100 RURAL SOCIOLOGY 



But if the same question be asked the farmer, he will have a 

 different answer. He will say that the farmer needs many 

 things which he is powerless to provide but without which the 

 business is becoming less and less desirable from a relative point 

 of view, therefore declining. 



He will probably say first of all that he wants better ed- 

 ucational opportunities for his children, for as matters stand 

 now they must leave the parental roof at a tender age or else he 

 must uproot his home, abandon his business, and go to town if 

 his children are not to fall behind those of the butcher, the 

 baker, and the candlestick maker to be more specific, of the 

 carpenter, the plumber, and the day laborer. 



But we have the Smith-Hughes bill which in itself is evidence 

 that the public has not only recognized but acknowledged the 

 conditions and begun to correct them in a wise way too, for 

 in a democracy the people must take the lead or at least carry a 

 part of the burden of all progress. This plan which we have 

 begun is a logical extension of the land-grant idea into the domain 

 of secondary education. 



We are evidently headed in the right direction at^ this point, 

 but our progress will be insufficient until we succeed in providing 

 for the children of the farm as wholesome, as adequate, and as 

 cultural if not as varied, educational opportunities as are pro- 

 vided in the most favored cities. There are obstacles to be over- 

 come of course, chief of which are the low tax-paying ability 

 of the open country as compared with the congested city, and 

 the high per capita cost of education. 



But if we are to remain a democracy and be safe, this burden 

 must in some way be assumed by the public and not remain a 

 permanent handicap upon the profession of farming. If it is 

 not so assumed as a national policy and as a part of a national 

 plan, even to the extent of heavily subsidizing rural education, it 

 is inevitable that we shall ultimately have a peasant population 

 on the- farms, and colleges such as ours will have no students of 

 collegiate grade except from among land-holding city residents. 

 It requires no prophet to foresee that when such a time comes 

 democratic institutions will begin to crumble at their foundations. 



Next to the lack of educational opportunities for his children 

 comparable with those of the city, the farmer will insist that the 



