INTRODUCTION 



WE are just beginning to realize that our vast areas 

 of good lands could and should carry happy homes 

 for millions more people and not have them huddled 

 into big towns where the children cannot play. How 

 stupid the people are who are rich and strong and do 

 not give the children a chance! Inexpressibly stupid, 

 no matter how they may pride themselves on motor 

 cars and big ships and fine buildings, if the chil- 

 dren of the poor as well as the rich have no chance to 

 play on the grass and pick flowers and drink in the 

 enriching vigor of good air. Such people do not match 

 our land. They are like a degenerate, of an old ances- 

 tral stock, that was once strong before luxury and 

 self-indulgence and all kinds of libertine behavior made 

 him a despicable thing. As I have gone over this con- 

 tinent I have wondered when the man shall arise who 

 will say, " The Lord expects that these plains and moun- 

 tains and forests and orchards will be occupied by 

 people to reflect His image and match the setting of 

 their homes." 



Let us consider the conservation of the resources of 

 the land; not only to grow big crops, to increase the 

 exports and make the balances of trade stand out with 

 startling figures, but to have a better boy, to have a 

 more beautiful girl, that the next generation for whom 

 we are trustees should still more reflect back the 

 grandeur of human life and have a fair chance to give 



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