COMING TO HIS OWN? 17 



unorganized character of agriculture. " Farmers' or- 

 ganizations " there are, of considerable recognized 

 power. Associated efforts there are by the thousand 

 for various purposes. We have a huge and on the 

 whole an effective scheme of publicly supported agri- 

 cultural education. We have an alert agricultural 

 press. But there is no national figure nor central group 

 of men to voice authoritatively any message to or from 

 the farmers. There is no one of the farmers to speak 

 for the farmers. American agriculture, unlike other 

 prime industries, is not organized. It is a great un- 

 wieldy, complex mass of individuals and relatively small 

 groups, without effective unity of thought to direct or 

 tongue to express. 



6. In the current discussions about the problem of 

 " reconstruction," slight attention is being given to agri- 

 culture. An examination of many recent books about 

 " democracy," " the new social order," " industrial 

 democracy," " the new epoch " reveals an almost utter 

 failure to sense the significance of the farmer's place in 

 democracy in social and industrial re-formation. Agri- 

 culture is still the largest single industry in America 

 however measured. It employs directly more men than 

 any other industry. Do we desire social justice for 

 our people? Nearly half of them live under rural con- 

 ditions. Do we wish to reorganize our educational 

 system in the interests of a " safer " democracy? Con- 

 siderably more than a third of the children of the land 

 are to be found in the " little red schoolhouse." Are 

 we anxious lest the New Day will fail to give us a firmer 

 grip on the spiritual and ideal aspects of our work and 

 life? Probably forty million souls are either touched 

 or untouched in the matter of religious values and mo- 

 tives by the country church. The declaration of the 



