THE SOCIAL SIDE OF FARM LIFE 381 



part, both with forces within himself, which he often fails to un- 

 derstand and control, and with the forces of the outside world 

 which limit his actions in striving for success. He encounters 

 subtle resistance at every step on his way, yet he is able to rise 

 from the position of hired laborer to that of tenant farmer, from 

 the position of tenant farmer owning the equipments to that 

 of owner of the land and possessor of the profit, from isolated 

 farmer to member of an organized economic group. 



Is there equal hope for the development of the social side 

 of the farmer's life? Is there opportunity for growth in the 

 cultural, educational, religious, and aesthetic aspects of the life 

 of the farmer and his family, commensurate with its economic 

 progress ? It is the aim of this chapter to set forth the elements 

 of the social side of farm life, so as to disclose the basis of rural 

 hope. 



The Country Life Commission. In 1908 Theodore Roosevelt, 

 then President of the United States, appointed a commission on 

 country life, for the purpose of gaining such information and 

 advice as would enable him to make recommendations to 

 Congress in the interest of better country living conditions. 



President Roosevelt's letter appointing the commission affords 

 a good introduction to the study of the social side of our farm 

 life, as in fact it may be considered the beginning of the country 

 life movement in America. The following sentiments from 

 the letter form a significant admission that the social side of 

 farm life, as a national problem, has lain outside the line of sight 

 of farmer, on the one hand, and statesman, on the other : 



" The social and economic institutions of the open country 

 are not keeping pace with the development of the nation as a 

 whole. . . . The farmer must first of all grow good crops in order 

 to support himself and his family. But when this has been 

 secured, the effort for better farming should cease to stand 

 alone and should be accompanied by the effort for better business 

 and better living on the farm. . . . Agriculture is not the whole 

 of country life. The great rural interests are human interests, 

 and good crops are of little value to the farmer unless they open 

 the door to a good kind of life on the farm. . . . How can the life 



