J EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OF VILLAGE AND RURAL COMMUNITIES •The THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK • BOSTON ■ CHICAGO • DALLAS ATLANTA - SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limited LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OF VILLAGE AND RURAL COMMUNITIES EDITED BY JOSEPH K. HART ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Keto fforft THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1913 All rights reserved gb1 Copyright, 1913, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1913. Nottoooo ipttss J. 8. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. //** •CI.A354175 *4I PREFACE There is nothing more characteristic of our present tendencies toward a more complete social democracy than the growing demand on the part of local communi- ties, everywhere, and of every sort, for a more funda- mental knowledge of themselves and their own native resources, physical and moral. This growing demand is natural and healthy. It marks the end of social superstition, and the real beginning of that social self- dependence and self-sufficiency which are promised in the completer developments of the scientific view of the world. Communities everywhere are making "surveys" : we are taking account of what we have in the way of de- veloped and undeveloped resources, both physical and moral, in order that we may know what we may count upon for community defense, community development, community pride, and that finer and wider community life which must come, if it comes at all, out of the still unknown resources of our communities. This book is offered by men and women of experience as a tool for the better development of this essential social understanding in rural and village communities. It is not only a book to be read and studied, in the ordi- nary sense of that word : it is also and much more a tool of inquiry, by the use of which teachers, ministers, VI PREFACE and social leaders in all lines may be enabled to reach that more complete knowledge of their immediate com- munities without which social leadership becomes mere irresponsible authority. Here set forth are the great main lines of community interest, activity, and resource. In most communities these activities "just go on," these resources lie latent, unrelated, undeveloped, and unknown. This book pre- sents three aspects of each of these lines of interest. First, each subject is represented in a general way as an aspect of the life and resources of any community. This is intended to call the student's attention to the social wealth that may be found in any community in connection with our common interests and resources of life. Second, by means of insistent questions in con- nection with each subject, the student is directed to spe- cific phases of that subject which should be looked for and very thoroughly studied in each local community. These questions are not exhaustive, but suggestive of the possible lines of investigation open to those who would know their own communities. Third, a brief bibliography of the subject is included, giving the seri- ous student hints of materials by which his aroused interest may reach out into contact with knowledge and progress along the same lines in all parts of the world, until his community becomes the world. It is hoped that this book will help the rural and village teacher, especially, to become more completely a part of the actual life and hope and purpose of the community. The natural social and moral resources of PREFACE Vll our country and village communities are enormous, but they are being pathetically wasted by reason of the lack of insight into the real processes of education on the part of so many of our teachers. We are indebted to all the past and much of the present for the materials of this book. It is a contri- bution to that growing " social conversation " by which we are talking out, and, to some extent, thinking out, the social problems of our times. Whoever finds help in it is indebted to society to add still further to that same " social conversation." This is a time when the help of every one is needed : for the understanding of his own community and its social problems, and for the sympathetic instruction of his neighbors and neigh- boring community toward the same end. The world grows one as fast as knowledge comes to break down old superstitions and prejudices. Communities will be everlastingly variant because their resources are variant ; but communities will become more and more of one general soul as their self-knowledge becomes more complete. JOSEPH K. HART. The University of Washington, Seattle, February 16, 19 13. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Introduction — The Community as Educator . i By Joseph K. Hart, Assistant Professor of Education, University of Washington. II. The Physical Resources of the Community . n By John Lee Coulter, Expert Special Agent for Agri- culture, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. III. The Human Resources of the Community. . 29 By Joseph K. Hart. IV. The Economic Activities of the Community . 38 By John Lee Coulter. V. Community Health, Hygiene, and Sanitation . 66 By Dr. Eugene Kelley, State Board of Health, Seattle, Washington. VI. The Local History of the Community . . 83 By Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D., Superintendent of Wisconsin State Historical Society; Lecturer in History in the University of Wisconsin. VII. The Political Life of the Community . . 92 By Joseph K. Hart. VIII. The Development of Outdoor Beautification in a Community 106 By J. Horace McFarland, President of the American Civic Association, Harrisburg, Pa. IX. Economy and Beauty in the Homes of the Com- munity . . 120 By Anna R. Van Meter, Sometime Instructor in Do- mestic Science in the University of Illinois. ix X CONTENTS CHAPTER TAGS X. The General Social Life of the Community . 131 By Joseph K. Hart. XI. Recreation, Play, and Amusements in the Com- munity 143 By Myron T. Scudder, Lecturer in the Montessori House of Childhood, New York, formerly Principal New Paltz State Normal School. XII. Moral and Social Deficiencies of the Com- munity 166 By Professor Walter G. Beach, Department of Sociol- ogy, University of Washington. XIII. The Religious Life of the Community . .176 By Rev. Christopher C. Thurber, Hinton, West Virginia. XIV. The Intellectual Life of the Community . 197 By Mary E. Downey, Organizer for State Library Com- mission, Columbus, Ohio. XV. The Community Life as Curriculum of the School 213 By Professor Harold W. Foght, Chief of Field Service in Rural Education, United States Bureau of Education. XVI. Community Activity in the Administration of Education 244 By George W. Knorr, Special Field Agent, Bureau of Statistics, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OF VILLAGE AND RURAL COMMUNITIES EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OF VILLAGE AND RURAL COMMUNITIES CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Community as Educator "The (school) is too much with us : late and soon, (Cramming, forgetting) we lay waste our powers : Little we see in Nature that is ours ; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon ! The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon ; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered new like sleeping flowers ; For this, for everything, we are out of tune ; It moves us not. — Great God ! I'd rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn : So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn ; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea ; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn." In the older days of the primitive community when life was centered in the immediate activities and interests of a comparatively small group, practically all the edu- cation of the younger generation went on unconsciously in the midst of, and by means of, the social life and industries of the community itself. Here was the 2 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES physical world in which they made their home ; here the resources by which they sustained themselves; the industries that supported them, that bound them together, that determined the level of their living, and the bent of their thinking; the forms of government and social organization which unconsciously molded the young ; the religious life that helped to enforce the controls that society needed for its preservation; the traditions, the legends and the history that brought the past to the support of the authorities of the present; the amusements, the games and the general social life that marked the times of leisure from work and from war : all these elements and others were involved in the common life of the community group, and day by day, even moment by moment, they wrought their silent and effective spell over the development and destiny of the children and the whole community. There was no school in the formal sense of the word ; and because there was none, all education was practical, thorough, and moral : practical because wrought out of the very life of the community; thorough because the tests were those of life itself, and none could call himself educated until the active world had passed upon his qualifications ; and moral because, both in purpose and in content, it was the community's own life and purpose wrought into the life and purpose of the maturing child ; such education was complete only when the child was thoroughly equipped with the desire and skill to con- tinue the traditions and the interests of the community. INTRODUCTION 3 We have lost so much of this : no, it is not lost, it is merely lost to sight. "The (school) is too much with us." The school was a social invention, growing up (as all inventions do) for the purpose of helping the community, as it became more complex, to do some things which it could no longer do in the old, unconscious ways. But, like any institution, the school quickly learned how to claim everything in its field, until to-day, the average person never thinks of Education as being anything beyond those things which the schools give, or convey, or bestow. That is to say, we think very little to-day of the pre- dominant part which the common life of the community played in the education of boys and girls in the prim- itive world ; we think very little of the fundamental part which the common forces and elements of the community still play, in spite of all our schools, in the actual education of our boys and girls. We are blind to the deepest facts of our educational situation. We give our schools credit for educational results in which the schools have had no part, and by so doing we are not only blind to the actual facts of education, but we stand in the way of that larger growth and development of the schools that is so necessary if our modern educa- tion is ever to find again that truly practical character, that social thoroughness and that real morality which were the striking characteristics of the education of the older, simpler world. And the forces and elements for this community 4 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES education are all with us. Not that alone ; for in spite of our ignoring and our ignorance of these facts, our boys and girls are being educated constantly by the communities in which they live. But, if we could get our eyes open, we could make these community elements and forces mean infinitely more than they now mean in the real education of our children. For example, in the wooded sections of the Mississippi Valley there is a wonderfully rich and varied bird life. But the average schoolboy learns to know half a dozen common birds by name : the rest are " sparrows," etc. ; yet here are hundreds of birds that come and go with the seasons ! And this is a simple illus- tration. In this book the effort is being made to help the teachers in rural and village schools, and social leaders of all sorts in local communities, to become conscious of the great worlds of interest and possibility that in some degree even now are helping to mold the lives and pur- poses of the children; but which, rightly understood and appreciated, can be molded in turn until their molding of the childlife shall be to the ends of practical understanding, through development, and complete moralization of the growing child. What are these community elements and interests? The physical resources of the community condition all the life and action of the child as well as of the commu- nity. The older human beings of the community inevi- tably determine the social world within which the child INTRODUCTION 5 shall grow up to social maturity and responsibility. The economic relationships and industrial life of the community will largely determine the way he will think and talk, the range of his opportunities and the bent of his common interests. The health of the community, its intelligent care for health, its interests, or lack of in- terest, in hygiene and sanitation will determine largely the efficiency and energy of the growing child. He will feed upon the traditions, the folk tales, the heroic stories, the desires, the prejudices, the hatreds, the feuds, and the inherent friendships of the community: its people shall be his people, and its gods his gods. The com- munity government will tend to control and manipulate his chances of life; it will make a fine and noble life possible, or it will tend to produce conditions that will kill off all the chances of complete living. The out-of- doors will nurture him and feed his imagination, or it will remain a sordid and low thing, to be manipulated for the sake of profit. The very home itself will reflect the inner life of the individual, just as he reflects the inner life of the community : the home will be a place of beauty and life and culture, or it will be in some other degree removed from the level of the den of the wild beast. The general social life of the community will inspire him and draw him out and fill him with social aspirations and the finer social sympathies, or it will tend in some degree to destroy all these in him. With wholesome recreation and play and with social amusements he will recover his strength spent in the work of the day and the 6 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES week, or through all his childhood by playful exercise prepare himself for the serious doings of his maturer years. By the social idealism of the religious life of the community he will be able to link his life with the ideal purposes of the race ; or if these be wanting he will find a life on the more mean levels of existence. And in the provisions which the community shall have made or shall make by which the streams of knowledge from all the golden hills of the past and present shall flow into the com- munity will his intellectual life be enriched or destroyed. And blessed is that community in which there are leaders who are wise enough to have realized that their own community is, historically, a part of the story of man in all the ages, and geographically a part of the home of man ; and that in its life and interests and ac- tivities may be found something akin to everything the race has wrought at any time, in any place ; that there- fore its own activities and industries, and interests, and social necessities may quite as well be the central facts and factors in the schooling of its children as the activi- ties and industries and interests of a world far removed in time and space. All about the children, and the adults, too, surge and flow these forces and elements of the com- munity life. Into the midst of them the children are born and grow to their maturity. How little the schools seem when we set them over against this surging, insist- ent life of the community ! And yet, how much the schools might become if we could but see them in terms of their original significance, INTRODUCTION 7 and in their proper relationship to the life of the com- munity. Once there were no schools, because they were not needed : the common life of the market place, and the religious ceremonial filled the child's days with ac- tive employment, his mind with social intelligence and purpose, and his heart with reverence and sympathetic fear. But as people came closer together, and life be- came more complex and involved, the education of the child became more technical and complicated; a profession of teachers arose, and the school became an educational instrument of the community. But the old elements and forces were still existent. The school did not, — it could not, — do away with them. It was developed to supplement in definite ways forces already in existence. It was not to supplant those forces, nor ignore them. And, because it was the last of the social institutions, developed to meet a social need, it would have been the part of wisdom for the school to be modest, and to learn to adapt itself to the changing conditions in the life of the community, striving ever to do those things which were not being done by some other element of the community's life. All about us are the contributions which are being made to education by those more primitive elements of the community which are far more fundamental to its welfare than is the school. These contributions are largely unintentional, incidental, accidental, — all the more effective just because of these facts. What is the school to do? Shall it, also, insist upon 8 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES its purely institutional, i.e., its traditional, status, and upon being just as unintentional, incidental, and acci- dental as the other elements of our social life? That ill becomes its protestations of intellectual leader- ship. Should not tht, school and the teacher look deeply into the life of the community, surveying with thought- ful care all the resources, activities, interests, and elements that, within the community and its organic relationships, are making educational impression upon the growing children ? Should they not determine wherein the common life and activity of the community are already sufficiently educative, and should they not be wise enough to let such phases of life alone, giving to the immediate life of the people such share in the education of the children as that immediate life can do best? And should they not find wherein the educative direction of the children is being imperfectly, or badly, done, and should they not, at those places, bravely set to work, so supplementing, where help is needed, the power of the community that created the school ? There follow hereupon thirteen chapters dealing with these primitive elements in the education of the child and the community. Then follow two chapters dealing with the sort of school that is needed to-day, to meet the changed needs of our times. We have been educating our children away from their homes, their communities, and from work, toward false ideals of cul- ture, cosmopolitanism, and leisure. The only true cul- ture is the culture that comes through work and the INTRODUCTION 9 love of work. The only true cosmopolitanism is that which grows out of, and is rooted deep within, some pres- ent community : the " man without a country " is the very antithesis of a true cosmopolitan. And the only leisure that is not vulgar is the leisure that is worthily won, and that is socially above criticism. The Community is the true educational institution. Within the community there is work that educates and provides for life ; within the community are the roots of the cosmopolitanism that marks the truly educated man ; within the community there is room for a noble and dignified culture and leisure for all. Let us become aware of our community resources, physical, social, moral. Let us recognize the part they play and will always play in the actual education of our boys and girls. Let us consciously extend their powers within legitimate bounds until our modern education within the community shall be, as completely as possible, natural, immediate, and free. Let us organize our socially supplementary in- stitution, — the school, — until it shall adequately reen- force the work of education where it is weak and supply it where it is wanting. So, and only so, will the child become really educated, the community find education genuine, practical, thorough, and vitally moral, and the school become in our times what it was originally in- tended to be, — the social instrument for doing those things of an educational nature which are not already being done more effectively by the primitive and un- conscious influences of the community's common life. J. K. H. IO EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES BIBLIOGRAPHY Elam. Outlines of Rural Community Life. Henderson. Catechism for Social Observation. Henderson. Social Duties. Bailey, L. H. Survey Idea in Country Life Work. (Pamphlet, 19 pp. Address the author at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.) Bailey, L. H. Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. 4 v. Crouch, Rev. F. N. A Social Service Program for the Parish. (Pamphlet of the Joint Commission on Social Service of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 24 pp. May be had upon request of the author, 157 Montague St., Brooklyn, N.Y.) Department of Church and Country Life. A Rural Survey in Missouri. (1910, 42 pp. Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City.) Department of Church and Country Life. A Rural Survey in Pennsylvania. 1910, 40 pp. Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, 1 56 Fifth Avenue, New York City.) Dunn. Community and the Citizen. Earp, Edwin L., Ph.D. The Social Engineer. (Eaton & Hains, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York City, 1911, 326 pp. $1.25. A book of special practical value to country ministers.) Galpin, C. J. A Method of Making a Social Survey of a Rural Community. (Circular of Information No. 29, January, 191 2, 11 pp. The University of Wisconsin Agricultural Ex- periment Station, Madison, Wis.) Gillette, John H. The Drift to the City in Relation to the Rural Problem. {American Journal of Sociology, March, 191 1. v. 16, pp. 645-67. No. 5. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 111. 50 cents.) Butterfield. Chapters in Rural Progress. (Chicago, 1908.) Anderson, Wdlbert L. The Country Town. Plunket, Sir Horace L. The Problem of Rural Life in America. (New York, 191 1.) CHAPTER II PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY Characteristics of Physical Resources Introductory. — No comprehensive study of rural conditions or rural problems can be made without know- ing first of all something of the physical resources which are the foundation for the agricultural activities. The same statement may be made with equal force concern- ing an industrial community. I use the term " physical resources " in its broadest sense. We may well start any investigation bearing in mind that we have two primary factors to deal with. These are the human resources of the community and the physical resources. After we have clearly in mind the characteristics and quantity of the physical resources and the characteristics and number of the human resources, we are ready to begin an interpretation of the struggle of the human factor to make a living. It surely must be acknowledged by all that man's time is largely devoted to the struggle of making a living, and since this struggle is largely an effort on his part to control and utilize nature to the great- est advantage, it seems necessary first to investigate these two original factors. It is true that many men do not come into contact with the physical resources in their 12 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES struggle for a living. There are those who prey upon their fellow men, and there are those who serve those who are struggling with the physical resources, but the general statement is none the less true that the great masses of humanity are engaged during the major part of their time working with nature and her products. By some good fortune, it has been arranged by an un- seen power that man does not need to struggle during all of his waking hours in order to make a living. Some of his time is spent communing with his fellow men. Man is a gregarious animal. On account of having the power of speech and other such powers, he delights in taking advantage of their presence and desires when- ever possible to get in touch with his fellow men. Hence, we have social activities. Some of his time is spent in religion. The general custom throughout the country is for at least one day a week to be set aside for religious activities and rest. The time taken for social activities is irregularly distributed over the year. There are scattered days throughout the year when people leave their labors and engage in social intercourse. Evenings very generally are devoted more or less to the same pur- pose. Certain seasons of the year when economic ac- tivities call for less than normal amounts of time are devoted more or less to social life. Political activities demand consideration. But during an average year probably not more than a very few hours are given to politics. The average man reads some, meets with other men from time to time for discussion, and probably PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 1 3 one or two days during the year goes to cast his ballot. None the less, political activities demand some time ; and, more and more as people find the struggle for a liv- ing more intricate, the political problem calls for special consideration. Then there are recreation and other activities of a similar nature. I merely mention these to emphasize to the reader that starting as we do with the physical and human resources, these must be studied in such a way as to make possible a better understanding of the activities of the human factor. Topography. — In this study I shall limit myself to an analysis of conditions in so far as they affect rural communities. The problems of all industrial centers can be studied in somewhat the same way, but different influences have to be considered. Probably no influence is more important upon the lives of people than the topography of the community under consideration. The status of the farmers at any particular time and the agricultural activities are entirely different in the rough and rugged country from those in the level or slightly undulating country. Consider for instance the problems confronting a community of one thousand people settled in narrow valleys with precipitous mountain walls on either side. They are shut in from the outside world. It is difficult to get into communication with outside activities. For this reason the customs of the people at the time of entering the valley are apt to linger long. New ideas are slowly accepted. The educational, reli- gious and social activities of the people are greatly in- 14 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES fluenced. Compare for a moment such a community with a community of one thousand people in a level prairie section. Try to determine to what extent the differences are due to the differences in topography. Compare as an illustration the recreations of the people. If both communities are in the northern climate, the sports of the mountain community will be skating on the little river during the winter, sliding down hills, skeeing, etc., and in the summer it will be climbing over hills through the timbered valleys, hunting in the moun- tain forests, and fishing in the mountain streams. In the prairie community there may be heard jingling bells in the winter time, and cutter and sleigh rides will be the favorite pastime. Snowshoes may be found. Skat- ing would be possible on artificially constructed lakes. Perchance snow boats would be found, and it might be, if the community were in the neighborhood of a lake, ice boats and skeeing would be a favorite pas- time. In the summer, baseball and other similar games would prevail. But agricultural activites are more influenced probably than are the social, religious, educational, or recreative activities. In the prairie country, large machines drawn by many horses pass over the level land ; great fields of grain will flourish. In the mountain valleys, on the other hand, a few rows of corn, small patches of cereals, small machines, each man with one work animal, or probably doing the work by hand, will be found. This is the difference in methods of conducting agriculture PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 1 5 forced upon people by differences in topography. Those who are more prosperous because they have found a better community should not be given too much credit, while those who are not prosperous because they are combating with a harsh environment should not be too severely condemned because of their lack of pros- perity. In the mountain valley, the people may be kept busy during many weeks of each year repairing damages done because of the topography. The water rushing down the hillside may wash away their homes, or maybe destroy their fields; an overflowing river may do great damage. If the farmer attempts to market the product of his farm he may have to spend much time in the construction of roads over the hills and after having constructed the roads, he may find it necessary to haul very small quantities of the product because of the steep hills that must be passed over. But there are disadvantages to the community on the prairie which sometimes are as serious as the disadvantages found in mountain valleys. In beginning a study of a rural community, it would be well to make a careful survey of the topography as a starting point in order that the influences may be observed throughout the investigation. Much data may be se- cured from the Geological Survey, at Washington, D.C., which would be helpful to any student. Some state departments also furnish data and many physical geog- raphies furnish a basis for such study. Soils. — Topography is only one of the many factors 1 6 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES to be considered. Turn your attention for a moment to two communities of farmers living in a prairie country with topography and all other factors the same, except that one community is in a district of very rich soils, whereas the other lives upon very poor soil. It is true that the religious, educational, and social activities may be the same except in so far as these are influenced by the prosperity of the farmers, but the agricultural activities will vary widely. In order, therefore, to interpret the status of either community we must in- vestigate very early the general character of the soils, whether they are rich loams, alkali, sandy soils, clay soils, or what not. I have in mind as I write two groups of farmers, both from the same country originally. One group came ahead of the other by twenty years and found large tracts of very rich soils, free, surveyed, and ready to be occupied. The other group came after all of this area had been taken, and they were practically forced to settle upon much less desirable soils of the same general topography, climate, and rainfall. It is scarcely neces- sary to state that the second group, although coming to this country at a much more opportune time, has not prospered nearly to the same extent as has the former group. The soils are not adapted to the best paying crops. They are sandy and it is very difficult to con- struct good roads. Much more labor is necessary in the field in order to produce a reasonable crop. The farmers must spend much time carrying fertilizers to the fields in order to make a reasonable crop. In this PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 1 7 second community, because of a less bountiful nature, the farmers must spend much more time than otherwise struggling for a living. There is less time to build roads, to improve their homes, and to build schools and churches. There is also less money to buy materials and the farmers in this second community are less happy and much less prosperous than those in the first. I am unable to attribute this to anything less than fortuitous circumstances. The first group of farmers came at an opportune time. They found nature bountiful, — physi- cal resources were all that could be asked. The topo- graphy was right from every viewpoint and the soils were rich. It was not because the farmer waved the magic wand that the crops were bountiful. It was not because the farmers were more foresighted that they are now more prosperous. They took advantage of what they found, but the second group of farmers did likewise with less result. It is possible at the present time to secure a great deal of data concerning the character of soils in all parts of the United States. The Bureau of Soils, of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., has made many surveys in which they have studied very carefully the different kinds of soils, their adaptability to agriculture, and their proper treatment in order to get the best re- sults. These reports are available for all who may wish to write, and it would be wise for students to turn first to the Bureau of Soils, and find what areas have been care- fully studied from this viewpoint. After the student 1 8 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES has examined these surveys, he may be able to investigate more thoroughly than he otherwise would be able to do. It is also possible at the present time to secure much data concerning the individual states from the various state departments, agricultural colleges, and agricultural experiment stations. Almost every experiment station now has a soil chemist and soil physicist. These men would be able to furnish much valuable information to the students within their respective states. A careful student going into any community to study conditions otherwise should keep constantly in mind the influences of the soil, and by talking with progressive farmers might be able to secure much valuable information which would help him to interpret the activities of the people and to explain their status. Precipitation. — If the study is to be thorough, the student of rural conditions must not be satisfied with a general statement of the topography and of the soils. He must go into this in great detail, and then must ex- tend his study to other problems of rural importance. Probably no characteristic of nature is more significant than that pertaining to rainfall. One group of farmers may settle in an area where the precipitation is excessive. They may find it necessary to build dikes, levees, ditches, or even place tiling at frequent intervals on the farm for drainage purposes. The fact that the country has too much water may make a demand for higher and better bridges, more horses and other work animals, more ex- pensive machines and other farm equipments, such as PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 19 wider tired carriages. If it is a rolling country, it may- be necessary to completely change the system of agricult- ure from that practiced in a level country, because of the washing of the hillsides. Different kinds of drains are necessary, and great expense may be incurred from the overflow of water. This excess of precipitation may come at an unfortunate season of the year, and make difficult either the preparing of the fields, or the gather- ing of the crops. Soils may be fertile, the topography perfect from an agricultural standpoint, the temperature may be the most desirable throughout the year, but with too much precipitation, many difficulties arise. Muddy roads may make it necessary to have a larger number of schoolhouses because it is impracticable for the children to travel great distances. The fear of rain may make it necessary to have halls for social activities instead of outdoor picnics. Excessive rains may mean more expen- sive bridges across streams, more substantial founda- tions to buildings, and a greater outlay of time, effort, and money. Compare if you will a country community more for- tunately located. The precipitation is just sufficient for the needs of the various crops. It comes at the right seasons of the year. It falls in ample quantities for all purposes and yet not too much. The people of the community may spend their excess time in building magnificent homes, constructing efficient highways, and building better schools and churches. Because of good roads they may have consolidated schools and 20 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES regular transportation for the children. These farmers are more prosperous with the same amount of effort and will have telephones and other means of communica- tion with the outside world. The library is known in a community of this kind, whereas it may be unknown in another community. Still another group of farmers may settle where precipi- tation is not sufficient, and where general farming is impossible without human aid in the supplying of water. Here the farmers must dig ditches, build flues, dig wells, and invest in pumps, engines, and storage reservoirs in order to secure and keep a supply of water sufficient for growing purposes, and after this is done they must give considerable attention and many hours of time to the work of regulating the supply. Naturally this reduces the amount of time which they have for other activities, and therefore it is more difficult to make the same prog- ress. Any attempt to make a rural survey without considering the relative status of a community with re- gard to rainfall must be a failure. It is very important that the subject of rainfall be studied in close relation- ship with the question of topography, since excessive water must be carried from the land and a deficiency must be supplied, and both of these must be largely affected by the natural slope of the surface. It is a significant fact which should be emphasized that in communities where drainage or irrigation is car- ried on, the farmers are able to operate much smaller areas of land, as a result of which they live much closer PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 21 together. In a more densely populated rural community, social intercourse is more possible, educational activities are influenced, and the community as a whole feels the effects of the system under which they live. The stu- dent must not overlook these facts in comparing the status of the activities of farmers in the different com- munities. It must also be borne in mind that although the farmer who devotes much time to irrigating and draining his land may be as prosperous as the farmer who neither drains nor irrigates, by this extra labor in irrigating and draining, the farmer is much more able to accurately regulate the water supply and by intensive methods he produces larger crops and may be fully as prosperous. It is possible at the present time to secure from the Weather Bureau of the Department of Agriculture, at Washington, D.C., a very large amount of information concerning annual precipitation. That bureau has stations in all parts of the United States, and although it would not be possible to secure an exact statement for any individual county, it is possible to secure informa- tion for every part of the United States. Not only can one secure the average precipitation per year for a series of years, but it is possible to find the amount of rainfall as compared with the amount of snowfall, and this statement is available for each month in the year as well as for the entire year. It is easy, therefore, to prepare a statement for any community showing the average monthly precipitation. This can be correlated 22 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES with the seasons and the stage of growth of the various crops. From these same reports it is possible to find out whether there are dry years and wet years and other uncertainties. By careful study of the data available for a period of years the student should be able to very readily pass judgment upon the desirability of any com- munity from the standpoint of precipitation. Temperature. — Extremes of heat and cold are as im- portant as extremes in the amount of rainfall or extremes in topography, or again extremes in the richness of soils. What boots it if the soil be rich, the country rolling or level, and the rainfall ideal, if the summers are so short that crops cannot mature, or if the winters are so cold that the country cannot be inhabited, or if though habi- table it is developed with great difficulty accompanied by great privations. Or again consider the difficulties if the summers are long and the days scorching hot and labor can be performed only with the greatest suffering to the one who performs physical labors. In some districts the temperature varies from the most extreme cold to the most extreme heat, necessitating very ex- pensive buildings and clothes and extraordinary expendi- tures for fuel in winter, at the same time requiring facilities for keeping the products of the farm from decay- ing in the extremely hot seasons. The people who must spend much time making warm clothes, building warm buildings, and seeking fuel for winter use or putting up ice, or otherwise caring for the products during the summer or in other ways providing against unfavorable PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 23 climatic conditions, cannot make as much progress in developing desirable institutions, such as schools, as can those who live in a country where extremes of heat and cold are almost unknown, or where conditions are so nearly normal that time is available to do other things. Not only are extremes of heat and cold important but irregularities are of as great significance. A late spring frost may make impossible the production of fruit. It may likewise destroy growing crops and necessitate a second planting. A district which has to contend with this abnormal situation is handicapped. Likewise an early fall frost may result in frozen fruits, small crops of grain, and other destructions. It is necessary, there- fore, not only to make a study of the length of the seasons and the extremes of temperature but to make a study for a series of years of a number of conditions in order that judgment may be passed as to the general adaptability or favorableness of the district under consideration. Variations and uncertainties in temperature influence social activities and educational activities as much prob- ably as they affect the economic activities and the char- acter of agriculture. During the long cold winters in some northern sections of the United States, it is very difficult because of the very cold weather and the bliz- zards to get to school if the schools are far distant from the farms, and it is also difficult to get to church on Sundays at some seasons of the year ; likewise, to get to social gatherings in the evenings or during the day. It is especially difficult to plan ahead for meetings which 24 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES are desired because of the uncertainties noted above. The people in those districts may not suffer greatly from the extreme cold or from the blizzards because they take the necessary precautions, but serious inconveniences come when plans are made ahead for specific events. Probably the character of play and recreation of a community is governed as much by the temperature as any other one feature. In a northern country the winter sports such as skating, skeeing, sleighing, snow- shoeing, ice-boating, etc., are possible only because of the cold weather. These are, therefore, impossible in the southern parts of the country. In the North for several months of the year other sports, such as basket ball and indoor games are extensively indulged in. Compared with these, indoor games, are almost unknown in the southern states. The Weather Bureau, referred to above, is now able to supply the most detailed informa- tion concerning the variations in temperature for various parts of the United States for a considerable number of years. Conclusions. — We have now briefly reviewed some of the more important characteristics of the physical re- sources of the country. A complete and comprehensive study of the subject would necessitate even greater detail than I have suggested above. An historical study of the geology would doubtless be valuable inasmuch as this would make possible a more complete report of the water supply and the structure of the soil. The student who has followed the subject this far will, however, be PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 25 able to go into the subject as far as time, money, or in- clination permits. I have outlined here only four funda- mental factors which must necessarily in every case be taken into consideration before a satisfactory review of the rural conditions can be undertaken. These forces are fundamental in determining the status of the people in any rural community, and all the activities of the rural people are influenced by these important factors. Economic activities are almost controlled by them. The political beliefs and activities are materially influenced by the characteristics of nature. The social, ethical, aesthetic, educational, and other problems are greatly influenced by the physical environment. I have not undertaken in this chapter any discussion concerning the quantity of the physical resources. This quantity can be measured in terms of acres of land, tons of deposits, and value. All of these attempts to measure nature, however, presuppose the presence of the human factor. Before taking up this phase of the subject, therefore, it will be necessary to briefly survey the human resources of the community. After we have done this, we may take up the activities of the people. First of all comes the economic activities or the struggle of the human resources with the physical resources. After this the other activities may be considered more intelligently. J. L. C. 26 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES SURVEY OF THE PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COM- MUNITY i. In what ways do these general physical characteristics limit the agricultural productiveness of your community? To what extent are the natural resources of the community developed? What are the actual resources of your community? 2. What mineral resources has the community? Are these being properly developed and conserved ? Is there any exploita- tion of these resources ? Whose fault is it if these recources are not being properly utilized for the welfare of the community? 3. What are the community's timber resources? Are these resources being properly used and conserved ? What is the com- munity's attitude toward conserving its resources ? Is anything being done toward reforestation ? 4. What are the soil resources of your community ? Have you a soil chart, or is such a chart obtainable ? Is there any one in the community who could work out such a chart ? Are the schools of the community doing anything to develop interest in the soils of the community ? Is there a clear comprehension on the part of the farmers of the relations of soil to crops and the need of rotation? Are the fields of the community being destroyed by erosion of any kind ? Is the soil growing in fertility or decreasing ? 5. What are the sources of supply of the meats used by the com- munity ? Of the fruits ? Of the cereals ? Of the potatoes and other like vegetables? To what extent are the soil resources of the community being properly developed by means of the most appropriate kinds of plants or animals ? To what extent are the schools of the community helping to develop an intelligent appre- ciation of the resources of the community and the possible lines of production within the community? 6. To what extent can new resources be developed within the community ? What latent resources has the community ? What possibilities for irrigation or for draining ? What chance of adding PHYSICAL RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 27 new agricultural fields by the use of fertilizers ? Has any farmer in the community applied chemistry to the determination of his soil problems? Would "book farming" be rejected by the farmers of the community ? 7. To what extent does the community work up its own raw materials into manufactured products? What are the manu- facturing interests of the community? Are these being run profitably ? Are other manufacturing establishments possible ? Are any natural resources being wasted ? To what extent is the community sufficient within itself for its own necessary supplies ? What part of the community's living is produced by itself ? Where does it secure the remainder? Are there any essential reasons for these facts ? To what extent do the schools of the community share in the whole problem of the development and conservation of the physical resources of the community ? What, if anything, is being done by the schools to help the boys and girls appreciate the physical wealth of the community ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Hunt. How to Choose a Farm. Taylor, H. C. Agricultural Economics. (New York, 1905.) Burkett, C. W. Agriculture for Beginners. (Boston, 1904.) Hatch, K. L. Simple Exercises Illustrating Some Applications of Chemistry to Agriculture. (Washington, 1908.) Hopkins, C. G. Soil Fertility and Permanent Agriculture. (Bos- ton, 1910.) James, C. C. Practical Agriculture. (New York, 1902.) Quaintance, H. W. The Influence of Farm Machinery on Pro- duction and Labor. (New York, 1904.) Bruce, Robert. Food Supply. (London, 1908.) Edgar, W. C. The Story of a Grain of Wheat. (New York, 1903.) Allen, W. F. Agriculture in the Middle Ages. Duclaux, Mme. The Fields of France. (London, 1904.) 28 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Dun, Finlay. American Farming and Food. (London, 1881.) Streeter, J. W. The Fat of the Land. (New York, 1904.) Marlatt, G. L. The Annual Losses Occasioned by Destructive In- sects in the United States, Yearbook of the Department of Agricul- ture, p. 46. (1904.) Conn, H. W. Agricultural Bacteriology. (Philadelphia, 190 i.) Newell, F. H. Irrigation in the United States. (New York, 1902). The Reclamation of the West. (Washington, 1903.) Spillman, W. J. Diversified Farming in the Cotton Belt, Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, p. 193 (1905) ; Opportunities in Agriculture, Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, p. 181 (1904). Terry, T. B. Our Farming, or How We Made a Run-down Farm Bring Both Profit and Pleasure. (Philadelphia, 1893.) CHAPTER III HUMAN RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY Any region must have some elements of human society before it can properly be called a community. The diversity and complexity of these human elements may be almost infinitely varied. It is not proper perhaps to speak of the life of a hermit, remote from his fellow men, as being a community life, though even with him there is a certain inner social life from which he cannot wholly escape. It is perhaps hardly proper to speak of a great city, with its complex and thronging interests, as a com- munity, for it is not a common life. But in the average agricultural region, or in the small town or village, there is enough of the human element to set up radiating lines of interest, and a sufficiently small degree of complexity to make possible at least a common life for all the mem- bers. But there are worlds of difference between vary- ing communities, due almost wholly to the varying types and qualities of the individuals who make up the com- munities. There are communities in which the dominant type of individual is wholly traditional, settled in his ways and unprogressive. Here the children lack stimulus to preparation for life or work ; here community develop- 29 30 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ment lags or decays. There is perhaps nothing sadder in the world than the sight of a village once prosperous and progressive that has fallen into stagnation and decay. The inner experience of a child who grows up in such a community must be pathetic, for he has a constant con- tact with, and his life is molded by, the influences that speak of failure rather than of progress. For such a child there is little future other than that of discourage- ment unless he should, by some means, be released both socially and psychologically from these decadent in- fluences. On the other hand, there is nothing more stimulating than the sight of a community that has been developing naturally and healthfully in a consistent progress. Here industry calls forth the constructive energies of all the people, old and young. The sense of workmanship and the mastering of the materials of the community give to all a certain air of self-respect that makes them com- mand respect. Here surplus energies will expand them- selves in recreative, social, and cultural ways, and the whole life of the community will be enlarged. But what are these human resources? First, every community must have its workers ; but as a matter of fact in some measure every individual in the community must be a contributor to the wealth and welfare, material or social, of the community. Every individual will be a consumer of the goods of the community, and the social conscience of our times is coming to insist that he who consumes the goods of the community shall render HUMAN RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 3 1 some essential social return for the share which the community gives him in its life. But work should be of a sufficiently varied kind within the community, and the workers should be sufficiently varied in their skills, so that the community will not present itself as a monotone of work or of activity. Where variety of work and skill is impossible, there should be an extension of the bounds of the community consciousness to include other fragmentary communities; for the conscience of the community must become complete enough to provide the types and varieties of activity that are valued by all and that are necessary to a completely human life. Such extension of community consciousness is, even in very sparsely settled regions, very possible in these days by means of telephone lines, good roads, the use of auto- mobiles, and the extension of the mail service to wide territories. Social leaders should not be content to allow isolated fragments of a world to decay and die in their fragmen- tariness. They must be aroused and stimulated to en- large their borders, at least in terms of interest and work, until within themselves they shall be more inclusive of a completely human world. But work itself should be understood to include all forms of constructive and productive activity. The fundamental industries of agriculture, lumbering, fishing, mining, the raising of stock, and like activities, which produce the first raw materials of social wealth are to be considered as essential parts of the community's 32 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES activity, and there must be human energy enough to develop gradually and bring to complete use the resources along any of these lines of which the community has store. There will be reflex influences. " We mold ourselves and our materials at the same time," says an old proverb quoted by Comenius ; and the workers of a community, increasing their material wealth, are increasing their human wealth at the same time. But beyond these forms of work are those secondary means of production, — the manufacturing, the re- making of the raw materials until they shall meet more fully the growing tastes of the community ; — and here again the aptitude grows by what it feeds upon ; and if worthy materials are being made in worthy manner into still more worthy materials for the markets of the world, the skills and the tastes of the community will be gradually developing and a finer life will be the result. Beyond these will rise the essentially social occupations of the professional men and women, occupations that have come into existence only with the growth of com- munity life. The lawyer was unnecessary in the sim- pler world ; the teacher as such was unknown ; the priest was a worker of wonders for the baffling of the credulous ; and the physician has come to be of immense social importance in our modern world because so many of our diseases are really social in their origin and nature. Perhaps the great task of the world is the conserva- tion of our human resources. We have grown so accus- tomed to academic ways of looking at things that it HUMAN RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 33 seems difficult to face the essential facts of human life. We would conserve our community intelligence by cram- ming it into the heads of our boys and girls in the schools ; we would conserve our community moral life by reducing it to maxims and precepts and feeding our boys and girls upon these dry remnants of morality ; we would conserve the political life of our communities by intrusting that life to the tender mercies of the most efficient manipulator of money and men. Meanwhile the community is burying its dead, one by one ; and rejoicing again and again in the birth of new members ; and although the community does not always recognize the fact, the real promise of the future is not in the com- munity's old and set forms, and in its methods of con- servation, but in the ever renewing life that comes in the birth of the little child. Nothing more completely ex- presses the right principle of community conservation of its human resources than the great child- welfare movement of the present. It startles us to meet the proposition that a child is more socially important than an adult ; but the old Greek king understood the fact when he said that he would willingly send a hundred men to be sacrificed rather than one child ; for men have proved their value and have given the testimony of the worth of their con- tribution ; but in the child there may be latent the energy that will open a new era in the world's history. He who sacrifices a man knows what he is doing ; but he who sacrifices a child knows not what social wealth 34 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES he may be wasting, what social poverty he may be bring- ing upon the world. In every community of normal size there are boys and girls, young men and young women, not yet able completely to express themselves, still facing in some measure the larger revelation of the future. We shall make our communities richer in resource, and finer centers of life, just in so far as we are able to conserve these unknown human resources, these makers of the social world that is to be in the next generation, these energies that are eager to seize the tools of life and take their places in the constructive work of the world. An essential element in the progress of any community is the native energy, the moral daring, that sometimes goes astray, in its young men and women. When the world has lost its savor and the life of the community seems to languish toward decay, the honor that is in some young man or woman, the strength that surges up out of some ancestral deep, the faith that can dare, even with the possibility of failure, these are the things that may even yet assure a future to that community. The inventive genius of the boy as he seeks to imitate or surpass the man he reads about, the spirit of inquiry, the power of sacrifice, the strength that can meet the uncertainties of the life of any community, these things everywhere present in some degree, are a part, — an essential part, — of the future possibilities of any com- munity. It is not likely that any community fully realizes its own resources. There is more intelligence in its members HUMAN RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 35 than they give each other credit for ; there is more willingness to help each other ; there is less of actual suspicion of each other than appears on the surface. He who would go into a community to serve that com- munity as teacher, minister, or physician in any sense, must not forget that his first duty is to investigate and understand the resources that are there before him. It is his duty, — not to destroy those resources and attempt to develop others ; it is his business to understand and to cultivate the resources that are there. J. K. H. SURVEY OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES OF THE COM- MUNITY 1. What is the popuation of the community? How is this population distributed as to children and adults ? Are the ele- ments which make up this population evenly balanced ? Are there any large numbers of unattached men or women in the community ? Are there any unprotected or improperly directed children in the community ? Are there any essentially vicious forces in the community ? 