LEADERSHIP 591 



and with each pupil buying his own textbooks. Roads are re- 

 paired likewise by township districts, by ^ery local enterprise, 

 sometimes still with individuals working oat their taxes on the 

 roads. Churches are maintained on the retail plan, the minister 

 being hired by the year or even by the week, the churches them- 

 selves being altogether too numerous and too small for effective- 

 ness because of selfish insistence upon individual views, mutually 

 competitive, not cooperative. It is the same story in rural busi- 

 ness. Both in production and in distribution farmers are slowly 

 learning the lesson of working together and reaping the benefits 

 of cooperation, which economizes costs and makes for efficiency 

 and community welfare. Cooperative agreements in business 

 have even been repudiated by farmers under the stress of tempta- 

 tion to personal gain, while rural distrust of banks and organized 

 business is still proverbial, and is not confined to remote sec- 

 tions. 



Socialization and Urbanization. These generalizations do not, 

 of course, hold in the more progressive rural communities. 

 There we find two parallel processes developing rather notice- 

 ably, the socializing and the urbanizing of country life. They 

 are similar movements, but not identical. Socialization is a 

 civilizing process in which individuals, by merging their rights, 

 interests, and functions, develop community efficiency through 

 group action. Very naturally this process develops most rapidly 

 in the more favorable city environment; but it is now making 

 progress also in the country against the conservatism and ultra- 

 individualism of rural life. 



Meanwhile in all but the most remote rural sections (and even 

 there through the influence of the mail-order catalogues) you 

 may observe -the rapid urbanization of country life. I mean 

 by this the spread of the social ideals and customs of the city. 

 To the extent that these customs and ideals are constructive and 

 adaptable to a wholesome country life, to that extent this urban- 

 ization makes for socialization and should be welcomed. Un- 

 questionably this process, hastened by increasing intercommuni- 

 cation, is rapidly making country life and city life more alike, 

 and is extending the limits of suburban life. It is to be hoped 

 that this urbanizing will not destroy the unique social conscious- 

 ness of rural civilization and make it simply imitative of the 



