No. 4.] RURAL PROGRESS. 149 



which took in the whole situation. I wish they might 

 have in every State in the Union a conference every year, 

 which would discuss this rural question from the wider view 

 point. 



And this leads me to express what shall be my closing 

 thought. I Avish that I might impress upon you the idea of 

 making New England a unit for rural progress. We who 

 were born out in the west think of New England as a place, 

 — we don't think of it as six States; and yet I find your 

 State lines are high walls. But it seems to me if we could 

 impress upon the people of New England that it is a natural 

 unit, something could be gained. You have in all your 

 States a orreat similarity of conditions of soil and climate. 

 Your markets are the same, you have the same history, 

 much the same traditions, about the same difficulties, about 

 the same means of solution. Whv should not New Enoland 

 be a natural unit? Why should not New P^ngland States 

 and people work together for this purpose of developing 

 rural life within her borders? You have the equipment for 

 the campaign. In Iowa or Michigan they have one agricul- 

 tural college or experiment station. Here you have six 

 colleges, six experiment stations ; you have several boards 

 of agriculture ; you have a thousand granges ; you have 

 the largest grange membership and the largest number of 

 granges in a similar area of any portion of the country. 

 You have men of wisdom and wealth and leisure, who would 

 be glad to help ; and I think myself there is no reason why 

 the farmer should not accept the genuine interest and aid 

 of the people of the city in solving this problem. You 

 have all this ecjuipment ; there is nothing to compare Avith 

 it anywhere in the United States. AVhy should you not 

 make use of this ecjuipment, not in little, separate doses, 

 but in one great campaign? Why should not the agricul- 

 tural colleges co-operate? Why don't the granges under- 

 stand each other better? What is there to hinder this unity 

 of interest all over Ncav England? And there is the idea 

 of sentiment, — and I speak as a great-grandson of New 

 England. It seems to me, if there were undertaken a cam- 

 paign for rural progress, it ought to and would arouse the 