2. Is there a conservation of strength and energy in the condi- tion of labor in the community ? Is there a proper development of the occupational possibilities of the community ? Is there any waste of child life or adult life through antiquated or anti-social forms of industry ? Is there any tendency in the community to disregard the values of home life or social life for the children ? 3. Are there any essentially strong leaders of the community life ? Are any efforts made to discover and develop the latent talents of boys and girls in the community? Are these efforts ever overdone ? Has the community sent any men or women out 36 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES into the world to win a place in the world's work? Has the community any memories or traditions of an heroic past that may help to develop such attitudes in the children? Is the community intelligent in its efforts to conserve and develop its child life ? Has the community any vital ideals of future develop- ment and of future greatness? To what extent may it be said that the community is depending upon its own resources of strength and energy, and to what extent is it depending upon external help for its development ? Are there any latent human resources in the way of intelligence, skill, or taste that are not properly appreciated or properly developed within the community ? Are the teachers in the public schools interested in the com- munity's human resources, or merely in the books ? Are the minis- ters in the churches interested in these community resources ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson. The Country Town. Butterfield. Chapters in Rural Progress. Carnegie. Triumphant Democracy. (Later edition.) Commons. Races and Immigrants in America. Giddings. Inductive Sociology. Hasbach. History of English Agricultural Labor. Martin. History of the Grange Movement. Meline. The Return to the Land. Emerick, C. F. Agricultural Discontent, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. IX, p. 436. Fairchild, George T. Rural Wealth and Welfare. (New York, 1900.) Haggard, H. Rider. A Farmer's Year. (London, 1899.) Kelsey, Carl. The Negro Farmer. Harwood, W. S. The New Earth. (New York, 1906.) Chilcot, E. C. Dry Land Farming in the Great Plains Area, Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, p. 451. (1907.) HUMAN RESOURCES OF THE COMMUNITY 37 Collins, T. B. The New Agriculture. (New York, 1906.) Hall, Bolton. A Little Land and a Living. (New York, 1908.) Three Acres and Liberty. (New York, 1907.) Maxwell, G. H. The Homecrofters. Moore, H. E. Back to the Land. (London, 1893.) CHAPTER IV ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY Introductory. — We have now reviewed briefly some of the important problems which must be considered on account of the variations in the physical resources of the community. We have also briefly surveyed the problems confronting us in connection with the human resources of the community. It is natural that the next subject to be investigated should be the economic ac- tivities of the community. It has often been said and well said that the majority of man's time is devoted to making a living. The economic activities surely call for most of the time of the people of any community. In order to best consider the problems involved in a typical rural community, I have chosen to keep in mind a repre- sentative section which is not peculiar in any way, but which I believe to be typical for purposes of study. I have in mind a considerable community in north- west Georgia. I am not better acquainted with condi- tions in that community than with similar communities in any other part of the United States. My observations here are based upon information gleaned from studying rural conditions from a distance, — not from first-hand study. I should make it clear that I have passed 38 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 39 through this community several times and have stopped in it, but I have done the same with thousands of other communities in much the same way. I, therefore, am acquainted with the general characteristics of the dis- trict and the general rural status. Land in Farms. — The community under considera- tion, for purposes of this discussion, will be presumed to extend over an entire county. The area of this county is almost exactly 320,000 acres. The most casual reader should at once see that this is 500 sections of land. If this community were in the central west and were divided into the usual quarter-section farms, the reader would conclude at once that the community is settled by ap- proximately 2000 farmers, each operating the usual quarter section. This, however, is not the situation. Size of Farms. — It is of foremost importance that we should inquire at this point concerning the size of these farms. I suggested that if this were a typical community in the north central states we might expect to find these farms, generally speaking, 160 acres in size. A few would be 80 or 1 20 acres in size, and a few would be 200 or 240 acres in size, but the typical farm would be the 160-acre place. How different is this rural community in the South ! We find one suburban place under three acres reported as a farm and supporting a farm family. Then there are seventy-seven places between three and ten acres in size. These again are small suburban places, largely devoted to the production of vegetables, poultry, dairying, etc., but they support farm families. After 40 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES these we find 266 farms to be between ten and twenty- acres in size. These are real farms in the modern sense of the word. Evidently they are small farms. In many parts of the country they would be looked upon as being extremely small farms. The question would be raised whether or not they could support farm families. Clearly under the usual system of farming the farmers could not make any large amount of money and would have to live in comparatively small homes and live compara- tively simple lives. There are nn farms between twenty and fifty acres in size. This is the largest single class and represents a very important group. Following this class in importance, we find 825 farms ranging from fifty to 100 acres in size. This would seem to be more nearly the size of farm which might well be advocated for general agricultural purposes, and yet it is clear that there are more of the forty-acre farms than of the eighty- acre farms. We may now turn our attention to the larger places. There are 530 farms which range from 100 to 175 acres. This probably represents the class of quarter-section farms common in other parts of the country. Then there are 151 farms ranging from 175 to 260 acres ; and 99 farms ranging between 260 and 500 acres. It will be noted at once that the number of farms between 260 and 500 acres is only slightly larger than the number between three and ten acres. There are a few real large places in the county. The number between 500 and 1000 acres is 29, and those exceeding 1000 acres number three. ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 41 How different is the situation in the rural community under consideration from the rural community of the same size in the prairie region of the northwest. Here we have farms ranging from three to 1000 acres and over, — small farmers living in the most humble way to pros- perous farmers maintaining large establishments. It is proper to note here that the average size of farm for the entire community is about eighty-two acres, and it must be clear to any reasoning person that this does not mean that the farmers have anything like the same amount of property, or that the eighty-acre farm predominates. It might be noted also that the average number of acres of improved land per farm is almost exactly forty, but this does not mean that each farm family operates forty acres. The fact is, great numbers of farm families operate only five, ten, fifteen, or twenty acres of im- proved land, while many other farmers operate much larger tracts with the assistance of their families and hired labor. Growth. — The number of farmers in this community is increasing at the present time, and the question natu- rally would arise, " Does this mean that farms are growing smaller," or " Is there a considerable amount of unoccupied land which is now being taken up ? " Suffice it to say that even at the present time, slightly less than eighty acres out of every 100 acres of land in the county are in farms. This does not mean that the district is new or unsettled, and it certainly does not mean that there is government land available for settlement. It 42 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES means only that there is considerable rough land not available for agriculture. It means that there are a number of railroad right-of-ways which take considerable land. It means that one city of some 14,000 inhabitants occupies a considerable tract of land, and it means further that roads occupy some space. Aside from these and sites for country schools, churches, etc., the land reported as not in farms is owned by absentees, is not in use, and is not reported as farm land. This is probably largely timbered and not readily available at the present time for farming purposes. There is room for some expansion and some increase in the amount of land actually in farms and the increase is actually going on. In 1900 there were 246,508 acres in farms, whereas in 1 9 10 the land in farms had increased to 252,146 acres, — an increase of nearly 6000 acres. Land Improved. — But all land in farms is not im- proved. That is to say, all of the farm land is not actu- ally cultivated or preserved in good form for pastures in rotation. Indeed, a very large part of the land in farms is woodland, or if cleared, is not improved or used at the present time for cultivation. I noted above that whereas the average farm was about 82 acres in size, the average acreage of improved land per farm amounted to only forty acres. It should not surprise the reader, therefore, when I state that of the land in farms, only 48 per cent is improved. In other words, slightly less than one half of the land actually in farms is improved and available for cultivation. It might be worth while ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 43 to note, however, that the acreage of improved land is increasing. This is an evidence of thrift and work on the part of the agricultural class. Farmers are clearly not content with producing crops year after year on the same land and are increasing the acreage of land avail- able for cultivation. This is a sign of progress. The 1900 reports show that there were 110,420 acres of im- proved land in the community under consideration, whereas the report for 1910 shows 121,382 acres. This is an increase of considerably more than 10,000 acres in ten years. But even this is comparatively slow progress when we consider the fact that in this county there are 121,792 acres of woodland in farms. Much of this clearly could be improved if proper steps were taken. In addi- tion to this there are in farms almost 9000 acres of land not grown up with timber but not improved. This may be stump land, or stony land, or swamp land, or in some other way not available at the present time for agriculture. None the less, this must gradually be brought into use. Farm Labor. — I called attention to the fact that there are in the county a considerable number of places ex- ceeding 100 acres in size The actual number is 812. It is reasonable to believe that the farmers who operate these places are unable to do all of the work required. It is also reasonable to believe that a considerable number of farmers who have places from 50 to 100 acres would require some hired assistance during the working year. Each farmer in the community was asked whether or 44 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES not he employed any laborers during the preceding year, and 948 reported that they had the assistance of outside labor at some time during the year. This is almost one half of the farmers in the county. All of these, how- ever, did not employ regular laborers to serve through- out the year. This is clear from the statement that the total amount expended for labor during one year amounted to $99,304. This is an expenditure of slightly more than $100 per farmer for those who hired labor, and clearly would not pay for a laborer more than half a year on the average. Large numbers of these farmers hired laborers only for a very few days, while others hired laborers for the entire year. In addition to the amount paid out in cash, these same farmers reported an expenditure of approximately $11,000 for rent and board furnished to laborers. Value of Farm Property. — The average citizen, be he a student or other interested party, does not realize how much is invested in farm property in such a commu- nity as I have under consideration. The farmers in the county referred to were asked concerning the value of farm property under their charge, and the total value for the county is shown to be almost $6,000,000. The farmers in this same district were asked in 1900 concern- ing the value of their property, and reported at that time that it amounted to slightly more than $3,500,000. The increase in the value of farm property, therefore, during the ten years exceeded 68 per cent, and amounted to almost $2,500,000. Some students will say at once ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 45 that this is unearned increment, and that the property is the same as ten years ago, but I believe it is worth while to call attention to the fact that an increase of 10,000 acres in improved land necessarily called for a large amount of labor, and the property improved now is much more valuable. It is also true that the land which formerly was improved is doubtless much better improved than it was. There are fences, ditches, and drains ; there are more and better buildings ; there are more and better animals on the farms ; there are more and better implements and machinery. All of these have added to the farm worth, and an increase amount- ing to a quarter of a million a year during the last ten years is an item which cannot be passed over lightly. Of the total value of farm property, $3,472,000 repre- sents the land alone. This is almost 60 per cent of the total value. The next item in importance is the value of the buildings, amounting to $1,264,000, or almost 22 per cent of the total value. The buildings on the farms in this community have doubled in value in the last ten years. Live stock on farms is valued at almost $900,000, whereas ten years ago the total value of live stock on farms was less than $500,000. Live stock rep- resented 15 per cent of the value of farm property. Im- plements and machinery have doubled in value during the decade, and although only 5 per cent of the value of all farm property they are reported to be worth over $271,000. The figures given above are very large, and many 46 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES readers do not like large terms. It is worth while to note, therefore, that the average value of land per acre is $13.77 according to the answers given by the 3000 farmers interviewed. The average value reported ten years ago was $9.09 per acre, showing a very material increase during the last decade. The actual increase when figured in dollars and cents amounts to almost fifty cents an acre during each year. This should be kept in mind by present owners, and also should be kept in mind by present tenants who hope to become owners. The value of the average farm with all of its equipment is slightly less than $2000. Of course this must necessa- rily vary according to the size of the farm and the extent to which the farm is improved. The average value of buildings per farm for the entire county slightly exceeds $400. This includes the houses and other buildings, and seems very low, but it must be remembered that a very large number of small and very poor sets of buildings are included, offsetting the higher average value of buildings reported for many farms. The average value of implements and machinery per farm for the entire community is only $90. This again is extremely small, but shows that a very large amount of the labor must be performed by the farmers themselves rather than by machines guided by laborers. Live Stock on Farms. — The live stock industry has attained considerable importance among the farmers of the community under consideration. This is evi- denced by the fact that all but 89 of the farmers reported ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 47 domestic animals of some kind. Those who did not report any domestic animals were small suburban vege- table growers and poultry raisers. There were also a few tenants who did not have any animals on their farms, but who were supplied animals by the owners of the land. The total value of these domestic animals was $868,000 in round numbers. This is a very important item in agriculture, and is of increasing importance. The average value of live stock per farm for the entire com- munity is almost $300. This is very materially above the average for ten years ago, when it amounted to about $150. The growth of the live stock industry only means much for the community. The most important class of domestic animals reported is mules. The num- ber reported was 3673. This is an average of somewhat more than one mule per farm for all farmers in the dis- trict. Of course all farmers did not have mules, and several had two mules or more. The most striking feature of the report pertaining to mules is the fact that only 23 yearling mules were reported. It is perfectly clear from this that the farmers of Georgia, especially the farmers of the community under consideration, do not raise their own mules. If I were called upon to point out the greatest errors committed by the farmers of this community I would point out this as one of them. Only fifteen spring mule colts were reported. It is a striking fact that the average value of the mature mules for the state of Georgia is almost exactly $150. The average value of the yearling mule colt is almost 48 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES $75, and the average value of the spring colt is $40. Here is the point which I desire to emphasize! There are sixty-four farmers out of every 100 who report mules on their farms, and yet only one farmer out of every 1000 who reports spring mule colts. Less than one out of every 150 farmers had on their places any colts. These animals are produced in other parts of the country when they could be raised to very great advan- tage on the farms which need them. It is extremely un- fortunate that these farmers do not attempt to raise their own work animals. There are almost one half as many horses in the com- munity as there are mules, and about one half as many farmers report horses as report mules. The average value of the horse is slightly lower than that of the mule. Here again the same striking - situation exists. Only fifty-five yearling horse colts were reported from the entire county. Here is evidence enough that the farmers purchase not only mules but horses to carry on their work. This is an exorbitant drain on the community. There were reported in the county about 9000 cattle. This is an average of approximately three cattle for each farmer in the community. When we take into consid- eration the fact that half of the land in farms is wood- land or otherwise unimproved, and think of the amount of wild pasturage available, it is strange that there are not more cattle of all kinds. One half of the cattle are dairy cows, the others being distributed among the various classes of steers, bulls, calves, and heifers. It is inter- ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 49 esting to note that the average value of the dairy cows is slightly more than $20. All other classes of animals fall materially below this. Three out of every four farmers in Georgia have swine on their farms. In the community under consideration, 7000 swine were reported at the time of the last census. This leaves a very low average number of swine for each farmer, the average being three or four. It would seem that great opportunities present themselves at the present time looking toward the development of the swine industry. Climatic conditions are favorable. The production of corn is practicable and more or less common, and the prices paid for pork are very high. Indeed, at the present time, the produc- tion of meat is an important industry which should not be overlooked, and this particular branch is especially profitable at the present time. The total number of sheep owned by these 3000 farmers is only about 1000. Clearly the farmers are not at the present time largely engaged in the sheep industry. It may be noted that only about two farmers of every 100 had sheep. It would seem that with the present high price of wool and the high price of mutton and lamb, and the general demand for other products of the sheep industry, that farmers would undertake the production of sheep more generally if land were available for that purpose. In the community of which I write, there are large tracts of land used little or not at all at the present time. These lands might well be utilized to advantage in the extension of the sheep and goat indus- 50 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES try. This may call for more vigilance in seeking out wild animals which prey upon the lambs and kids. It would require discrimination in the ownership of dogs ; it would require more and better fences ; and it seems reasonable to believe that the demands at the present time are such as to warrant these changes. Turning our attention now towards one of the minor branches of the live stock industry, but none the less a branch which the farmers cannot afford to overlook, I desire to call attention to the status of poultry produc- tion at the present time. I find that 84 farmers out of every 100, covering the entire state of Georgia, have chickens. In the particular community under con- sideration, about the same proportion exists. About eight farmers out of every 100 have turkeys ; six have geese; seven have guinea-fowls; and three have ducks. Only a very, very few have pigeons and pea-fowls. These 3000 farmers have on their farms almost 70,000 fowls in the spring of the year. This is the basis of their activities during the coming summer. The total value of these fowls is nearly $30,000 or $10 a farm. Of course many farmers have considerably more than $10 worth of fowls, and many have much less than this. During an average year, four out of every five farmers raise a considerable number of chickens. The total production of fowls on the farms in this community during a typical year is approximately 175,000. This is nearly sixty fowls per farm. The total value of the fowls produced amounts to more than $50,000, or between $15 and $20 ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 5 1 per farm. It is my thorough belief that in this commu- nity, farmers should raise three or four times as many fowls, and should have an income from this industry alone many times what they have now. Only 1052 farmers sold fowls of any kind during the year 1909. Thus, only one farmer out of three had a yearly revenue from the sale of chickens. These thou- sand farmers sold an average of forty chickens each, and derived a revenue of a little more than $11.50 from this source. If they had sold four times this many and had an average revenue of $50 per farm, they would have reached a more reasonable stage of development. Turning attention now to the production and sale of eggs by the farmers in this community, 250,000 dozens of eggs were produced during one year. These were valued at about $50,000. With the increase in the production of fowls, there would be an increase in the production of eggs, and in a community of this sort there should be a production of at least a million dozens, with a value of $200,000. A larger number of farmers sold eggs than sold chickens. The number who re- ported the sale of eggs during one year was 1280, and they reported the sale of 90,000 dozens of eggs with an income from this source of $18,000. From this it will be seen that the average dozen of eggs was sold for twenty cents. From the above statement it will be seen that the 3000 farmers in the community produced poultry and eggs valued at more than $100,000, and sold a little more than one fourth of what they produced. From 52 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES this it will be seen that the production of poultry and eggs was largely for home consumption, and only about one third of the farmers sold any of these productions. Those who did sell had an income from poultry and eggs very close to $30 each. If these farmers would organize a selling society and would double their production they could afford to employ a selling agent throughout the year. At the present time, their sales amount to $30,000 for poultry and eggs. If this were doubled and they sold $60,000 worth they could pay a very good salary to a satisfactory agent. One per cent of $60,000 is $600, or $50 a month. Dealers at the present time expect to make from 5 to 10 per cent, and many do not stop short of 15 or 20 per cent. Farm Crops. — In the state of Georgia, nine farmers out of every ten produce some corn. These farmers have an average of from twelve to fifteen acres per farm. This is evidence of the fact that corn can be grown and indeed corn is grown to a considerable extent in that state. In the community of which I write, corn is grown successfully. The total acreage in an average year exceeds 27,000. The farmers have an average of ten acres of corn each, but the production is not high, — • the average being probably from twelve to fifteen bushels per acre. There is evidence, however, that corn produc- tion is possible and is grown quite generally throughout the district. There is evidence also that the soils are badly worn and need careful attention. Of the 3092 farmers in the community, I find that 2367 purchase ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 53 commercial fertilizers. They spend on an average of almost $100,000 a year, or $30 each. There is something wrong with this system of agriculture. If the farmers must purchase fertilizers, they should all join hands and form a purchasing society. They should purchase by the carload lot, and should save as much as possible in this way. They should get the best expert advice as to the value of the fertilizer which they are purchasing. They should know that much of the fertilizer which they are purchasing is practically useless. But these farmers should not spend $100,000 a year for commercial fer- tilizer. With live-stock products so high, they should go into raising of animals of all sorts. This would re- sult in the demand for more pasture. This calls for more hay and forage. This in turn calls for the production of more natural fertilizer which in turn enriches the soil. The income would be greater because of the possibilities of the live-stock industry at the present time. Lands would be enriched and larger crops would be grown ; other products would result, and at the same time the farmers would save this $100,000 which now goes for fertilizers. Purchase of Feed. — At the present time, the farmers in the community under consideration do not produce enough feed for the live stock which they have, and therefore attention must necessarily be directed towards this subject. About one farmer out of every four pur- chases feed, and the amount expended for feed during one year is about $50,000. Of course steps should be taken as rapidly as possible to remedy this. 54 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Selling of Feed. — It should be noted, however, in contrast to the above statements that a considerable number of farmers sell feed. The total receipts from sale of feed during the same year, however, was only about one half the amount paid out for feed. I find that 185 out of 3092 farmers sold corn. They disposed of 14,377 bushels and received for it $13,521. This is almost a dollar a bushel and must be a very profitable crop at this price. Only fifty-two farmers sold oats. These sold 8316 bushels and received $7466. This is nearly 90 cents a bushel, and is again a very good price. Hay and coarse forage of some kind was sold by forty-four farmers. They sold 339 tons and received $6040. This is a very high price, considering the possibilities of production. It will be seen at once that a very small number of farmers produced more feed than they used, while a very large number used more feed than they pro- duced, and if the farmers raised as many domestic animals of the different classes as they should the produc- tion of feed would have to be increased very materially. Turning attention now to the hay and forage crop, it is interesting to note that only 45,000 farmers out of 290,000 in the state of Georgia produce hay and forage of any kind. In 1909, they devoted 253,000 acres to hay and forage, an average of between five and six acres per farm reporting. In the community to which I refer, the farmers devoted 5471 acres to hay and forage crops, and received in return 5605 tons which is a little more than one ton per acre. A very large number of ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 55 farmers did not have any hay or forage crop. Grain cut green was the largest individual forage crop, and after this came a group of various tame and cultivated grasses. It would seem that much more time, land, and attention should be devoted to these crops. In addition to 27,000 acres devoted to corn, there were something more than 4000 acres devoted to oats. Less than 800 acres were devoted to wheat. Some of the farmers produced dry peas and a few produced peanuts. The total production of sweet potatoes was about 400 acres, yielding 35,000 bushels. This is a yield of about ninety bushels to the acre, and demonstrates clearly that the production of sweet potatoes is economic and advantageous. The reports show that 38,000 acres were devoted to cotton and 14,000 bales were produced. Fruit Production. — Apples are grown much more extensively in Georgia than is generally supposed. In the entire state, 62,000 farmers, or nearly one out of every four, have apple trees of bearing age. Further than this, many farmers are setting out apple trees, and at the present time there are more than 27,000 farmers who have apple trees not yet of bearing age. This is one out of every ten farmers. In the community to which I am referring, 845 of the 3092 farmers reported apple trees, and the average number per farm is almost 100. It is evident from this that almost one third of the farmers have apple trees, and they have on an average more than an acre devoted to this particular fruit. Also, 358 farmers have trees not yet of bearing age and have 56 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES an average of almost sixty young trees per farm. It is perfectly clear from this that the farmers are interested in the production of apples. There is need for a society for the marketing of apples, or the manufacturing of cider and vinegar, or for the drying, preserving, and canning of the fruit. The individual farmer cannot handle his crop to advantage but must join with his neighbors who are interested in the same field of activity. In 1909 the farmers in this district produced something more than 20,000 bushels of apples and reported them to be valued at more than ninety cents a bushel. The production of peaches is much more common in Georgia than is the production of apples. It is true that there are not many more farmers interested in peach production than in apple production, but those who are interested are much more extensively engaged. Nearly 75,000 farmers, or one fourth of the farmers in the state, reported peach trees, and they reported a total of more than 10,000,000 trees of bearing age. This is nearly 150 trees per farm for the state as a whole. New trees are being set out constantly. About one third as many farmers have young trees as have mature trees. The total number of these young trees exceeds 1,500,000. In the community to which I refer, almost exactly the same number of farmers have peach trees as have apple trees. I noted above that 845 had apple trees and I note now that 885 have peach trees, but I reported only about 80,000 apple trees, whereas the 885 farmers have more than 400,000 peach trees, or nearly 500 trees per ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 57 farm. A considerable number have trees not yet of bearing age, and the number of those trees is about 18,000. The greatest necessity at the present time is the study of the best care of these fruit trees, and the best methods of marketing the fruit. The farmers should thoroughly organize to market their fruit, and until they do organize they cannot expect to make much money from their enterprises. Provision should be made to dry and can or otherwise preserve these fruits in season when the market is low, and a general manager should look after the securing of proper crates, the packing, sorting, and grading of the fruit, as well as railroad rates, market prices, etc., if the products are to be sold as fresh fruit. The production of pears is of much less importance in the state, but even this industry might easily develop into one of very large proportions. Only 185 of the 3092 farmers in the community under consideration reported pear trees. These reported an average of about twenty- five per farm. Such pears as were produced, however, were reported to be worth almost $1 per bushel. Plums, like pears, hold a secondary place both in the state and in the community being studied. Only 94 farmers reported plum trees and these reported an aver- age of from forty to fifty trees per farm. About one third as many reported young trees and these reported an average of ten trees per farm showing that at least a few of the farmers are interested in the building up of this industry. A study should be made showing the 58 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES successes and failures of these few farmers who are attempting to build up this industry, and if successful in their efforts enough farmers should go into the busi- ness to make a good organization possible. What I have said of plum trees is equally true of cherry trees. Only about one farmer out of every thirty in the state reports cherry trees, and the average number of trees for the state as a whole does not exceed five per farmer. In this special community in the northwestern part of the state, however, although the number of farmers re- porting is only eighty-one, they have an average of thirteen trees per farm. Such cherries as they produce they reported to be worth more than $2 a bushel. The production of apricots is almost unknown in the community under consideration. Six farmers, however, have from one to two trees and are conducting experi- ments. None of these reported any production from their trees. A very small number of farmers reported the production of quinces, showing that this fruit, also, is the subject of experiment. There is at the present time great opportunity to ex- tend the production of several different kinds of orchard fruits, and the farmers of this community should not be satisfied until they have learned better how to pro- duce these fruits, to care for their orchards, and to secure the best results ; and after they have learned these lessons they must turn their attention towards the problem of marketing and preserving the fruit after it is produced. The production of grapes is not carried on extensively ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 59 in Georgia. There are, however, a considerable number of farmers who produce grapes and their products. In the state as a whole nearly 16,000 farmers report grape vines of bearing age, and one fourth as many report grape vines not yet of bearing age. These farmers reported that they had some 278,000 mature grape vines, from which they secured about 2,767,000 pounds of grapes, valued at approximately $100,000. In the community which I have in mind, only 168 farmers re- ported grape vines of bearing age. They have more than 7000 vines, and according to their more recent reports produce considerably more than 50,000 pounds of grapes in a year. This is nearly eight pounds to the vine. The total value of the grapes produced amounted to slightly less than $10 per farm. This, however, is a beginning and is enough to give evidence of the possi- bilities, provided the farmers could devote time and attention to this industry. The farmers of Georgia produce comparatively small amounts of small fruits. Without going into detail, I wish to note that only eighteen of the 3092 farmers, whose activities we are discussing, reported any amount of strawberries. These farmers reported nearly fifty acres devoted to strawberries, and produced nearly 73,000 quarts. The average value per quart was approx- imately ten cents. From this it will be seen that these farmers produced more than $150 worth of strawberries per acre. Raspberries, loganberries, currants, and other small fruits were almost entirely missing. 60 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Vegetables. — ■ Every farmer should have a farm garden, and every farm family should have vegetables for the family table. It is a striking fact that in the state of Georgia, only 131,000 out of every 291,000 farmers produced sweet potatoes on their farms. This is less than one half of the farmers. Only 24,000 farmers produced white potatoes. This is also a very small percentage of all farmers. A much larger percentage of the farmers, however, had farm gardens, — 215,000 reporting at least a small vegetable garden. Of these, 37,272 reported that their gardens were so small that it would be impossible to state the area or value of the vegetables grown. This leaves only 177,000, or not much more than 60 per cent, who have real gardens worthy of the name. The total area of these gardens amounted to 91,000 acres, or approximately one half acre per farm. Turning our attention now to the particular com- munity we have been considering, it is interesting to note that 2484 of the 3092 farmers reported that they had farm gardens. This leaves about 600 without any garden of any kind. Of those who have gardens, 423 had such small ones that they were unable to assign any area or value to the products. This leaves 2061 farmers who had vegetable gardens. They reported a total acreage of 828, or a little less than one half acre per farm. The average value of the vegetables per farm amounted to something like $40, which means that the average value of vegetables per acre was nearly if not quite $90. This ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 6 1 is a very good showing for those who had vegetable crops, and ought to be encouraged and extended. A few of these farmers are in vegetable production as a leading industry. In order to ascertain how many of these farmers depended upon vegetables for their in- come, an investigation was made to find out how many valued their vegetables at $500 or more. It was thought that farmers who had vegetables valued at $500 were worthy of being considered commercial vegetable farmers, comparable to commercial fruit farmers or commercial grain farmers. Of the 3092 farmers in this community who were interviewed on this subject, only twelve had produced vegetables with a valuation exceed- ing $500. These farmers had eighty-nine acres of vege- tables, which is between seven and eight acres per farm. From this area were secured about $12,000 worth of vegetables. This is an average of very nearly $140 per acre. It is clear, therefore, that whereas the average farmer with a small tract of land values his vegetables at something like $90 an acre, the commercial gardener, who produces vegetables in quantities and attends his crops carefully, is able to secure approximately $140 an acre from his garden products. If farmers generally would devote an acre or even more to vegetables, and then would systematically organize to dispose of their surplus, they would find it a very profitable movement. They could have a small canning factory, with regular wagons to go about among the farmers collecting surplus vegetables of all kinds. 62 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES These could be carried to the cooperative factory where they would be preserved for winter use, and any surplus could be shipped to distant parts in carload lots. Small fruits and orchard fruits would be carefully graded, sorted, packed, and prepared for shipment by these or- ganizations, and if the market was not satisfactory, the peaches could be canned, the apples sliced and dried, or made into cider or vinegar. There are great oppor- tunities along this line, if farmers could only become acquainted with the possibilities. Conclusions. — There are many economic activities which the individual farmer with his land and equip- ment and with the aid of his family is able to carry on ; there are many other activities in which many farmers must join their efforts. This is the field of rural eco- nomic cooperation. Aside from this sort of cooperation, farmers should and to a large extent do cooperate in the building of churches, providing for educational and social activities, etc. The need for cooperation in con- nection with the business side of agriculture is as pressing as in any other field of activity. Many kinds of coopera- tion not indicated in the above paragraphs must be worked out for each community. J. L. C. SURVEY OF THE ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIPS OF THE COMMUNITY i. What are the economic relationships that exist within the community? How many families in the community are free- holders? How many renters? How many dependent? How ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 63 many absentee landlords represented by community property holdings ? How many idle rich in the community ? 2. What provisions in the community for rapid transportation? For rapid communication ? Has the community well-developed systems of public roads ? Has it well-developed means of com- munication with other communities surrounding, and with the State or world at large ? What are the commercial and industrial relationships of your community to surrounding communities ? Are these relationships along lines of easiest access ? 3. What is the average size of the farms of the community ? Are the farms adequately developed ? Is there waste land because of community social forms of ownership ? To what extent is the total available agricultural land improved ? What is the average value of farm property? How does this average compare with the values in surrounding communities ? If greater or less, what reasons ? What is the source of supply of farm labor in the busy seasons ? What wages are paid ? Are these normal or abnormal wages ? What is the normal relationship between the number of farmers and unattached laborers in your community? Do these relationships develop any unsettled economic conditions ? Is there any economic agitation or unrest in the community ? What forms do these agitations take ? Are they developing political affiliations ? 4. What are the means and methods of marketing the products of the community ? Are these carefully planned out ? Is the method employed that of individual sale, or are there cooperative corporations or associations ? Has anything of a cooperative nature ever been undertaken ? If so, what was its history ? 5. What is the economic status of the women of the community ? What are the prospects before young men and young women as to life in their own community? What are the ideals of the boys and young men with reference to work ? Is there any par- ticular drift from the country to the city in your community ? Is there any return movement from the city back to the land ? 64 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES To what extent do the members of the community, whether farmers or business men, look upon work as something to be escaped from? To what extent are the schools educating for lives of work ? To what extent do the economic activities of the com- munity enter into the curriculum of the schools of the community ? To what extent is the teacher acquainted with the economic life of the community? To what extent do the economic demands of the community make themselves felt upon the life of the school ? Could a survey similar to the above be worked out in your community ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Adams. Science of Finance. Adkinson. Distribution of Products. Aves. Cooperative Industries. Bailey. Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. 4 Vols. Daniel. Taxation. Emerson and Flint. Manual of Agriculture. Fairchild. Rural Wealth and Welfare. Fay. Cooperation at Home and Abroad. Fraser. America at Work. Hadley. Railroads. Hobson. Cooperative Labor on the Land. Meyer. Railway Legislation in U. S. (1903.) Pratt. Organization of Agriculture. Small Holders. Roberts. The Farmer's Business Handbook. Seligman. Essays on Taxation. Wall. Handbook for Farmers and Dairymen. Fay, C. R. Cooperation at Home and Abroad. (New York, 1908.) Nicholson, J. S. The Relations of Rents, Wages, and Profits in Agriculture and their Bearing on Rural Depopulation. (Lon- don, 1906.) ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMUNITY 65 Card, F. W. Farm Management. (New York, 1909.) Adams, Edward F. The Modem Farmer in His Business Rela- tions. (San Francisco, 1899.) Aldrich, Wilbur. Farming Corporations. (New York, 1892.) Hale, J. H. The Business Side of Agriculture. Massachusetts Public Documents. (New York, 1898.) Caird, Sir James. The Landed Interest and the Supply of Food. (London, 1878.) Levy, J. H. (Ed.). Symposium on the Land Question. Kropotkin, P. Fields, Factories, and Workshops. (Boston, 1899.) CHAPTER V COMMUNITY HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANI- TATION The word community may have a large range of mean- ing. In the present sense " the community " is meant to include only rural neighborhoods, villages, and small towns. In other words, those social units which are sufficiently small for every one to know practically all his neighbors. It is precisely in these smaller social units that the progress of modern sanitation has lagged behind the most. Why has this been so? Is it possible to apply the principles of modern sanitation to these small com- munities ? From time immemorial poets, philosophers, and his- torians have pointed out that people in the country were healthier, happier, of greater physical stamina, and longer lived than in the city. It had always been held self- evident that man must run more risk of disease in cities than in villages and rural districts, and until the estab- lishment of modern sanitary science this view was sub- stantiated by facts. The death rates of cities were higher than those of small towns and rural districts — frequently almost twice as high. Naturally there grew up a universal belief, still tenaciously held, that the city 66 COMMUNITY HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANITATION 67 dweller alone stood in need of protection for his health's sake ; a belief that Nature herself did the service of health officer for the dweller in the open places, and that her care was continuous and that her methods could not be bettered. This fallacious idea is still the greatest ob- stacle to the progress of sanitation in the villages and farms of the nation. In reality many of the largest cities, thanks to modern sanitary science, now have lower rates of death and of sickness than the rural sections and small towns in their vicinity. Every year shows the larger cities de- creasing their death rates, while the death rates for rural sections either decrease very, very slowly or not at all. Moreover, in these muckraking days, sanitarians are not lacking in the land who are shattering to its last founda- tions our long cherished belief in the superiority of the country as regards everything that makes for health. They declare that the city of to-day is not only healthier than the average rural community but that it would be still freer from contagious disease if it were not for the baneful influence of its insanitary rural neighbors. Sad days for the sentimentalists are these when the cold hearted scientist is not content with defaming the well of "The Old Oaken Bucket," by asserting that the water from the apartment house tap is of better sanitary quality, but even goes farther and proves in his most exasperating, irrefutable fashion that " The Old Oaken Bucket," in many cases, actually brings up the deadly typhoid germs concealed in its sparkling clear water. 