the outcome of some petty squabble 

 over church affairs. One not familiar with 

 conditions can hardly imagine the littleness of 

 the superannuated gospel -splitters who are 

 often sent to such outlying parishes. The war 

 has been a continuous one for years. One pas- 

 tor after another departed, in dudgeon, to have 

 the combat renewed by the next one. This is 



