io CHAPTERS IN RURAL PROGRESS 



problem, take it the nation over. The smaller 

 the town, the more nearly it approaches to rural 

 conditions, but its essential problem is not that of 

 the farm. 



And, finally, let no one suppose that philan- 

 thropy is the chief medicine for the social ill- 

 health of the country. The intelligent student 

 who possesses the true spirit of helpfulness may 

 find in the rural problem ample scope for both 

 his brain and his heart. But he will make a fun- 

 damental and irreparable error if he starts out 

 with the notion that pity, charity, and direct gifts 

 will win the day. You may flatter the American 

 farmer; you cannot patronize him. He de- 

 mands and needs, not philanthropy, but simple 

 justice, equal opportunity, and better facilities for 

 education. He is neither slave nor pauper. 



To conclude : There is a farm problem, and it 

 is worth solving. But it differs from the city 

 problem. And if, as is to be hoped, the recently 

 renewed interest in this question is to be per- 

 manent, we trust that those who desire to make 

 it a special study, as well as those whose interest 

 in it is general and widely human, may from 

 the start avoid the errors that are likely to ob- 

 scure rural conditions when viewed through 

 city eyes. 