68 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES But so it is. The facts are with the iconoclast in many respects. Thus it has come about that the modern progressive city must jealously watch her country neigh- bors to protect the lives and health of her own citizens. The privies and barnyards of villages and farms are polluting the city watershed ; the milk from dirty farm- houses is continually producing fatal diarrhea in city infants, sowing the seeds of tuberculosis in city children, and every now and then causing an outbreak of typhoid, diphtheria, or scarlet fever among the city's citizens of all ages. The reason why there is crying need for greater in- terest in sanitation in the smaller communities is because such communities, hugging the delusion of superiority over the cities in matters of health, have done nothing to insure good health for themselves ; hence, the in- evitable result that they are being hygienically outclassed by the cities who have more than overcome by science the handicap imposed by nature. Granted that there is need of hygienic awakening in the smaller communities, there still remains the question of how sanitary advances can be made in our smaller social units. Man's fundamental sanitary needs are the same whether he live in Chicago or in the valley of the Yakima. He needs pure water, pure milk, pure food, pure air, protection against contagious disease and accident, sanitary housing, proper preparation of his food, conditions of labor which do not involve exhaus- tion and depletion of his vitality, reasonable hours of COMMUNITY HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANITATION 69 rest, a certain amount of recreation, and safe disposal of the wastes of mankind, animals, and industrial es- tablishments. The ends are the same, the means must of necessity vary widely, but they are almost everywhere within reach. The fact that the dweller in the rural hamlet cannot have a municipally guarded and purified water supply is no valid reason why he should consider it nec- essary to allow his shallow well to receive the drainage of his privy and barnyard. Yet how often does the rural citizen seem to make his sanitary arrangements on that basis ! The kind of dwelling in which people live is far more easily controlled by the individual in the country than in the city. In the city building restrictions, location of streets, the direction in which the lots face, the nearness to the neighboring buildings, all have their effect upon the dwelling and all are largely beyond the control of the individual. But in villages, and to an even greater extent in the open country, all these things are under the individual's control. A locality with good natural drainage, preferably with a slight elevation and with a pleasant southern exposure, has long been recognized by the common experience of mankind as the greatest desideratum in a country residence. Yet how frequently in a region where all these conditions could be easily fulfilled will the typical farmhouse be found in a damp bottom, with the sun cut off for a large portion of the day, and receiving _^ 70 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES the surface drainage of the outhouses located on higher ground ? The old idea of keeping nearly all the rooms of a dwell- ing shut and the windows tightly closed has, happily, largely become a thing of the past, yet adequate domestic ventilation, especially of sleeping apartments, is all too infrequently practiced to-day. Perhaps the greatest problem that smaller communities have to face from a sanitary standpoint is the inter- related problem of drinking water and disposal of wastes. If the community is too small or too scattered to admit of a community water supply, then the citizens must usually depend upon individual wells. It is frequently assumed that wells are inherently dangerous. In reality, a well properly chosen and properly protected is frequently a safer source of water than many city supplies. But only too frequently can the well be found utterly unprotected from surface pollution, shallow, un- cleaned, and directly in the path of seepage from privy vaults on higher ground. The toilet in small communities is another serious sanitary problem. The crude, old-fashioned, open privy vault is too prevalent. There have been many varieties of sewage disposal evolved for isolated dwellings based upon the septic tank principle, which will work in prac- tice as well as in theory if they be scientifically con- structed and properly calculated as to size. Even if flush toilets are not available, the ordinary toilet can be vastly improved by the installation of screens, regular COMMUNITY HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANITATION 7 1 disinfection with lime, and periodical cleaning. Where toilets must of necessity be located within dangerously near proximity to equally inevitable wells, there should be a rigidly enforced community law that all such toilets must be constructed with water-tight vaults, of concrete preferably, so that there can be no pollution of the wells. The cesspool has been characterized by an indignant health official as the sanitary abomination ; yet in some form or other they are frequently necessary. If they receive only kitchen waste and are properly con- structed they are not particularly dangerous from a sanitary standpoint. Even though they receive the entire sewage of a household they can frequently be so arranged in respect to location and character of construc- tion as to be not objectionable. As a rule, there is nothing which so well repays the financial sacrifice by small communities as the installation of a sewerage system at the earliest possible opportunity. But if such a system is contemplated, the doctrine of the " square deal " ought to be enough to restrain any com- munity from dumping its sewage into the drinking water of a sister community. Garbage collection and destruction is another neces- sity of community life which is often erroneously sup- posed to concern larger cities alone. How often will the visiting sanitarian be told that a certain community has no garbage problem because every one disposes of his own, and how frequently will a half hour inspection of village back lots annihilate this pleasant little fiction ! 72 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES And how long will American communities be content to have one clean-up day a year or a decade instead of treating the removal of garbage and refuse as it should be treated — as a community problem, to be promptly and efficiently handled by the community ? The fly has come in for a great deal of adverse promi- nence in the past few years, and deservedly so. " Musca Domestica " is a bad citizen! But there is small oppor- tunity of suppressing him by swattings, screens, traps, and poisons while unprotected and undisturbed manure piles and privies continue to fulfill their function as fly incubators. The city dweller has his milk supply scrutinized by scores of watchful officials and safeguarded by many carefully enforced provisions which go far to offset the handicap of long transportation and the handling in- volved. But the villager, living within a few miles of the dairies from which his milk supply comes, fre- quently needs to summon the faith that will stub- bornly ignore the evidence of the senses, and go on the hypothesis that to the pure all things are pure before he can swallow with equanimity the bacterial aquarium that is left in his milk can daily. Those who have visited rural slaughterhouses are fully aware of two facts ; first, that it is no superhuman feat to keep a small slaughterhouse, located in a se- cluded field or near the bank of a beautiful running brook, in a neat, clean, and presentable condition, and, secondly, that this is very seldom done. Tongue cannot COMMUNITY HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANITATION 73 tell nor pen describe the type of slovenly kept, foul, insanitary rural slaughterhouse so often found by any one who will take the trouble to make even the most super- ficial inspection. It needs the combined evidence of the optic and olfactory organs to paint that vivid picture upon the brain, but once experienced it will never be forgotten. The community schools should be sanitary models for all its citizens. They should be models of cleanliness, good lighting, good water supply, proper ventilation, and of adequate sanitary toilet facilities, including sanitary facilities for drinking water. In them the future citizens of the nation spend nearly half their wak- ing hours most of the months of the years which have the most important bearing upon their character formation and upon their final physical development. The teacher in the public schools should be sufficiently posted in the rudiments of private and public hygiene, and should be sufficiently awake to the vital importance of the subject to inculcate in the minds of the pupils daily some practical application of hygienic principles. Not many years ago public health was often regarded as synonymous with epidemiology. Men felt that if special guards were appointed, quarantine rigidly main- tained, and elaborate disinfection measures carried out during times of epidemic peril, all had been done that was humanly possible ; then the balance of the responsibility was conveniently shifted on to " Divine Providence," ?„nd the community went on its way as usual until a new outbreak occurred. 74 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Each year it is being better appreciated that epidemics and contagious diseases, both important com- munity problems as they are, fall far short of compris- ing the entire field of public health and sanitation. At the same time the] manner of handling and the check- ing or prevention of outbreaks of contagious diseases is one of the community's most important moral obliga- tions. Contagious diseases can only be checked or prevented by intelligent watchfulness and care. A portion of this protection against contagious diseases the nation provides, another portion is extended by the activities of the state and county health organizations, but a very large proportion of this protection must be provided by the local community, whether that com- munity be large or small. What is everybody's business is usually nobody's business, hence the necessity of the health official. One of the great economic and social lessons that the American people must learn in the next generation is that there is as great if not greater need for the serv- ices of the trained sanitarian in the country as in the city. He must develop his style of attack against the three great mortal enemies of man — Ignorance, Filth, and Disease, along quite different lines from those of his colleague, the municipal sanitarian. Nevertheless, his services are just as badly needed and just as valuable. He must supervise the health of the children in their schools, he must scrutinize the wells, the houses, the out- houses, the dairies, the yards, and the manure piles. He COMMUNITY HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANITATION 75 must call attention to any conditions that are prejudicial to the health, safety, and comfort of the community, and insist by persuasion usually, by legal means very rarely, that all such conditions be remedied. He must study the channels of infection and endeavor to prevent any infectious diseases from obtaining a foothold in his com- munity, and if they do crop up, in spite of his endeavors, then he must exert himself to the utmost to prevent their dissemination broadcast through his jurisdiction. And, finally, every community should insist that its vital bookkeeping be kept up to date. The progressive citizen, and particularly the progressive educator, should not be content to remain in ignorance as to the significance of the death rate. And the intelligent citi- zen of any community, large or small, should not only know what the death rate of his community is from year to year, but he should know what it has been for years back. And if he finds that there has been a standstill or an increase in his community's death rate for the past two decades, then let him bestir himself and begin to arouse his fellow citizens, for he is living in a community which has failed to keep up with the spirit of the twentieth century. And if upon inquiry he should find that he is living in a community which does not even regard human life as of sufficient value to keep the tally of the deaths of its citizens, then let him bestir himself with double vigor ; for, from the standpoint of public health, he is living in a semibarbarous and not in a civilized community. E. R. K. 76 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES SURVEY OF THE CONDITIONS OF HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANITATION IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY i. What is the average death rate of your community? What is the death rate for the children of your community? Have there been any serious epidemics in the community in the past decade ? What kind, if any ? What were their causes ? Have the causes been determined and removed ? What is the attitude of the community with reference to sickness and epidemics ; that is, does the community accept these things as natural and neces- sary, or is there an intelligent appreciation of the fact that a great many dreaded diseases are preventable? Are there many cases of typhoid fever in the community? Is there some genuine in- formation in the community in reference to the causes of typhoid fever ? 2. What is the general standard of vitality in the people of the community ? Are they energetic, full of life, or lacking in vitality ? Are there any reasons for the conditions that exist? Are there any social excuses extant for the persistence of community hygienic conditions? What is the community attitude toward questions of drinking water, milk, stale foods, and the like ? Has there been any sort of crusade against flies and other insects that spread infection and contagion? 3. What factors may tend to make a well dangerous and con- taminate the drinking water? What factors may make milk impure ? What conditions about the home may become sources of disease ? Is the community backward in any of its provisions for complete sanitation ? 4. Are the health officers of the community intelligent and alert in doing their duty? Are sources of contagion and con- tamination immediately investigated and controlled ? Will public opinion permit social control of health conditions in the com- munity ? Are the local doctors capable and responsible in these matters ? COMMUNITY HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANITATION 77 5. Why is the average typhoid death rate in the United States and Canada about four times as high as in Europe ? Why do a large percentage of all infants born in the United States die before they are a year old? Whose fault is it that these things are true ? What is being done by your community toward develop- ing a greater intelligence in reference to the problems of health, of general hygiene, and community sanitary conditions ? 6. What is being done by your school toward promoting com- munity intelligence along these lines? What is being done in your school to safeguard the health and vitality of the children themselves ? How often should the air of a schoolroom be changed ? Is there any special ventilating system employed in your school ? What is the proper ratio between window space and floor space in a schoolroom ? (See Dressier, American School- houses, published by the United States Bureau of Education.) What measures do you follow for safeguarding the vision of the boys and girls in the schoolroom ? To what extent, if any, does school work tend to lower the level of vitality of your boys and girls? Are they paying for their intellectual advancement in lowered physical vitality ? Are you taking steps to make sure that the teeth of the children are being properly cared for ? Are there any feeble-minded or defective children in the school who are a dead weight upon the school and who should be in appro- priate institutions? Are there any with nervous disorders or epileptics who are not being properly cared for ? Does the general atmosphere of the school tend to preserve a healthy state of mind and body in the children of the schools? If not, why? Does the work of the school tend to produce unnatural strains on the teacher ? If so, why ? BIBLIOGRAPHY It is impossible at present to select any one or any group of works that will cover this subject. Most of the State Boards of Health and the United States Public Health Service, and the 78 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Health Departments of the larger cities of the country publish bulletins and reports. Requests to the secretary of any State Board of Health, stating upon just what topic information is desired, will be at once answered, and if the State has any bulle- tins on that subject they are furnished free of charge up to the limit of the edition. The United States Public Health Service Reports can be ob- tained by forwarding to the Surgeon-General of the Service, Washington, D.C., a request to be placed on the mailing list. The teacher or citizen who wishes information on some particular problem of sanitation will probably obtain much more satisfactory assistance if when communicating with the United States Public Health Service they specify exactly on what points information is desired, than by simply making a general request for publications. Without in any way reflecting adversely upon the most useful and excellent bulletins of other State Boards, the following are suggested as being particularly readable for non-technical readers, and, to a slight extent, for specific purposes, although it must be understood that practically every State Board of Health that publishes bulletins regularly will in a year cover a larger range of subjects than those referred to here. A few of the State Board bulletins are practically unreadable, being composed almost entirely of statistical data. The following State Boards of Health issue from time to time exceptionally good special articles on individual contagious diseases : Maine South Carolina Pennsylvania Illinois Michigan The following State Boards of Health often feature pure food articles : Massachusetts Kansas Indiana California COMMUNITY HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANITATION 79 Topics such as sewage disposal and water supply are often treated by bulletins of the Boards of Health of : New York California Ohio Iowa Rural sanitation has been made particularly prominent in the South because of the hookworm campaign. The Florida, Loui- siana, North Carolina, and Virginia State Boards of Health bulle- tins are exceptionally good reading for the amateur student of sanitation who is interested in this subject. Such subjects as school hygiene, the common drinking cup, tuberculosis, the fly nuisance, etc., have been discussed in the past few years by nearly all State Boards of Health that publish bulle- tins. General References Elementary. (For school use.) Ritchie. Primer of Sanitation. Tuttle. Principles of Public Health. Gulick. Hygiene Series. Hutchinson. Handbook of Health. Advanced. Harrington and Richardson. Practical Hygiene. Bergey. Principles of Hygiene. Egbert. Hygiene and Sanitation. Blair. Public Hygiene. (2 Vols.) Whitelegge and Newman. Hygiene and Public Health. W. H. Allen. Civics and Health. All these works are intended for advanced students, but none of them are written in a technical fashion and all can be easily read and, except for occasional paragraphs, easily understood by any intelligent person. Every public library should have at least one of these works or those of some other author of equal standing. It is to be remembered that the science of public hygiene has advanced 80 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES so rapidly that editions of the standard works that are over ten years old are apt to be very misleading in important essentials, while the standard works of a generation ago, the kind most apt to be found in public libraries, are almost useless, and their study will only lead to confusion. Periodical References There are several magazines and journals which are devoted to public health topics either entirely or to a considerable extent, while the popular magazines, so called, are devoting considerable space to sanitation of recent years. The following journals are especially recommended : American Journal of Public Health (New York). Journal of the American Medical Association (Chicago). The Survey (New York). The Journal of Outdoor Life (New York). The Public Health Journal (Toronto, Ontario). Among the popular magazines, the following are perhaps worthy of special notice because of the frequency with which public health topics are treated : The Literary Digest (New York). The Technical World Magazine. The World's Work. It is to be regretted that there are several periodicals which though printing much of value to their readers in the line of sani- tation, at the same time either present it in a "Muckraking" or "Yellow Journalistic" form, or else utilize their sanitation articles merely as a basis for pseudo-scientific arguments in favor of some eating, breathing, exercise, or fasting cult. These faddist publica- tions are, on the whole, hindering rather than aiding the progress of intelligent practical sanitation. There are several periodicals issued more or less regularly by chemical and other manufacturing COMMUNITY HEALTH, HYGIENE, AND SANITATION 8 1 concerns whose products are of some sanitary nature. While all of these are frankly of an advertising nature, yet some of these publications have real scientific and literary merit. "Modern Sanitation," published by the Standard Mfg. Co., of Pittsburg, deserves special mention among this class of publications for its high grade literary, scientific, and typographical quality. Special Subjects The number of excellent works on special subjects of sanitary interest, written for a nontechnical class of readers, has become very great in the past few years. References can only be made to a few: The Infant, the Parent, and the State Health (London). Mason. Water Supply. Cosgrove. The History of Sanitation. L. O. Howard. The Mosquito. L. 0. Howard. The House Fly. Whipple. Typhoid Fever. Huber. Consumption and Civilization. Rosenau. The Milk Question. There are many good books adapted to popular reading on the tuberculosis problem — too many to allow of special men- tion. The Secretary of the State Board of Health or of the local or State Antituberculosis organization is as\ rule the best source from which to seek information on this subject. Special Reports There are being constantly published by federal, state, and city governments special reports and monographs of exceptional interest from the standpoint of sanitation. Among such sources of sanitary information are : The Report of the Country Life Commission. 82 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES The Report of the Committee of One Hundred on National Vitality. Report on Sanitary Campaign in Minnesota, By Caroline Bartlett Crane, published by the Minnesota u State Board of Health. The Annual Mortality Reports of the Census Bureau. Certain Bulletins of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Reports of the Annual Conference of Health Officers of many States. U. S. Public Health Reports, Washington, D.C. Certain Bulletins of the U. S. Department of Labor. Reports of the Hookworm Commission. Reports of Carnegie Foundation. Reports of the Annual Sessions of : The National Tuberculosis Association. The National Association for Prevention of Infant Mortality. The National Association for Sex Hygiene. The Conference of State & Provincial Boards of Health. The American Association of Medical Milk Commissions. CHAPTER VI THE LOCAL HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY Europeans regard a general knowledge of the history of their country, province, and city as an essential factor in even an elementary education. Inquiry by the American visitor will lead to the discovery that almost every intelligent peasant boy is at least fairly informed about the annals of the locality ; its heroes are his own, its glory is reflected in the enthusiasm with which he recites their deeds to the passing stranger. But when the immigrant, emerging from such a background, ar- rives in America, he is apt to find that those among whom his social lot is cast know little of our national history and virtually nothing of the career of the state or city; his children are not even taught local history in the public schools. Small wonder if he concludes that America has no history worth the telling, no state or city heroes worthy the name ; that America " just grew up," and is merely a land of opportunity in which to make dollars. Can American patriots be made out of these foreigners, in the face of such neglect? Can a man be taught to love his country or his state or city, unless he is taught that great deeds have here been done, that her high ideals 83 84 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES are cherished, that his locality has been and is a factor in civilizing the New World ? Are even our American- born boys and girls being made into the same sort of patriots that they rear abroad? Is it not time that as teachers we pay some regard to our state and local history ; that we begin to cultivate a taste for this study in the minds of youth, and therein lay the foundations for that love of locality, which is the essence of civic patriotism ? Much account is now justly being taken in our schools of the study of nature. The child who has been made familiar with the characteristics of animals, birds, flowers, and trees, and can name them on sight, finds that the great earth is teeming with interesting neighbors of man, whose acquaintance is an ever-present joy. He walks thereafter in a more beautiful, broader, and more invit- ing land than that traveled by his untutored fellows. With precisely the same end in view, pupils should acquire a knowledge of the history of their locality. To the casual observer, the record of an obscure American town may seem to furnish few circumstances worthy of remembrance. But a careful study of its annals will invariably reveal some facts and incidents well calcu- lated to arouse the interest, if not the enthusiasm, of every intelligent member of the community. The most obvious and simple query concerning any town is, why is it situated exactly where it is ? Merely to answer this often necessitates much research, which is quite apt to yield interesting geographical, topographical, THE LOCAL HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY 85 and historical facts. In the United States, it quite fre- quently leads the inquirer back to the aboriginal village which first occupied the site ; this opens the field of local Indian archaeology, which is sure to attract a con- siderable group of students. A topic abounding in picturesque possibilities is the account of the coming of the first white people thither — their reason for, and the manner of their coming ; their early experiences at this place, and what induced them to stay ; and generally, what manner of folk they were. The study then turns on the social and civic institu- tions established here by these pioneer men and women — the first school and its teachers, the first church and its pastors and congregation, the first post office and post- master, the first public meeting place, the first public officials chosen, and the first doctors and lawyers ; the creation of clubs, societies, fraternal organizations ; the beginnings of commercial and industrial establishments — stores, mills, and factories ; the building of public roads, many of them doubtless following the course of earlier Indian trails of considerable antiquity ; the con- struction of bridges, the opening of stage routes and other transportation facilities ; the coming of steam- boats and railroads. The subsequent history of the town can now logically and interestingly be traced — the later development of the social and political institutions planted by the pioneers ; the growth of manufacturing and commercial interests ; the inauguration of such public necessities 86 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES and conveniences as police, fire department, waterworks and sewerage system, gas and electricity, street cars, hospitals, and organized charities ; the beginnings of humane societies, the chamber of commerce, and other private organizations for the public welfare — in short, a study of every agency that has affected the develop- ment of civilization in this community. Not least of these will be found the immigration thither of colonists from Europe, who should always be studied, at least cursorily, in connection with their status in Europe — the economic, social, political, or religious reasons that induced them to settle in the New World, and what qualities they have brought with them to enrich and broaden American life. With all this, there should be a thoughtful summarizing of reasons why the town grew and is likely to grow — ■ the geographical, topographical, and historical considerations underlying this growth. There must be some study, also, of the careers of those men and women who in different fields have conspicu- ously assisted in this forward movement; and of the leading events otherwise affecting the town's history — fires, floods, participations in wars, industrial dis- turbances, navigation improvements, new railroads, " booms," etc. Topics such as these will readily suggest themselves to the intelligent teacher. Thus it will be seen that the smallest and apparently the least interesting of American communities presents abundant and significant problems for the local his- torian, economist, sociologist, or other student of fife THE LOCAL HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY 87 and manners ; and woven in and around these problems will surely be discovered many a life story to illumine the tale with grace and romance. The child who has been made familiar with this local history will feel that the traditions and annals of his birthplace are a rich heritage that he shares in common with every man, woman, and child in his neighborhood. He will have acquired an understanding of the varied national and ra- cial elements that necessarily go to make up his commu- nity, and what each has contributed to the common good. He will have been taught to take a broader view of the position held by his home town in the state and in the nation ; he will appreciate what it stands for and should stand for. With such qualifications, he will surely become a more useful, more loyal citizen than will the lad to whom the place is an unmeaning checkerboard collection of streets, sidewalks, and houses. R. G. T. SURVEY OF THE LOCAL HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY Was your region occupied by Indians before the arrival hither of white men ? If so, what tribe ? Tell what you know of them ; indicate on a map what extent of territory they hunted over. Did they have a village in this region ? Give its name, and the names of any of its chiefs of whom you have read or heard. Did you ever see a member of this tribe ? Are there any remaining evidences of Indian occupation here — old trails, implements, mounds, graves, planting fields, shell heaps markings on rocks, etc.? Who was the first white man to reach this spot, so far as you know ? Why did he come here — what was he doing ; how and 88 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES along what route did he come ; how long did he stay ? If an explorer, missionary, hunter, fisherman, lumberman or the like, what was his story ? Did his coming lead to anything permanent — the planting of an Indian mission, a fur-trade post, a fishing station, or a lumber camp? What is the story of the first per- manent settlement ? When the first pioneer is joined by others of his race, the com- munity may be considered as established. What was the life of these pioneers — their occupations, methods of making a living, grinding grains, marketing crops, defending themselves from the Indians, hardships, amusements, etc. What can you find out about the founding of schools, churches, and the other social, political, commercial, and industrial in- stitutions of this early community ? Are there any pioneers left ? Are you keeping their stories ? If your community is in a region that at some time in its history has been held by some other power — Great Britain, France, Spain, Holland, Sweden, or Russia — this fact will give rise to many questions : How and why did it become a colony of that nation? How and why did it fall into American hands? In some localities, facts of romantic interest will be developed by such queries. Has your community ever suffered great disasters — as by storm, flood, earthquake, or fire ? Has it ever been the scene of a battle ? If not itself the actual scene of war, has it sent repre- sentatives to fight battles elsewhere ? Are you using these veterans of the wars in any educational way ? The interview is here, also, a useful method of awakening interest. Has your community ever taken part in, or been the scene of any events that are great in the history of the nation or state — such as expositions, historical celebrations and conventions or other great meetings? What great public works are in or near your town — irrigation dams, levees, harbor improvements, or canals ? Does the town manufacture articles that have a wide sale, or ship THE LOCAL HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY 89 produce that is in demand elsewhere? What stretch of country does your town's railways traverse ? What nationalities, other than native Americans, are represented in your community population ? When did these foreigners come ? What were the causes of their emigration — religious, political, or economic ? In what manner and by what routes (here give details) did they come to this town from the Old World ? What customs did they bring with them, that they still retain ? Are they still supporting churches, schools, and newspapers in their native language, and keeping Old World holidays ? In what manner have they contributed to civilization in the New World ? Are they better off in America than they were in their old homes ? Have any of your townsmen or townswomen gained a state-wide or still greater reputation — as authors, artists, singers, actors, orators, soldiers or sailors, statesmen, financiers, inventors, or captains of industry ? Has your town any historic sites, famous buildings, monuments, parks, drives, neighborhood scenery, or other attractions for visitors ? What have been the chief causes of your town's growth ? Is its geographical situation such as to give hope for continued growth ? Is it an agricultural, commercial, industrial, or educational town — or all of these ? What part have railroads, canals, or steamboat lines, or ordinary public highways, played in the success of the town ? If the town has decreased in population what causes have led thereto ? If the community is a small village, these and like questions will be helpful. Why do people live in this place ? How many pro- fessions, trades, and varieties of business are represented ? Why has the village remained small? What opportunities are there for further growth ? What uses are you making of these things in the education of the boys and girls of the community ?j 90 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY The student should inform himself as to what books, pamphlets, or series of newspaper articles have been published bearing on the history and description of the region. In some favored localities there is abundant material of this sort ; but generally, there is little or none. But in either case, any intelligent study should to a con- siderable degree resolve itself into a matter of original research on the part of the student. He should, therefore, read what some of the masters of his- torical research have to suggest as to means and methods. In the first two chapters of Vol. I of Hart's American History told by Contemporaries (New York) there is a discussion of historical sources and their uses, which will be found helpful. Channing and Hart's Guide to the Study of American History (Boston) con- tains many suggestions, and a bibliography guiding the reader to more extended discussions of the subject. Small and Vincent's Introduction to the Study of Society is also an admirable manual. In the last named work, there is told (Book II) in brief compass, the story of the development of an anonymous Western community (the reference is to Topeka, Kans.), from the arrival of the first "Prairie schooner" to the final evolution of the settlement into a flourishing city. A reading of this sketch will be instructive to students of local history anywhere in the United States, but es- pecially in the Middle West and the trans-Mississippi country. The following Bulletins of Information issued by the Wisconsin State Historical Society, Madison, Wis., may be obtained on ap- plication (price 10 cents each) : Nos. 4, 12 and 54, "Suggestions to Local Historians and Local History Societies"; No. 9, "How Local History Material should be Preserved in Libraries"; No. 25, "Gathering of Local History Material by Public Libraries"; No. 37, "The Local History Story Hour, in Public Libraries." Teachers should cooperate with the public library, and en- courage the persistent and permanent collection thereby of all THE LOCAL HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY 9 1 manner of local history material, no matter how apparently ephemeral. This material consists not only of books, pamphlets, and leaflets avowedly historical, but reports of local governmental bodies and public and private institutions (including publications of churches, schools, clubs, etc.) — particularly newspaper files, which last are of prime importance in original historical research. In connection with the public library, there should be instituted a local historical museum of well-selected survivals of the past — Indian implements and dress, pioneer relics of every sort, and articles expecially illustrative of events in the town's history. Products of the town or vicinity should, when practicable, be exhibited. There should also be a collection of well-mounted specimens of the fauna and flora of the neighborhood, and care- fully selected local geological specimens. Care should be taken, however, not to overload the museum with trash. The Wiscon- sin State Historical Society's Bulletin No. 43, "Local Public Museums," will be helpful by way of suggestions. CHAPTER VII THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY In the old common life of the people, in the days when the common law was growing up, when industry was simple, and social organization was still primitive, all the people of the community knew each other fairly well and what each member of the community did was fairly common knowledge. During these primitive centuries there was a division of labor in such way that certain members of the community had the task of carrying on the political life and the control of the social order. It was not supposed to be the right of the people whose labor was agriculture to have any knowledge of, or part in, the political life. Theirs not to reason why any- thing was done. It was theirs but to obey the ruling powers. But in the struggle towards democracy the average individual has been slowly emerging into a state of mind which makes him aware that he must have some actual social knowledge of the elements that make up the political life of his community, his state, and his nation. Not only for his own salvation, but for the salvation of the community, the citizen of a democracy must know what is going on in his community. He is not prying into other people's business when he attempts to find 92 THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 93 out the forces that control the political activities of the community. It is his own business, and he has not only a right to know, but the only hope of democracy is that he shall know. A study of the political life of the community may very well be made along the following lines of inquiry : 1. The Basis of the Government. — Questions as to the sources of authority in government are not out of place. The " divine right of kings " has probably passed away in America. But the great problem of the present, so far as the political life is concerned, is as to whether we shall have a real democracy, with the sources of power in the people themselves, or a partial democracy with nominal power in the hands of the people but the real power in the hands of some special class or interest, and the whole machinery of government manipulated by insidious influences. 2. Reasons for Government. — Government exists for the sake of providing order, freedom, individual rights, and education. But it also exists for the sake of estab- lishing responsibility. Government has leaned always in the past upon the general theory that that was the best government which governed least. The individual and his rights, therefore, have suffered very frequently, while those influences which tend to protect property rights have ever been duly emphasized. Property has its rights, but property has also its duties. And the fun- damental reasons for government are to be found not primarily in the protection of property, but in the 94 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES establishment of such a social order as shall give pro- gressive direction to the development of moral person- ality. 3. Support of Government. — Much of our govern- ment in the past and even to-day seems to have gone upon the general assumption that since the weak need an undue proportion of the protection of government they should pay an undue proportion of the support of the government, but there are two phases of the question of the support of government : First — The financial support. — Under the financial phase we come face to face with the questions of equitable distribution of taxation ; corrupt influences which wield government in antisocial directions ; wasteful expendi- tures of public money ; and systems of public policy which alienate the sympathies of the progressive man and woman and make even the most hearty patriot doubt the right of the state to levy taxes. Undoubtedly a fundamental problem in the education of the citizens of our times is this necessity of an education in the direc- tion of hearty cooperation in the financial support of government. But this brings us to the other phase. Second — The moral support. — Here we have such attitudes toward government as are expressed by the ex- treme theories of individualism on the one hand, which denies the necessity of all forms of government; and that extreme socialism on the other hand, which makes government synonymous with the cooperative will of the people. In these democratic times government must THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 95 be more and more the actual expression of the will of the people if it is to have the moral support of the people. Citizenship in government means, in these days, funda- mentally, simply a complete moral personality. For this reason theoretical individualism and theoretical socialism are very close together. 4. The Machinery of Government. — The success of government in a democratic society depends upon in- dividual interests and duties. Government exists for the organization of a social order which shall make pos- sible complete moral personal development. The gov- ernment will, therefore, express certain great moral attitudes, and there will be involved in the study of government great questions of economics and politics and these will help to determine the character of the machinery of government. There will always be two elemental types of political society. One stands for the conservatism of the past and the sufficiency of the present. The other stands for the worth of the past and the present but the greater worth of the future. The one is conservative, — if not reactionary, — the other progressive, if not radical. And between these two, public opinion will play back and forth, and under normal and healthy social life progress will be made. But democracy needs a more adequate form of machinery for the organization of its public opinion so that it can overcome the mere satisfac- tion of the conservative and hold in check the mere radicalism of the progressive. 96 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Political society is just now in the throes of working out a more complete system for voicing public opinion. Political conventions do not suffice, for men have learned too well the game of politics, and conventions serve little but as occasions for the exploitation of corrupt measures. Public assemblies in any large measure are impossible in a nation that numbers its population by the millions. But public assemblies are still possible and utterly es- sential in the local communities. The development of the general sentiment towards an adequate primary system of nominations and secret elections is one of the hopeful tendencies of the times. But government in a democracy will not have completely realized its freedom and responsibility until the people shall have developed adequate means of publicity of all that goes to make up the political currents of the times. The machinery of government must become part of the possession of every individual if government is to be completely demo- cratic. 5. Units of Government. — One of the extreme diffi- culties in connection with our democratic development is the number of governmental units within which each one of us lives. There are local units, state units, national units, and international relations that each of us must sustain in some measure. Among the local units are such as school districts, road districts, township organizations, village, town, or city corpora- tions, and the organization everywhere of counties as political units. In each of these units, local or general, THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 97 there are a number of officeholders, each with the ma- chinery of office, and each depending upon the public majority for support, in every case. If democracy is to work out its best results there must be public control and criticism of the activities of officeholders. There must be public regulation of their duties and their ex- penditures of public money. And there must be an ac- counting to the public of the ways in which they have used their responsibility. 6. The Franchise. — The actual participators in government are those holding the right to vote. Here democracy faces its severest task. By its own theory, manhood and womanhood suffrage is the only logical possibility and the fixing of an age at which the child is admitted to the franchise is a purely arbitrary affair. But the franchise is not only a right of the normal individual in a democracy ; it becomes also the duty of the individual to exercise that right and responsibility by taking his part of the work of government and ac- cepting his share of the time and the trouble and the difficulties which come upon a people trying to govern themselves. It is claimed by some that the right of franchise should be limited ; that it is granted to the individual by the state ; and that the state should exercise a certain fundamental control over the right of franchise. It is doubtless true that there are certain limitations which may logically be put upon the franchise, even in a de- mocracy; but some of these limitations and controls H 98 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES which are ordinarily proposed are fundamentally undem- ocratic and are remnants of predemocratic ages. 7. Branches of Government in Relation to Community Life. — Conventionally, we divide our governmental activities into three groups : the legislative, the interpre- tative, and the administrative. The legislative branch is, in large measure, responsible to the public will and is coming, more and more, to be merely the responsive agent of that public will in its progressive development of rules and laws of social action. The administrative branch is perhaps still more immediately responsive to the public will and makes itself active in the control of political policies just in so far as it does express and execute the public will. Present tendencies, both in theory and in practice, indicate the eventual merging of legislative and administrative functions in some form of " commission." The interpretative branch of our government, local, state, or national, — that branch which we call the judiciary, — is still pretty largely unre- lated to the common currents of social activity and un- responsive to the progressive demands of the times, claiming to be merely the interpreters of the laws as they find them. Most judges, trained as they are to revere precedent, find it very possible to interpret the laws in the narrower and more conservative sense of the words and meanings rather than in the larger and more progressively social sense. All about the administration of government there are insidious forces that seek to control the government of THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 99 the whole people in the interests of some fraction of the people. From the standpoint of democracy, this is just as disastrous when attempted by so-called progres- sive elements as when done by reactionary interests. The only proper control of the branches of government is control by the complete public opinion and the social will. And it is certain that gradually government, in all its three branches, will become more and more the instrument for the securing, the carrying out along political lines, of the social will. 8. The General Spirit of Government. — Democracy depends for its success and its progress upon the intelli- gence of the people. That government will, therefore, be most democratic and that democracy most progressive, where the most progressive educational agencies and forces are at work. Even in the midst of our democracy the prejudices of predemocratic ages still survive, and though American democracy has for the most part developed on a general manhood suffrage basis, there is definite opposition to the right of the average individual to share in the struc- ture of government ; and this expresses itself in the common opposition to woman suffrage. One of the maxims early developed in the history of American democracy was : " To the victors belong the spoils," and for a half century this was the current prac- tice everywhere. The general belief that " public office is a public trust," or that public officers should be honest servants has developed in the last few decades. IOO EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Democracy still faces a long, hard, uphill pull in the direction of securing complete efficiency in its civil service. Locally, in every community the real democratic prob- lem is that of securing independent thinking along po- litical lines by every individual. Thus constantly the local community is at the mercy of the political boss, who usually has some more or less corrupt alliance with insidious financial elements and manipulates the polit- ical life of his community so that these financial interests flow constantly in his direction. Among the definite efforts that have been made by the schools for a number of years is that of teaching the duty of citizenship — education for participation in government. This is doubtless one of the great needs of our American communities. But it is doubtful whether it is a need that can be met successfully by the school's work alone. Certainly it cannot be met by teaching boys and girls the old formal school civics. Among the striking and hopeful phenomena of our day is the growth of the conciousness of the possibility of governmental cooperation along many lines. Munici- palities, states, and nations are doing great construc- tive tasks which formerly were thought to be impossible save by, and upon, the basis of individual initiative. Doubtless this is simply a promise of the day when very much of the public service work of the world will be done by the whole people through their governmental agencies. THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY IOI But in the midst of our growing democracy there are still to be found forces and elements that are inimical. These are all of the anti-social kind. They are to be found in the local community everywhere and they run through all our common life. They are the remnants of the social past which expected nothing of the ordinary individual but unthinking obedience. To-day, democracy is demanding of all citizens thoughtful, constructive obedience, and just as thoughtful, constructive criti- cism. Simple obedience, simple habit, simple thought- lessness, simple ignorance, — these are all fundamental obstacles in the way of democracy. The development of an education that shall base itself upon the native resources of the child and the commu- nity ; the growth of a public doctrine that the only demo- cratic good is a good that is contributed by all the people and is possessed by all the people ; and the development of that fundamental constructive social intelligence which shall no longer worship the mere past, which re- fuses to be the victim of old prejudices and habits, and which bravely faces the future, believing in itself ; these are some of the fundamental essentials to the continuous growth of our social institutions. Without this contin- uous growth and progress democracy is impossible. In the life of the local community is to be found the place where democracy grows or where it fails. In the heart of the common individual the ultimate test of democracy will be made. But it is certain that if America cannot develop that ever enlarging democratic life, then some 102 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES other nation, some other race, will take up the task and America will become a chapter in ancient history. J. K. H. SURVEY OF THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY i. What are the political parties, or interests, or factions of the community ? What are the cross-currents and under-cur- rents of political affiliation and activity ? What is the real pro- gram of each ? What are the sources of revenue of each interest ? What are the bonds, or "hopes" that control each interest or faction ? How much of this political activity is real and patriotic, and how much of it is bogus ? 2. What are the financial interests and affiliations of the com- munity? Who are the political representatives of these various financial interests ? What is the actual object of each of these interests ? Who are the real persons behind each of them ? Are they local, or are they representatives of interests from a distance ? What are the various currents and cross-currents of these financial interests, corporations, and affiliations ? 3. What are the attitudes of the people in general toward the payment of taxes ? Are public moneys being squandered or wisely spent ? Has the community an actual financial program looking ahead for a number of years? Who controls this program and the budget ? Are the larger financial interests of the community, corporate or personal, paying their due shares of the taxes ? Are any proposals offered toward reforms in the taxation systems ? Can the system of taxes be controlled locally, or is it a state affair ? What are the various rates for the varied purposes, local and state ? Do the people know what is becoming of the public moneys ? Has the community any means of checking up the public officials ? 4. What are the relationships of the peace officers to the com- munity ? Are they honest and efficient ? Is the policing system of the community satisfactory? Are antisocial individuals THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 103 handled in a fair and effective manner ? Is justice being done to all classes alike ? 5. Is there any sense of class distinctions in the community? Is the community being exploited in any way so as to array class against class ? Are the political divisions of the community fair and above reproach, or are they corrupt and insidious ? Is there popular discontent in the community, or is there fundamental cooperation of all citizens looking toward steady community progress ? Are destructive economic forces at work in the com- munity? Is there a measurable degree of justice in the distri- bution of the wealth of the community ? 6. What is the standing of the courts in the community ? Are the judicial officers honest, fair, socially intelligent, public spirited, and progressive, or are they mere worshipers of legal precedents ? Are there any insidious political or financial interests that con- trol the administration of justice by the courts ? Are the financial records of the various judges known to the people ? 7. What newspapers and other organs of publicity exist in the community? Who are the actual owners of these organs of publicity ? What are the relationships between the various papers of differing political views? Are the editors sincere in their opinions or are the editorials paid material ? What are the re- lationships of the owners, and editors, of the papers to the financial interests of the community ? Is there any completely free organ of publicity in the community ? What influence have the papers in the community ? Is there any sort of corrupt alliance between the newspapers and the forces of political and financial corruption in the community ? Is there a political ring, supported by some paper ? Is there a political boss owning a paper and dominating publicity ? 8. What organizations, or masses, of corrupt forces are to be found in the community? Are there any insidious political "clubs" making common cause with promoters of vice? What are the political affiliations of the liquor interests, if there are such interests ? 104 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES. q. What are the political affiliations of the leaders of labor in the community? Are there any professional labor-traitors, or "go-betweens," in the community? Are the laboring people intelligent in their political sympathies, or purely traditional? Is there any tendency to differentiate politically along labor lines ? What is the strength of Socialism in the community ? Is the laboring man a socialist ? 