FARMERS TO THE FRONT 155 



the case of his father, perhaps, and sees that he has 

 worked drudgingly all his life for the most con- 

 temptible reward. Long hours, severe and heart- 

 breaking toil, anxiety, pinching economy, self-denial 

 and sacrifice, and finally old age, with, it may be, 

 little to show for it all — what is there in the picture 

 that is alluring to the high-spirited young man ? The 

 young man loves his home, and if he loves it he re- 

 members it with affection, but still he knows that the 

 life was narrow, that the hardships were many, and 

 that the return was slight. Apparently there is noth- 

 ing more in the life for him than there was for his 

 father, and so he escapes to the city, where there is 

 at least a chance for him to win his spurs. People 

 may have theories and write learnedly on this sub- 

 ject, but there is no way of keeping the young man 

 on the farm if we allow things to remain as they are. 

 Our wise, good and honest men may deplore the 

 tendency toward the city, but they can not honestly 

 quarrel with the young man's choice. Nor can they 

 forbid him to make his choice. 



There is only one thing to be done, and that is to 

 make farm life more attractive, and equip it with 

 good possibilities. We can not exclude men from the 

 cities or chain them to the farms, but we can allure, 

 attract and keep them to the farms. And this is what 

 we propose to do through the American Society of 

 Equity. If the farmer's son could feel sure that he 

 would get good prices for his products, that he 

 would be able to control his own business, that he 



