COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPORTATION 273 



of consideration. That the scheme is Utopian should not con- 

 demn it in advance. Its real test is, can it overcome the diffi- 

 culties just presented relative to farm villages in general ? 



In the case of the establishment of new agricultural communi- 

 ties, especially in irrigation districts where farms are small, the 

 cooperative proposal is most deserving of attention. Aside from 

 these relatively infrequent situations, the heavy investment in 

 separate farm plants and the remoteness of the majority of 

 farms from the central villages would appear to make the pro- 

 posal impracticable. 



In view of these considerations we may regard our present 

 system of distributed and separate farm homesteads as perma- 

 nent, and are forced to conclude that the mitigation of rural isola- 

 tion must come from other directions. In this connection it is 

 worthy of note that in agricultural Utah there is an observed 

 tendency toward independent farm homes. From the top of the 

 divide between Cache and Salt Lake valleys in Northern Utah 

 it is seen that in the former valley, which was settled very 

 early, there is an occasional homestead in the open country while 

 in the northern portion of the former, a region settled more re- 

 cently, separate farm homes appear to be the rule. 



Considerable may be expected from the improvement and ex- 

 tension of the rural communicating system, including under this 

 caption roads, rural delivery, automobiles, interurban trolleys, 

 telephones, and periodical literature. Each of these agencies is 

 making its contribution toward the establishment of a more ef- 

 fective rural solidarity and also toward bringing country and 

 urban districts into closer touch. 



Improved and extended roads are essential to the development 

 of the economic interests of agriculture and are the indispensable 

 foundation for all larger community organizations and activi- 

 ties. The larger organizations which the improved rural church, 

 the consolidated school, farmers' clubs, and recreational and 

 community centers are demanding can materialize only as the 

 highways are built to permit rapid and comfortable transit. 



The automobile and rural delivery are serviceable in creating 

 larger contacts and in stimulating the building of a better high- 

 way system. Where population density warrants the establish- 

 ment of rural free delivery of mail, rural routes are assigned by 



