THE RURAL PROBLEM 41 



payments; or for large groups to do the same thing, 

 either as private corporations for gain or cooperative 

 land societies. 



3. Land Rental. Rental under right conditions may 

 secure very effective use of the land. Tenant farming 

 does not tend as a rule toward building up permanent 

 farm community interests. Very short leases are disas- 

 trous both to farming and to country life. Permanent 

 tenure can be made satisfactory only when the tenant 

 is given a share in permanent improvements. 



4. The Control of Capital. Need for capital in 

 farming is rapidly increasing because of increased cost 

 of land, need of land improvements by drainage, etc., 

 larger need for machinery and other equipment, higher 

 cost of labor. The farmer needs both long term 

 credit and short term credit, the one for land purchase 

 and permanent improvements, and the other in order 

 to take advantage of better terms in securing his sup- 

 ply of seeds, fertilizer, feeds. Mercantile or store 

 credit is very costly in interest and should be abolished. 

 One difficulty in securing credit for farmers is that the 

 American farmer is as a rule unwilling to become a 

 party to a plan whereby the farmers of a community 

 collectively become responsible for the debts of the in- 

 dividuals of the community. Farmers have collectively 

 enormous assets which ought to be made available for 

 each worthy member of the partnership. 



5. Control of the Labor Supply. The farmer has 

 to compete now-a-days with industry for his labor, in 

 the matter of wages, housing, hours. One of the big- 

 gest problems of the future lies in answering such ques- 

 tions as how to keep labor employed throughout the 

 year; how to educate the laborer so that he becomes a 

 skilled farmer; whether women in America will do 



