170 RURAL SOCIOLOGY 



greater than the proportion of country population. This seems 

 to me to argue strongly for farm life as an educational force. 



I have received replies from forty-seven railway presidents 

 in this country. Of these 55.4 per cent, are credited to the 

 village and country. When we remember that preferment in 

 this industry is greatly influenced by hereditary wealth it seems 

 to me that the fact that so large a percentage of these men are 

 country bred is somewhat significant. Statistics for members 

 of the house of representatives are of less value for our present 

 purpose than most of the other statistics given here, for the 

 reason that nativity is a distinct force in politics, and that many 

 representative districts are wholly city while others are wholly 

 country districts. Sixty-four per cent, of the present members 

 of the house of representatives are from the country. Figures 

 for members of the senate are of more value in this respect, since 

 senators represent states. Yet the fact that most of our senators 

 are very wealthy men would seem to justify the inference that 

 the city has more than its share of this class of men, yet 70.6 per 

 cent, of the eighty-five members of the present senate for whom 

 data could be obtained are from the country. Taking all six 

 of these classes of men, the average per cent, from the country 

 is 69.4. It will be noted that the higher we go in the scale of 

 leadership in those classes which are least influenced by ex- 

 traneous considerations, the higher is the per cent, of country- 

 bred men. I believe these figures substantiate the claim made in 

 my original article, namely, that country life has a distinct 

 educational value. But what is it in country life that gives this 

 advantage? President Lucius Tuttle, of the Boston and Maine 

 Railroad, in answering my circular letter answers this question. 



He says: 



Among other things, the farm boy learns methods of economy and, in- 

 cidentally, the value of money. He is a part of the business machinery 

 of the fartn and is brought into close contact with all its affairs. He 

 learns methods of trade and how to buy and sell, as well as possible, with- 

 out incurring losses, and, later on when he leaves the farm and goes into 

 a general business, the education he has acquired during his farm life be- 

 comes a fundamental and valuable part of his after business life. 



As a general rule, the city boy has no connection with his father's busi- 

 ness and knows nothing about it. His father may be eminently successful 

 but the boy has nothing to do with making his success and is very seldom 



