PROGRAM OF RECONSTRUCTION 231 



THE NEED OF A NEW AGRICULTURAL POLICY 



The older policies in agricultural development must 

 give way to a much wider and far-reaching effort to 

 lessen these handicaps of the farmer. First of all we 

 must accurately know the handicaps under which the 

 farmer works, to what extent his difficulties are due to 

 causes within or beyond his personal control, and what 

 are due to inequities in his relations with other classes 

 of citizens. We need wider knowledge of rural re- 

 sources physical, economic, social and how best 

 to conserve them. It is vital to a full rural develop- 

 ment that the ends to be attained shall be clearly stated 

 and universally understood. To rely for progress 

 merely upon the individual initiative, intelligence, and 

 power of seven millions of farmers is to court disaster. 

 We must invoke collective effort. We must use recog- 

 nized social machinery, such as government and vol- 

 untary associations. These agencies must be efficient 

 for their purpose and loyal to rural interests. No one 

 agency can meet all the needs of rural development. 

 Each must recognize and define its peculiar task and be- 

 come as effective as possible for that service. All rural 

 agencies, all groups and all individuals interested in 

 rural affairs must work together intelligently and fra- 

 ternally in an effort to contribute each its share to the 

 advancement of the common aims of all. 



All these elements of a rural policy meet at one com- 

 mon point of contact, that is, in a definite and compre- 

 hensive program for the fullest possible development 

 of American agriculture and country life. The need 

 for such a program was apparent before the war; the 

 war has made the need startlingly clear. For amelior- 

 ating natural handicaps and dispelling ignorance, as 