10. What is the general spirit of the community, democratic or reactionary ? Are there any really sincere democratic forces at work in the community? Are the public schools democratic in their courses of study, in their school methods, and in the product which they are turning out ? If not, why not ? Are the churches democratic in their attitudes, in their messages, and in their services ? If not, why not ? 11. Are there any institutions of higher learning in the com- munity ? If so, how are they controlled : by the needs of the pres- ently insidious political interests, by some sort of "dead hand" out of the past ? Are they free to teach progressive scientific and social truth? Are they administered in the service of the community, or as private property of the trustees or regents ? 12. What are the various reform organizations of the com- munity ? What are their affiliations, their programs, their sources of revenue, and their controlling elements ? Are any of them really democratic? 13. Does the community secure to all men, — to all persons, — the opportunities for self-maintenance ? Is the community seek- ing to protect the workers against the evils and dangers of their work and against the industrial changes that come ? Is there public opinion in the community, and force in the law, sufficient to prevent child labor? Does the community attempt to prevent private monopoly of natural resources ? Does the community exercise any care over the health, the foods, the amusements of the community ? Has the community any sense of responsibility for the common welfare, or is welfare wholly a matter of individual THE POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 105 struggle ? To what extent has the community government become the cooperation of all for the good of all ? 14. What is being done for the actual civic education of the community? Are there any immigrant peoples in the com- munity ? How are they getting their impressions of American institutions? Is anything being done to enlist the native social ideals of immigrant peoples in behalf of American institutions ? BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FURTHER STUDY OF THIS SUBJECT Dunn. The Community and the Citizen. Hart. Actual Government. Smith. The Spirit of American Government. Addams. Democracy and Social Ethics. Spirit of Youth and the City Street. Hall. Immigration. Steiner. On the Trail of the Immigrant. Forman. Advanced Civics. Bryce. American Commonwealth. Roosevelt. Essays on Practical Politics. Roosevelt. The New Nationalism. Bailey. The Stale and the Farmer. Fairlie. Local Government. Hinsdale. American Government. Lloyd. Wealth against Commonwealth. Wells. Recent Economic Changes. Fawcett, Henry. State Socialism and Nationalization of Land. George, Henry. Our Land and Land Policy. (New York, 1901 .) Wallace, A. R. Land Nationalization. (London, 1883.) CHAPTER VIII THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUTDOOR BEAUTI- FICATION IN A COMMUNITY Naturally, all outdoors is beautiful. It is through so-called civilization that this beauty is marred to such an extent that there comes in time a movement for re- storing it. Think of the landscape that meets the eye in any portion of North America not sufficiently inhabited to form a community. The distant hills or the broad prairie ; the river or the lake ; the island or the valley ; the clear sky or the sky with clouds ; the sweet and un- polluted air; the majestic forest; the flower-decked meadow — all these are on the land as man gets it from its Creator. The development into the only real addi- tion of value — that through productive agriculture — does not seriously interfere with this outdoor beauty. The tilled field is sometimes more beautiful than the natural meadow. The waving corn has a charm all its own. Nothing stirs the pulses more than the ripples of the breeze over vast wheat fields. Productive agri- culture sometimes enhances, and seldom decreases, natural beauty. The farm buildings, often, as they ought to be always, embowered in green, with the garden attached, suggest 106 OUTDOOR BEAUTIFICATION IN A COMMUNITY 107 comfort and that institution most characteristic of America, the Christian home. But immediately when a few houses are built at a crossroads there begins the elimination of outdoor beauty and the introduction of uneconomic, unsanitary, unpleasant ugliness. Often there comes to be a tavern at the crossroads, with its sometimes filthy surroundings. The country store is located near by, and a good many human derelicts adorn its vicinity, while tin cans, staring signs, and filth of all sorts gradually encroach on what little has remained of natural attractiveness. As time passes and population increases, houses are added, factories come, smoke begins, billboards are introduced ; a dead forest, hung with wires, replaces the live forest which may have been on the land ; the ill- considered, ill-kept street is lengthened and duplicated, and that American abomination, the shameless, unpa- triotic and filthy American small town, is developed. True, in this town some people come to live who care for better things. These plant gardens. They insist that trees shall be set in the streets. Sometimes they go so far as to believe that the schoolhouses in which the children are educated in a very small part of life's work shall have at least sanitary and decent, if not attractive, surroundings. The general aspect, however, of the average American rural and village community is pain- fully ugly, sadly unpleasant, and deeply humiliating. Thought may well be placed upon the decrease of actual value that has come about through this glorifica- 108 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES tion of ugliness under the silly misconception that the man who destroys beauty is " practical." That man — and there are many of him — forgets always that he pays more money for everything he buys if it attracts him by its appearance. If he is shrewd at all, he comes to know that the things he sells bring him more money when they are attractive in appearance. He is a long time, however, coming to realize that health and self- respect are promoted by community attractiveness, and he has not as yet come to realize at all that the essential virtue of patriotism, upon which depends the security of his property, is promoted only by that love of country which has its abiding place in what is left of the beauty of the country. What I have been writing might have been said with much more strength ten years ago. There has been a great change, and it is the beginning of a greater change. Scores, indeed hundreds, of American communities desire to be bettered. Yet in that blind way too often characteristic of our self-sufficient Americanism, they are often quite disregardful of any experience save their own, so that in attempting to make our own better there has been but little shrewd consideration of the best things to be found in other communities and in other countries. Thus it has come about in very many cases that the desire to develop outdoor beautification in a community has led to the doing of bad work, to the spending of money foolishly, and to the accomplishment of things \ OUTDOOR BEAUTIFICATION IN A COMMUNITY 109 that must be undone if the final result is to be satisfactory, efficient, and proper. Yet none of this effort is really wasted, for through it we are learning how to find and appreciate the beautiful. Instances might be cited without number to prove the value of orderly and well-considered outdoor beauti- fication in communities. It would be much harder to find instances in which the same sort of beautification had not proved profitable. Indeed, I know of no such instances, and I do not believe that any exist. The man who has a farm to sell finds that the pleasant surround- ings of the home buildings very greatly increase its value in the market. Those resident on a street in which there has been harmonious action toward real community service in the introduction of beautification, are not disposed by reason of what has happened to take less for their properties on an occasion of sale. The town which attracts the passing or incoming traveler by its evident desire not only to be clean but to be beautiful, never feels that the expenditure for such work has been in vain. But the development of outdoor beautification in the community can be, by taking thought, made harmonious, relatively inexpensive, and much more rapid. It is my thought to hint at a few of the items in a program of wise outdoor beautification which may serve merely as guideposts toward that deeper study that is the only sure way toward the best result. To begin with, the first fundamental of the community IIO EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES is its highways. These, alas, have usually evolved from the country road, and the country road has seldom been planned thoughtfully. Sometimes it is possible to amend these early errors, and to introduce natural and safe ideals in altering -highways or streets. The street must be considered, first, last, and all the time, as the means of access to and through the com- munity for its people and for those who come to it and who live along its borders. It ought, therefore, to be so designed as to serve well this primary use, but not permitted to be so diverted as to serve at all predomi- nantly any private interests. There exists a curious misconception with respect to the purpose of a highway. Probably hundreds of thousands of miles of roads in the United States to-day exist as if vehicular traffic was their only proper purpose. Streets in cities there are in which all the effort has been put upon paving, at great expense, the widest possible area of the street surface, utterly neglecting the comfort and the convenience of the people who live along the street, as well as the proper means of transacting such business as may even yet be done on foot! That is, the highway is thought of as a vehicular roadway only, and not as a place upon which to live, walk, breathe, and do business. In the study of community beautification, therefore, thought must be taken as to the purpose of the street. If it is designed to be a business street, then there can be data obtained as to the proper width of traffic space. OUTDOOR BEAUTIFICATION IN A COMMUNITY III London Bridge passes some two thousand teams every hour comfortably on thirty-two feet of paved surface. The great viaduct within a few rods of where I write handles daily the diversions and the transactions of probably thirty thousand people, on foot and in divers vehicles. It has twenty-eight feet of roadway, which is seldom crowded, and two eight-foot sidewalks, which are more seldom crowded. Some of the most notable high- ways in the country, as, for instance, Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, have barely thirty feet of traffic space, and not over five or six feet of sidewalk on either side of the street, the remainder of the highway being very properly given up to those important adjuncts to comfort, value, and health — good trees and good grass. So, therefore, the street should be designed for its use — the business street in kind, the residence street in kind — and there should be no senseless adherence to a fixed width or to fixed ideals, regardless of the use of the street. It has been legally held in many American states that the whole of the property between lot lines on any highway dedicated to the public use belongs to the state and is in trust only of the community in which it exists, for the use of the people of that state. Therefore every intrusion of private structures of whatever nature on the surface of the street is essentially illegal, no matter by whom this intrusion may have been permitted. The business of selling electricity for use through tele- graphic or telephonic messages, or through the making 112 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES of lights or the driving of machines, is private business, and there is essentially no reason whatever to permit that private business to be conducted through the un- paid and altogether improper use of the public streets. The time must come when all the poles and all the wires will disappear from the streets. If they are permitted, as at present is the case, to be put underground on the public property, it ought to be under such restrictions as will cause the public service corporations to realize all the time that they are using public property for private gain, and that therefore they must render to the public an equivalent in service or payment, or in some other way, for their use of the substructure of the street when at last they are driven, as they must be, from its surface. Very seriously militating against outdoor beautifica- tion on streets are the conventional signs of various sorts, on the curb and elsewhere. There is only one proper thing to do about these — they ought to come off and stay off, so that there may be that equality which our much-quoted Constitution is said to guarantee to all. I have before spoken of trees. They are vastly im- portant on the streets of America, though we do not seem to think so. In Paris, where many millions of American money are extracted each year by purveying outdoor beautification to the tourists, a great business street, the Bois de Boulogne, is set with trees, the health of which is jealously guarded and scrutinized. When a tree seems to be failing, it is removed and a healthy tree put in its OUTDOOR BEAUTIFICATION IN A COMMUNITY 113 place. It is found to be profitable to keep trees, even on business streets, in Paris. Vast help in the beautification of American commu- nities can be had by the well-considered planting of per- manent, and suitable trees, at proper distances from each other, and in the places best fitted to them with relation to the other uses of the street. These trees should be so planted as not to interfere either with foot or vehicular traffic . They can serve, and if properly handled will serve, to make the street far pleasanter, and they will most certainly serve to cover up or har- monize the heterogeneous heights and lines of business structures. That is, they will do this if they themselves are uniform on any given street, and not of so many varieties as to suggest a botanical museum. One sort of tree should predominate on a street, and the distance apart, as I have previously said, should be considered with relation to the use of the street and its width, and to the characteristics of the tree selected. Next in influence in the substitution of civilized out- door beautification for civilized outdoor uglification is the proper placing and the proper architecture of public or semipublic buildings. To so place a school or a city hall or a public library as to have it stand unrelated to any other public or semipublic building, or unrelated to any contiguous and satisfactory open space, present or possible, is to provide in advance for diminishing the effectiveness of the building in question. On the con- trary, to so place a public or a semipublic building, as, 114 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES for instance, a church, as to have it favorably influence contiguous buildings or the whole street, is to double, treble, or quadruple the effective value of the building and of the street. This means, therefore, that thought must be taken as to the placing of the buildings, public or semipublic, on which the people collectively expend money, so that they may give the best results. Moreover, it is in this same connection most desirable, and indeed most es- sential, that the architecture involved be thoughtfully considered, not from the standpoint of loyalty to some local technician or architect or contractor, but from the standpoint of the permanent value to the community of the structure in mind. Those who read these words will be wondering why I have not before broached that which they have thought of as most directly related to community beautincation. They will be expecting that I shall speak of parks and gardens and the like. They will have in mind, at least some of them, the conventional public square, in which have been placed all the various things which some persons think are beautiful, but which so frequently make a scrap heap of civic inadequacy and incongruity. I have in mind, for instance, a public square in a wealthy city, in the center of which has been erected a monu- ment memorializing certain soldiers. Near by is a flag pole, taller and somewhat more ugly than the monument itself. A few feet away, at either corner of the little triangular central enclosure, stands a mournful memorial OUTDOOR BEAUTIFICATION IN A COMMUNITY 115 cannon. There are several wire flower baskets and a few other odds and ends of miscellaneous city junk, which have been placed in the public square because some one thought that was the proper position for them. Or I am thinking for the moment of a city park, barely exceeding twenty acres in extent, but including almost every park iniquity that it is possible to get into such a limited space. An entrance of glaring architectural inconsistency, a building for the park keeper of even greater ugliness, horrible mounds crowned with meaning- less floral distortions, brick-paved roadways leading nowhere, a trifling little " Zoo " with a few anaemic beasts behind painted bars, and nowhere any utilities to give wholesome recreation to the people make up this dreadful spot called a park ! The public recreation places which admittedly increase the value of the community through beautification, are first of all planned to give service to the people who pay for them, or who ought to pay for them. Recrea- tion comes first. Tennis courts ought to precede flower gardens. A baseball field is vastly more important than a cast-iron fountain. An organized playground is worth forty-seven soldiers' monuments. Some green grass under good trees, with benches on which tired bodies may rest, and some comfortable paths, make up a park that is of far more service than an elaborate cemetery. The beauty we so constantly introduce in American cemeteries is invisible to the dead, and well-nigh useless to the living. 1 1 6 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES So I would have the public recreation places provided as contributing to the beauty of life by promoting whole- some play for man and child, far ahead of any costly ornamentation. I know of no American city yet rich enough to spend money on monumental structures, for no American city has yet provided fully and adequately for the recreational needs of its people to the end of their health, happiness, and efficiency. There is one form of beautification to which I must briefly advert. It is that involved in the introduction of gifts, in the way of fountains, or statues, or monu- ments, and the like. I have before spoken of the way in which a public square has been made ineffective through miscellaneous junk of this sort. I have now in mind a dreadful cast-iron horror foisted on a defenseless com- munity by a well-meaning woman, and of course ac- cepted by the community under the conviction yet. prevailing that anything which any one will give any American community must of course be accepted, be- cause all American communities assume to be objects of charity, too poor to provide their own adornments, and ever turning outward the suppliant palm of the mendicant ! There is another town in which thought is used in the acceptance of gifts ; where, while gifts are welcomed, they must pass muster as to appropriateness, architecture, and character. There they fully realize the fact that the giver of a structure to be placed on public ground, can in no case pay any considerable proportion of the real expense of the gift. The public must furnish the OUTDOOR BEAUTIFICATION IN A COMMUNITY 117 abiding place for the structure and, what is far more important, the public forces this structure on the future public whether it be good or bad — not, let me hope, for all time, but very frequently for a long time. The American community which has begun to be self- respecting must therefore, if it is working toward out- door beautification, always " look the gift horse in the mouth "! Everything I have above written has been with one idea, and that is, briefly, that the way to promote out- door beautification in any community is to have a plan for the beautification and for the development of that community. I shall hope the thought will come into the minds of those who read these words that it is as well worth while to secure a good plan for a town as it is to secure a good plan for a house, and that it is again as well worth while to secure a good plan for rebuilding a town and for remaking a community as it is to have the best thought of the best architect toward the re- modeling of a structure it is desired to save. In the words of one of the most eloquent of the advocates of wise and sane city planning, I can say that — " City Planning is not a fad of to-day, it is a necessity ; it is not an extravagance, it is an economy ; it is not an artist's dream ; it is a scientific reality." Any community large enough to care for outdoor beautification is large enough to obtain a plan for devel- opment. It may be a simple plan, but it can be had. It need not be expensive in the getting ; it is sure, if it Il8 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES is a good plan, to be exceedingly economical in the de- veloping. It substitutes sanity and orderliness for stu- pidity and random work. Wishing to American communities the outdoor beauti- fication which will take them back toward the loveli- ness which excited the raptures of the pioneers who began at once to destroy it, I can do nothing better in closing than again to urge the study and the pursuit of city planning as the best possible means for promoting outdoor beautification. J. H. M. SURVEY OF COMMUNITY BEAUTIFICATION OUT OF DOORS i. What natural objects of beauty are to be found in the com- munity ? Is the community doing anything to protect and pre- serve its natural beauties? Have any places of beauty been destroyed in the past ? For what reason ? Are any such places of beauty now being threatened? Has the community a real sense of the meaning of beauty? If not, can it be developed? What influences, if any, are working to destroy the resources of beauty ? Are there any latent resources that could be developed ? 2. Is the community blinded in any way by commercialism? Are the roads and streets lined with billboards that shut off the view of surrounding country ? Is there any marring of the trees by signs or any defacing of landscapes ? Is there no way of re- moving these marks of a commercialized ugliness ? 3. What are the standards of the community with reference to orderliness and beauty? Is there any sense of planning in the city? Are the streets and boulevards laid out with reference to developing the beauty of the community ? Are there any beautiful buildings in the community, — churches, schools, or dwelling houses? OUTDOOR BEAUTIFICATION IN A COMMUNITY 119 Are there any parks that have been beautified ? Is the taste for making nature over too highly developed ? Are the buildings too much ornamented ? 4. Is anything being done in the homes or schools of the com- munity to cultivate the taste for beauty in the outdoors? Is there any feeling of necessity for such development ? Has the school done anything to beautify its own location? Are there school gardens and well-kept school lawns ? Is the school build- ing a creditable or beautiful piece of architecture ? Are the roads leading to the school ragged and unkempt, or has the community a sense of beauty in caring for its roads ? What is the general character of the home places of the community ? Are the farm homes well kept, or are the yards littered with rubbish of all sorts ? Has the community really developed a beauty conscience in ref- erence to its homes, its streets and roads, its public buildings, its landscapes, and its whole surroundings ? If not, what value is there in teaching consideration of beauty in the schools ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Eggleston. Home and its Surroundings. Eliot, Charles. Landscape Architecture. Roberts. The Farmstead. Scott. Art of Beautifying Suburban Groufids and Homes. Wheeler, G. Rural Homes. Kern, O. J. Among Country Schools. CHAPTER IX ECONOMY AND BEAUTY IN THE HOMES OF THE COMMUNITY Economy and beauty are to be classed together as among the things fundamental in the creation and main- tenance of a satisfactory home life. Family relationship in its mere animal form may exist quite independent of any special environment, but family life in its fullest sense cannot be realized outside a setting of material things which must yield a measure, at least, of both physical and mental satisfaction. Home life presup- poses a situation in which the necessities of life are administered amid congenial surroundings. It is not possible to realize such a situation, however, unless the members of the family direct their efforts harmoniously toward securing the maximum return in comfort and beauty. Economic Basis of Home Life. — The economic re- sources of the family must receive early consideration. Under the term income may be classed most of the means for supplying human wants. In other words, nearly all possessions represent the exercise of some sort of pur- chasing power. This power may be either money, labor, or discretion. HOUSEHOLD BEAUTY AND ECONOMY 121 Money Income. — Money income, the nominal in- come, may be told off in current coin. Ready money affords a quick and effective means for supplying many wants, where the market offerings are ample and varied. Also where industries are highly specialized, where each worker puts forth but one product, or part of a product, money is necessary in order to obtain what is needed. In too many cases, however, the desirability of a large money income is overemphasized by those who are helping to form opinion on the subject. Little attention is given to the thought that no individual can be re- garded as successful unless he can serve himself in some degree at least. Also, that the unregulated spending of money leads to nothing but absurdity. Real Income. — The real income, as it has to do with family life, consists of money income, plus the power and the desire of the family to perform useful labor, plus their discretion and taste in the matter of spending either money or labor. The value of work carried on in the home as supple- mental to money income can hardly be measured. Very often work done in this way is not equal in money value to the wages which might be earned during the same time, and arguments seeking to prove the economic loss through the doing of old-fashioned home work are becom- ing quite popular. In judging of the value of such work, however, several facts must be borne in mind. In the first place, wages are earned by those who devote time and attention to a certain business, not by persons who 122 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES can give only odd hours or half hours to money making. One must be a wage earner in earnest in order to have his or her time command a money value. The mother cannot well enter formally into business for profit, but, nevertheless, aside from attending to her preeminent duties to her family, she may fill a position of great economic importance through the proper administration of the affairs of her home. Again, it is not desirable that the children interrupt their school life in order to earn a few dimes at a child's work of doing chores. But they can, without doubt, add much to family confort through the doing of odd tasks so conveniently at hand in the home. Aside from these considerations, the assuming of small duties by children is of sufficient importance in their training to warrant the arrangement, even though the family balance sheet fails to show any other profit from it. The acknowledged earner of the money income, as well, will find, under most circumstances, both health and wealth increased through the cutting short of his hours of money getting, and giving a little time to recreative home work. The second point which must be borne in mind when the delegation of work is contemplated, is the fact that, at present time at least, services rendered upon a com- mercial basis are weighted by costs over and above the cost of the labor itself. The purchaser of such services must pay for the cost of administration of the business as well as for the service. HOUSEHOLD BEAUTY AND ECONOMY 1 23 To summarize, then, work done in the home is usually- performed by members of the family who, for one reason or another, are not otherwise gainfully employed, or by the money makers outside their regular working hours. Also, the use of the home as a workshop entails little or no added cost of the product. Discretion in Directing Expenditure. — The matter of directing the expenditure of either money or labor is the most complex and elusive element entering into the administration of a home. Nothing short of a far- reaching outlook, and a careful weighing of relative values can be expected to bring satisfactory results. Senseless spending and short-sighted saving of money, random expenditure of time and labor, bring little but chaos and disappointment. A century ago choice in expenditure was greatly limited by circumstances. Money was scarce, and the offerings of the market almost negligible. The spending of money was an event. Food consisted of the products of the home garden and fields. Clothing was limited to the possibilities of the household loom. Labor took the direction of simple necessity. The standard of living of a given family corresponded very nearly to the skill and energy of its members. Contrast all this with present day conditions. Money is plentiful and the markets overflow with their offerings. The spending of large amounts of money is inevitable, for the reason that money is now the simplest key to much of the supply. 124 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES But even under these circumstances, the direction of the energies of the family remains of great importance. Two facts must be borne in mind : first, many of the best things of life are not to be bought with money. Imagine a nation, or a single family even, giving over all the joy of creative work, satisfied to live upon what money alone can supply. 1 In the second place, it is only occasionally that an income is to be found that is adequate to support an idle household, and attempts to accomplish the feat with insufficient means result either in accumulated debts, a lowering of the standard of living, or in a premature breaking up of the household into supplemental money makers, — the last being the most pitiful confession of family bankruptcy. Beauty in the Home. — The matter of beauty in the home seems a thing apart from the weighing of economic values, and yet the beauty of utility ranks first in the canons of taste. The most timid householder may rest assured of one very fundamental principle, — any ar- ticle confessedly useful is, by the same token, possessed of the beauty of utility. It is only when the attempt is made to load a useful thing with alien ornamentation that it becomes grotesque. Again, there is beauty in simplicity. This is the most difficult to work out in this day of variety and super- 1 As a matter of fact, money has no value except as it represents productive work. If, then, productive work is avoided by any consider- able proportion of the people, the value of money is lowered and prices HOUSEHOLD BEAUTY AND ECONOMY 1 25 nuity. It is little wonder that the artist hesitates and rejects, giving his approval finally to the production which he denominates as " restrained." The novice may take the hint that beauty is more often a result of subtraction than of addition. Of all the rules of art, however, the one most potent in household administration is the rule emphasizing the beauty of consistency or complementary beauty. Two things, each one beautiful in itself, may be made to trans- gress all laws of taste through being brought together. The temptation to overreach in one direction is often very great, and the whole effect is thrown out of harmony in contrast. It does not follow from this, however, that nothing superior should be chosen until all one's posses- sions can be of like quality. On the contrary, such a choice may lead to the subordination or elimination of tawdry contrasts. The appreciation of true beauty will again lead back to simplicity. These three things, then, utility, simplicity, and consistency, remain as safe ground, no matter how great variations may exist in standards of taste. Harmony in the General Apportionment of Family Resources. — The consummation of economy and beauty in the home waits, in all cases, for a harmonious direction of resources. Considerable attention has been given by students of home economics to the matter of dividing the money income, assigning certain percentages to the accounts of food, shelter, clothing, education, amuse- ment, etc., seeking to call attention to incongruities re- 126 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES suiting from unbalanced expenditures. Again, from the point of view of household administration, there must be a wise taking stock of the working strength of the family, before a given program of living is fastened upon the home. The adoption of complicated furnishings, or the insistence upon certain methods of doing work, often means the sacrifice of some one's personal prog- ress. Careful thought given to these matters will aid in compelling material things to contribute their share to the ultimate good of each member of the family. A. R. V. SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY OF HOME LIFE OF A COMMUNITY What are the purposes of home life ? How do material surroundings affect the home ? Do the dwellings of the community serve the reasonable needs of their owners ? When is a house too large for a given family ? When is it too small ? Are the dwellings well kept up ? Do the grounds contribute their share to the enjoyment of the family and community ? Is any effort put forth toward securing harmony in the appear- ance of the neighborhood? In what ways may harmony be wrought without too great sacrifice of personal preference ? What part of the general upkeep of the neighborhood is assumed by the public ? What are the advantages of public control of improvements ? What are the disadvantages ? What is the general economic status of the community ? HOUSEHOLD BEAUTY AND ECONOMY 1 27 Are any of the families possessed of great wealth ? Are any very poor ? Is the general standard of living high or low ? How does the community standard affect the standard in a given home? Note cases where lack of training in home management results in a low standard of living. What costs are involved in such home work as the baking of bread, for example ? What costs are included in the price paid for a loaf at the baker's ? Are the homes of the community supported normally ; that is, are the earners of the money income of mature age and re- lieved of the personal care of young children ? Is the housekeeping normally administered by interested mem- bers of the family ? Are there noticeable consequences in cases where the homes are not thus normally supported or administered ? Does surplus money go noticeably in any one of the following directions : improvement of the home, food, dress, furnishings, public amusements, private entertainment, education, travel, church and charity, social service, savings ? Note cases in which a reasonable division of expenditure is evident. Are these homes successful ? In case you wished to improve the general effect in house fur- nishings noted, would the first move be to add to or take from ? Study cases where good taste has been of economic value in matters of clothing, food, furnishings, etc., — cases where there has been an actual saving of either time, labor, or money. What compromises might be effected between fashion and economy in all these matters ? Is there any vital relation between fashion and beauty ? What sort of social life is provided for in the homes ? Are the children given a share in the responsibilities and pleasures of hospitality ? 128 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Study the findings of any local organization having for then- purpose a serious consideration of the affairs of the home. What recognition does the school give of the work or educational influence of the home ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Periodicals Journal of Home Economics. Baltimore. American Journal of Sociology. Chicago. The Independent. New York. The Outlook. New York. Atlantic Monthly. Boston. American Magazine. New York. Craftsman. New York. Good Housekeeping. Springfield, Mass. The Delineator. New York. House Beautiful. New York. Woman's Home Companion. New York. Note. — The above list is far from being complete. There is no question but that the home is, just now, in a transitional state, and articles dealing with the various phases of the situation are to be found in all periodicals of thoughtful character. Books Streightoef, Frank Hatch. The Standard of Living among the Industrial People of America. (An excellent piece of work.) Rosanquet, Mrs. The Standard of Life. Richards, Mrs. E. H. The Cost of Living. Richards, Mrs. E. H. The Cost of Food. Brown, Mary Wilcox. The Development of Thrift. Annual and Special Reports of the Commissioner of Labor. United States Bureau of Commerce and Labor. Washington, D.C. HOUSEHOLD BEAUTY AND ECONOMY 120, Richardson, Bertha J. The Woman Who Spends. (Boston.) Devtne, Edward. Economic Function of Woman. Campbell, Helen. Household Economics. Hunt. Caroline. Home Problems from a New Standpoint. Bevier, Isabel, and Usher, Susannah. The Home Economics Movement. Rosanquet, Mrs. The Family. Hard, Willlui. The Women of To-morrow. Wilbur, Mary A. Everyday Business for Women. Earle, Mrs. Alice M. Home Life in Colonial Days. Earle, Mrs. Alice M. Customs and Fashions of Old New Eng- land. Ely, Richard T. Evolution of Industrial Society. Bevier, Isabel. The House. Weaver, Lawrence. The House and its Equipment. Weaver, Lawrence. Small Country Houses of To-day. Briggs, R. A. The Essentials of a Country House. Richards, Mrs., and Talbot, Miss. Home Sanitation. Gerhard, W. P. House Draining and Sanitary Plumbing. Ornsbee, Agnes B. The House Comfortable. Wheeler, C and ace. Household Art. Kellogg, A. M. Home Furnishing. Wheeler, Candace. Principles of Decoration. Morris, William. Arts and Crafts, Essays. Eastlake. Hints on Household Taste. Ruskin. Two Paths in Art. Hutchinson. Food and the Principles of Dietetics. Richards, Mrs. E. H. Food Materials and their Adulterations. Leach. Food Inspection and Analysis. Prudden. Dust and its Dangers. Hutchinson, Woods. Handbook of Health. United States Department of Agriculture. Farmers' Bulletins on Food. (Free.) Salmon, Lucy M. Domestic Service. I30 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Harrison, Eveleen. Home Nursing. Brown, Daniel Rollins, M.D. The Baby. Tracy, Susan E. Studies in Invalid Occupation. McKeever, William A. Farm Boys and Girls. Hall, G. Stanley. Youth, Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene. Higgins, Myrta M. Little Gardens for Boys and Girls. Hapgood, George. Home Games. Kinne, Helen. Equipment for Teaching Domestic Science. Note. — References lacking the name of the publisher can be obtained, in most cases, by addressing any one of the publishing houses. CHAPTER X THE GENERAL SOCIAL LIFE OF THE COM- MUNITY This subject is fairly inclusive of all that is proposed in this whole book ; and broadly speaking, much of what has been done in the other chapters might very well have been included here. But the life of the community has distinctive aspects within its organic unity, and there is room — and need — for a careful constructive study of the life of the community from the standpoint of its social interests, using the word in its narrower sense. There is a social life in many village and rural communi- ties that is utterly unknown in many others, perhaps in most. Industrial developments tend to dwarf the thought of social life, and in many communities the social instincts are almost wholly gone. In their place has come a sort of rural paganism that is almost wholly materialistic in interest, in effort, and in outcome. This is particularly presented in Chapter XII. Over against this moral defect of community life there is set forth in Chapter XI the constructive program for play and recreation. But this program does not exhaust the possibilities of community social construction. Com- munity play and recreation must, of course, come into existence in our American life as it has been in existence 131 132 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES for centuries in European communities. But commu- nity play is not the whole of social life. Children are social from the first, and they become more and more social until the culmination of life in the little society of the new home with its growing world of responsibil- ities, cares, and outlooks. Much of this common social life and interest was manifested in the neighborhood " parties " of the rural regions of our earlier American life, — meetings that have been largely superseded by other forms of expression. Those older " parties " took the form of dances, " surprise parties," where some one was taken by surprise on his birthday, and in some com- munities there were card parties. In many communi- ties where a certain restraint was set up by religious in- terests, dances and card parties were not permitted ; so, all too frequently, the social gatherings degenerated into insipid and frittering forms of games, " kissing games," and the like. Courtship was accepted as a part of the implicit meaning of the gathering, but it was a source of considerable coarse discussion and even vulgar " horse play." The modern rural and village community is facing its greatest constructive problem on this social side. In- dustry is becoming divorced from the actual motives of life in many country communities quite as much as in the cities. Boys and girls are working for money as formerly they did not do in the country districts. They have money to spend ; they have means of communica- tion for the making of social plans; they have means THE GENERAL SOCIAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 133 of making quick trips to all parts of the community and to larger distant towns ; in place of the older neighbor- hood gatherings there is much " going to town " for an evening, especially for Saturday evenings. The older community customs have broken down ; city ways of spending the social hours have come in, and some of the old-time sincerities have passed away with the greater sophistication of the farm and the village. There is no doubt that a larger and finer and better life is needed in such communities. It is coming. But its coming should not be dominated by city thinking, or patterned upon city ways of doing. The great prob- lem is that of conserving the real social resources of the local community itself ; and this conserving process must take place within the community, by the intelligence of the community itself. Of course, the intelligence of the whole world belongs to the community, if the com- munity can use it. The great difficulty is found in the fact that our rural and village communities are schooled to despise their own resources, both social and intel- lectual, and to believe that nothing is worth while that does not come with the city's stamp of approval on it. The social leader of the rural and village community occupies a most important place in the life of the nation. The country problem is a most vital problem, and it is essentially a problem of the health or decadence of the social life of the community. Under all else that con- cerns us as human beings lie the great social instincts. If these are provided for in healthy, generous, pure, and 134 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES satisfying forms, the call of the city will lose its power. But if these are not provided for, the city's call will be- come insistent ; and the boys and girls will impatiently count the days until they shall be free to seek out the places of a larger and more satisfying sociability. Their own lives demand it. Their social interests are " symptoms of craving for needed exercise of functions " ; the country and the village could, by taking thought for their life, provide a world of satisfaction for their boys and girls, as well as for the older members of the community. Too often, however, these social instincts and needs are ignored or deplored and there is no recourse for the individual but to run the risk of life in the great " city wilderness " that looks so inviting but that may turn out to be the most lonely place on the planet. Social life, the meeting of people for purposes other than business (though not utterly separate from busi- ness), is one of the essential needs of the normal individual. Provision for it is a necessary part of the community life. No industrial development can be permanent without it ; no intellectual life is really possible aside from it; no art or religion comes to real meaning apart from it. There must be leaders who have intelligence enough to see and plan and foresee, — social prophets ; there must be provision in the community world for a healthy, broad, rich, and yet good, social life. There must be opportunity for all, old and young, rich and poor. In social life is bound up the common health of the whole community. The teachers, ministers, lawyers, and other professional THE GENERAL SOCIAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 135 men and women of the community need to feel their responsibility at this point. This is especially true of the teacher and minister. Their equipment for their work should include skill in the leadership of the social func- tions of their communities. But such leadership must be of the forces that are already at work. It must not be snobbish or superior in attitude. There should be an adequate supply of ideas as to ways of spending the hours of social gatherings. Eating, playing games, guessing contests, cards, dancing, music, "stunts," conversation, excitements: how shall the hours of a social gathering be spent? Health must be enlarged, vitality increased, emotions deepened, tensions of life relaxed, pleasures renewed, friends brought closer, hopes made more genuine, and faith in life and humanity strengthened. Here is religion ; here is education ; here are the gates of life itself. The community conscious- ness may be increased or destroyed by these hours. How shall they be spent ? The whole community must share in the social life. We are breaking up our social experiences in two great directions, and like all breakings, these leave us without a real world in which to live. We are breaking up our world into the two classes of " those who belong " and "those who have not arrived." This is a serious break, since it prevents each group from having a real social life. But perhaps there is a more serious break : the horizontal break between the children and the adults. Never before perhaps in the world have the children of 136 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES the community been released so completely from both adult cooperation and adult criticism and control in their social life. This is especially to be noted in connection with the questions of courtship. We have developed a rather curious idea that courtship is fundamentally the concern of the two persons most absorbed in the pro- cess. But the primitive world knew better. Courtship, though it seems to be wholly personal, is really more a social concern than personal, and in its fundamental es- sence it is as much a part of the cosmic process as are the movements of the stars. It is personal, of course; but its full personal meanings, as distinct from the mere mating of the animals, can be understood and assured only as courtship rises to the level of a social concern and has thrown about it the assurance of social signifi- cance and control. Let us sum it all up by saying that the social life of the community needs a common center, or centers. The schoolhouse, or the church, some public building, owned by the community, should be made this common center. Here community interest and control should centralize all the essential social activities of the whole community. Here the children should meet for their games and play, in the gymnasium or the community playfield. Here the older people should come for their community meet- ings, their political gatherings, their industrial associa- tions, their religious meetings, and their neighborly communions. Here the young men and women should have their parties and their fun, frankly recognized as THE GENERAL SOCIAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 137 a part of the community life, and the promise of the future life of the community. Over against the moral and social deficiencies that may be, or have been, in the community, here should gather the constructive social forces, meeting the insistent social needs of the whole community and providing healthy social commingling for all, according to their needs, and not according to their financial standings. This social center idea is the hope of the rural and vil- lage community. What these more sparsely settled communities need more than anything else is knowledge of themselves and of each other. The schools of the community need the reviving influences of the coming together of the whole people. The children need to think of their school as more than a place of torture ; this can come about only as the adults of the community come to believe in the schools, as they do not now be- lieve. All the questions and problems of the community life, industrial, sanitary, political, educational, moral, and religious, need to be seen in the fight of complete com- munity intelligence. All the lighter moods and the more primitive and instinctive needs of the community and of individuals in the community need socially provided, socially accepted, and socially controlled opportunities for expression, for exercise, for enjoyment, and for direction. The community social center, whether at the school, or in some church, or some building specially constructed for the purpose, the community's common meeting ground, shall become, if our intelligence rises 138 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES to the level of our fleeting intuitions, the well of social life sending forth its health-giving waters to all the community, cleansing and purifying, destroying the evil, making fruitful the soil of community living for the growth of all the finest social virtues and skills, assuring us of that finer community life about which the world has so long dreamed and hoped : a community life into which " there shall enter nothing that is unclean, or that worketh an abomination, or that maketh a lie." J. K. H. SURVEY OF THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE LOCAL COM- MUNITY 1. For questions dealing with the recreation and play life of the community, see Chapter XI. For a survey of the social and moral deficiencies of the community, see Chapter XII. 2. Make a complete study of the social gatherings of the com- munity : What are the objects which draw people together in your community ? Where do they meet ? What determines the attendance? Who are the leaders of various types of social gatherings? Who pays the expenses? What are the "means of entertainment"; i.e., how do those who attend pass the time? What are the prevailing forms of social games, plays, etc. ? How are the social gatherings controlled ? Is there any social control of any sort ? What are the social customs with reference to these social gatherings ? Are there any social gatherings which include the whole community, old and young, rich and poor? Are there social classes in your community? What was their origin? How fixed and final are they? What are the effects upon the community of these common social gatherings ? What are the effects upon the individuals ? What are the relationships THE GENERAL SOCIAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 139 of these social gatherings to the school life of the children ? Are these gatherings doing something for the children that no other agency is attempting ? 3. What are the forms of commercialized social gatherings in the community ? Are there public dance halls run for profit ? If so, what people attend the dances ? Why do they attend ? Is the influence of these public dances good or bad? Is there any duty here for the community as a whole ? Are the saloons of the community social meeting places ? What is their social influence ? Are there pool rooms or other chances for indoor social life and commercialized play? What is the influence of these places? Are the churches or schools doing anything to counteract these social opportunities furnished for profit ? What standards of morality are maintained by those gatherings which are for profit ? 4. Are there any influences that interfere with the neighbor- liness of the community? Are there any old feuds of a racial, financial, or social sort ? Has the community ever been broken up over any sort of question; e.g., the location of a schoolhouse, a church, or any other sort of public building ? Are there any lasting animosities between families, or individuals, such as have serious influence upon the social life ? Do any of these influences affect the life or work of the school in any way ? 5. What efforts are being made to provide for the social life of the boys and girls ? Do they live normal lives for their ages, or are they aping the manners and fashions of the adults ? Are there boys' clubs and girls' clubs devoted to normal youthful activities ? Are the boys and girls catching a genuine community spirit and love in the midst of their common living ? Does the community mean a pleasant future and satisfactory life for them, or are they looking for chances to get away ? 6. What is being done to protect the young men and women in the exercise of their normal social instincts ? What are the court- ship customs of the community ? Does the community exercise any real supervision over courtships, or does it merely hold aloof 140 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES until some evil result appears ? Can the community talk seriously about these things, or is it still primitive in its attitudes ? Can anything be done to inform and organize public opinion, not to the hindrance or discouragement of courtships, but to the com- munity supervision of them ? 7. What social gatherings have the men and women of the community? Are there women's clubs? For what purposes? Are these clubs constructive social movements, or are they per- sonal culture clubs, or gossip centers ? What social undertakings have come from them ? What social programs have they, if any ? If none, why not ? Do the men of the community have any kinds of social gatherings? Of what nature and for what purposes? What influences have they on the community? Have they any sort of a comprehensive social outlook or program ? 8. What has been done toward organizing the whole social life of the community in a "social center"? What are the activities of this center ? Does it meet all the community needs ? If not, what further activities should be undertaken ? If nothing of this sort has been done, is it possible to undertake it ? Can the schools be counted upon to work for the general community life ? What attitudes will the churches take toward the matter? Where can leaders be found ? What are the social conditions that need or- ganizing on a higher level? To what extent have the school- houses been used in the past for social gatherings ? Are these buildings adapted to social uses ? Is the school board willing to permit the buildings to be used for social purposes ? Do the laws of the state permit them to be used? Can the school board be converted to the idea of the wider use of the school plant ? (For very full discussion of this subject see book by Perry, listed in bibliography.) 