28 THE FARMER AND THE NEW DAY 



supply have been the rough measures by which reward 

 was finally determined. That this process will con- 

 tinue there is little doubt, but it will take on at least 

 one new aspect. The quest for efficiency will not be 

 left to the individual alone, but efficiency will be re- 

 garded as a social duty, a thing in which society as a 

 whole is profoundly interested. How to make each 

 man as efficient as he can be made, is going to be the 

 great business of society. All the elements of effi- 

 ciency health, skill, intelligence, ambition, and incen- 

 tive of reward will be recognized. Furthermore, 

 it will be found that efficiency must be defined. It is 

 possible to have cheap goods made by cheap men. But 

 men are of more consequence than materials. So with 

 the farmer. He must make himself as efficient as pos- 

 sible. The best possible instrumentalities of educa- 

 tion must be placed at his disposal by a society that is 

 vitally interested in his efficiency. But society will in- 

 sist also that the whole scheme of things shall be such 

 that each farmer may have a decent living. If the 

 farmers as a class cannot have a reasonable profit, they 

 cannot farm; and if they do not farm, society will not 

 obtain the food it needs. We are not discussing just 

 here the methods or amounts of rewards; we are sim- 

 ply trying to make clear that the permanent service of 

 the farmer to society cannot be fulfilled unless he can 

 be assured a reasonable income for his effort. He has 

 a right to assert his right to a fair reward. 



3. That the farmers, like other groups, must or- 

 ganize in order to meet world situations, but organize 

 in such a way that the farmer as an individual retains 

 his freedom. A plan for building up the business of 

 agriculture must be developed. An agricultural policy 

 and a definite program of operations must be evolved. 



