THE PROBLEMS OF PROGRESS 33 



cultural educators have even disavowed such a 

 purpose as a proper object of the colleges But 

 the strongest agricultural colleges today have 

 pride in just such a purpose. And why not? 

 We not only need men thus trained as leaders in 

 every rural community, but, if the farming busi- 

 ness cannot be made to offer a career to a reason- 

 able number of college-trained men, it is a sure 

 sign that only by the most herculean efforts can 

 the farmers maintain their status as a class. If 

 agriculture must be turned over wholly to the 

 untrained and to the half-trained, if it cannot 

 satisfy the ambition of strong, well-educated men 

 and women, its future, from the social point of 

 view, is indeed gloomy. 



The present-day course of study in the agri- 

 cultural college does not, however, fully meet 

 this demand for rural leadership. The farm 

 problem has been regarded as a technical ques- 

 tion, and a technical training has been offered 

 the student. The agricultural college, therefore, 

 needs "socializing." Agricultural economics 

 and rural sociology should occupy a large place 

 in the curriculum. The men who go from the 

 college to the farm should appreciate the signifi- 

 cance of the agricultural question, and should 

 be trained to organize their forces for genuine 