9. What is being done in the direction of awakening public interest and attention to the questions of the social life of the rural and village communities ? Is there a " Country Life Commission " in your state ? What is it doing ? Is there a state-wide program THE GENERAL SOCIAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 4 1 for community social development ? What part has your com- munity in it ? 10. What is the attitude of the teacher toward the community ? Is she contented in the community, or does she count the days until she can get into a larger community ? What is the minister's attitude ? Is he bringing the bread of life to the community, or is he bringing the message of death by his lack of faith in the com- munity? Are the educational influences of the community such as to give the people faith in their own efforts, or are they such as to break down community self-respect and social interest ? What can be done to bring into the community the larger con- structive interests and undertakings necessary to make the life of the community wholesome, progressive, inspiring, and broadly educative for all the boys and girls, and the men and women of all ages ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Addams, Jane. The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets. Baldwin, James Mark. The Individual and Society. Brown, L. E. The Ideal Boys' Club. (Write to the author, Albany, N. Y.) Bloomfield, Meyer. The Vocational Guidance of Youth. Cooley, C. H. Human Nature and the Social Order. Dewey, John. The School and Society. Dewey, John. Moral Principles in Education. Forbush, W. B. The Boy Problem. George, William. The Junior Republic. Gunckel, John E. Boyville. Hyde, W. DeWitt. The Teachers' Philosophy. Jenks, J. W. Citizenship and the Schools. King, Irving. The Psychology of Child Development. LeBon, Gustave. The Crowd, A Study of the Popular Mind. Lee, Joseph. Constructive and Preventive Philanthropy. Mangold, G. B. Child Problems. 142 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Mumford, Eben. The Origins of Leadership. McCunn, John. Making of Character. O'Shea, M. V. Social Development and Education. Perry, C. A. Wider Use of the School Plant. Plunkett, Sir Horace. The Rural Life Problem in the United States. Parsons, Frank. Choosing a Vocation. Reeder, Rudolph. How Two Hundred Children Live and Learn. Rus, Jacob. The Children of the Poor. Ross, E. A. Social Control. Ross, E. A. Social Psychology. Scott, Colin A. Social Education. Sisson, E. O. The Essentials of Character. Tarde, Gabriel. Social Laws. Waters, Robert. Culture by Conversation. Note. — Especial attention is called to the publications of the Social Center Association of America, Madison, Wis. Full in- formation concerning books, directions for social work, and plans for community extension may be secured from this association. CHAPTER XI RECREATION, PLAY, AND AMUSEMENTS IN THE COMMUNITY Rural life consists of more than eating, sleeping, and working. There are leisure hours for most adults on Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and holidays, after eight o'clock at night, and for several hours daily in winter. Most children have much more leisure than this, and it is during these hours that companionship is especially craved and that something besides work is needed. " Isolation " and " monotony " do not strike in during working hours. The work may be hard and irksome, and may bring very meager financial returns, but it is no more monotonous than is work in any other vocation. As a matter of fact no other work in all the world can be more interesting or so all-absorbing as farming by modern methods. And where properly done it is suffi- ciently remunerative to be attractive. It is not the work so much as it is the unsatisfied cravings and the dreariness of the leisure hours that breeds a discontent which annually drives multitudes from the country to seek new homes and broader companionship in more populous communities. The sentiment seems to be everywhere : " Anything but this. How can I get away from it?" 144 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Yet national welfare requires that this point of view be changed; that instead of seeking opportunities to leave the country, people will ask : " How can we make conditions so attractive that we shall be glad to stay? " For it is certain that farm life nurtures leaders of men, and that national existence depends on a rural popula- tion that is numerous, prosperous, and contented. Now while a full and frank survey of rural conditions would reveal discouraging facts almost everywhere, yet it would not be without some hopeful features. Indeed we are on the threshold of a splendid rural renaissance. Better methods of agriculture, better business methods, and more cooperation will relieve the economic and in- dustrial elements of the situation, while a quickened church, an improved school, and a richer and more in- spiring community life will lessen the suffering from isolation and tend to check the rush to the city. In this renaissance, the recreation and playground idea will make itself felt as a powerful factor, and it is not putting it too strongly to say that a well-planned propaganda of recreation is as vital a necessity to the country's welfare as is improved farming. People in towns, villages, and in the open country need more rec- reation, and they need training in the arts of recreation and amusement. In many cases their quest for means of occupying leisure hours takes crude, uninteresting, and even childish forms, not infrequently is rough and grotesque, and altogether too often leads to immorality to a degree that is not generally suspected. So important THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 14$ is this matter of organized recreation that it must be taken up by the rural church, the school, the grange, and other fraternal orders, by clubs and associations. A splendid example is set by the Country Work depart- ment of the Young Men's Christian Association, whose secretaries are entering heart and soul into the move- ment with most encouraging results. As the writer has pointed out again and again, an adequate program of play would include pleasurable outdoor and indoor occupation for (a) homes, (b) day schools, (c) Sunday schools, (d) other social organizations, public and private, suitable for Sundays as well as for week days, adjusted to the season of the year, and adapted to the needs of (1) very little children, (2) children from eight to thirteen, (3) boys and girls in the adoles- cent period, (4) adults ; sex as well as age being taken into account when necessary. The word play thus broadened brings us into the realm of kindergartens, manual training departments, vacation schools, summer camps, boys' clubs, girls' clubs, nature-study clubs, camera clubs, collection clubs ; it has to do with swim- ming, boating, skating, skeeing, and snowshoeing; also with all forms of athletics ; with the use of tools and implements, with the use of clay, plasticine, paper pulp and putty for modeling ; with the use of tops and marbles, bean bags, balls and kites, stilts, toys, soap bubbles, cards, dissected maps, scrap books, and the myriad other amusements ; plays and games which are the heritage of the human race, and without sharing in which 146 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES no child can grow up into complete manhood or woman- hood, and no adult can live a cheerful, joyous, well- rounded-out life. A fine course of study could be formed out of the play occupations given above, a course that would train mind as well as body, and that would give the best kind of preparation for life's serious duties. It must be remembered that learning to play well teaches us how to work well. The following indoor recreational activities are within the reach of all : 1. Story-telling. " No home is so humble " says Richard T. Wyche, " that parents cannot gather the children around the fireside on a winter's evening, or about the doorsteps in the twilight of a summer's day and tell them stories." Here is an art that should be cul- tivated. Grown folks like stories, too. A farmer who usually had trouble with his hired help because they spent too much of their leisure time at the village bar- room, was so fortunate once as to get a man who had a gift for story-telling. As long as this man was on the farm he entertained the others so well that the bar receipts fell off and the efficiency of the men increased. Sitting around with their pipes and hearing him spin his yarns was a kind of recreation they enjoyed. But note Mr. Wyche's suggestion about the fireside. The open fireplace can work social wonders if people will only give it a chance. Lists of books on story-telling may be obtained of librarians or of the Playground Association of America. THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 47 2. From the story told at the fireside to the story told on a stage or platform before an audience is a natural evolution. Dramatic societies should be formed in every good sized community, and where the population is scattered several communities may unite to form one. We are only beginning to sense the educational value of dramatization. Yet once it was the best if not the only way to spread great truths amongst the people ; for instance, the teaching of Biblical events and characters by the mystery and miracle plays of the middle ages. Note the results of an active village dramatic society in Oberammergau, Germany. Largely through its in- fluence there has been developed the most remarkable community in the world, a little village in a remote moun- tain district, which generation after generation continues to produce gifted men, superb women, and beautiful, wonderfully beautiful, children in extraordinary numbers. Oberammergau cannot be duplicated elsewhere perhaps, yet properly conducted dramatics will greatly enrich life in our country communities, as it has there. 3. Clubs for boys and girls are as necessary in the country as in the city. Besides clubs covering particu- lar interests like photography, nature study, Bible study, etc., organizations like the Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls, Knights of King Arthur and Pioneer Girls should be fostered and supervised by adults. Here is where the country pastor may exert a powerful influence, as well as the country teacher. 4. The grange and other fraternal orders, fire com- 148 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES panies, literary and library associations furnish club life for men and women, and in these the recreation idea may well be emphasized. To such organizations the children must appeal for sympathy and help in their playground propaganda. 5. Promoted by these organizations, communities should maintain lecture and entertainment courses, reading circles, a public library, and, where possible, a choral union. Then there is the stereopticon with its wonderful possibilities. No community or group of communities should be without one, and systematic provision for its use should be made. The old-fashioned husking bees and barn raisings are things of the past in all but a few communities, but why not bring back the spelling match and the singing school ? 6. Church, school, and other socials should pay more intelligent attention to their programs of recreation. Social evenings frequently are uninteresting, insipid, and foolish because not carefully planned. They disgust and alienate instead of proving attractive and inspiring. On such occasions there may well be a serious core to the evening, a short literary and musical program, for in- stance, or a club meeting to discuss matters of commu- nity interest, to be preceded and followed by plenty of fun and amusement. Well thought out programs of entertainment, fun and recreation for all sorts of gather- ings in the country are greatly needed. 7. Township or country gatherings, extending perhaps through several days, have been successfully maintained THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 49 in several states. Most famous of these is the Hesperia movement, a winter gathering of Michigan farmers and teachers which has met for years in Hesperia, miles from any railway, to enjoy a program of lectures, music, and discussion from Thursday night to Saturday night. Mr. D. E. McClure, to whom most of the credit of this meeting must be given, once said, " Thousands of people have been inspired, made better, at the Hesperia meet- ings." Hesperia with its powerful appeal to the craving for wholesome recreation, certainly has induced many to stay on their farms. It is a signal instance of the effi- cacy of a properly conducted " Stay on the Farm Move- ment " which is far more important than the " Back to the Farm Movement." 8. Itinerant social and literary meetings have also proved a success. Assembling by straw load or by walk- ing parties on a given Saturday, bringing their lunch and meeting in a schoolhouse, church, or village hall, people from several communities may gather with great profit and pleasure several times a year. 9. Systematic effort should be made to teach plays and games to children and to instruct them in the art of framing up programs of indoor amusement. Such books as Bancroft's " Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gymnasium," the Dan Beard Handy Books, Nugent's "New Games and Amusements "and Johnson's " Education by Plays and Games " should be owned by every school and church, and constantly used. Country children do not play enough because they do not know 150 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES enough about play. Their repertoire of games is exceed- ingly limited, and their elders are even worse off than they are. Hence the importance of systematic effort to teach them what and how to play. The splendid work already referred to, which is being done in this direction by some of the Y. M. C. A. county work secretaries, who actually have gone from one country school to another to ask permission to teach the children a few new games, is worthy of emulation. 10. Manual training, industrial and domestic arts, and nature study furnish much indoor occupation which has high recreational value. The making of collections (stamps, autographs, eggs, etc.) should be encouraged. So should be the making of useful articles for the home or school. Manual methods in Sunday school work are also decidedly in point here. 1 1 . What has so far been said suggests the importance of having in connection with church, school, and home a definite storeroom or place for play and recreation materials, which should be treated with the same dignity as a library and should be as liberally maintained as pos- sible. In it would be kept not only the toys and games, but materials for constructing various articles, drawing and painting materials, costumes which have been used in dramatics, and that will surely come in handy again some day, pictures, projection apparatus, etc. Amongst outdoor recreational activities there naturally come to mind such time-honored sports as hunting, fishing, and camping out. It would be a good idea if THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 151 teachers and pastors would preach the doctrine of the outdoor life, and if every community had a few tents, owned perhaps by the church or the grange, which could be loaned to those who, under the supervision of a wise leader, would camp in the woods or along some stream. Tramping and mountain climbing are also good sport where there are congenial companions. Europeans understand the value of such recreations far better than Americans do. The Boy Scouts and Campfire Girls should be organ- ized everywhere, and here again comes an opportunity for pastors and teachers which they should not be slow to recognize. The Corn Clubs which have become so popular in many parts of the country, and the Tomato Clubs of the South have also high recreational value and create strong community spirit and local allegiance. By the employment of such socializing agencies, country life will be made more attractive, and the siren song of the city will not sound half so sweet to our rural youth. So far we have touched on the more informal modes of recreation, the equipment for which is the world about us in which man and nature are playmates. We now come to that still greater and perhaps more important, certainly more social field of recreation, in which man plays with man, combining for purposes of recreation in numberless forms of activity which when properly organized and supervised, develop efficiency, build char- acter, and often fuse discordant elements into a homo- 152 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES geneous, cooperating mass. In this more specialized field the recreational activities center at the playground, and here play comes to be recognized as one of the most serious and important concerns of life. One of the best things ever said about play comes from Mr. Joseph Lee, whom we delight to honor as the father of the modern playground movement in this country. " The thing that most needs to be understood about play," he says, " is that it is not a luxury, but a necessity ; it is not something that a child likes to have ; it is some- thing that he must have if he is to grow up. It is more than an essential part of his education ; it is an essential part of the law of his growth, of the process by which he becomes a man at all." All this is true for the country child as for the city child. But we must take a still wider view of outdoor play and regard it as an essential for adults as well as for chil- dren. We should never get too old to play, and since it is so universally important we must undertake seriously to provide adequate play and recreation facilities for all. Having caught the wider significance of the playground idea we shall come to recognize that the organized and supervised playground is as much a social institution as are the church and school. And I would here emphasize as I have elsewhere that play in the country is not so much to promote health as to develop the higher social instincts, to introduce another powerful centripetal factor into country life which will tend to counteract the expulsive features which have been THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 53 so actively depopulating our rural districts. A very important result of play is the development of the com- munity spirit so seriously lacking in country districts. There seems to be so little to hold the people together. But once interest children in play, get them to organize teams ; design and make a good school banner, compose and learn a school cheer, adopt a distinctive athletic costume or even a celluloid button which is to be worn when they go to the next great play festival and compete with other schools, and there will be no lack of community spirit so far as the children are concerned, and the adult population will soon be catching something of it too. In country places playgrounds will have to come, if they come at all, through the generosity of some individ- ual or club, or on the initiative of some organization like a powerful school or college, or wide-awake church, or the County Work department of the Y. M. C. A. And they are actually coming in considerable numbers and in all parts of the country, and everywhere they produce the same social results ; that is, they bring about fine community spirit, awaken civic consciousness, and co- operation, and make for a whole-souled companionship instead of for individualism and isolation. If we can see the playground idea prevail throughout the rural com- munities of the land, the gain to the nation through the ever increasing number of cheerful, contented, indus- trious, patriotic citizens will be far greater than if mines of fabulous wealth were uncovered or all the commerce of the world were brought under our flag. 154 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Regular, supervised play should begin at the home, and how fortunate the children who have parents who are in sympathy with play and who will occasionally find time to play with their children ! Sand pile, swings, and other inexpensive apparatus are easily provided, and so are the chinning bar, jumping pit, and running course. The same is true at the school, even the one room school. Helpful literature is now available for those who are willing to take up this work. The country road will have to be pressed into service for some of the activities, but every school should have ample grounds, laid out and equipped for such games as volley ball, badminton, prisoner's base, captain ball, baseball or playground ball (the latter requiring much less space than the former), relay races, etc. Marbles and kite flying should be en- couraged, and so should Red Rover, leapfrog, duck on the rock, moving statues, and a hundred other games that are readily learned. Folk dancing should be revived in the country as it has been in the city. Here again manuals of instruction are ready. Teachers, pastors, and play leaders may make use of excursions, picnics, and camping expeditions as suggested above, but in addition to these, national holidays and other special occasions may be observed by holding pageants. There is already a generous literature on this subject which may be reached through the Play- ground and Recreation Association of America. The THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 55 pageant idea for country communities has been best worked out by Mr. W. C. Langdon at Thetford, Ver- mont. His pamphlet " The Pageant of Thetford " is a classic in the literature of recreation. An essential phase of playground activity is athletics. These cannot be elaborate, of course, but if even in simple form the teacher feels unequal to the task, perhaps the country pastor could help, or some other adult in the community. If not, a call on the Y. M. C. A. County Work Secretary, if fortunately one is in the district, will not be without results. As has been said above, these young men are ready to do all they can to promote this work. The most important factor in promoting play in the country is the Field Day and Play Picnic, the great day of the year, when the country schools of the district or county meet at some central point and pass the day in play. Since the first Field Day of this sort was started by the writer in a little village in New York State some seven years ago, the idea has spread very generally through the country, and it may be said that the Field Day and Play Picnic has become an important rural institution. Its main features are as follows : A Country School Athletic League is organized among the schools of a county or commissioner's district to foster all kinds of clean athletics among country children, to teach them and their teachers outdoor and indoor games, and to bring the schools together at least once a year in a great field day and play picnic. For purposes of in- 156 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES struction, circular letters giving lists of books on games and athletics, and other important particulars are sent to all teachers and pastors, while a number of games like prisoner's base, captain ball, and some relay races are published with illustrative cuts in village papers and sent broadcast throughout the county. To further aid the play propaganda volunteers are sent to the country schools to teach games and to help with the local athletic and badge contests. The matter is also presented at granges, institutes, and public meetings by aid of the stereopticon. Individual schools are encouraged to organize relay teams, and teams to play prisoner's base, baseball, and other group games, and to compete with other schools. Individual schools are encouraged to have their own field days, while groups of three or four schools are urged to have an annual meet. The grounds for the play festival, large enough to accommodate several thousand people, are proportioned off into several play areas. In one place there are courts for prisoner's base, captain ball, bean bag, toss, basket ball throw, and so on ; another area is set aside for base- ball or playground ball ; still another is devoted to giant strides, playground slides, merry-go-rounds, and swings ; nets are also stretched for volley ball, tennis, and badmin- ton, pits are dug for jumping, courses marked out for running and racing, a range laid out for archery, and many an interesting game or contrivance for testing skill or otherwise affording amusement is at hand here THE PLAY LIFE OE THE COMMUNITY 1 57 and there to attract little groups of children, who wander about all day long in perfect delight from one interesting occupation to another. Provision is made for checking the packages and lunches of the thousands of guests, while water and toilet accommodations must be carefully and generously planned. Tents must be set up for those who are to sell frankfurters, sandwiches, ice cream, and soft drinks. An important feature of the occasion is the day nursery, consisting of one or more tents, furnished with cots, kindergarten tables, and play materials, a sand pile just outside the door, and appropriate eatables, which may well include sterilized milk in bottles, for the infants. Here mothers may check their babies free of charge, leaving them in competent care while they themselves spend the hours in joyous freedom. Carefully prepared programs are printed and freely distributed and trained play leaders are at hand to teach children and adults how to play, and to supervise the activities of the day. Balloon ascensions and other imported amusements and spectacles are strictly excluded, for this is a day of play of the people, by the people, and for the people. Thousands come to these occasions, and we want these thousands to play and not merely to be amused by hired performers. At one of these festivals "It is well worth while to stand at a place of vantage and watch these thousands assemble from every direction intent upon play, some by 158 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES train, many on foot and horseback, and hundreds by wagon, caravans which wind their way from neighbor- ing villages and farms. Sometimes an entire district school comes to town on a hay wagon, with flags and banners flying and with its school cheer frequently in evidence. Just think for a moment what this means to that school. It shows that cooperation, fellow feeling, school spirit, community loyalty, and kindred virtues have been born into the pupils' lives, and that perhaps for the first time in their experience the social forces of country life have become centripetal and attractive in- stead of centrifugal and expulsive." It should be emphasized that a play festival is not just for fun ; it is not merely to while away leisure time ; it is not a mere picnic. The latter has its value and is not to be decried, but it usually grows out of no special purpose other than to have a pleasing outing, and it exercises no permanent influence. The play festival, on the other hand, like the ancient festivals and feast days which are made familiar to us through the Bible, is of purposeful intent and has an important mission to perform. Of course it consists largely of play, and one of its chief ends is the providing of amusement. But preparation for this day of pleasure represents months of effort on the part of hundreds and thousands of children and adults, and a great many by-products have resulted which are of priceless value. Take the schools for instance, — that is, those that are fortunate enough to be under the leadership of a THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 59 good teacher. In getting ready to play their part in the events of the day the pupils become more closely or- ganized, work of all kinds has been better done, school spirit has been developed, and physical health has been promoted by participation in games and athletics. The school has become socialized. Then, too, at the festival the children may measure their accomplishments with those of children from other schools and find out just what are their strong and weak points. Then later the effect on individual lives. Acquaint- ances formed on these occasions may be followed up by profitable correspondence, by exchanging visits, and thus lead to the establishment of lifelong friendships. The names of those who excel in one sport or another become household words throughout the country. How this stimulates self-respect and ambition! The real leaders in each community become known, be they boys or girls, men or women, and these may be brought to- gether thereafter for organized efforts in worthy enter- prises for the common good. And all the time the isolation of country life is being lessened. Again, how easily may new and desirable features be introduced into a school or a community by these fes- tivals, and what an opportunity they afford for getting children to do the old things in the spirit of a new com- prehension and from a broader point of view. For in- stance, if play festivals become permanent institutions in a country and it is known that there will always be l6o EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES competitive athletics and games, then running and jump- ing, prisoner's base, relay races, and so on, will become permanent features in the physical lives of the children who are within the radius of the festival's influence. If on such days there are events which may be partici- pated in by only boys' clubs, then boys' clubs can thereafter be easily organized and maintained with incalculable benefit throughout the year. If there is to be maintained a competitive exhibit of home-made bread and cake in one of the booths on the festival grounds, then will it be easy to get the girls to give careful atten- tion to the art of baking. If a corn-judging or vegetable contest is to be held, then corn patches and home gardens will multiply and flourish. If an exhibit of photographs, programs, and printed matter showing the operations of men's clubs, women's clubs, Bible study circles, or literary societies should be made, with an intelligent person at hand to answer questions and give explana- tions, then will such organizations be likely to make their appearance in one community after another throughout the country. If there is to be an exhibit of school work in one of the tests, then all through the year the children will give more attention to the three, while sewing, gardening, bench work, carving, basketry, and art will find a deservedly prominent place in an increasing num- ber of schools and homes. Perhaps it is not too much to say that through a series of properly conceived and well-conducted festivals the civic and institutional life of an entire county or district, THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY l6l and the lives of many individuals of all ages, may be permanently quickened and inspired, the play move- ment thus making surely for greater contentment, cleaner morals, and more intense patriotism and righteousness on the farm lands and in the village populations of our country. Such, indeed, are the socializing effects of or- ganized and supervised play. M. T. S. SURVEY OF COMMUNITY RECREATION i. Make a list of the recreational activities of rural communities which have come under your personal observation. Tabulate them as (a) indoor and (b) outdoor, and indicate which are whole- some and which are bad. 2. To what extent and in what ways are the church and the pastor interested in the recreation of the people ? The school and the teachers ? The grange ? Other organizations ? The men of the community ? The women ? The Y. M. C. A. ? 3. To what extent is adequate and wholesome recreation pro- vided in the homes ? 4. What provisions for recreational activities are made through (a) libraries ? (b) lecture and entertainment courses ? (c) clubs for adults? (d) clubs for boys and girls, literary, nature, corn, tomato, etc. ? (e) Boy Scouts ? (/) Campfire Girls, or other girl counterpart of the Boy Scouts ? (g) dramatics ? (h) music ? 5. What provision is made for athletics for boys ? girls ? adults ? 6. What provision is made for wholesome recreation for farm hands ? in mining and lumber camps ? for seafaring people when in harbor? 7. What cases of immorality have arisen from the recreations of young men and women ? 8. What festivals, pageants, celebrations of special days, etc., are held ? M 1 62 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES 9. What instances of street fairs in villages do you know of, and what is their influence ? 10. To what extent are card games and public dances prevalent, and what are their effects ? 11. What efforts are being made to supervise and give moral direction to recreational activities (a) by individuals ? (b) by town or school officials? (c) by interested parties from out- side? 12. What efforts have been made to promote camping, mountain climbing, tramping, water sports? 13. What antisocial forms of play or amusements are found in the community ? Is there any public conscience on these matters ? 14. What are the schools doing in the way of promoting the educational values of play ? Is there any cooperation between the schools and the play activities of the community ? 15. Are there any prejudices against play and amusements in the community ? 16. Is the play of the community really a constructive element in the life of the community ? If not, why not ? BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY Arnold, E. H. Gymnastic Games Classified. $0.75. (Pub. privately at New Haven, 1901.) Contents are classified according to the physical and mental qualities which each game tends to develop. The first classifica- tion is of games without purpose, the last of organized games, such as ball games, hockey, Chinese wall, etc. ; the intervening classifications are : general imitation, sense apparatus, accuracy of motion, steadiness of motion, accurate imitation, simple re- action, discrimination, judgment. Bancroft, Jessie H. Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gymnasium. The games in this book have been collected from many sources THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 63 and countries. It is, as set forth in the introduction, a practical guide for the player of games, whether child or adult, for all seasons of the year in both indoor and outdoor environment. Beard, Daniel C. The American Boy's Handy Book; or What to do and how to do it. A book teeming with clear-cut directions for constructing many things dear to the heart of a boy, as well as ideas for indoor and outdoor amusements. Beard, Daniel C. Outdoor Handy Book. An excellent book of outdoor games and pastimes ; full instruc- tions are given for making the necessary equipment for the sports described, such as boating, swimming, fishing, camping, sledding, and many others. Beard, Lina and Adelia B. The American Girl's Handy Book. This book is excellent for aiding girls to amuse themselves by constructing things of interest to them ; gives suggestions for many kinds of entertainment ; describes outdoor and indoor games for girls. Beard, Lina and Adelia B. Recreations for Girls. Many ways and means are described for amusing girls through handwork. Entertainments for special occasions are given with a considerable amount of suggestion for original plans. Burchenall, E. Folk Dances and Singing Games. Book of folk dances from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, and England, with music. Boy Scouts' Manual. Published by the Boy Scouts of America. Fifth Ave. Bldg., N. Y. $0.25. Campfire Girls of America Manual. Pub. at 118 East 28th St., N. Y. $0.25. Champlin, John D. Young Folks' Cyclopedia of Games and Sports. A compendium of recreation of all kinds. Adults as well as children will find it valuable for plays and games, athletic sports, mechanical and chemical experiments, as well as for definitions of terms applicable to the subjects in hand. 164 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Hoeer, Mari Rtjef. Children's Singing Games Old and New; for Vacation School Playgrounds, School Yards, Kindergartens, and Primary Grades. (Chicago.) Such games as London Bridge, the Muffin Man, Itiskit Itasket, are found in this collection. Johnson, George E. Education by Plays and Games. The first part of this book is a discussion of the subject ; the second part is a series of games judiciously graded for progressive use. Leland, Arthur. Playground Technique. An invaluable book for all who are interested in play. It con- tains many suggestions for play and the construction of home- made apparatus. Nugent, Meredith. New Games and Amusements for Young and Old Alike. Mr. Nugent creates for the boy of ten a magic world. The book contains wonderful soap bubble tricks, how to engineer yacht races in the clouds, how to make a circus on kite string, and other wonderful things. Schaefer, W. G. Games for the Schools and Gymnasia. The aim of the compiler has been to present a series of games that require very simple apparatus; many of the games require only space for successful playing. Diagrams in many cases ac- company the descriptions. Scudder, M. T. Recreation for Rural Communities. After a brief discussion of the social and economic conditions in rural districts with special reference to the expulsive tendencies of isolation and of unsatisfied social instincts, the author dwells upon the socializing influences of play and recreation in the lives of adults as well as of the young, and points out the responsibility of the several rural institutions, home, church, school community, fraternal organizations, etc., in promoting a propaganda of recrea- tion. Rich programs of play and recreation are outlined, upwards of 200 games are described, and strong emphasis is placed on festi- THE PLAY LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 165 vals, play picnics, pageants, county fairs, and social center activ- ities. Spalding's Athletic Library. This library consists of a large number of booklets, ten cents per copy, which cover nearly every form of athletics and games. Those interested should send for a catalog. Address Spalding Bros., Nassau Street, New York. The following are of special importance in rural recreation. Chesley's Indoor and Outdoor Gymnastic Games. Gullck's Official Handbook of the Public Schools Athletic League. Official Handbook of Girls' Branch of the Public Schools Athletic League. Playground Ball. Official Indoor Baseball Guide. Official Soccer Football Guide. Official Baseball Guide. CHAPTER XII MORAL AND SOCIAL DEFICIENCIES OF THE COMMUNITY Each condition of life has its strength and its weakness, its elements of beauty and of ugliness. While much has been written, wisely, about the attractive features of country life, one who expects to make the rural com- munity his home and who hopes to understand and aid its growth must also face the fact that there are dark spots as well as bright ones in the field before him. Not all rural regions show the same weakness any more than all cities show the same efficiency. But whatever the community, it is well to have in mind the possible social dangers in order to meet them wisely if they are found to exist. It is a common saying that the social evils of rural life are due to isolation. The city has its problems of congestion, while the country problem is the outgrowth of isolation. Evil phases of social life are frequently the result of the massing of too many people for fit con- ditions of existence, but they may equally follow from the fact of too scant or feeble a population for vigorous and aggressive thought and action. There are rural as well as city " slums," and each is harmful in its own way. The danger of isolation, on the mental side, arises from lack of the contact of minds. It is in conversation, 166 MORAL AND SOCIAL DEFICIENCIES 1 67 discussion, the exchange of ideas, the stimulus of com- mon emotions and purposes, that the imagination flour- ishes and the mind develops. And so it often results, in rural life, that the fact of the failure to bring people together breeds a group of sterile minds. The narrow- ness and intellectual decay of some country neighbor- hoods is a natural consequence. The great need is to break up the isolation ; to bring the members of a com- munity to realize that they really are a community, not scattered individuals. Even more important than the mental consequences of isolation are the moral results. Every region which has not developed some adequate forms of community life exhibits these characteristics. Suspiciousness takes the place of kindliness. Fault finding, bickering, and quarrels are the outgrowth of this unsocialized life. The family feuds of many country neighborhoods are often the expression of nothing but the emptiness of the life which has no common purposes and no common emotions and enthusiasms. It is the empty mind which broods upon little ills till they become great and are so firmly fixed that they cannot be dislodged. There is, moreover, a type of character which flourishes in isolation and is intensified by it. This is the selfish, individualistic character ; and as a consequence many rural regions exhibit an unusual degree of that lawless- ness which is the outgrowth of unwillingness to permit any interference with individual wishes. Extravagant individualism is usually insubordinate and lawless. It 1 68 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES is hostile to social restraint and often lacking in self- control. In some places and under some conditions this leads almost to a return to savagery in the way and the degree in which men follow their uncontrolled impulses in disregard of all social customs and regulations. The restraining influence of social life, common understand- ings and ideas of order, are scoffed at, the result being a rowdyism which may be merely rudeness, but often be- comes drunken, vicious, or immoral. To offset such conditions the great need is for easy and frequent forms of social intercourse. It is absolutely necessary to develop the ascendency of society over the individual, to create a social atmosphere which shall be a restraining as well as stimulating influence. This is but to say that in the country if a man wants to live in a good neighborhood he must be interested in the making of varied social institutions and arrangements through which neighborliness may be exercised. One who enters such a community should ask such questions as these : What are the neighborhood institutions, and are they alive or dead? Is there a church or are there perhaps half a dozen churches fighting each other in the name of the religion instead of fighting the evils of isolated living by stimulating social purposes and aspira- tions? Is the school a place in which children are taught the elements of language and numbers, or is it also a community center where parents and children, old and young, meet for pleasure and entertainment, for athletic games and contests, for discussion and MORAL AND SOCIAL DEFICIENCIES 1 69 intellectual inquiry, for interchange of ideas, and the development of kindly interest in each other ? Is there a grange or other agricultural organization, and does it encourage interest in scientific agriculture, in cooperative undertakings of an economic sort for the increase of the community's wealth and prosperity? It is upon such social interests as these that we must rely to counteract the mental and moral evils of the isolation of the country life. There is another phase of isolation which must be reckoned with. Young people are frequently thrown in contact with men and women of immoral imagination and speech, and this is more difficult to guard against than in the city because country associations are more intimate and more inevitable, choice being much more limited. Hired help becomes a part of the family life, frequently of necessity, and may be an evil influence of this sort; or a few evil-minded young people may con- taminate a whole neighborhood. To substitute for such vicious mental suggestion an interest in better farming, in athletics, or in any other wholesome and stimulating exercise of energy is a task worth the greatest effort and not impossible of success. Among the social phenomena which have attracted the attention of observers is the fact that marriages are made at an earlier age in the country than the city. This is probably due in part to the greater economic unity of the rural as compared with the city family, a wife being of special economic importance to the farmer ; 170 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES but in part also to the lack of variety in mental interests which leads the young to settle down at an early age in the family social group. This is not a disadvantage, but at the same time suggests the danger that many mar- riages will be contracted, not because of strong attach- ment, but through the sheer poverty of other normal healthy interests. It suggests the great need for wise instruction upon the meaning of marriage and what should determine it. Another social condition to which attention must be called is the fact that many minds are unable to endure the monotony so often characteristic of rural life, so that insanity and suicide are consequences to be reckoned with. While the suicide rate is usually higher for the city than the country, the proportion of suicides over sixty-five years is greater for the rural region than for cities in the United States; which would seem to indi- cate the great strain upon the mind of long-continued isolation and monotony. Fortunately modern forms of communication are overcoming this monotony in some degree. The farm is not so lonely as it used to be. Books, magazines, newspapers, mail, telephone, and now trolley lines and often automobiles bring the farm life in touch with all that is happening in other parts of the world. But isolation breeds ignorance and igno- rance in turn makes for isolation, even when it might be avoided ; and so there is still the superlative need to organize agencies of social intercourse which shall bring neighbors together in healthful ways. MORAL AND SOCIAL DEFICIENCIES 171 Rural communities often illustrate the extreme social danger of a vicious heredity. Due at times to the migration to the city of the more vigorous youth, or at other times to lack of aggressive competition from stronger stock because of the poverty of the soil or its distance from competitive centers, there frequently is found in rural communities an excess of degenerate or defective human stock. Such regions become breeding places for the many forms of feeble-mindedness. Idiocy, imbecility, epilepsy, and other inherited mental weak- nesses, issuing in crime, pauperism, or alcoholism, are fostered and handed on. As Dr. Davenport says : " In the rural and semirural population within a hundred miles of our great cities we find a disproportion of the indolent, the alcoholic, the feeble-minded, the ne'er-do- well. I know intimately several such locations and have seen, in one family after another, how the ambitious youth leave the parental rooftree to try their fortunes in the city, while the weakest young men stay behind, sup- ported by their parents, or earning only enough to buy the liquor their defective natures crave, and are finally often forced to marry a weak girl and father her im- becile offspring. Such villages, depleted of the best, tend to become cradles of degeneracy and crime." * The problem of clean heredity through the elimination of defective blood is certainly quite as vital for the rural community as for the city. This condition leads to the consideration of certain 1 C. B. Davenport, "Heredity in Relation to Eugenics," p. 211. 172 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES institutions which belong in the main to the country- life. The county jail and the county almshouse are usually rural institutions. Unless most carefully man- aged each is likely to be productive of greater harm than good. The jail, with its constant failure to separate serious criminals from slight offenders, and its use as a place of punishment in idleness, and of detention of persons awaiting trial, is typical of the laxness and inefficiency of social discipline and control of the in- dividual in rural life. The almshouse, though meant to shelter the unfortunate from suffering, is too fre- quently a temporary abiding place for the shiftless and degenerate. Here weak-minded women give birth to imbecile children, leaving them for society to care for. Here are collected the alcoholic, the epileptic, the weak- minded — every form of inherited defect, — without separation and too frequently with complete freedom to marry and carry on their weakness. There are few problems upon which rural communities need more to be aroused than upon that of the difference between wise and unwise charity. In conclusion, one who would understand the evils incident to rural life must begin with the fact of isola- tion. To meet these social evils the problem is that of finding suitable ways of community cooperation. There must be cooperation in agricultural business undertak- ings, cooperation in local government, association for recreation, for discussion, for mental stimulus, for edu- cation, for religion. A farmer is entirely dependent MORAL AND SOCIAL DEFICIENCIES 1 73 upon his neighborhood, and so is simply driven to organize good social activities if he wishes a reasonable and happy life for his family. The evils which have been discussed will largely pass away if the young can not only be given a knowledge of scientific agriculture, but can also be taught the meaning of community life and mutual helpfulness. W. G. B. SURVEY OF THE COMMUNITY FOR SOCIAL AND MORAL DEFICIENCIES 1. What is the general moral level of the community? What interests have the adult members of the community in maintaining higher standards of conversation, reading, social intercourse, and general social control of the life of the community ? Are there any gathering places in the community where idleness or viciousness or criminality of any sort is encouraged or permitted? Is the in- tellectual life of the community made up of matters of personal gossip or unkindly or improper insinuations? Are there petty feuds, neighborhood disputes, or partisan clamors of any kind in the community ? Are there leaders of moral excellence in the com- munity? To what extent is the moral leadership of the com- munity in the hands of men or women of questionable morality ? 2. Are there saloons or gambling houses or other questionable resorts of any sort in the community ? If so, are they maintained because of the inertia of public opinion or are they maintained by actual public demand ? Is there any public conscience on these matters ? What is the influence of these gathering places upon the life of the school, especially upon the activities and con- versation of the boys and girls ? 3. What does the community do about the care of its poor if it has any ? Is there a real humanitarian conscience in reference to these unfortunates ? What does it do about tramps or occasional criminals ? 174 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES 4. Are there any defective children in the community who are not properly cared for ? Are there any dependent children not under the proper care of society or officials ? Are there any delin- quent children not properly guarded and cared for ? What is the community's method of dealing with delinquent children? Is there a juvenile court having jurisdiction over the community ? If so, are its methods properly intelligent ? Is the school properly intelligent in dealing with moral questions that arise in connection with the school ? 5. Are there sufficient means of social intercourse in the com- munity to prevent loneliness, isolation, and discouragement ? Are there any individuals in the community who are antisocial or nonsocial in any way? Do all the institutions of the com- munity — homes, business, industry, the church, the school, — contribute to a developing social life, or are some of these in- stitutions morally destructive ? For example : is business carried on on a high level of honesty and fair dealing? Is industry carried on under proper conditions ? Are the workingmen satis- fied with their conditions of labor and wages ? Is it possible for them to live a decent life in the community? Is child labor or any form of child oppression known in connection with the in- dustrial life ? Is there any vulgar ostentation on the part of the well-to-do ? Are the churches of the community helpful institu- tions or narrow and bigoted ? Are the homes of the community influential toward a higher social life, or do they breed antisocial influences ? Is the influence of the school socially and morally constructive in the community ? 6. Are there any glaring distinctions of classes in the com- munity ? Are there any families extremely poor and others extremely rich? Is there a genuine democracy of neighborliness in the community? What is being done to promote the spirit of neighborliness ? What is being done to promote a growing democracy in industry or social life in general ? What, if any- thing, is being done to raise the general standards of living? MORAL AND SOCIAL DEFICIENCIES 1 75 What is the attitude of the people as a whole toward the questions of industry ? Is work looked upon as evil ? Are there any in- terests in the general community problems ? Are there any com- munity problems — such as business cooperation, taxation, good roads, railway rates, educational problems, establishment of libraries, school improvements, community playgrounds, manual training and domestic economy in the schools, etc. — occupying the attention of the community in any way ? What is the general outcome of community activity and interest ? What is the repu- tation among its neighboring communities ? Is this reputation fair? Are all the moral and social resources of the community being properly developed, or are they decadent ? What new types of leadership are necessary to develop more completely these moral and social ideals and resources of the community? Can this leadership be secured ? If not, why not ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Graham. The Rural Exodus. Small and Vincent. Introduction to Society. Stone, Roy. New Roads and Law. Strong. The New Era. Thompson. Growth of the Town. Turner. Significance of Frontier Life in America. Henderson. Defectives, Delinquents, and Dependents. Henderson. The Social Spirit in America. The volumes of the Annual Reports of the National Conference of Charities and Correction contained many valuable articles deal- ing with conditions in rural and village communities. State re- ports of the same character are to be found in many of the States. Here also may be included reports of asylums for the feeble-minded and the insane and for the treatment of criminal classes. Mention should also be made of the Survey, a weekly magazine, published by the Charities Publication Committee, New York, in which may be found many studies of rural and village com- munities. CHAPTER XIII THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY Speaking from the experiences of ten years of work in a distinctively rural community, and three years in a town of some six thousand inhabitants, during which time the writer has visited scores of city churches, and through the nature of his work obtained a very fair knowledge of conditions in the city parishes, he wonders upon what possible grounds a rural church problem is so generally accepted as an almost national peril. The seven years were spent in a town of not quite 600 inhabitants with six churches of various denominations, — one to about every one hundred persons. On the average not more than one of these six churches were closed during those years. Never fewer than two hun- dred people attended these churches regularly. Ours was a typical New England town in the proverbial re- gion of abandoned farms and summer visitors. Attend- ance upon church services with most of our people meant a long drive after two or three hours of work on Sunday morning, and after a long week of strenuous toil from dawn until dark. A careful perusal of any denomina- tional year book will show clearly that we have a na- tional and not merely a rural church problem. 