THE RURAL PROBLEM 55 



losers. How can we adjust these big interests of these 

 big industries so that all shall have the square deal? 



Agrarian Legislation. The farmer has an interest 

 in taxation, in the tariff, in currency legislation. It is 

 believed that legislators have a tendency to ignore this 

 interest, but it cannot safely be ignored. If it results in 

 too great injustice, then we have a radical movement 

 which smashes its way through, perhaps to undesirable 

 ends for all concerned. What we need, then, is an at- 

 tempt to adjust, in all legislative matters, the fair inter- 

 ests of farmers to the fair interests of other people. 



The Farmer in Politics. How can the farmers 

 make themselves felt in our political life? As a party, 

 shall they have representation in legislative business, 

 somewhat equivalent to their numerical strength? 

 Neither of these things seems very practicable, perhaps 

 not even desirable. On the other hand, are the farm- 

 ers to be left out of account and have nothing to say? 

 Are they to have no unified opinion or desire that finds 

 expression through the political party or the govern- 

 ment? How can we find the balance between political 

 neglect of the farmers and political revolution among 

 the farmers? 



The Farmers and Organized Labor. Have these 

 groups interests in common or are they absolutely an- 

 tagonistic? If in common, where do these interests 

 lie? If antagonistic, how may antagonism be allayed? 



Rural and Urban Aspects of Civilization. There 

 are people who think that the city stands for civiliza- 

 tion, that leadership, wealth, organization, power, will 

 reside in the city and take the helm of society's progress. 

 But have the farmers nothing to contribute? Are not 

 their methods of living and of thinking worth some- 



