RURAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 61 



sentee owners, the desirability of an investigation beings-made into 

 the social and economic conditions of Western Canada and the value 

 of co-operation underlying the idea of community settlement. What 

 was objected to were the financial details of the scheme and its pater- 

 nalistic character. The conference was attended by leaders of public 

 opinion in the western provinces, and, while it revealed the prejudice 

 of some of these leaders to any scheme which savoured of "socialism," it 

 showed remarkable unanimity regarding the need for improved eco- 

 nomic and social conditions, and for filling up vacant lands and pro- 

 moting co-operation as a means to obtain that improvement. 



The artificial creation o f co-operative communities has seldom 

 proved successful as a means of promoting permanent settlement of 

 the land.* In certain instances religious ties have held some commu- 

 nities together for long periods in spite of financial difficulties , but, as 

 a general rule, they have ended in failure. In any scheme of settle- 

 ment there must be full opportunity for the exercise of individual 

 initiative and enterprise and as little reliance as possible on the pater- 

 nalism of governments, if success is to be attained. But, without 

 undue interference with individual freedom, governments of civilized 

 communities must provide the impulse, direction and organization 

 necessary to promote the successful enterprise of the individual 

 citizens. In Canada the governments organize and plan the settlement 

 of land. If the way in which they do it leads to waste, and is not 

 economically sound, it will hamper rather than help individual enter- 

 prise. The land can be planned and settled in a businesslike way, 

 so as to facilitate co-operation and make social intercourse easy, 

 without any greater restraint on the individual, or anything more 

 artificial in the way of organization than we have at present. The 

 merit of co-operation is that it recognizes the individual as an inde- 

 pendent unit and leaves unimpaired his self-reliance and initiative. 

 It may be a harmful thing to create village communities by an arti- 

 ficial process and with financial aid from governments; it is not a 

 harmful thing to so plan and settle the land that the village community 

 will grow up in a natural way. In all these things we want less arti- 

 ficial and stereotyped methods and more room for discretion and 

 the free play of individual and social forces. But we must give expert 

 guidance, and facilities for co-operation, in proportion as we extend 

 individual freedom. 



* " The deepest impression left on the mind by a review of their history is that 

 co-operative communities are a failure." (Figure 13.) Dr. Josiah Strong in Social 

 Service. 