176 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 77 This town I knew so well was merely typical of some forty-nine other townships of which I made a careful study in a house to house visitation. In my present field in a town of 6000 population we have seven churches and the past three years the total Sunday congregations in these churches have not averaged over 1500, and in this town these seven churches are all within the confines of six blocks. A recent census carefully taken under the direction of the New York City Federation of Churches revealed the fact that less than 50 per cent of Protestants in New York are church goers. Despite the increase of popula- tion of 270,000 in the previous five years, seventeen churches were closed while only fourteen Protestant churches were built. Not long ago Dr. D. W. Waldron made a thorough inquiry regarding Boston's religious conditions. He found that allowing for a proper con- stituency of three fifths of the population, exclusive of Jews and Roman Catholics, able to attend church, there would be room for all in the Protestant churches, and 21,625 empty seats. Similar statistics in many cities and towns prove clearly that the church has failed to gratify the crying needs of the human soul. Persistently, for years, advanced thinkers, — men like Bishop Potter, Washington Gladden, Josiah Strong, Dr. R. T. Ely, and Professor Rauschenbusch, have pointed out the churches' failures and mistakes, and the channels into which the extreme religious efforts must be turned. Twenty years ago Dr. Healy gave 178 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES voice to the revolutionary utterance, " I should say that half the time of the theological student should be devoted to social science, and theological seminaries should be the chief intellectual centers for sociology." Recently, Professor Rauschenbusch pointedly made clear the defect in the old Evangelism, when he said : " Mischief begins when the Church makes herself the end. She does not exist for her own sake. She is simply a working organiza- tion to create the Christian life in individuals and the Kingdom of God in human society." My own experience with local and general governing authorities of the church has been that the one inquiry as to the success of any man's pastorate is, " Did he build up the Church? " — Not as it should be, " Did he build up the community, build character, thrift, muscles, and morals? " The church is conservative. It takes one step at a time, and often it hesitates overlong before it takes the first step. The old Evangelism of the Church has been overcautious. Human society has had to wade through 2000 years of blood and tears, of terror and fiery death, before the simple words of the sermon on the mount have become at all comprehensible. After centuries under the tyranny of dogma, ritual, creed, and superstition, demanding the tribute and blind obedience of man ; — finally men of courage and vision throughout the Christian world have demanded a rebirth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They believe that the church must realize the seriousness of condi- THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 79 tions, or go down to ruin. The new Evangelism says that religion is to save both the human soul and the human race. The soul is to seek righteousness and eternal life. The race is to seek righteousness and the Kingdom of God. Religion that does not apply itself fully to every side of human life cannot really live. Not only must the rural church relate itself to agriculture ; but the city church must relate itself to business, industry, banking, tenement houses, land owning, — in short, the whole of life, striking to the very roots of social conditions. Too long the churches have been what they were when Wendell Phillips called them the Great Apologists for every powerful wrong. In the days of vice, of crime, of municipal corruption, of shame and degradation, the regenerative activities have usually been led by men outside of the churches, — men inspired with a faith in God greater than that of the churches. The New Evangelism says, " There must be peace, not war, cooperation, not competition, a land where every man, woman, and child shall exist in comfort, not that millions should suffer from want on the one hand, while thousands decay with luxury and excess on the other, where every human being upon this earth shall have a chance to make the most of the faculties God has given him." This is the new preaching of repentance and the new vision of salvation, and as Ray S. Baker puts it : "It is to bring about in society at large, the spirit of the l8o EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES family at its best and finest. The cooperation of strong and weak, old and young, the service of all by each, and each by all, making of humanity one great family." " I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." Rightly does President Roosevelt's commission on coun- try life lay great emphasis on the fact that the pastor in the small town must be a community leader. With the spirit of the Christ, he must in the spirit of the New Evangelism, realize his great field of activity. Filling the office with a profit, he must be the first to discern wrong and evil, and his vision will fire the souls of men. He must also follow behind the rumbling wheels of the chariot of state, and gather up the wounded and comfort the broken-hearted. The Master perfectly combined both of these offices, — the leader and the healer. It is estimated that four out of every five of our most prominent and successful men have been reared in small towns or rural districts. Some one says that to reform a man you must begin with his grandmother ; so we may say, to convert a city population and exert an influence on its best life, we must begin with the youth of our small towns. So if the minister in the small towns ful- fills the functions of his leadership, his influence will be felt in many places and times remote, as well as in the present day. The failure of country ministers in nearly every in- stance can be traced to their deserting their posts long before they had had time enough to impress their person- ality upon the community, and in reality assume leader- THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY l8l ship of which they must make full proof in the fields where they are placed, — not in a day can they win the trust and love of their followers. In a recent yearly conference in a Methodist Church, it was reported that fifty-seven young ministers of their number had quit the ministry during the year. All were recent graduates ; all deserted on the plea that they were not paid enough. Great leaders, followers of the lowly Nazarene, must display heroic qualities, courage and fortitude, in constancy. They must be willing to undergo self-denial and hardship. Most abhorrent examples of improvidence and poverty are found in the homes of many country ministers who have married before or immediately after their ordina- tion, and whose wives have become mere brood women. What could be a poorer type of love to be held up for an example in the community than that of a minister who is willing to permit his wife and children to suffer, not only for the pleasant things, but, ofttimes, for edu- cation, and the necessities of life. By far the larger majority of country ministers look upon their fields in small towns either as stepping stones to the city, or merely as a means of existence ; or a haven from real toil and struggle in their old age. The two evils in the problem of the church in the small towns which can be laid at the door of the minister are a spirit of restlessness and resigned indifference. Lacking the competition of the city and the inspiring effects of constant contact with men of their own craft the tend- 182 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES ency towards idleness finds great growth; too easily the country minister forgets that his own dominating purpose must be to serve the Lord Christ in preach- ing the Gospel of the grace of God, and to look upon the souls of all those whom he is called to serve, whether in city or country, as precious in the sight of his Master. Too often the country pastor is tempted to try to be somebody else. Reading of the achievements of famous divines, sensationally successful in some new fad or movement, or hearing some eloquent preacher in some great gathering, the country minister in a burst of zeal feels called upon to play their part and not his own. The call which a man has for the ministry is a call for him, himself. A thing of supreme importance for him to do is that thing to which he is appointed, so far as his con- secrated powers will enable him to do it, whether it be great or small, obscure or prominent. The minister in the country, as well as everywhere else, will encounter among the people the most unreasonable demands and expectations. I have read of a man who, writing to a friend upon the subject of the kind of clergyman they wanted in their church, said : " We want a man who knows all about the enemy, has some capacity for working miracles, is ready, if need be, to be stoned, can teach the women, can interest the children, make princes tremble, convert kings, pick up sticks, earn his own living, go through fire and water for the good of others with no expectation THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 83 that they will interest themselves in him, and, in general, lead a forlorn hope of dependent followers." This is a time when as never before the ministry is met by impossible and indefinite plans. Affected as the minister is bound to be by the spiritual atmosphere of his flock, only too often must he seek inspiration and real friendliness beyond the bounds of his parish ; in the country doctor, or lawyer, or the school-teacher, he will not only find the delightful intercourse of friends but some appreciation of his own worth. " Like people, like priests " is true in the very nature of things, once they are brought together as sheep and shepherd. Each is altered by the other. Where the pulpit effects the uplift of the pews, we find a successful ministry. Where the pews drag down the pulpit, the ministry is a failure. Where are the men to-day in the typical small town who demand a ministry of fire and blood and iron? Where is the church in a small town whose pews are not largely occupied by self-satisfied and self-complacent folk, whose passion for praise and admiration is like that of a drunkard for his dram, whose ideal of life is having a good time, who hate everything that requires thought or makes trouble, who see only the ridiculous side of heroism, and who can talk nothing but fashionable gossip ? God help the minister who has a call to break the bread of life to hearts as cold as tombstones, and in homes whose closets rattle with the bones of domestic 184 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES skeletons ; to women who haven't the least idea of a moral purpose in life ; and to men whose wealth is built upon crushed and bleeding hearts. The strong minister in any place, if he can and will hold out, will eventually attract to himself strong men, and the unworldly parson who is proof against selfishness and religious indifference, will after a time have a con- gregation of devout people, full of faith and good works. " Like people, like priest " spells on the one hand to- day discovery, invention, free discussion, modernism, — on the other, sectarianism, shepherdless flocks and flock- less shepherds, tongue-tied preachers, and clerical disaster, theological fads, the destructive criticism of the Bible, and the revised Christianity of Christian Science and Spiritualism, religious indifference, irreverence, moral laxity, revolutionary socialism ; — the first sounds the death knell of the people, the second the death knell of the minister. The minister is a negligible quantity to-day, — the laity holds the balance of power. Sunday over, the minister is a cipher. If the pulpit can domi- nate and assume its full office of leadership it will survive, but a pulpit that is but an echo of the pews has no mes- sage because of which it should be endured, and a minister who has become like his people is one useless man too many. If the church is to repair past mistakes it must realize that its former policy of indifferentism, its devotion to dogma, rather than true righteousness, its worship of material things and its deference to wealth and power, THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 185 have had their full share in the creation of just criticism and social unrest. " I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister " justifies the call for service. The church must abandon the idea, as Professor Devine says, that only those agencies are of use to them which they directly control and must rise to the idea that all agencies are of use to them in which their members do good work : " I hold it to be safer and more desirable that the eyes of men shall be opened to misery and in- justice and great human needs by the churches, than that such information should come from reckless agitators, from sensational newspapers, or through any other channels through which too often such information comes." The church alone to-day can fulfill permanently and successfully the social mission of Christianity through the dynamic power that comes from the life and teaching of the Incarnate Christ, just as almost every foreign mission is to all intents and purposes a social settlement, and just as the most successful city churches find their best congregations in night schools, in literary clubs, in trade classes, and in people's institutes. So the church in the small town will in many cases be able to humanize, as well as Christianize, the community by asking the question, " What do the people want that the church does not offer? " And in the small town as well as in mission fields, the church can meet and is in many in- stances meeting the crying wants of the people. Years ago, Dwight L. Moody said that the church 1 86 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES must become the center of all the social, industrial, and religious life of the community. In many regions the vital problem of financial support must be met by the missionary boards of our churches or, as President Eliot advocates, by a large endowment fund especially for supplementing the local support of the church in the small town. In most rural communities the population is constantly shifting, and the majority of the people live on incomes where every penny counts, and these communities are justified as fully as any foreign field in seeking outside aid. While perhaps the minister ought to know how to get a living out of his farm, or in some other way, the average man cannot do it and still do the work of his ministry. But until the church at large awakens to its obligations and responsibilities, the minister must be a pioneer of the New Evangelism. " As every man hath opportunity, let him do good." In every direction the minister in the small town has opportunity to do good and in no greater measure than in helping solve the problems of the great cities. In every community there are abandoned farms, or ex- cellent camping sites, which through the interest of the country minister might furnish a host of city children a fortnight's vacation that would mean life renewed, and often preserved, for those little souls of the city street. In or near every small town the country minister can find a reasonable boarding place, with intelligent folk, where real sympathy, fresh air, milk, and eggs would be the saving of scores of city convalescents. I have found THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 187 no difficulty when cooperating with the ministers of large city parishes, in finding just the right places, and always at a most reasonable cost. More and more must the cooperation of the city and country churches be brought about. Each can do great things to aid the other. One real crime of the minister in the small town is failure to follow up the life of the boy or girl who goes to the city. No minister has the right to feel that he has discharged his duty until he knows that every boy or girl going to the city from his parish is actually under the pastoral care of some minister in the new home. Even then, at regular intervals, he should ascertain all that is possible of their business, social, and religious life in the city. After ten years of work in small towns, I have yet to find any real practical need of the community which cannot be supplied. Through the State Board of Agriculture I have obtained not only abundant sugges- tions and advice, but real cooperation in teaching young and old a greater appreciation of rural life and farm work, providing of lecturers on pertinent subjects, the forming of garden clubs and holding of farmers' institutes. In many States, the Board of Agriculture, together with the State Board of Education, is meeting rural problems, ofttimes without even the cooperation or interest of the churches. In Ohio alone, agriculture is taught in 1900 schools. Through the Playground and Recreation Association of America, one can find in 1 88 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES abundance practical plans and methods for developing through pleasant social contact in games, time-honored sports, and athletics, a more kindly community life. Field days and play picnics for country children of an entire county, with athletic games, music, and sensible amusements, meet the great need of play, more impor- tant in country than in city life, and will do much to counteract the evil influences of the typical county fair with its " phony " races and freak shows. On the same occasions small cash prizes awarded to farmers, who show ingenuity in devising new implements of work, or more successful methods of cultivation, are sure to produce real results. My most successful co-workers and assistants, whether as parish visitors, teachers of handicrafts, or night schools, or even as rural district nurses, have been volunteer workers secured by appealing to friends or some brother minister in a large city parish. In the labors of these men and women one is sure to discover true missionary spirit and rare qualifications for service. In all of our large city churches there are scores of persons of independent means, who, unable to answer the call for missionary service involving a period of years, gladly welcome the opportunity of giving three, four, or six months out of the year to the service of their fellow men. The most successful country ministers I have known have been those who remained long enough in their fields to have a better vegetable garden and more success in the raising of poultry than many THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 89 of their flock. For evenings of amusement one can easily secure from the churches or schools in the nearest city excellent lectures on interesting subjects, and groups of accomplished singers or musicians. In cases of serious and prolonged illness, even involving some serious operation or a long period of treatment, I have never failed in securing a free bed in the hospital of some neighboring city ; I have had no difficulty in securing the aid of eminent physicians for one or two days in a community where one practicing physician happened to be ill, or had gone to more lucrative fields. In the dead of a zero night, through great drifts of snow, I have summoned to my aid overworked doctors from a neighboring town, and never once has my appeal been in vain. Through the nearest large city parish, the minister may arrange with very little effort upon his part, to act as the middleman between the farmer for the sale of his produce, and the many comfortable homes of the city parishioners. Among the summer visitors that have almost universally invaded every rural community, and whom the country parson has the right to consider as temporary members of his fold, one can find if he persists and insists, not only genuine interest, but active co- operation in his every endeavor to make better the community. No problem for the general uplift of his people need be too great for the country parson. I know one clergyman in a small town who was responsible for bettering the marriage laws and greatly lessening the I go EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES divorce evil of an entire State. I know of no small town where one cannot find a suitable schoolhouse, grange hall, or lodge room which can be used as a social center. In these days of church periodical clubs and theological lending libraries no minister need lack whatever he may desire in books or current periodicals. No longer, if the church is to hold its rightful place in the community, can we be satisfied with the typical ugliness and meanness of the church building in the small town, so often outwardly unkept and within ill- ventilated and dirty. I doubt whether any native in Christendom was ever Christianized through frame churches built in the form of a squash. I long for the day when the small town will build stone churches, such as one finds in rural England, adapted to local circum- stances, and according to local conditions as to building material. The church ought to be the sign and monument of all that is sweetest and dearest and best in life, — an abiding source of elevating, purifying, and ennobling influences. It is bound to be considered a reflection of its minister's standard. In any community the minister's first work is to know the place and the God of the place. He must realize that his kind of work calls for the highest kind of hero- ism, — the heroism of duty. He must remember that he cannot help men by asking too little of them. The trifling business of the church and the small gift of money are not sacrifices. The church needs leaders in THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 191 the pews as well as in the pulpit, and when the minister demands something heroic, or something really well worth doing, then will men realize the place God ought to have in their lives and the church will have its necessary leaders and workers. Then will the laymen learn that there is no actual or real love, but service ; there is no true service, but sacrifice, the spending of life and self in the service of all : that is God ; that is Christ ; that is the Holy Spirit ; that is Christianity ; that is the ministry of every Christian man and woman. Christianity is both social and individualistic. The minister in the small town to-day must be imbued with the fact that both the man who insists on individual sal- vation and the other man who stands for social service are right. " This ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone." The minister of the New Evangelism must mingle freely with the world into which the church must go (and no human interest in the world is outside the interest of the church). But while in touch with the spirit of the times, in running his church as a successful man runs his business, he cannot depend upon mere cleverness of management instead of the grace of God ; nor neglect prayer and intercession for the sake of in- fluence with the press ; nor lower the teaching of the church or its moral standard, in order to suit an easy and self-indulgent age, unless he would spell final ruin and failure and shame for his ministry. The voice of the Christ still rings down the centuries, " My kingdom 192 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES is not of this world." Only a minister whose weapons still are faith, hope, and love and prayer, can fulfill his divine mission. It does not make so much dif- ference where as how a man works. " In stewards it is required that a man be found faithful." Happy is the minister in the small community; his lot is one to be envied through all his life and service, even to the rest that comes at length to all. " Happy the man whom Priest and Friend A few sequestered people call, Resigned an humble folk to serve In parish small. " Where books with thought, where fields with health, Where hearts enrich him with their love ; Where homes are pure, in some compare With that above. " Blest, who can undisturbedly thus His choicest years see pass away ; At peace with God, in love to men, Content by day ; " Reposeful nights ; his work and rest Alternate born ; sweet meditation, And usefulness, which springeth out Of consecration. " Thus let me live ; thus let me die ; The noisy haunts of men unknown ; Pass out of life, and at my grave A cross of stone." C. C. T. THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 1 93 SURVEY OF THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY Are the churches in your community cooperating for the pur- pose of trying to reach and influence every individual ? Is some church responsible for every square mile ? Is the community overchurched ? How many churches, and for what populations ? How long has been the average pastorate in each church for the past ten years ? Is the general emphasis on the church itself or on the work to be done by the church for all men ? For what reason have the pastors, if any, resigned their charges within recent years ? Do the ministers receive a living salary ? How many ministers are known to practice personal visitation, except in cases of sickness or death ? Do any of the churches confine their work to services once a week ? Is there an "open church" ? Is the minister overloaded with station work in neighboring towns ? Does the church give evidence of great power of leader- ship? Is there any proof that the church fosters personal character and neighborhood righteousness ? Is there any social activity in the churches other than short informal meetings after services, or suppers that are held for the purpose of raising funds ? What evidence is there of a sense of social responsibility for the entire community ? Is there a parish house in the town ? If so, does it emanate in- fluences that go to build up the moral and spiritual tones of the whole community ? Has any effort been made to extend the work of the Y. M. C. A. or Y. W. C. A. into your community ? o 194 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES What is being done for the religious education of the community by Sunday schools ? by lectures, assemblies, or "chautauquas " ? What part of the population is reached by these means ? Are the methods of religious education modern and worth while ? Do the religious institutions and leaders of the community really have any vital effect upon the conduct of the people ? What is the religious attitude in your community toward play, amusements, social gatherings, and the like ? Has the church any conscience on the questions of graft, unfair business practices, political corruption, vicious governmental policies, or any of the modern forms of sin ? Which is the more important in the com- munity, money or human welfare ? What incentives has the minister to continue in his field ? What are the attitudes of various types of people in the com- munity toward the church and its work ? Does the religious teaching of your community connect itself in any vital way with the common life of the people ? Does it mean anything worth while in the present for the common man ? What social activities (hygienic campaigns, industrial move- ments, educational programs, or plans for deepening social under- standing) have arisen in the churches of your community, or been assisted by the religious forces ? Cannot the religious institutions, leaders, and people be helped to see the relationship of their work to the present social problem as a whole ? Is there not some social problem to be solved, or some social activity to be carried through which can enlist the services of every individual in the community, in a religious spirit ? Has your community any sort of a religious program looking ahead for ten years or more, forecasting the developments and preparing for them, and outlining a community work for all the people ? Is there any reason why you should not have such a program ? Is there any cooperation between the churches and the public schools ? THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 195 What part do the churches have in the education of the children of the community? Are the public schools doing anything that could better be done by the churches ? Is there any division of labor between the schools and the churches ? Do the schools rec- ognize, in any way, the work of the churches, the place of religion in the life of the children and in the community ? Is the work of the public schools a pagan work, in the sense of being wholly intellectual and bookish ? Or is it fundamentally religious in the sense of conserving the community and individual resources of a social and moral sort ? Are the schools educating away from the community and away from the church ? What is the church doing for the community as a whole ? Does the school recognize this and cooperate with it ? Do both school and church think of themselves as social in- stitutions ? BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FURTHER STUDY Butterfield. Chapters in Rural Progress. Gladden. Parish Problems. Henderson. Social Duties from the Christian Point of View. Proceedings of the Conference on the Problems of the Rural Church in New England. Held in Boston, Jan. 18-19, 1909. New England Country Church Association. Boston, 1909. Contains a program of work, and digest of addresses. Report of Committee on Morals and Rural Conditions. Minutes of 1 06th Annual Meeting, General Association of Congrega- tional Churches of Massachusetts. 1908. The Social Work of the Church. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Nov., 1907. Brown. The Social Message of the Modem Pulpit. Peabody. Jesus Christ and the Social Question. Rauschenbusch. Christianity and the Social Crisis. Gilbert. How One Man Saved a Town. Outlook, April 18, 1908. 196 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Hartt. The Regeneration of Rural New England. Outlook, March 3, 10, 17, 31, 1900. Kennedy. Religious Overlapping. Independent, April 9, May 7, 1908. Nesmith. The Rural Church. American Journal of Sociology, May, 1903. Wells. Church Federation. In Vermont Missionary, March, 1909. Wells. The Country Church and its Social Problem. Outlook, August 18, 1906. Weight. The Country Church. Bibliotheca Sacra, April, 1890. Messages of the Men and Religions Forward Movement. 7 Vols. Association Press, 124 East 28th St., New York. Attention is especially called to the following pamphlets, which will be found of unusual service : A Social Survey for Rural Communities, by George Frederick Wells, published by the author, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York. A Social Service Program for the Parish, published by the Joint Commission on Social Service of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 157 Montague Street, Brooklyn. Extended bibliographies on this general field may be found in : Writings on Practical Church Problems, by G. F. Wells, Homiletic Review, August, 1909. A Selected Bibliography on the Country Church Problem, by Henry K. Rowe, Newton Theological Institution, Newton Centre, Mass. (Sent on request.) The Country Church, by G. F. Wells, in the Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. CHAPTER XIV THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE COM- MUNITY Between the school and the whole intellectual life of the community there should be the closest kinship. Yet it frequently happens that this is not the case. One reason is that very few people ever learn to read. The pupil learns his letters, puts them together into words, puts words together into sentences that, after a time, convey sense to the mind, and then he reads selections from the readers, First to Sixth. He may learn to enunciate clearly — the words ; and to read according to rhetorical " laws." But the taste for reading, intellectual interests nur- tured by means of these tastes, and life purposes that have an intellectual value growing out of this nurture : these are things that the schools do not take account of, nor strive for. Are the teachers to blame ? Not wholly ! " They teach but as their fathers taught." They do the best they know. The result is that the schools are book- ish, after a textbook fashion, but they do not minister deeply to actual taste for the finer things in the intel- lectual life. And the intellectual life of the community suffers by coming to have a distrust of and a distaste for books. "Books get us nowhere," they say. 197 198 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES But the difficulty is that we do not know books, — the great books of the world. We do not know how to read — and therefore our intellectual life, such as it is, goes on, in ignorance of the great thought of the world. How can it be otherwise when even with all our efforts library facilities are still tragically inadequate every- where ? I heard, recently, in a town of over 5000 popu- lation, which has no free public library, of a girl in high school who came from a good family and who was a most excellent student, who yet asserted that she never in her life had read a single book outside of those in her school course. She had been getting lessons all those years, but had never learned to read. The teachers had been teaching school rather than teaching children. My plea is that every community center should have its collection of books, tax-supported, free to every man, woman, and child in that community. The free use of a public collection of books should be as much the birth- right of every child in the United States as free public schools. In the state of Ohio fourteen mills on the dollar of taxable property may be levied for educational pur- poses ; in other words : to teach the children. The law allows a one mill levy for the maintenance of public libraries. Is it right to create a demand for books and then not supply it ? Is it right to teach children to read and then not to see that books are provided for them to read ? It may be said that the home supplies this need. Does it? What is the library in the average home in THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 199 the rural or any community? I need not outline the motley collection. Possibly an atlas and dictionary, a few sensational books, such as " The Johnstown Flood," " The Eruption of Pelee," " The San Francisco Earthquake," " The Lives of the James Brothers," bought from subscription agents, usually for the sake of charity or philanthropy ; a few old histories, especially on the Civil War ; some lives of war generals and of our martyred presidents ; and perhaps a book or two con- taining a hodge-podge of everything from legal and social forms to conundrums and fortune telling. Enough money may have been spent on such a collection, for subscription books always come high, to have provided wholesome reading for the developing years of childhood. Some parents consider such provision for their children as an extravagance ; while others are willing to spend their money but they do not know what to buy. Newspaper and magazine selections are as poorly made, offering very little worth while to the child. Perhaps a county newspaper, a church paper, and farmer's maga- zine are taken. The rural free delivery is now adding a daily paper and in some cases the better magazines. Enough money is being spent by some of our farmers to supply their families with good periodical literature, if the expenditure could be rightly directed. There should be frequent and general exhibits of books and periodicals suitable for the farmer, his wife, and chil- dren. Such exhibits might well be made at county and state fairs, grange meetings, and farmers' institutes, 200 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES in district schools and country churches. It would make a fine subject for the county teachers' institute and the distributions of such exhibits could be made through no better agency. Books and magazines have been con- sidered as more than luxuries in the country. Money comes in in small quantities and is carefully spent for necessities or for the gratification of vanity. The cream of the city comes from the country. Emer- son says : " City was country the day before yester- day." What does he mean ? The city dweller's ances- tors all came from the country. Why does the third generation born in the city feel that it must get back to the soil? Is it not to renew exhausted strength? If, then, the strength of the city depends on the stream coming in from the country, is it not essential that that stream be as intelligent as possible? And how can this intelligence be given if not at least in part through books and reading? If lack of time be any excuse there is time for reading in the country. When the country boy or girl, man or woman, is through with the necessary work the ques- tion is not so much " Where shall I go? " as " What shall I do? " Does this not account for much of the old-time patchwork, samplers, and knitting? What stories these things could tell of keeping the mind balanced ! What do the statistics of our insane asylums show in regard to country life? Enough has not been done to relieve its monotony. Is there any one thing beneath the dome of heaven that will relieve the tedium THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 201 of existence anywhere so much as the distribution of sufficient literature ? The need of a general elevation of the standards of intelligence in the community is rather strikingly set forth by Professor Carver of Harvard. He says, in sub- stance, in an address delivered before the New England Country Church Association : " It may be accepted as a general law that the land of the country will pass more and more into the hands of those who can use it to the best advantage, — that is, into the hands of the best farmers. . . . No miracle is going to happen to prevent this result, or to interfere with the working of this eco- nomic law. . . . " There was a time when the finance ministers of European governments were hard pressed to provide a revenue for the governments. They eventually found that the best way to get adequate support for the govern- ment was to increase the prosperity of the country. When they began studying how to make the country prosperous, the science of national economy or political economy was born. When they who are charged with the task of community leadership awaken to the fact that the best way to secure adequate support is to make the country more prosperous, they will be on the right road. When they begin studying how to make the country more prosperous, the science of country economy will be born. This will be, for our rural regions, as for- tunate an event as the birth of political economy was for modern governments. 202 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES " Of course there should be continued emphasis, in all our teachings, upon the plain economic virtues of industry, sobriety, thrift, practical, scientific knowledge, and mutual helpfulness ; but much more emphasis than hitherto should be placed on the last two. Practical scientific knowledge of agriculture, and mutual helpful- ness in the promotion of the welfare of the rural regions are absolutely essential. . . . " Organized efforts for the study of rural economy, for gaining more and more scientific knowledge of agri- culture, for the practical kind of brotherhood which shows itself in the form of mutual helpfulness and coopera- tion, in the form of decreasing jealousy and suspicion, in the form of greater public spirit, greater alertness for opportunities for promoting the public good and building up the community, in helping young men and young women to get started in productive work and in home building, in helping the children to get the kind of train- ing which will enable them to make a better living in the community fife for the whole community." . . . The knowledge which any community may develop in reference to its own resources and problems is incom- plete without that larger knowledge which comes from relating these community interests to the wider interests of the world both historically and geographically. Ac- cordingly, extended book and periodical lists have been added to each chapter of this book in order that the local interests aroused might find outlet in extended reading reaching out into the larger world. It is to be hoped that THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 203 these book lists will prove helpful and suggestive, that the community will not be satisfied until in large meas- ure these materials and many others are provided for the general community use in a permanent community library. In most states some provision is being made for supply- ing smaller communities with traveling libraries from the central State library. " Towns having under 500 population usually cannot support their own public library. The best thing these smaller towns can do is to organize a Library Association, apply to the proper state authorities for a traveling library, and work to build up a school library, which should be made accessible to all and during vacations also." The first step in organizing a local community library must be to arouse public sentiment in its favor. " A few earnest people realizing the need of a library, must determine that the people of their community shall have the benefit of free books, and must plan and work and agitate until every one is aroused to the fact that this opportunity is for them and for their children, if they will but take it. " Any person who is really interested in establishing a permanent library will first secure full information upon the subject. This means thorough understanding of the State law under which libraries, Associational or Municipal, may be established ; knowledge of what has been done in other communities in the State ; full com- prehension of local conditions and of the sentiment of the 204 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES people upon educational matters. Promoters of the library movement should talk, or correspond with library leaders from other places, and should get the opinions of the sanest and most progressive leaders of their locality. "It is usually possible to enlist the support of some woman's club, or other organization, which will pledge its services to the library cause. It will be wise to secure the interest of some such organization already in exist- ence, to give it the privilege of calling the first public meeting to consider the library question, and of inviting the cooperation of other associations. " It is a mistake to keep the library movement in the hands of one club, as it must rely upon the support of all the people, some of whom are usually suspicious of the motives of any limited association. The honor and privilege of starting a library should belong to the person or association willing to forego the praise which such effort deserves, and to work enthusiastically and tirelessly with all who will join efforts for the common good." " It is usually best to organize an association to raise money for books, interest the community in the project, and bring the matter before the proper authorities. This organization should consist of men and women. From the beginning it should be understood that interest in the library movement is not limited to women. Business men and taxpayers are needed in any public work which must depend on tax support. This association should later give place to the library board appointed under the law. It may, however, continue its activities in raising THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 205 money for new books, and should be a force behind the library so long as it is needed. " The governing body of the community may appro- priate money from the general fund for the first year, but should thereafter levy a library tax for any regular appropriation. Usually the members of such bodies are very willing to follow public sentiment in founding public enterprises, but, like all other human beings, they are governed somewhat by their prejudices, and should be approached by people whom they respect, who have tact and good judgment. An enthusiastic but tactless hobby rider may undo months of careful work. In most places where libraries have been started the citizens have raised a fund or bought a collection of books and offered them to the public if the council would agree to found a permanent library. This is ordinarily the easiest way to secure one. " If the country is thickly settled, talk to the farmers about the library and get them to join with the towns- people in securing a library for town and country alike, free to all who can come to it. When the library is per- manently established, arrangements should be made whereby all may do their share in its support. . . . " The publicity and cooperation committee should supply brief articles for the local papers, and arrange for a ' Library Sunday,' upon which all ministers would agree to urge the importance of a public supply of good books to the moral welfare of the community, and of the use of good books in the home. This committee should 206 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES see that the results of the meeting are made public, and that all agencies unite in supporting the library move- ment. It should investigate existing collections of books and what remains of any old libraries to see if they may be merged into the public library. " The committee on ways and means will make in- vestigations in regard to rooms or buildings available ; cost of rent; shelving and furniture; cost of running the library ; probability of tax ; condition of town finances ; attitude of officials, prominent people; and, possibly, plan for meetings and entertainments for the benefit of the library. " The committee on books and administration should investigate in regard to selection and purchase of books, and library service and management. " In general, it should be remembered that it takes time to create public sentiment of any lasting worth ; that hasty action of ill-formed enthusiasts will probably not result in the establishment of a permanent, valuable, educational institution ; that it is unwise to force any- thing upon an unwilling community ; and that it may re- quire a long campaign, patiently and tactfully conducted, to bring the people to cordial support of a library project. " It is not worth while to waste time arguing with the cranks who always oppose public improvement; to listen to the chronic objector to taxes ; or to give much attention to those who know from sad experience with old association or subscription libraries that the library will fail. The ghost of an old library, organized before THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 207 the State Library Law was passed, will rise to trouble organizers of the new enterprise. A modern free public library differs from the old association library just as the modern free public school differs from the old ' select ' academy. " Reasonable objections should be courteously met and answered. The most earnest supporters of the library movement will be among the broad-minded men of self- education who realize the difficulties in this method and want to make the process less difficult ; and among the parents of large families who can do little more individu- ally than to meet the everyday material needs of their children, and welcome a cooperative movement which will make the necessary books possible. " It may as well be understood from the beginning that it will cost something to have a good library. It pays to start right, with the best books, and modern methods. The association should raise the initial book fund, but ordinarily the subscription method of support should cease with that. People tire of an institution supported by begging. " If the library project is to command respect, it should be on a business basis from the start, and should not be undertaken until the community can afford it. On the other hand, the library should not be regarded as a luxury, and its establishment postponed from year to year. . . . The time will never come when a live community ceases to make improvements; and a library movement in a dead community has no competitors for public support. 208 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES " It must be understood that the library is to be a permanent and growing institution and must have proper support, if it is to be successful. The library should have an assured income. It should have reg- ular service and should be open at least three afternoons and evenings each week. " The initial expenses for shelving, tables, chairs, fixtures, and supplies should be considered separately. The exact cost of running a library will depend upon local conditions, which will determine the cost of rent, heat, light, care of building and rooms, and possibly of service. The other regular expenses will be for serv- ices, books, binding, periodicals, stationery, printing, supplies, postage, freight and express, and for inci- dentals, including insurance and repairs. " Any public-spirited man ought to be willing to help to maintain a public supply of good books at the rate of ten cents for every $300 of his actual wealth. One third of a mill on a dollar would be one cent on $30, ten cents on $300, one dollar on $3000. Ordinarily prop- erty is assessed at from 50 to 90 per cent of its real value. Assume that the valuation is 75 per cent. A $3000 house would be assessed for $2250 and the annual tax at one third of a mill would be 75 cents, and for this the taxpayer and the members of his family would get all the books they could read in twelve months, and the children would have the benefit of the references in their studies. For the owner of a modest $1500 home the one third of a mill would be 38 cents, and he would THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 200. get in return the use of hundreds of the very best books and magazines for himself and his family. Surely this is no burden. A community which had $350 a year for the library loaned its thousand volumes 8000 times in one year. Figure the cost of each book to each reader and see what other cooperative plan yields better re- turns on the investment." 1 M. E. D. SURVEY OF THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE Are there women's clubs in the community ? If so, what is the character of the programs, miscellaneous, or one or two subjects studied in the year ? Are the women interested in civic affairs ? Are they real students of any of these subjects ? Are they or- ganized in civic or other associations for the betterment of con- ditions locally, for the state, and nation ? Do they try to in- fluence legislation, either state or national ? How does the level of intelligence of the women of the community compare with that of the men ? Do the men respect women as comrades or do they try to limit them to a certain "sphere"? What is the attitude of the community toward children ? Is as much or more attention given to their upbringing as is shown in the breeding and raising of fine stock ? Do parents want their children to have better advantages than they themselves had or is "what was good enough for me good enough for my children"? Is the desire for better advantages really helpful to the children ? Are the people appealed to through emotions or intellect in the church services ? Are there any lectures or lecture courses deal- ing with serious concerns and subjects ? Is there a college or any institution of higher learning in the 1 The above suggestions on building a community library are adapted, by permission, from the publications of the Oregon Library Commission, p 2IO EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES community ? If so, what is its effect on the intellectual life in general? Has there at some previous time been a college or academy in the community ? If so what impress did it leave on the community? What effect do the recreations and sports have on the intel- lectual ideals of the community ? What has been the effect of the telephone, interurban railway, and rural free delivery on the intellectual development of the community ? Is there centralization of public schools ? If so, what is the effect on the community as a whole? Are there tendencies toward centralization in other things; e.g., libraries, churches, household economics, farm industries ? Is there a free public library supported by tax in the community ? If not has there been any agitation or interest toward starting one ? Are the people familiar with the library laws of their state and of the help given by the state in establishing libraries ? Does the Board of Education furnish supplementary reading for the schools ? Are state traveling libraries used in the community ? What are the usual subjects of conversation in the community ? Is it confined to household affairs, the crops and neighborhood gossip, or does it broaden to show a wide field of intelligence ? What is the general attitude toward money? Do people care for it only for the sense of possession, or do they intelligently ap- preciate what it obtains? What effect does the wealth of the community have on its general intelligence ? Are people so ab- sorbed in money getting that they have no time for the things that make for culture and refinement ? What books are mostly read in the community? What types of books are found in the homes ? What periodicals are read by the people, at home, or in public places, of any sort ? Is the general level of intelligence rising or falling ? Why ? Is anything being done to interest boys and girls in the problems of the community? Do the people say of their community, THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 211 "There is nothing here for the ambitious boy " ? Is this true? Does the community feel any of the currents of thought from the larger life of the state and nation ? Are there any of the old-time "literary societies or Lyceum^" in the community ? What are the actual sources of the intel- lectual life of the community ? Are the schools real intellectual forces in the community life ? Are the teachers looked upon as intellectual leaders ? If not, who are the real intellectual leaders of the community ? Is their leadership socially desirable ? BIBLIOGRAPHY American Academy of Political Science. Annals, Vol. 40. March, 1912. Anderson, W. L. The Country Town. A study in rural evolution. Bailey, L. H. The Country Life Movement in the United States. Bailey, L. H. The State and the Farmer. Bailey, L. H. The Training of Farmers. Beard, A. P. The Story of John Frederick Oberlin. Butterfield, K. L. Chapters in Rural Progress. Canfield, J. H. Opportunities of Rural Population for Higher Education. Carver, T. N. Principles of Rural Economics. Clark, J. B. The Distribution of Wealth. Cornell, W. S. Health and Medical I nspection of Schoolchildren. Coulter, J. L. Cooperation among Farmers, the Keystone of Rural Prosperity. Cubberley, E. P. The Improvement of Rural Schools. Curtis, H. S. The Reorganized School Playground. U. S. Bureau of Education, 191 2, Bulletin 16. Dinsmore. Teaching a Country School. Escott, T. H. S. Society in the Country House. Giddings, F. H. Descriptive and Historical Sociology. Green, J. B. Law for the American Farmer. 