252 THE FARMER AND THE NEW DAY 



best type of machinery, in fine all the economic and 

 community problems are of supreme importance. Gov- 

 ernment should deliberately encourage discussion 

 among farmers of the larger phases of rural policy 

 the laws of diminishing returns and of land rent, re- 

 gional competition in products, international relation- 

 ships in food supply, the big factors in soil conservation. 

 The publicly supported educational agencies in a de- 

 mocracy can not fail to carry the farmers as a class to 

 a fuller knowledge and keener understanding of the big 

 as well as the small questions involved in a sound pro- 

 gram of rural development. 



Legislation is the only way by which the government 

 can carry out its objects. The kind of laws affecting 

 agriculture which are enacted by the nation and the 

 states, is of greatest moment. These laws will be 

 numerous and will change with changing needs. But 

 certain principles may be insisted upon. There should 

 be laws encouraging to the greatest possible extent col- 

 lective bargaining or cooperative business methods 

 among the farmers. The farmers cannot complain 

 of reasonable laws restricting their activities as in- 

 spection of dairies in the interest of consumers, pro- 

 vided there is equally effective protection against un- 

 friendly and unfair dealings. The farmers' interest 

 in taxation, tariffs and other trade regulations, mone- 

 tary systems, and in fact all economic and social legis- 

 lation is fundamental and not to be disregarded. It 

 may be found impossible at times for farmers to get 

 " a square deal " in business, even when they are well 

 organized. In such event there should be no hesita- 

 tion on the part of government to provide at public 

 expense those facilities such as public markets, ele- 

 vators, storages that private management has 



