144 THE THIRD POWER 



tural class, and indeed to all other classes. There 

 will be such an incentive to work and sacrifice as the 

 American farmer has never known. The very sense 

 of unity will be a great stimulus. Other men have 

 found it so. They all have their organizations — 

 manufacturers, working men, lawyers and physi- 

 cians, etc., and these minister to their pride in their 

 calling, and help to make that calling honorable and 

 profitable. The farmers should learn from the ex- 

 perience of other workers unity, combination, coop- 

 eration, mutual helpfulness, each for all and all for 

 each, instead of the fierce guerrilla warfare of com- 

 petition — these are along the lines of present-day 

 tendencies, and are the products of what we may 

 truthfully call natural forces. 



And it all strengthens the influences which make 

 for self-help. There are many things that the farm- 

 ers can do in combination that they never can do 

 under the present individualistic system. It would 

 be difficult to show, for instance, why farmers should 

 not carry their own insurance. It has been abund- 

 antly demonstrated that fire risks on farm properties 

 exclusively can be written at only a small fraction 

 of what the old companies now charge. The haz- 

 ard is slight, and of course it would be slighter still 

 if each farmer were interested as a stockholder in 

 the company which would have to pay for losses. 

 Already there are farmers' insurance companies op- 

 erating in various parts of the country, to the great 

 satisfaction of their members. But whether it be 