212 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Hall, G. S. Youth. Hapgard, H. R. Rural Denmark and its Lessons. Harris, H. F. Health on the Farm. Kern, 0. J. Among Country Schools. McKeever, W. A. Farm Boys and Girls. Plunkett, Sir H. C. Ireland in the New Century. Plunkett, Sir H. C. The Rural Life Problem in the United States. Powell, E. P. How to live in the Country. Raymond, W. English Country Life. Roads, C. Rural Christendom. Robertson, J. W. Conservation of Life in Rural Districts. Robertson, J. W. Satisfactions of Country Life. U. S. Experiment Station. Country Life Education. U. S. Bureau of Agriculture. Van Hise, C. R. The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States. Wilson, W. H. The Church of the Open Country. Wilson, W. H. The Evolution of the Country Community. A study in religious sociology. Wilson, W. H. Quaker Hill, a Sociological Study. Privately printed. CHAPTER XV THE COMMUNITY LIFE; CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL Education a Fundamental Agency in Rural Life. — It is quite evident that while several agencies enter into the movement to make American rural life more whole- some and more humanly satisfying than it now is, we ought to be able to point to some one agency as abso- lutely fundamental to the solution. Rural life students agree that the comparative isolation and barrenness of rural life must be overcome ; that those who live in rural communities must become better organized than they are ; and that a new emphasis must be placed on ethical and aesthetic idealism in rural districts. But how shall this be brought to pass ? The initiative must come from the open country itself. This calls for a leadership such as is now seldom found in rural com- munities. The demand is for men and women with a vision — men and women imbued with the spirit of masterful action, and thoroughly prepared to cope with the difficulties of a rural life which — like ours — is passing from a period of exploitation to true husbandry farming. Properly directed education alone can furnish this leadership. It, then, is the fundamental agency necessary to the success of the rural life movement. 213 214 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES If we have the educated men and women, the other great problems cannot resist solution. The farmers will then become organized and so enabled to hold their own against the centralized interests of city life ; to-day what they need is direction. In fact, every phase of social, economic, and spiritual retardation in agricultural districts may be expected to yield to the new educated leadership. Agriculture our Dominant Interest. — There is nothing more fundamental in our country than the soil and what it produces, what lives under it, and the humanity which in last analysis draws its sustenance from the soil. Those who labor close to the soil are the chief wealth makers of the nation. The destiny of our people will rest largely with the men and women of the farm. We have no greater or more dominant interest than agri- culture. Any form of education, to be effective, must reflect the daily life and interests of the community where employed. Since agriculture is our chief primary in- dustry, the redirected education for the open country must be agricultural in its nature. By this is meant vastly more than the study of agriculture as a school subject. The new education must give expression to at least two things : (i) good scientific farming, rendering ample returns for the labor expended ; and (2) a rural social life satisfactory to those living it. Farming as an occupation has not been very remuner- ative. This statement leaves out of consideration the THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 215 unearned increment in land values. Science in educa- tion must make it at least as profitable as an equal in- vestment would be in the city. Otherwise people will leave the farm. But even if agriculture be made more profitable than at the present time, this alone will not be sufficient inducement to keep a large productive popu- lation on our farms. Daily life there must first be made more humanly interesting, more desirable. The pros- pector for precious metals will remain in his " diggin's " no longer than is absolutely necessary to gather his hoard ; he will then hasten away to meet social beings of his own kind. So with the country folk. If country life cannot offer the simplest social satisfactions, people will go where they can get them. The redirected education with which we are concerned in these pages must aim to make better farmers and better helpmeets for these farmers, must make the occupation more remunerative, and the whole life more satisfactory and free from city domination. The Rural School Arraigned. — There was a time when all our schools, town and country alike, had many more things in common than now. This was before steam and electric power gave us the great machine age with its greatly specialized city life. The first rural teacher was city bred and city trained, had city ways and sympathies, and brought with him to the country a city course of study. But in the early days this was of little consequence ; for then even city life, so-called, was provincial in nature, in many ways scarcely more 2l6 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES than an overgrown rural life. But times have changed. Our towns have become mighty centers of commerce and manufacture. The needs of city life have found expression in a course of study preparing children for the varied activities there, and all has gone well with the city. But what about the country schools? They have gone right on, down to the opening of the present century, using a course of study formulated for children with city motives, with the natural result that vast numbers of farm boys and farm girls have been trained away from the country instead of for it. The specific charge against the rural school is this : (i) it has drawn too much of its substance from sources foreign to rural needs; and (2) it has failed, moreover, to keep pace with the needs of our rapidly developing agricultural life. The school has had its face towards the city. Worse still, it has been almost at a standstill. Says Mr. Roosevelt's Commission on Country Life : " The schools are held largely responsible for ineffective farming, lack of ideals, and the drift to town. This is not because the rural schools, as a whole, are declining, but because they are in a state of arrested development and have not yet put themselves in consonance with all the recently changed conditions of life." The great task of the new rural teacher is to put the school in harmony with the needs and time and place of present- day life. A Redirected Curriculum for the Rural School. — Fundamentally the boys and girls of rural communities THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 217 have the same instincts and capabilities as boys and girls who live in the cities ; and of course all school education, whether given in the country or in the city, should seek to bring out all that is deepest and best in life as a whole ; but in view of physical conditions the interests of city children and country children are greatly divergent. City children learn to exhaust their energies and have their pleasures among the varying and dis- tracting scenes and conventionalities of the city; while the country children under proper direction find their consuming interests in nature, in field and meadow, in orchard and garden — on the farm ; and if led by teachers who have been efficiently prepared in rural education, it is quite certain that the farm children will grow up in love with nature for its own sake, and also in love with the farm and the farm place, where in time they may find the greatest opportunities for free and independent and wholesome living. This is interpreted to mean that some subjects which have long held place in the traditional curriculum are yielding this place ; or, at least, these subjects are begin- ning to receive an altered emphasis. New subjects which are essential to agricultural progress are finding important places in the new curriculum. Thus, nature study, elementary agriculture, several forms of hand- craft, farm accounts, and physical education are begin- ning to receive consideration in progressive schools. Second in importance only to the subjects taught is the new emphasis to be laid on some of the old essentials. 2l8 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES This must be in part a spiritualizing emphasis, in part industrializing. Lessons in literature and composition may very properly emphasize the beauties of nature in the farm environment, thus awakening a love for life in the country. Geography and arithmetic may be made to deal with much that is near at hand and used in everyday life. It is more to the point, in these schools, to make a liberal use of a Babcock milk tester than to spend much time with an astronomical, or other, chart dealing with phenomena taken from the heavenly blue. The rural schools will soon be teaching less of stocks and bonds, cube root, and Troy weight ; and more of dairy problems and rotation of farm crops, spraying mixtures, and handy farm measures. When the average rural school shall get the great vision and redirect its work into these new channels, the new educated leadership, spoken of above, will soon be forthcoming. Denmark an Illustration to the Point. — The writer had the privilege, a few years ago, to spend some time in a model Danish rural community. On the one side of an ample highway lay the schoolmaster's home : a rambling, airy house, spick and span without and within. Flower beds, graveled walks, and rustic seats filled the front yard. To the rear lay the vegetable garden and experimental plot, in which the teacher and children worked together while the earth preached her sermons in their ears and made them strong in their love to dwell close to nature's heart. Just beyond the master's home lay the schoolhouse THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 210. in ample grounds. The love of nature was apparent everywhere, both in planting and in care of planted things. On the playgrounds were erected simple gymnas- tic apparatus for both boys and girls. The Dane believes with all his heart in the function of play, and he realizes that the physical development of country children does not come one whit nearer perfection than in the cities. The schoolroom was well ventilated and had an abun- dance of light. But of chief interest was the subject matter offered in this school. While the so-called es- sentials were taught in a most thorough manner, the farm subjects, after all, formed the core of the curricu- lum. Nature study in its truest and broadest form was here, elementary agriculture, farm accounting, and first steps in all those things which make the Danes the most scientific agriculturalists in the world. The Danes have learned to love nature for its own sake, rather than for the money to be got out of it. The farm is home. They have been taught to prefer it to the city. In Denmark there is no danger of a cityward exodus. The Danish farmers have solved the problems we are now facing. Their agriculture is scientific ; their social and economic organizations of a cooperative nature are unexcelled. Denmark has an educated rural leadership ; and what is of greatest interest to us, the redirected country schools have furnished this leadership. Now, while it is neither desirable nor wise to transplant to our shores school systems taken from European countries, yet such countries can teach us lessons of 220 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES greatest value. Denmark was forced to do its best industrially and economically on account of disastrous war and cruel tariff discrimination. We have had no such disaster. But at this time, with the shifting in our population, and rural instability, we can well profit by what others have done and substitute a virile telic policy for the headless genetic system under which we have long been living. Nature Environment the Background of the Re- directed Course of Study. — By this time it will appear clear that the nature environment must play a leading role in the work of the rural school. Certainly it is true that there can be no really successful living in the country if the individual happens to be out of harmony with the wonderful phenomena of nature round about him. Those who get the most out of country life live close to nature. They know and love the created things — know field and stream, weather and soil, fish and birds and insects. The really good farmers are great natural- ists. With us, rural children have lived largely in the very heart of nature and yet remained strangers there. The Danish children study blade and leaf and flower from earliest infancy. This is the work of the school and is begun while the child mind is plastic, and sym- pathetic and loving. Such children are never in danger of being turned out by the school, shrewd, calculating men who own the soil chiefly for the money they can wring out of it. In our country we are unfortunately THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 2 21 prone to judge things by the commercial standard. The so-called " practical " traits are inherent in us. Here begins the work of the new teacher. 1 He must be able to take the rural child in its own little world and lead it along the pathway of life, directing its native adaptabilities, sentiments, and powers, and there develop in the child breast a sympathy with its environment, and in the child mind an understanding of nature's ways — then, once awakened to the surpassing beauties of rural environments, the American boy and girl will no longer be in danger of deserting the farm for the man-made glitter of the city. The Rural School and Nature Study. — Nature study should form the background for the greater part of the rural school curriculum. This may be made clear by outlining briefly the specific values of the subject, viz. economic, aesthetic, social-ethical, religious, and educational. 2 Economic. — By the time they are ready for concrete agriculture the children will be familiar with the common goods in nature and with its evil things. They should by that time know the value of pure air and pure water, the influence of sheltering forests and shade trees, the importance to life on the farm of beneficent birds, insects, and batrachians. They should, on the other hand, be familiar with the pests constantly menacing farm life, such as destructive insects, birds, noxious weeds, and 1 See " The American Rural School," pp. 14-15. 2 " The American Rural School," pp. 156-161. 222 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES dangerous vegetable diseases. This phase of nature study appeals strongly to farm interests, and the effect is to draw ever closer the ties which bind the school and home through kindred interests. This will give us naturalist farmers. Esthetic. — The teacher must bring the children under the spell of the sublime in nature. The small, still voice of nature should be permitted to commune with teacher and children through beautiful flowers and waving grasses, sheltering shrubs and spreading trees. This can be realized only through the teacher's digging and planting side by side with the children. Here, amidst the earth smells and the calling of nature, they will become strong in their love to live close to nature's heart. This will give us permanent country dwellers. Social and Ethical. — A deep-seated respect for social and ethical law is needed in our country. The sooner children learn that they have social and moral obliga- tions which are bound to be respected, the better it is for them. Girls and boys have a certain amount of energy which is bound to get an outlet somehow; if early led to love nature, they will become its protectors. Such children will not vandalize nature ; when grown up they are sure to become good, law-abiding members of society. This makes for a morally sound citizenship. Religious. — To love nature is to love nature's God. The teacher's manifest opportunity is to take advantage of the still voice in nature to reach the inner recesses of the child soul, to instill there a love for well doing in THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 223 looking after the happiness of God's created things, thereby attaining the child's happiness and for himself the crown of life. This makes for a religious country folk. Educational. — While the naturalistic tendencies in education have been the slow growth of ages, we have at last come to realize that scholarship for scholarship's sake alone is untenable. The arts and sciences that do not affect the minds and habits of children in a way to furnish them with an increased disposition for service can no longer be upheld. Nature study is doing more than any other subject to overcome this disproportion between the theoretical and practical in school life. This fits education to the needs of man, instead of man to the school. The discussion of values reveals the comprehensive- ness of nature study. The first five years in school should generally be devoted to the inspirational and general phases, leaving the more concrete work to the last three years of the course. This may find expres- sion in beautifying school grounds and home grounds, in making school and home gardens, and school experi- mental plots, and in practical agriculture. Nature-study Agriculture in the Schools. — Agri- culture as taught in many schools to-day gets too much emphasis on the so-called " practical " and " useful " phases of the subject, to the detriment of its all-important background — the nature environment. We can never lay too much stress upon this fact. There are those 224 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES who have taken up agriculture as a concession to farm- ers and farming when, by very nature, it should always have been part of the school curriculum. Such teachers have hastened to make it a dollars-and-cents study; regardless whether or not the children had the prepara- tion, gleaned from contact with the great out-of-doors, to make their study from the point of view of little naturalists. Dr. L. H. Bailey, speaking on this subject, says : " I would not approach the subject primarily from the occupational point of view, but from the edu- cational and spiritual ; that is, the man should know his work and his environment. The mere giving of informa- tion about agricultural objects and practices can have very little good result with children. The spirit is worth more than the letter. Some of the hard and dry tracts on farming would only add one more task to the teacher and the pupil, if they were introduced to the school, making the new subject in time as distasteful as arithmetic and grammar often are." * It was suggested above that the general phases of nature study should occupy the pupil's attention for the first five years in school, to be followed in the last three years with agriculture, or more correctly speaking, nature-study agriculture. It would be unfortunate at any time to lose sight of the nature-study phases •> although, of course, the agricultural application must become more amd more apparent as the years advance. The entire eight years' course may be considered as a 1 " The Nature-Study Idea," p. 98. THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 225 cumulative growth, unmarked by any break to show where nature study ends and agriculture begins. The teaching cannot be limited to a textbook or manual, although these are essential enough as leading threads for the last year or so. Agriculture must be taught in the great laboratory of nature. The school ground, including experimental plot and garden, must come first. Then there are orchards and cornfields and meadows which can be used ; and corn and cereals, barnyard fowls and other animals to be brought to school and studied. Some one-teacher schools, to the writer's knowledge, find time to make their grounds beautiful, test all seed corn for the district, bud all the peach trees required to plant the orchards of the whole countryside, grow corn and vegetables for the annual contest, and still have an abundance of time for the other school tasks. When such able teachers are found every- where home and school will speedily reach an under- standing. Gardens and Experimental Plots. — Every rural school should stand in its own laboratory. This means a large school ground, ample enough for play, with room for flower beds and trees, a common experimental plot and garden with individual plots for all the children. It is just as reasonable to expect good results in chemistry by merely reading the experiments from textbooks as to study agriculture from books without gardens and experimental plots. Unfortunately, lack of space forbids the going into Q 226 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES details on the interesting subject of experimental plots and gardens. This much must suffice : every rural school should have some sort of an experimental plot, even if no more than a few feet square. Something can be done here in budding and grafting trees, layering shrubs, etc., and in the study of crop rotation, and the use and effect of fertilizers. If, for any reason, such as short school years and difficulty in caring for it during the summer vacation, a school garden should seem im- practicable, a home garden may be made to answer the purpose. This plot is cultivated under directions from the teacher, who cooperates with the pupils' parents, who in turn lend guidance and encouragement to the work. In the fall a reckoning is made of the summer's work, a competitive exhibit is held at the schoolhouse, and possibly the winning corn, potatoes, etc., are sent to the country fair. Boys' and Girls' Industrial Clubs. — No expedient made use of in recent years by educators, in their efforts to solve the farm problem, has met with such universal approval as has the industrial club. 1 It appeals to the average farmer's self-interest. He is quick to recognize its value by tangible results. Likely enough, he has experienced defeat in the corn contest at the hands of his own sons, whose corn commands $2 per bushel, while his own brings only the regular market price. Such farmers will become stanch supporters of the schools, and work for a better cooperation than heretofore. 1 " The American Rural School," pp. 222-223. THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 227 Every rural school should have a live industrial club. The influence of such an organization can scarcely be overestimated. The power of observation is developed through watching growing crops, or by studying the chemistry of cookery. It means a broadening of view, through contact with others in friendly rivalry at the contests or while upon excursions to other schools. The club, finally, gives a spirit of independence and mastery engendered in this conquest of real things. The activities of the " growing " clubs should be limited only by natural restrictions. The staple crops of the particular section of country concerned would naturally be emphasized. Thus corn, cotton, wheat, sugar beets, fruit, and potatoes may receive the attention of the growers, according to locality. But club work can be extended profitably to other activities as well. The teacher may organize clubs in cooking, fruit and vegetable preserving, floriculture, and other lines of domestic science and manual training. The Community's Share in Such Work. — Boys' and girls' clubs offer exceptional common ground on which home and school can meet. Work in cookery and sewing, or in corn growing and horticulture, naturally projects itself right into the home and farm place. Fathers and mothers are bound to become responsive to such a movement, as they cannot help seeing in it work of greatest mutual concern. Little by little, there grows up a community-wide interest in the work of the school. The teacher from this moment becomes a community 228 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES leader. The whole is fraught with great possibilities : (i) a sentiment will develop, ending with the com- munity's getting the best possible school; (2) the dis- cussions and lectures given in connection with the club exhibits and contests will awaken a desire for more knowl- edge on the part of the patrons; and (3) the old way of living will become revolutionized through the intro- duction of extension courses, which may be expected to effect marked changes in home life as well as com- munity life. Manual Training and Domestic Science. — Many a young man or young woman who has left the farm has done so because life there seemed but one monotonous round of manual labor, devoid of every incentive to mental growth. Our country youth have not always been taught the difference between manual labor and manual train- ing. The boys learn early enough the correct use of hoe and spade, plow and harrow, but it is all work — hard, bone-splitting work. The girls wash and bake, milk and churn, becoming day-long drudges. Hard work, long days, aching backs, a monotonous round lasting from starshine to starshine, tell the story of some farm communities. The school has a great opportunity right here. The sordid and deadening in farm life is pretty sure to con- tinue until the school shall be able to supplant it with a larger outlook on life, brought about through the in- troduction of many home conveniences for the women, and modern labor-saving appliances for the men. The THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 229 school will have to speak through the children, demon- strating that the farm community can have the use of almost every modern convenience now found in the city. But more than this, the work of the school is to in- fuse into the old tasks a new-born interest sprung from a union of head, heart, and hand. This contemplates manual training for boys and domestic science for girls. The purpose may be stated thus : (1) the adaptation of manual and muscular energy to the end that farm pur- suits may become more skilled and scientific ; and (2) the recognition of the beautiful as well as the practical in material creation, to the end that farm life may be- come more attractive and more beautiful, and better worth living. 1 Many schools are even now adding a new dignity to farm tasks, creating an eagerness and love for work which before seemed sordid and common- place ; and proving that what once was a life of drudgery can be made a beautiful, scientific occupation. Physical Education and Hygiene. — Possibly the greatest responsibility, as well as greatest opportunity, of the rural teacher is connected with the physical education of the children and the health and sanitation of the community. Because of the advantage of an abundance of pure air, large playgrounds, and long, healthful walks, it is generally supposed that the health of country children needs no looking after. Not only is this incorrect, for such children prove to be no more exempt from physical weakness and disease than city 1 "The American Rural School," p. 241. 230 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES children, but country people as a whole are surprisingly ignorant on the subject of personal hygiene and home sanitation. Such startling disclosures of unsanitary conditions were made to his Commission on Country Life that President Roosevelt felt constrained to em- phasize this in a special message to Congress in 1909. After speaking of other country needs he continues : " To these may well be added better sanitation ; for easily preventable diseases hold several million country people in the slavery of continuous bad health." * The teacher has a double task to perform : (1) he must look after the physical development and health of the individual child in school ; and (2) he must spread the gospel of good health and sanitation to the whole community. Such is the work of the new school. Of first importance to the teacher is a clear under- standing of the relation of the child's physical condition to school efficiency. It is now clearly demonstrated that failure in studies, general apathy and dullness, ex- treme nervousness, and even viciousness on the part of many children are traceable to the existence of chronic ailments or to minor defects of a remediable nature. Every rural teacher should be on the alert to discover defects in hearing and eyesight, and read the many signs of adenoidal conditions, nervous irritability, etc., so common in school children. Having found the cause of trouble he must have the courage to insist upon cor- rection. Every rural teacher must be his own physical 1 " Report of the Commission on Country Life," pp. 100-103. THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 23 1 inspector, which means that he must be able to recognize the symptoms of disease common to children, such as diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough, and mumps, and then take immediate action upon discovery. He must have some knowledge of diseases known to be caused by germs and should take every precaution pos- sible to minimize the danger of attack by keeping the schoolroom well ventilated and scrupulously clean, disinfecting floors, desks, and books frequently. This knowledge should be given the children through daily lessons, and so emphatically that it will reach the home and do good there. The teacher must spread the gospel of good health and sanitation to the whole community. In the country, typhoid fever, malaria, ague, and pneumonia crave many victims annually. Improper drainage, impure water, and poor ventilation are some of the causes conspiring to heap these afflictions on our farm population. The teacher who looks after the children's health in school and trains them in more sanitary habits, will be able — if tactful — to consult with and advise the parents, to the end of securing better conditions. Supervised Play and School Morals. — Physical edu- cation has a legitimate place in every rural school. This manifests itself through the agencies of manual training, play, gymnastics, and athletics. Of these manual training has been sufficiently emphasized else- where. Gymnastics and athletics may also be dis- missed with a word, as they have been discussed fully 232 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES in another chapter of the book. Country children are inclined to be ungainly and awkward, very often un- shapely, bespeaking strength without the essential req- uisites of harmony and beauty. Their shuffling foot- steps and ungainly bearing is proof of disproportionate physical development. A few simple gymnastic ex- ercises, informally given, will do much toward straight- ening crooked knees and flat shoulders. Some inex- pensive gymnastic apparatus should have place on every school ground in the country. Athletics may be em- ployed in rural districts chiefly as incidental to de- veloping a more interesting and attractive community life. Supervised play in the school is now really a part of the curriculum. Not alone is play a natural relief from the enslavement of labor, but it is a sort of preparation for the activities to be entered upon later in life. The wise teacher will encourage wholesome outdoor games, going so far as to teach new games and in other ways supervise the playground activities. School children who are left to their own devices often yield to immoral suggestion and learn vicious habits. Nothing is so effec- tive in keeping mind and body pure as interesting games and plenty of wholesome physical exercise. New Leaven in the Old Subjects. — In the foregoing paragraphs nature study has been pointed to as the sub- stantial background of the rural school curriculum. From it agriculture should develop as a concrete expres- sion of the practical. Manual training and domestic THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 233 science are intended to add dignity to household tasks, making these less arduous and giving a new and broader outlook on life. These subjects are in a sense recent additions to the curriculum, although nature study in some form has long had place in many of the better schools. Now, to turn to the other subjects taught in the average school, it is good doctrine to state that so far as these express the activities and needs of the com- munity they answer an educative purpose ; but so far as they deal with things foreign in time and place to the rural community, they fail of such a purpose. We reemphasize here that the general interests of children are the same wherever they may live; hence, the fundamental elements are the same in the education of both country and city children. In local application only do they differ. For example, the same general teachings and principles of geography and arithmetic hold good for both; the local application only should vary with community needs. To further make this point clear : agriculture concerns itself not only with the production of raw materials, but with placing these in the hands of the manufacturer or consumer. Here agriculture overlaps with geography. Thus the geog- raphy taught in rural schools should lay particular stress on the agricultural phases. These, among other things, include a study of land and water forms of the home place ; composition of the soil ; weather, temperature, and rainfall ; and elementary industrial geography, under such captions as: (i) the farm a commercial 234 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES center, (2) the history of the development of the farm, and (3) the industries of the community. Much the same can be said of arithmetic. One sees but little profit in farm boys' laboring over intricate problems in stocks and bonds and cube root, or struggling with weights and measures which tradition alone has kept in the books. Much better select the problem material from such practical themes as these : reckoning farm crops, threshing and harvesting problems, cost of growing crops, dairy problems, poultry, fencing, etc. 1 In a similar way history and civics may devote a reasonable amount of time to local rural government in its many phases. The same may be said of the other subjects in the course of study; they can all be taught with enough of the farm content to adapt them to rural civilization. Study of Rural Life in the School. — The needs of rural life should be taught in the schools. It is unnecessary to dignify such study either as rural sociology or as rural economics. It may all be done in an informal way in connection with other subjects. A good time for these discussions is the daily opening exercise, and such topics may form the central theme for the Friday afternoon exercises. Best adapted of all for these dis- cussions, perhaps, is the weekly literary society or lyceum, in which the teacher must be a leading spirit. Here the school and community meet on even terms. Patrons as well as children will attend. Surely, there is no better time or place than this to consider subjects of vital im- 1 See Jessie Field's " Farm Arithmetic." THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 235 portance to the farm! Let the discussions range over the whole field of cooperative buying and selling organi- zations, better means of transportation and communi- cation, farmers' organizations and clubs, farm labor, and public health. The curriculum as outlined in these pages, when properly taught, will put the student in harmony with his environment and prepare him for the leadership which is necessary before the great problem of life in the open country can be solved. H. W. F. SURVEY OF THE COMMUNITY WITH REFERENCE TO THE CURRICULUM OF THE SCHOOL What is meant by the rural life movement ? Do you distinguish between this movement and the "back to the farm" movement ? — Bailey's Country Life Movement, pp. 1-2, 23-26. Distinguish between " conservation," as generally understood, and the rural life movement. — Plunkett's Rural Life Problem, pp. 27-32. Enumerate and study the main agencies that are to be utilized in the solution of the rural life problem. — Butterfield's Country Church and Rural Problem, pp. 34-66, passim. Show clearly how no effort for rural betterment can hope to succeed till we get an educated leadership there. — Foght's American Rural School, pp. 13-16; Bailey's Country Life Move- ment, pp. 61-62. How is agriculture our dominant interest ? Relative to our total industry, does agriculture occupy as prominent a place to-day as half a century ago ? Explain Butterfield's Country Church, pp. 1-6 ; Foght's Rural School, pp. 8-9. What is meant by the "unearned increment" of land ? Do you 236 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES think that farming, in our country as a whole, is as profitable as it should be ? — Carver's Rural Economics, pp. 339-340. Show how the comparative barrenness in rural social life, caused chiefly by the exodus to the city, makes it more and more difficult to keep a population with right ideals on the farm. — Foght's Rural School, pp. 4-8; Plunkett's Rural Life Problem, Ch. Ill, passim. Explain carefully how the rural schools came to be neglected. What does Mr. Roosevelt's Commission mean by speaking of the "arrested development" of the schools? — Foght's Rural School, pp. 1-4; Report of the Commission on Country Life, pp. 121-122. The plea of the rural life workers is for a "new kind of a school" with a "redirected curriculum." Do you think that people as a whole feel the need of such schools ? What do teachers say ? — Report of the Commission on Country Life, p. 124. Read L. H. Bailey's The New School. — Outlook to Nature, pp. 1 1 7-1 24. What, according to the writer, does the new education contemplate ? How are you able to meet the common objection that the school program is overcrowded already? Is it possible that ambitious teachers are even now robbing the beginners in school by giving time for high school subjects ? For example : should algebra, general history, etc., be taught in any one-teacher school? Ex- plain. — Bailey's Outlook to Nature, pp. 125-126. Explain : what is contemplated is not so much an addition of new subjects as a redirection of the old. — Foght's Rural School, pp. 22, I54-I55- Study these two problems: (a) Smith invests $3500 in U. S. 3's at 104. What is his investment ? (b) How many pounds of milk, yielding 3! per cent butter fat, does it take to make 35 pounds of butter, the overrun being 14 per cent ? Do these prob- lems show clearly the new trend? Which belongs to the new? Teacher, were you reared in the country ? Have you a genuine love for your nature environment ? Are you in honest sympathy THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 237 with farm life ? How do you set about increasing this knowledge of environment ? Suggestion : read all the poetry you can find dealing with nature — not so much that which talks about nature as that which breathes nature. Read L. H. Bailey's poems found in "The Rural Outlook Set." Can you conceive of a happy and contented farm life where those on the farm are out of harmony with nature ? Is it true that American rural children are less in harmony with nature than the children of Continental Europe? How do you account for this ? What is the remedy ? — Foght's Rural School, pp. 154-155 ; Kern's Among Country Schools, pp. 34-36. Is there any danger of training a generation of sharpers in the rural schools — men who will own the soil chiefly because of its money-getting qualities ? Explain. What in the economic value of nature study appeals to the farmer? — Foght's Rural School, pp. 156-158. Do you know any person, man or woman, who is not a better social and moral being for having been brought into touch with the "small, still voice" of nature? How can you use the same "voice" in school? Explain : "To him who in the love of nature holds Communion with her visible forms, she speaks A various language. . . ." Do you think that as much culture may be gained from the na- turalist studies as from the old humanities? Explain yourself. — Bailey's Outlook to Nature, pp. 97-104. Why does it seem better to use the term nature-study agri- culture in preference to plain agriculture? — Bailey's The Nature Study Idea, pp. 93-101. How do you defend the statement that agriculture in the rural schools is not a concession to the farmers ? Explain how you teach agriculture. How much is textbook work ? Do you have a terrarium, window box, or other simple indoor laboratory ? What is your outdoor laboratory ? 238 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Make an inspection of the report of the Committee of Five, N. E. A., on Industrial Education in Schools for Rural Com- munities. Comment on the plan of five years of nature study to be followed in years 6, 7 and 8 with a course in agriculture. — Foght's Rural School, pp. 161-162. Study the school ground as a factor in rural life betterment. Is your school ground at least as attractive as the average home ground in the community? What immediate improvements are desirable ? How will you go about meeting them ? Have you birds and bird houses on the school grounds ? — Foght's Rural School, pp. 167-173; Kern's Among Country Schools, Ch. III. There are at least 80,000 school gardens in the United States. Are you the master of one of these? If not, give honest reasons why not. — Foght's Rural School, Ch. X; Kern's Among Country Schools, Ch. IV. How may you overcome the difficulties of looking after the school garden during vacation ? Study the children's home garden as a link between home and school. If the school garden is impracticable, this may take its place. Get and study the following Farmers' Bulletins from the United States Department of Agriculture: No. 154. The Home Fruit Garden; No. 218. The School Garden; No. 255. The Home and Vegetable Garden. The boys' and girls' growing and cooking clubs are perhaps the best means at the disposal of the rural school for creating a sym- pathetic relation with the home. Point out their educational advantages to the children. — Foght's Rural School, pp. 222-223. How can the community share in the club work ? Would you make the club-show the means of bringing into the community extension lecturers ? Would you sanction a pet stock and poultry show in connection with the club-show ? Are you able to compile for the farm home a list of good books on agriculture and club work ? a list of free bulletins from the THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 239 U. S. Department of Agriculture or State College of Agriculture ? Let this be a test of your grasp on agriculture literature. If your state has a free traveling library system, have you a box of its books on agriculture and clubs in the school ? Show wherein manual training and domestic science will make farm pursuits more skillful and farm life more attractive. — Foght's Rural School, Ch. XII; Kern's Among Country Schools, Ch. XIV. What handwork would you suggest as feasible in any rural school ? Read of the informal work in manual training and do- mestic science done in many rural schools (see ref . under preced- ing topic). Can you do as much ? The rural teacher does not have a physician handy to give advice on every occasion and must therefore be his own medical inspector. Do you feel this responsibility ? Are you prepared for it ? — Allen's Civics and Health, pp. 283-292. Explain the relation of general intelligence to physical education. What should be the teacher's place in the struggle against disease ? Make a study of drinking cups, much-handled books, pencils, etc. How do you disinfect these ? — Foght's Rural School, pp. 282-292 ; Allen's Civics and Health, pp. 45-152, passim. Send to the United States Department of Agriculture for Farmers' Bulletin No. 270, entitled Modern Conveniences for the Farm Home. Study it, then procure copies for your patrons. Are you able to sit down in a farmer's home and discuss prob- lems of farm sanitation with such tact and unquestioned ability that your advice will be heeded ? Let this be a test of a good farm teacher. Have you some simple gymnastic apparatus on the playground ? If not, you and the older boys should be able to erect a swing, turning pole, climbing rope, and climbing pole outfit, giant stride, etc. Read Kern's Annual Report of Winnebago County for 1911. Play is necessary ; but it should be supervised play. Can you supervise the play activities in person without spending all your intermission time on the playground ? 240 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Show clearly the relation of wholesome physical exercise to school morals. — Foght's Rural School, pp. 300-301. State concisely what is meant by "new leaven in the old sub- jects in the rural school curriculum." What can you do to give a "redirection" to arithmetic? geography? physiology? reading? English? Were you trained in a school offering special courses in rural life problems ? That is, have you a good knowledge of what is necessary to give the much needed reforms in our rural com- munities ? Strengthen your knowledge along these lines by read- ing the more important rural life books enumerated in the bibli- ography given below. Point out the value of rural life study as a part of the informal work in the rural school. Show the value of a discussion of such topics as these at the Friday afternoon exercises or the evening debating society: better means of communicaton ; the grange and similar social organizations ; new home conveniences in the farm home ; and cooperative buying and selling organizations. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Bailey, Liberty H. Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. The Nature Study Idea. The Outlook to Nature. The State and the Farmer. The Country Life Movement. Beard, Augustus Field. The Story of John Frederick Oberlin. Buell, Jennie. One Woman' 's Work for Farm Women. Butterfield, Kenyon L. Chapters in Rural Progress. Commission on Country Life, Report of. Davenport, Eugene. Education for Efficiency. Dodd, Mrs. Helen. The Healthful Farmhouse. THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 24 1 Field, Jessie. The Com Lady. Farm Arithmetic. Foght, Harold W. The American Rural School. Gilman and Williams. Seat Work and Industrial Occupations. Gulick Hygiene Series. Town and City. Hapgood. School Needlework. Hemenway, H. D. How to Make School Gardens. Kern, 0. J. Among Country Schools. Plunkett, Sir Horace. The Rural Life Problem of the United States. Roberts, Isaac Phillips. The Farmstead. The Farmer's Business Handbook. Van Hise, Charles R. The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States. Ward, Clarence M. Farm Friends and Farm Foes. Bailey, L. H. On the Training of Persons to Teach Agriculture in the Public Schools. Bureau of Education, Washington, D.C. Crosby, Dick J. Bibliography of Nature Study, School Gardening, and Elementary A griculture for Common Schools. Department of Agriculture, Circular 52, Washington, D.C. Crosby, Dick J. Boys' Agricultural Clubs. Yearbook Depart- ment of Agriculture, 1904. Washington, D.C. Crosby, Dick J. How may the Rural Schools be more Closely Related to the Life and Needs of the People. N. E. A. Journal of Proceedings and Addresses. (1909.) Hayes, Willett M. Education for Country Life. Department of Agriculture; Circular 84, Washington, D.C. Jewell, James R. Agricultural Education. Including Nature Study and School Gardens. Bureau of Education, Wash- ington, D.C. (Revised, 1909.) Knorr, Geo. W. Consolidated Rural Schools and Organization of a County System. Department of Agriculture Bulletin 232, Washington, D.C. National Society for the Study of Education. Tenth yearbook, 242 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES No. No. No. No. No. 86 No. 112 191 1, Part II. The Rural School as a Community Center. Univ. of Chicago Press. $0.75. Rural Life Bulletin for IQ12. State Normal School, Kirksville, Mo. Rural Life Bulletins for igio and ign. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. Scudder, Myron T. The Field Day and Play Picnic for Country Schools. Pub. of Playground Asso. of America. Sundry Numbered Bulletins. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. : No. 28, Weeds and How to Kill Them. Some Common Birds in their Relation to Agriculture. Care of Milk on the Farm. Milk as a Food. Education for Country Life. Thirty Poisonous Plants. Bread and Principles of Bread Making. No. 113, The Apple and how to Grow it. No. 126. Practical Suggestions for Farm Buildings. No. 134, Tree Planting on Rural School Grounds. No. 142, Principles of Nutrition and Nutritive Value of Food. No. 149, Corn Growing. No. 157, The Propagation of Plants. No. 173, The Primer of Forestry. No. 185, Beautifying the Home Grounds. No. 187, Drainage of Farm Lands. No. 188, Weeds used in Medicine. No. 192, Barnyard Manure. No. 194, Alfalfa Seed. No. 215, Alfalfa Growing. No. 218, The School Garden. No. 228, Forest Planting and Farm Management. No. 229, Production of Good Seed Corn. No. 248, The Lawn. THE CURRICULUM OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 243 No. 249, Cereal Breakfast Foods. No. 253, Germination of Seed Corn. No. 255, The Home Vegetable Garden. No. 270, Modern Conveniences for the Farm Home. No. 278, Legumes for Green Manure. No. 298, Food Value of Corn and Corn Products. No. 315, Progress in Legume Inoculation. No. 321, The Use of the Split-log Drag on Earth Roads. Magazine Articles American Education, 10:439-46, March, 1907. Some Economic and Social Aspects of the Rural School Problem. Atlantic School Journal, beginning Vol. IV, No. 6, 1909. Some Problems of the Rural School Situation. Education, 24: 74-80, October, 1903. The School as a Factor in Industrial and Social Problems. Independent, 68: 1146-48, May 26, 1910. Health in Country Life. Outlook, 91:823-825, April 10, 1909. Life of Farmer: A Sym- posium. Outlook, February 5, 1910. Southern Boys' Corn Clubs. Survey, 22 : 640-649, August 7, 1909. The Little Red Schoolhouse. Survey, 94: 891-901, April 23, 1910. Children of the Land. Survey, 94: 841-844, April 16, 1910. New Life on the Farm. School and Home Education, 28: 90-94, November, 1908. Country Life and the Country School. Virginia Journal of Education, The, Vol. I (1909) , 1-6. Community Service and the Public Schools. Western Journal of Education (Michigan), 1 : 159-160, April, 1908. An Ideal District School. World's Work, 2 : 719. Actual Rural Independence. World's Work, 7 : 4179. The New Farmer and a New Earth. World's Work, 17 : 10970. On the Soil. World's Work, 17 : 11417. What the Country School must Become. CHAPTER XVI COMMUNITY ACTIVITY IN THE ADMINIS- TRATION OF EDUCATION The Rising Movement of the Consolidation of Rural Schools. — The rapidly exfoliating civilization of the past half century has led to general social and economic readjustments. Although the tendency has been more and more to place social institutions upon a basis of scientific adjustments and relations, to discover new relations, and to create new social values in these re- adjustments, the rural school has been overlooked. The neglect which it has suffered was partly due to its isola- tion, and partly to a statesmanship which had strangely and mistakenly regarded the country school as a purely local institution, failing to see that the country school owes certain responsibilities to the State, and that its place as a country-life institution is not merely incidental, but fundamental. So it happened that at the beginning of the twentieth century the rural school was practically still in the early nineteenth century. Here and there, in widely separated localities, farmers had begun to look with disfavor upon the then existing country schools. They entertained ideals which the small school did not entirely fill. Thousands of these schools were absolutely 244 THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 245 static, as other thousands are at this moment ; other thousands were slowly losing ground and found them- selves with dwindling attendance, lacking in super- vision, with small enthusiasm, poor equipments, and with underpaid and at times inferior teachers. Long even before the farmers had taken active steps, progressive educators had advocated large educational units for country districts. Caleb Mills, the State School Super- intendent of Indiana, as early as 1859, advocated the formation of large undivided districts and consoli- dation of small districts before understanding legislative committees and farmers. But it was without avail so long as those constituencies were not receptive to the idea of school consolidation. No form of school can be forced upon communities unwilling to accept it. The idea of combining several district schools into one cen- trally located one was first carried out by Superintendent F. E. Eaton, of Concord, Mass., in 1869. He pro- vided conveyances for the pupils of four district schools to the town school in Concord. The undertaking, although bitterly opposed by some patrons, succeeded, and the school wagons have rendered service continuously to this day, and the splendid " Emerson School " in the city of Concord stands a monument to Superintendent Eaton's wisdom. The success of this experiment was the signal for the beginning of a general movement of rural school consolidation, or, more correctly, rural school redirection in Massachusetts and other states. The idea of abolishing by vote the district schools of an entire 246 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES township and of merging them into one central school originated later, in 1894, in northeastern Ohio. It was there that the possibility of systems of consolidated schools, embracing entire counties, first suggested it- self. This in turn led to a new viewpoint of the county and the organization of the country community. In the light of broad and comprehensive plans for the reor- ganization of our agriculture, the open country is coming to be regarded not as a vast aggregation of individual farmsteads, but of large complexes of farms and farm homes — country communities each with its own inter- nal interests, social organization, and community con- science. This typical modern rural community com- prises between 100 and 200 farms, and covers an area of 15 or 20 up to 40 square miles. It may be a township, or arbitrary district, whose area is determined by the distance of a convenient team haul to a strategic local point at which the school is located, or it may be formed by merging or consolidating a group of small detached school districts into one large district. Accordingly, these schools are designated consolidated schools and the supporting districts, consolidated school districts. Centralized school is a term currently used in Ohio. It is to be hoped that in time the terms " Farm School " or " Country Life School " will find acceptance among farmers. As some of the educable children in the con- solidated school district will unavoidably live beyond walking distance, conveyances, the cost of which is de- THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 247 frayed out of public funds, must be provided. The school wagon routes should be the longest possible, con- sistent with prompt, regular, and safe service. They would tend to be shorter on poor roads and in hilly and broken country, longer on good roads and in level and prairie country. The Consolidated School as a Country Life Institu- tion. — The consolidated school buildings in many places, being centrally located and convenient of access, serve splendidly for purposes of community halls, and have become important and useful factors in build- ing up country life. They are common meeting ground upon which members of a community of considerable size can meet, regardless of religious, political, or social complexions. Our rural population, as a defensive measure, to save itself from becoming merely a laboring class for the nonresident landowner or of an incorpo- rated agriculture, must become an efficient, many armed cooperation. And it is a legitimate activity of the con- solidated school to train deeply and thoroughly our country youth in team work and cooperative work of every form. Descriptions and Definitions. — That " consolidated school " may stand for the same thing everywhere, and not for one thing in one place and for something else in another place ; it is necessary to lay down some defini- tions. The consolidated school fits admirably into the scheme of American country life, and contains within it all the elements of a comprehensive and permanent 248 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES national system of education and should therefore repre- sent a definite force, never " standardized " let us hope, but always recognizable by certain features of admin- istration, function, and purpose. Another reason why a uniform nomenclature is desirable is that consider- able state legislation is certain to grow up around this new country life institution as regards state aid, taxation, vocational studies, such as agriculture and home eco- nomics, administration, and district formation. The distinctive feature which all consolidated schools have in common is enlarged unit of area of the community supporting it, — the consolidated school district. As to certain details of organization and administration and content, consolidated schools differ just as their respec- tive districts differ in wealth, in individuality, in view- point, in topography, in density of population, homes, etc. Some county superintendents have found it possible in various localities to combine one, two, or three small schools by inducing some of the pupils to walk slightly greater, but not unreasonable, distances. Notwith- standing the fact that they remain the same one-room, one-teacher school they were before, they are frequently referred to as " consolidated schools " — an unfortu- nate misapplication of the word. Such confusion should be avoided. The writer, therefore, proposes the univer- sal use of the terms according to the following definitions which recognize, strictly speaking, only two types of consolidated schools. Clearness of discussion will be greatly facilitated thereby and statistics of consolidated THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 249 schools from the different states and from counties within the same state will become comparable. 