82 COMMISSION ON COUNTRY LIFE 



needs is such an application of the reciprocity 

 principle as to open European markets for our 

 flour, meats and live cattle. One of the great 

 economic problems of our agriculture is how to 

 feed the corn crop and other grains profitably, 

 for it must be fed if the fertility of the land is to 

 be maintained; to dispose of the crop profitably 

 requires the best markets that can be secured. 



2. HIGHWAYS. 



The demand for good highways is general 

 among the farmers of the entire United States. 

 Education and good roads are the two needs 

 most frequently mentioned in the hearings. 

 Highways that are usable at all times of the year 

 are now imperative, not only for the marketing 

 of produce, but for the elevation of the social 

 and intellectual status of the open country, and 

 the improvement of health by^ insuring better 

 medical and surgical attendance. 



The advantages are so well understood that 

 arguments for better roads are not necessary here. 

 Our respondents are now concerned largely with 

 the methods of organizing and financing the work. 

 With only unimportant exceptions, the farmers 



