CHAPTER II 

 THE PROBLEMS OF PROGRESS 1 



It is impossible to acquire a keen and per- 

 manent interest in the rural problem unless one 

 first of all is cognizant of its significance. And 

 lack of knowledge at this point may in part 

 account for the fact already alluded to that in 

 America the farm problem has not been ade- 

 quately studied. So stupendous has been the 

 development of our manufacturing industries, 

 so marvelous the growth of our urban population, 

 so pressing the questions raised by modern city 

 life, that the social and economic interests of the 

 American farmer have, as a rule, received minor 

 consideration. We are impressed with the rise 

 of cities like Chicago, forgetting for the moment 

 that half of the American people still live under 

 rural conditions. We are perplexed by the 

 labor wars that are waged about us, for the time 

 unmindful that one-third of the workers of this 

 country make their living immediately from the 



1 The material for this chapter is taken from an address entitled 

 "Social Problems of American Farmers," which was read before 

 the Congress of Arts and Science, section of The Rural Com- 

 munity, at St Louis, September, 1904. 