1 The Typical Consolidated School or Farm School. — Four or five rooms and teachers ; a seven or eight year elementary course with a two, three, or four years' high school course. The school must have at least two school wagons for carrying pupils living remotely. The Consolidated Graded School. — Two, three, or four rooms, a regular seven or eight year primary or ele- mentary course but no high school, and has at least one wagon for conveying pupils. Union Schools. — A one-room school into which one or more small one-room schools near by have been merged ; it may or may not employ a school wagon for conveyance. Complete Consolidation. — Refers to a condition where all district schools or a township or other large unit or community are consolidated into one central school, partial consolidation where only a few of the schools of a township or district are consolidated, part remaining out as district schools. Conveyance of Rural Children to School at Public Ex- pense. — Gathering together the children of a township or consolidated school district at a central school creates an 1 The writer has in earlier publications suggested the use of a uni- form nomenclature. " Consolidation of Rural Schools and Organization of a County Sys- tem," Bui. 232 O. E. S., United States Department of Agriculture, 1910, "A Study of Fifteen Consolidated Rural Schools, Their Organization. Cost, Efficiency, and Affiliated Interest," Washington, D.C., 1911. 250 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES entirely new environment for them, and places them in a larger field of activity than they knew in the district school ; they become aware that they are in attendance at an institution which has prestige, power, and dignity. This largely accounts for the splendid school spirit one finds prevalent in so many consolidated schools. The circle of acquaintance of each child is enlarged nearly twelvefold, and from the time he enters school he moves within a larger radius of action. The pupil in this school knows more of the local geography, knows more about the farms, crops, live stock and buildings, is more fully in touch with the life and meaning of the com- munity, makes more friends and has more rivals than the pupils in the small school. He has no opportunity to get to school too early, nor any possible excuse for being tardy. Many of the difficulties which are apt to arise where pupils walk to school are entirely over- come, such as swearing, obscene language, loitering, and the use of tobacco. The organization of the school wagon service differs with various schools. Thus the wagons may be owned publicly by the school, or the school board or county, or they may be owned privately, by the drivers. The drivers as a rule are carefully selected, sober, responsible persons. Upon their good sense and tact depends much of the success of the school. There is not an American community where such persons may not be found. The person assuming the contract to transport the children should be required to give bond for faithful performance THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 251 of duties, and should be required to do the driving per- sonally. Substituting farm help, or big boys in school to do the driving is liable to work out unsatisfactorily. Substitution should not be allowed without permission from the president of the board. The service is paid by the month, or by the day, or by the number of chil- dren hauled. The latter plan usually works well in states without compulsory attendance laws, or where their enforcement is lax. The driver usually manages to haul a full attendance. Improved roads are a very helpful factor in running school wagons regularly and on schedule time, and every wagon route should have a carefully prepared schedule to which the drivers must hold, reporting to the principal upon the arrival at the school. Some of the best consolidated schools in the country are located in sections where the roads are prac- tically all dirt roads. Where roads are very bad and the climate severe there is all the better reason for pro- viding conveyance for the children. Where children walk, colds and sickness from exposure, drenched clothes, and wet feet are considerably more prevalent than the unobservant realize, and are often responsible for the low attendance at school. Some consolidated schools convey the pupils of the elementary classes or grades only, requiring the high school pupils to provide their own transportation ; but the schools offering the privilege of free conveyance to all pupils have generally the best and most regular attendance. School wagons may be purchased of manufacturers 252 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES at from $200 to $250 ; but serviceable vehicles can be constructed by local shops at a lower figure. Use of vehicles without springs should not be allowed, and frequent inspection should be made for safety and general state of repair. Conveyance of rural pupils at public expense is recog- nized by the school laws of practically all states. But where not specially provided for, the courts generally are inclined to construe very broadly the duties of boards under the " best interests of the school " clause. Higher courts have recognized in practically every instance of appeal the right of school boards to provide conveyance paid from public funds. Objectors consider the cost of the conveyance system as the most serious fault of consolidation. The cost of conveyance per pupil per year varies with local conditions, ranging approximately between $12 and $23 and averaging about $18. The total expenditure made for conveyance per school may amount to from one fifth to one half of the total annual current expenditure. Is such expenditure jus- tified? Two other questions will answer it. Is there any way in which the excellent results of the consoli- dated school can be obtained without transportation? How can there be consistent objection on the score of expense, when all the money paid for conveyance re- mains in the township or district ? Does not the money, public or private, paid out for railroad fares and board, and high school tuition in distant towns and cities leave the township and district ? Is a school district which is THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 253 bent upon economizing its expenditures to keep down the tax rate justified in economy plans which cheapen its schools ? Is it right to begin economy on the educa- tion of the boys and girls ? In the course of a school survey in Trumbull county, Ohio, statistics were gathered in a number of townships having only district schools, and in an equal number of townships having only consolidated schools. On the basis of certain of these statistics collected with special reference as to cost of schooling pupils in consolidated and district schools, it was found : That large numbers of district schools expend consid- erably more on schooling per pupil, per day, than the best consolidated schools having high schools. That a certain class of district schools answering to specific qualifications, and receiving state aid expended 21.3 cents per pupil per day, while typical consolidated schools expended 22.5 cents per pupil per day. That in the former, pupils walked and had no high school, while in the latter pupils enjoyed local high school advantages and had public conveyance. That the cost of maintenance of one consolidated school is greater than that of the total of the district schools composing it. That the increased cost is indirectly ascribable to conveyance, because it increases the attendance. That increased attendance, better school equipment, supervision by a principal, better teachers, the ad- vantage of a high school accessible to every child in the 254 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES community, are in effect economies, and as these can be obtained in no other way than through consolidation, the small increased expenditure is in reality an investment. That section of the country where farm land is worth upward of $40 per acre may safely and advantageously enter upon consolidation ; or stating it in another way, any rural community having a tax valuation of from $500,000 up may undertake to establish typical con- solidated schools. In no way can states invest money for education in the open country more effectively than by offering liberal aid to consolidated schools answering to certain qualifications. A sum of $1500 per school per year for a period of five years, and its expenditure confined strictly to the teaching of agriculture and home economics in the upper elementary and the high school grades would so greatly improve the internal conditions of even the less prosperous communities that at the expiration of the aid period, outside assistance would scarcely be needed. The number of communities availing them- selves of this aid would at no time be large and so the amount expended by the state for this purpose would not be large in the aggregate nor would the appropria- tion be a permanent one. Is the greater initial cost of consolidated schools a really serious objection to the general adoption of the system? In view of the fact that the hundred or more of small one-room school build- ings in the county are constantly depreciating and are constant objects of expense for repairs, are not fifteen THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 255 or twenty substantial consolidated schoolhouses a better permanent investment ? The amount of funds raised by taxation by consoli- dated school districts for the support of their schools is, generally speaking, larger than that raised by the one- room districts. Owing to this larger contribution the consolidated school naturally commands a stronger local interest, there grows up greater local pride and a sense of ownership, and especially is this true in the open country where, as is often the case, the school building is the most conspicuous landmark, for miles around. Once the building is paid for, the cost of maintenance will scarcely exceed that of the combined original dis- trict schools. It may be well at this place to caution communities and townships against the mistake of erecting too ornate and expensive structures. Of course the natural wealth and resources of the community must determine how much should be so invested, but few country communities really have need for buildings costing as high as forty thousand dollars. A very serv- iceable five-room brick building accommodating 200 pupils can be built for from twelve to fifteen thousand dollars, and in sections where lumber is abundant, three or five thousand dollars will erect a building which will do splendid service. In no building plan should the communal social needs be ignored ; ample hall provisions should be made to encourage and develop them. Although in the consolidated schools in Trumbull county, Ohio, compulsory attendance is very rigidly 256 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES enforced, pupils in district schools in those communities drop out upon reaching the limit of age of school attend- ance, but continue much longer in consolidated schools. And this dropping out process is so marked that, taking the township as a whole, the consolidated school enrolls 26.5 per cent more of the children of school age than the district school. In the consolidated school a larger per cent of the total elementary enrollment was in daily attendance ; to be exact there was an increase of 15.4 per cent. There was an increase of 127.3 P er cent ^ ^ ne high school attendance. 1 These findings are of immense importance as suggesting the far-reaching changes a state can effect by means of a fully organized consolidated rural school system. They point the way in which the rural population of a state can in a few years attain a high average educational preparation; such a state might conceivably gain a decided leadership over other states not only in agri- cultural production, but industrially and even politically. The School District in the Village and the Open Country. — Those who know how school districts are usually formed are well aware that seldom do far-seeing purpose or logic enter into the operation. Expediency is almost the rule. The small individualistic school dis- trict is the result and concomitant of the individualistic farmer. But the isolation of the farm is rapidly being 1 See Bui. 232 O. E. S., United States Department of Agriculture. These figures do not represent merely local conditions, but reflect fairly conditions in rural schools generally. THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 257 broken down and individualism is making way for the entrance of individualism with cooperation, and the growth of the consolidation sentiment is evidence that the rural school system is in a fair way of being built up along that line. The rural school is a rural need, and the school district should be organized to conform to that need. During an educational history of 130 years the dis- trict school has not succeeded in educating a vocationally efficient class of farmers, and the country over we are still confronted with that problem. In the past forty years there has been an increase of one half bushel per acre in the corn yield, while the yield of wheat has fallen off two bushels. The use of artificial fertilizers is on the increase and the area of soil depletion is steadily en- larging and moving westward. The per acre yields of other farm crops are making no appreciable gains. The little rural school has also witnessed the decadence of rural social life and the exodus to the city. While not directly responsible for the conditions mentioned, it has done practically nothing to correct them in even slight degree. Perhaps the chief reason why the district school is losing its influence in rural affairs is its increasing maladjustment with rural life. It performs its duties perfunctorily and it is neither a vital nor a dynamic factor in the rural community. Because of a large amount of duplication of equipment in the more or less than 100 rural schools in the county, the supporting district is in most cases too small and too inflexible a unit 258 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES to be successfully administered either financially or educationally. There is constant competition among districts for territory. In portions of the county where the school population is on the increase there is a pressure for the creation of more districts by partition ; where school population is on the decrease, there is generally a decided disinclination to discontinue schools with small attendance, and schools have been known to re- open year after year with half a dozen and even fewer pupils. Within the same county one may find districts with large tax valuation and ample funds, adjacent to districts with low tax valuation, and correspondingly low income for school purposes. Tardiness and irregular attendance are characteristic of rural district schools everywhere. School patrons and parents are not gen- erally fully cognizant of conditions as regards their school. The optimism that their own local school is the one favorable exception in almost every respect is quite as general as it is sincere. In the very locality in the mid- dle west, for instance, where the writer was informed with the greatest assurance that " the farmers in this county are all prosperous, there is not a home that does not furnish the children with all the horses and vehicles needed to attend school daily; attendance in all our schools is good, we don't need consolidation," there was found on examination of the records that in some of the schools the average attendance for the year was as low as 30 per cent of the enrollment and the yearly average of attendance for the entire county was only 61.4 per cent. THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 259 In other words, there is no substitute for public convey- ance of school children which the district school can employ to increase its attendance permanently. The One-room School as the Administrative Unit. — The condition of independence and detachment of these unrelated units makes any kind of cooperation with similar and adjacent units difficult, and especially stands in the way of consolidation. Its failure to provide a local high school for the rural youth, its insuffi- ciency as a base of taxation to raise funds for de- fraying the cost of such educational advantages as ambitious and intelligent farming communities nowa- days seek to provide for their young men and women, is to-day felt as its most serious defect. The same criticism applies to some of the schools in smaller rural villages. Another factor which frequently adds to the difficulty of solution of both the village and rural school problems is the creation of " special " or " independent " school districts. Whereas consolidation of the districts of a larger rural community with that of the rural village would provide sufficient revenues for the erection and maintenance of a large, strong, vigorous graded school with a local high school, the independent village district actually limits itself and keeps its own school from grow- ing out into a strong, efficient institution, capable of carry- ing out a progressive educational program. Where the village happens to be the logical center of consolidation the " special district " is a hindrance to bringing the outlying rural district into consolidation with the village 260 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES district. " Special village school districts " may be hurtful to near-by district schools in still another way, in that they draw pupils from them, many farmers pre- ferring to pay tuition and to send their children to the graded or semigraded village school rather than to their own one-room school which they may consider unsatisfactory. This perhaps in a large measure ac- counts for the fact that in sections with static population one may find more of abandoned district schools near towns than out in the open country. The village does not care to tax itself for the benefit of the country dis- tricts which may have a low valuation of taxable prop- erty and contribute a proportionately smaller amount while sending to school more children. Often an in- tolerant local spirit is responsible for the separation of the interests of village and country. Conditions such as these check perforce development of schools and of other local institutions which tend to promote the social, intellectual, and economic interests of both country and village. The consolidated school tends to unite and strengthen those interests. Would not the consolidated school also stop with one stroke many of the neighborhood differences and quarrels which often are so detrimental to the success of the small country school and which negative the best efforts of the teacher? Is it not humiliating to some communities that the domination of the " influential citizen " should often amount almost to proprietorship? Why should the district school, often the only public THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 26 1 institution in the township, be named after the farmer upon whose lot the building happens to be located and the school referred to as " Mr. Layson's school," " Old man Grubber's school," etc. ? The district school is heir to these weakening influences by nature of its or- ganization. It is so narrowly localized that it represents only a fraction of the community and it is too sensi- tively responsive to whatever goes on within its small sphere. Ultimately about 250,000 small rural schools in the open country will yield to the pressure of new social and economic conditions and go into consolidation in groups of six to ten, forming about 25,000 country life institutions known as consolidated schools or country life schools. The remaining 80,000 district schools will continue as such in all places where topographical and geographical conditions will not permit consolidation and conveyance of pupils, but they will be vitalized and benefited by the spirit of the consolidated schools from which will come the majority of their teachers. The Consolidated School as the Administrative School Unit. — In most cases where a merger of one- room districts is effected, the tendency is to regard con- solidation as a matter concerning only the ones parti- cipating. Relations to other school units in the county are liable to be disregarded and consolidation may pro- ceed planlessly. Matters of taxation, roads, topography, distribution of population, and soil conditions enter into the problem and need to be carefully considered. It is significant that the greatest and most substantial 262 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES progress in school consolidation has been made in states in which the township or county is the administrative school unit ; the least progress in those states in which the small district is the administrative school unit. Where the township is the unit its boundary is con- terminous with that of the consolidated school district. Occasionally it happens that topographical conditions will hinder complete consolidation of all the schools in a township, necessitating for a time a continuance of the one or two district schools. Under a county system such districts can conveniently be attached to a consoli- dated school in an adjoining township or even county. It is worthy of note that wherever consolidated schools have displaced the small district schools, the loss of the latter has in no case been felt. With the exception of three or four consolidated schools, where bad planning or inefficient management was palpably evident, no com- munity has ever returned to the old system. Consoli- dated schools are now in operation to a greater or less extent in every state of the Union, including the Canal Zone. The 2000 typical and consolidated graded schools in successful operation may be regarded as so many successful experiments by rural communities, from which others may benefit if they desire. The American farmer has every reason to be proud of creating a new dis- tinctively American institution. The County System Most Effective in the Administra- tion of the Country School. — The consolidated school is an important factor in the solution of what, for want THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 263 of a better designation, is called the " country life prob- lem." Until about three decades ago there seemed to have been no country life problem ; conditions as they arose were met by some makeshift policy here, some piece- meal legislation there. Our school laws even are the results of very many efforts, by many persons, and can scarcely be characterized as the crystallization of a clear- cut philosophy conscious of a definite aim and purpose. Through the consolidated school, has the idea of the community as the basis of country life organization and as the vehicle of all country life activities, risen to the dignity of a well-defined philosophy, and assumed an importance never before realized. The substantial building of four, five, or more rooms, its permanence, its local influence, the considerable territory and number of families it serves, are all factors which suggest the necessity of most systematic planning of well-balanced districts; not each separately, but each with regard to all other districts in the county. To locate several or even only one consolidated school at an illogical point, or to plan a number of districts much too small in size, would inevitably lead to encroachment of territory, to duplication of school work, possibly to friction be- tween districts because of administrative difficulties. Hence the necessity of starting from the largest possible administrative base, of disregarding present civic di- visions and redisricting the territory in question with an eye wholly to educational needs. The conviction is quite generally growing that the county is the most 264 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES suitable unit for purposes of school administration, re- gardless of whether the ultimate unit be the one-room school district or the township, or the consolidated school district. Under the county unit plan school affairs are usually administered by a county board of which the superintendent of schools is the executive officer. As there is in the county a larger population from which to select this important body, better forces and greater ability can be brought together, than in the district with only a score or more of families. The intensively indi- vidualistic administration of the small district gives place to a cooperation of the most capable, intelligent, and interested leaders. Busy persons who would not for a moment consider the offer of a trusteeship in a district school, consider it an honor to be selected to the member- ship of a county school board or the board of a consoli- dated school. The system in vogue in Indiana is at- tended by excellent results. Briefly, it is as follows : township trustees are elected for four years; besides other duties these officials have charge of the roads and of the rural schools ; all the township trustees in the county constitute the county school board which elects the superintendent of schools who holds office during four years. He is usually reelected at the pleasure of the board. Politics play a very minor part in the selection of the superintendent. Trustees as well as county superintendents are almost without exception men of ability and worth. Under the county system an equitable distribution THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 265 of school funds is effected, a county board is always re- sponsive to local demands, and is in position to take the initiative in any general movement for school better- ment ; isolated schools are less likely to suffer neglect, and cooperation among schools is made easy. The consolidated school increases the importance of the county superintendent. It makes larger demands on him in the way of executive ability, resourcefulness, leadership and professional preparation. The politician superintendent, who is such a dead weight on the rural schools, is sure to be eliminated. On the other hand, there are placed at the superintendent's command means which enable him to emphasize his leadership. In place of visiting ioo or 150 separate small schools scattered over the county, he concentrates his time and attention on the fifteen, twenty, or as the case may be, thirty consoli- dated schools ; time which was spent in traversing coun- try roads is used in supervision of the teachers' work, for he now has days to devote to work in each school, whereas before he had hours only ; his work where consolidation is to be carried into effect is largely constructive. The short terms of office customary in many states need to be lengthened to terms of satisfactory service in order to enable the county to fully utilize the ability of super- intendents with exceptional executive and constructive talent. A board, responsible to the public, usually secures a more capable class of county superintendents than does an election. Is it good business policy to take them out of this work every two or four years ? Does one 266 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES change architects several times in the course of construc- tion of an important public building ? Is the importance of the person who has charge of the schooling of 3000 or 4000 country children in the' county not commonly underrated ? The matter of locating the school building is at times attended with difficulties because of the diversity of local and personal interests involved. The correct judgment in most cases lies in locating it in the geographic center of the district. Villages or rural towns will often be found convenient centers. Where division of opinion is too divergent, it may be wise to consult an outsider experi- enced in such work ; his counsel may be more acceptable than that of a resident. By redistricting the entire county at one time, a more logical and better balanced plan is usually arrived at than by cutting off district after district. Each district may then consolidate its school at any time it may choose. If any prefer to remain unconsolidated, they may do so without impair- ing the general plan. The superintendent of schools of every county where consolidation is practicable, should have at least a tentative plan of consolidation of schools mapped out so that even if the execution of the plan in its entirety be not immediately in prospect, the centers of possible consolidation may be accorded sympathetic recognition. By degrees these can be allowed to absorb near-by schools as they weaken. A Vitalized Country Community. — The consolidated school is adapted as no other form of school, for carrying THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 267 to the bulk of the six millions of boys and girls growing up on the farms of this country the large body of knowledge relating to agriculture and home economics, made avail- able by the scientists in experiment stations of this and other countries. The consolidated and village rural schools provide almost ideal conditions under which farm management can be taught in a vital way to very large numbers of pupils — fully twice the number that can be reached in district schools. These schools, being close to the soil and native, can vitalize class work re- lating to field crops, farm accounts, stock feeding, and so on, and can supplement in a most effective way the home apprenticeship of the boy and girl on the farm. The largest part, perhaps 75 per cent, of rural education rests on the rural schools — they will always have to take care of that much ; high schools and colleges will take care of the remaining part. The system of one- room schools, becoming obsolete, is so organized that it not only fails to reach down and through real life, so as to bring vocational instruction and vocational guidance to the 93 per cent who do not go farther than the elementary school, but that it also fails to articulate with schools which do supply these important educa- tional elements. The consolidated school not only overcomes the defect of lack of articulation, but voca- tional agricultural and home economics instruction is being introduced with gratifying success and with every prospect that those 93 per cent in need of it can be and will be reached ; and that every important fact and every 268 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES new discovery in agriculture or in home economics can thus be carried to the school in the open country and thence to the farm. In this connection a type of secondary school which has developed in recent years, and which promises to become a potent factor in a country life education, is of extreme interest; namely, the agricultural high school, located at a conveniently accessible point within and comprising a five or ten county district or a congres- sional district. These large, well-equipped institutions articulate with the consolidated schools below and the agricultural colleges above and occupy a position in- termediate between the two. The courses of study of these schools are designed to prepare the farm boy and girl to return to the farm as farmers and home makers and to become local leaders. These schools have attached to them farms, usually of several hundred acres, herds of different breeds of pure-bred farm animals, modern farm buildings, creameries, a large faculty of specialists, and a large and vigorous student body. The best examples of this type of school are at present to be found in Minnesota and Nebraska. There are in all about seventy-five in the United States. Eventually 400 of these institutions will be built up. The county agricultural high school is another form of secondary school in which agriculture is taught. It usually fills the place also of county high school. It nec- essarily has less equipment, a smaller faculty, is less inspirational and vital, than the larger agricultural high THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 269 school. Owing to comparative ease of access the county agricultural high schools favor a strong attend- ance, from the immediate surroundings, and are, there- fore, inimical to the development of local high schools in the consolidated schools. This makes for the continua- tion of the one-room schools, or at best consolidation takes place in the direction of only consolidated graded schools, both eventualities resulting in a smaller aggre- gate high school attendance in the county than would be in the twenty or thirty typical consolidated schools, and these leading to the large district agricultural high school serving a group of counties. It will be seen that the consolidated school occupies a position of strategic importance in rural education affairs. That not more of these schools have to-day widened their field by teaching studies in agriculture and home economics is due in large part to a temporary lack of teachers with agricul- tural training. In consequence of this, there is at pres- ent almost an entire absence of cooperation with the state college, the state experiment station, and the ex- tension department, although every facility for articu- lating the consolidated school splendidly with all these agencies exists. If more county superintendents and more principals of consolidated schools attended courses in agriculture (even if only short courses) in the state colleges of their respective states, these men and women would learn how to utilize college, experiment station, extension department, and the national Department of Agriculture, and would come into close personal 270 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES contact with leaders of thought in those lines of work, and would see their philosophy and viewpoint. Cir- cumstances and need will suggest numberless ways in which cooperation with the institutions named can be effected. Thus, for example, in several localities in southern states, consolidated schools have succeeded in interesting the agents of the farm demonstration divi- sion of the United States Department of Agriculture, and these men cooperate with the county superin- tendents and principals, and in their travels in the county make periodic visits to the consolidated schools, giving the boys and girls instruction which supple- ments that which they receive in working their one-acre demonstration fields on their home farms. Where a school farm is part of the equipment of the consoli- dated school, it can be made infinitely attractive and effective. Boys and girls going from the consolidated school to a city high school, or to college for a technical or professional education, will by no means be retarded by the agriculture and home economics instruction they have received, but on the contrary will be greatly bene- fited. The great, the important function of the consoli- dated school is to provide every farm boy and girl with a broadly vocational preparation so that whether grad- uating from the upper elementary grades or the high school, they will be qualified to return to the farm, to take their part in building up a strongly organized and profitable country life, and to make the family owned and family operated farm the fundamental unit of American agriculture. THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 27 1 The consolidated school is distinctly the product of evolution in country life affairs. Primarily designed to correct antiquated educational conditions, it has subse- quently developed into an effective instrumentality for redirecting and vitalizing country life. As yet, only few of these schools have gone beyond the initial stages in the organization of country life. Communities, however, are constantly discovering themselves. With this new viewpoint, is the wealth of material at hand for the organization of a full and enriched American country life not well-nigh inexhaustible? Can the rural so- ciologist find anywhere more fertile ground in which to plant his encouraging activities? Almost unlimited are the opportunities for service in the field of com- munity building, cooperation, and education in the open country, with the consolidated school as the solid basis. The solution of rural problems must grow out of the soil ; it will not come from " country life offices " in city skyscrapers. Wide travel has afforded the writer opportunity to observe the varied activities which con- solidated schools, assisted by good roads, rural telephones, and rural free delivery of mail, have drawn to and af- filiated with themselves or have in some way influenced. There have been found in active operation one or several of these activities : Grange, farmers' institutes, lecture courses, farmers' short course, farm demonstration union, farmers' wives' special short course in cooking, dressmaking, literature, and history ; art and crafts work ; boys' corn club, girls' 272 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES canning and poultry club, boys' and girls' demonstration club, literary and oratorical club, young people's dra- matic club, intercounty oratorical club, athletic union, ladies' social circle, glee club, boys' temperance union, Sunday School, circulating library for books and maga- zines, agricultural reference library, debating society, baseball, basketball, and football teams. The rural community possessed of the enterprise and progressiveness to establish a consolidated school, will bring these same qualities to bear on its other internal problems. The present need is local leaders who possess vision and who will vigorously inaugurate dynamic activities. If the activities just enumerated did at all exist in the respective localities prior to the organization of the consolidated school district, they did so in a dis- connected manner and less efficiently. Greater strength, inspiration, and continuity of effort invariably result from the larger organization, and the larger educational, social, religious, economic, or even purely recreational society which centers at the consolidated school is even more than four, five, or ten times as useful as the corresponding number of societies of unaffiliated districts. The small school district has very little coherence socially. The dozen or more families form too small a body for a successful cooperation. There is less call for leadership, and funds for any purpose are always inade- quate. The larger unit of the consolidated school dis- trict with its 150 to 200 families affords a much better basis for organization. There is opportunity for real THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 273 leadership, and leadership is made worth while. Larger funds are available for any undertaking, larger plans can be formulated with more persons to take part in and sup- port them. The larger and strongly organized district is in position to make its voice heard and its influence felt in county and even in state affairs. With the system of district schools as at present organized, has not the school district a very impotent voice in county affairs? The fact that at last there has been discovered the unit upon which country life can be organized and which can be shaped to conform to its every possible need, is of far- reaching importance. And, what is most encouraging, it has grown up spontaneously. Detailed comparisons between the two types of schools were not attempted because the superiority of the consolidated school is now generally accepted as a demonstrated fact and this entire discussion has been made from that point of view. All local institutions and country life resources, whether they be racial or social or educational, deserve the best thought and fullest support of every citizen. The best agency through which country life and the coun- try school can be vitalized, a competent generation of farmers be reared and a permanent agriculture be es- tablished, is the consolidated rural school. SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION Are the schools of your community of the older type of district school, or have the processes of consolidation and organization taken place ? If not, what are the objections to such consolida- 274 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES tion ? Are the roads of the community fitted for a school wagon ? If not, would not such a movement tend to foster development of roads? What would be the probable outcome of a campaign for the consolidation of the schools of the community ? What is the real relationship between the schools and the community? Does the life of the community affect in any way the work of the school, or is the school work purely traditional ? Does the work of the school in any way affect the life of the community, or is it purely remote ? What can be done by the school — teacher and pupils — to bring about a closer relationship with the community ? Is there any feeling of resentment of community domination of the school's work ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Kern, O. J. Among Country Schools, pp. 240-282. Kern, O. J. Annual Report of Winnebago County, III. (Rockford), pp. 84-96. Knorr, George W. A Study of Fifteen Consolidated Rural Schools, their Organization, Cost, Efficiency, and Affiliated In- terests. Publication No. 6, Southern Education Board, Washington, D.C., p. 55. Graham, A. B. Centralized Schools in Ohio, 1907, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, p. 24. Graham, A. B. Centralized Schools in Ohio. The Agricultural College Extension Bulletin, Vol. V, February, 1910. Sup- plement to No. 6, p. 24. Davenport, E. Consolidation of Our Schools. University of Illinois, p. 56. Fowler, William K. Consolidation of Districts, the Centralization of Rural Schools, and the Transportation of Pupils at Public Expense. Department of Public Instruction, Des Moines, Iowa. Riggs, John F. Conditions and Needs of Rural Schools. 1905. Department of Public Instruction, Des Moines, Iowa. THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 275 Barrett, Richard C. Consolidation of Districts and Transporta- tion of Pupils. Department of Education, Des Moines, Iowa. Kern, O. J. Consolidation of Country Schools. Education (Boston), pp. 246-247, December, 1907. Blake, E. C. Consolidation of Country Schools and the Con- veyance of Children, Forum, 1902, pp. 103-108. Nelson, Frank. Consolidation of Schools and Conveyance of Children. Review of Reviews, December, 1902, pp. 702-710. Kern, O. J. Consolidation of Rural Schools. Education (Boston), pp. 14-26, September, 1905. Consolidation of Rural Schools, The Interstate Schoolman, Novem- ber and December. Harvey, L. D. Consolidation of School Districts and Transporta- tion of Rural School Pupils at Public Expense. Madison, Wis., 1902, pp. 20. Olsen, J. W. Consolidation of Rural Schools and Transportation of Pupils at Public Expense. Bulletin No. 1. Reprint from Biennial Report of State Superintendent of Public Instruction for Minnesota, 1902, pp. 32. Dewey, Henry B. Consolidation of Rural Schools and Trans- portation of Pupils. Washington, 191 1, Bulletin No. 1, pp. 120. Fairchild, E. T. Consolidation of Rural Schools. Topeka, Kan., 1 90S, pp. 48. Knorr, George W. Consolidated Rural Schools and Organiza- tion of a County System. Bulletin 232, United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., pp. 99. Consolidation and Transportation, New Hampshire. Department of Education, Concord, N.H., pp. 12. Kelley, Patrick H. Consolidation of School Districts in Michigan. Lansing, Mich., Bulletin No. 19, 1906, pp. 23. Brogden, L. C. Consolidating Schools and Public Transporta- tion of Pupils. Raleigh, 1911, pp. 135. 276 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Hays, Willet M. Education for Country Life. Circular 84, United States Department of Agriculture, p. 40. Hays, Willet M. Our Farm Youth and the Public Schools. American Monthly Review of Reviews, October, 1903, pp. 449-455- Proceedings of the National Education Association for the follow- ing years: 1908, pp. 804-811; 1902, pp. 224-231 and 793- 798; 1903, pp. 919-936 ; 1904, pp. 313-316; 1906, pp. 338- 348; 1907, pp. 277-279. Report of the Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools, 1905, Uni- versity of Chicago, Chicago, 111. Reports of the United States Commissioner of Education for the following years: 1901, pp. 161-215; 1903, pp. 2405-2414; 1904, pp. 2277-2279; 1905, p. 193. Reports of State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the following years : Indiana, 1904, pp. 271-319; 1906, pp. 617-693; 1908, p. 18. Ohio, 1905, pp. 14-16 and 314-317. Nebraska, 1904, pp. 225-282; 1906, pp. 341-352. Iowa, 1905, pp. 225-241 ; 1906, pp. 142, 143. Illinois, 1906, pp. 24-27 and 136-148. Massachusetts, 1904 and subsequent years. Connecticut, 1902, pp. 10-12 and 332-336 ; 1905, pp. 204-207. Vermont, 1906, pp. 28-41 ; 1902, pp. 38-49. Kansas, 1906, pp. 17, 18 and 194, 195. Jones, Frank L. Rural Schools. 1902, Indianapolis. The Consolidation of Rural Schools and the Transportation of Pupils (Special Number). The Western Journal of Education (San Francisco). June, 1903. Tenth Annual Report of the Illinois Farmers' Institute, Springfield, 111., 1905, pp. 208-213. Lonsdorf, H. H. The Consolidation of Country Schools. De- partment of Agriculture, Harrisburg, Pa., 1901, p. 89. Fletcher, G. T. The Consolidation of Schools and the Conveyance THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL 277 of Children. Bulletin of State Board of Education, Boston, Mass., p. 25. Graham, A. B. The Township High School of Ohio. Agricultural College Extension Bulletin, Columbus, Ohio, Vol. Ill, February, 1908. No. 6, p. 20. Kern, O. J. The Consolidation of Country Schools. Rockford, 111., Special Bulletin, December, 1903, p. 8. Foght, Harold W. The American Rural School, its Characteristics, its Future, and its Problems. Aswold, James B. The Consolidation of School Districts. De- partment of Education, Baton Rouge, p. 77. Upham, A. A. Transportation of Children at Public Expense. Educational Review, October, 1900, pp. 241-251. Symmes, Sam D. Transportation of School Children to Consoli- dated Schools. Crawfordsville, Ind. Diehl, H. A. Trumbull County, Ohio, Centralized Schools. Prairie Farmer, Cleveland, Ohio, February 3, 1906, and February 10, 1906. npHE following pages contain advertisements of a few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects. THE RURAL OUTLOOK SET By Professor L. H. BAILEY Director of the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University- Four Volumes. Each, cloth, 12mo. Uniform binding, attractively boxed. IS. 00 net per set; carriage extra. Each volume also sold separately. In this set are included three of Professor Bailey's most popular books as well as a hitherto unpublished one, — "The Country-Life Movement." The long and persist- ent demand for a uniform edition of these little classics is answered with the publica- tion of this attractive series. The Country-Life Movement Cloth, 12mo, 220 pages, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34 This hitherto unpublished volume deals with the present movement for the re- direction of rural civilization, discussing the real country-life problem as distin- guished from the city problem, known as the back-to-the-land movement. The Outlook tO Nature (New and Revised Edition) Cloth, 12mo, 195 pages, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34 In this alive and bracing book, full of suggestion and encouragement. Professor Bailey argues the importance of contact with nature, a sympathetic attitude toward which "means greater efficiency, hopefulness, and repose." The State and the Farmer (New Edition) Cloth, 12mo, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34 It is the relation of the farmer to the government that Professor Bailey here discusses in its varying aspects. He deals specifically with the change in agricultural methods, in the shifting of the geographical centers of farming in the United States, and in the growth of agricultural institutions. The Nature Study Idea (New Edition) Cloth, 12too, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34 "It would be well," the critic of The Tribune Farmer once wrote, "if 'The Nature Study Idea' were in the hands of every person who favors nature study in the public schools, of every one who is opposed to it, and, most important, of every one who teaches it or thinks he does." It has been Professor Bailey's purpose to interpret the new school movement to put the young into relation and sumpatby with nature, — a purpose which he has admirably accomplished. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY PUBLISHERS 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK THE RURAL MANUALS Edited by L. H. BAILEY Manual of Farm Animals A Practical Guide to the Choosing, Breeding and Keep of Horses, Cattle. Sheep and Swine. By MERRITT W. HARPER Assistant Professor of Animal Husbandry in the New York State College of Agri- culture at Cornell University Illustrated, decorated cloth, 12mo, 545 pages, index, $2.00 net; by mail, $2.18 "The work is invaluable as a practical guide in raising farm animals." — Morning Telegram. "A book deserving of close study as well as being handy for [reference, and should be in the possession of every farmer interested in stock." — Rural World. Manual of Gardening A Practical Guide to the Making of Home Grounds and the Growing of Flowers, Fruits and Vegetables for Home Use. By L. H. BAILEY Illustrated, cloth, 12mo, 544 pages, $2.00 net; by mail, $2.17 This new work is a combination and revision of the main parts of two other books by the same author, "Garden Making" and "Practical Garden Book," together with much new material and the result of the experience of ten added years. Among the persons who collaborated in the preparation of the other two books, and whose contributions have been freely used in this one, are C. E. Hunn, a gardener of long experience; Professor Ernest Walker, reared as a commercial florist; Professor L. R. Taft, and Professor F. A. Waugh, well known for their studies and writings on horticultural subjects. A STANDARD WORK REVISED AND ENLARGED The Farm and Garden Rule Book By LIBERTY H. BAILEY Illustrated, cloth, 12mo, $2.00 net When Professor Bailey's "Horticulturist's Rule Book" was published nearly twenty-five years ago, the volume became a standard agricultural work running through sixteen editions. Taking this book as a basis the author has now made a wholly new book, extending it to cover the field of general farming, stock-raising, dairying, poultry-rearing, horticulture, gardening, forestry, and the like. It is essentially a small cyclopedia of ready rules and references packed full from cover to cover of condensed, meaty information and precepts on almost every leading subject connected with country life. IN PREPARATION Manual of Home-Making. Manual of Cultivated Plants THE MACMILLAN COMPANY PUBLISHERS 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK NEW FARM AND GARDEN BOOKS Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement By ALVA AGEE Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. $1.50 net. A simple and comprehensive treatment of all questions bearing on the conserving and improving of farm soil. The book is not a technical treatise, being designed solely to point out the plain, every-day facts in the natural scheme of making and keeping soils productive. It is concerned with the crops, methods and fertilizers that favor the soil. The work will be of interest to the practical man, the farmer, the lecturer, and all who deal directly or indirectly with farmers, and because of its popular style, it is easy reading for anyone. Forage Crops for the South By S. M. TRACY Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. Preparing. Professor Tracy has had long experience in Southern agriculture, both in application and in teaching. He was formerly Professor of Agriculture in the Mississippi Agricultural College, and now con- ducts a branch station or farm for the United States Department of Agriculture. He is a botanist of note and has traveled exten- sively in the South as a collector. His book is not only authentic, but practical. In it is contained a discussion of all kinds of plants and crops adapted to the Southern States for fodder, soiling, pasturing and hay. The text is abundantly illustrated. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY PUBLISHERS 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK SEP U 1913 NEW FARM AND GARDEN BOOKS Injurious Insects: How to Recognize and Control Them By W. C. O'KANE Entomologist of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, and Professor of Economic Entomology in New Hampshire College Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo. $2.00 net. Complete information on the characteristics, life his- tories and means of control of the more common injurious insects, including those infesting field crops, vegetables, fruits, the principal pests of domestic animals, stored prod- ucts and the household, is contained in this book. A dis- tinctive feature of the work is the illustrations with which the text throughout is accompanied. These have been made especially for Dr. O'Kane. With each insect treated he shows in an original photograph the characteristic in- jurious stage or the typical work of the insect where that is characteristic. By this means the author hopes that the layman will be able to recognize an insect that threatens by the picture aside from any description in the text. Principles of Fruit Growing By Professor L. H. BAILEY New edition. Cloth, 12mo. $1.50 net. Since the original publication of this book, in 1897, it has gone through many editions. The progress of fruit growing in the meantime has been very marked and it has been necessary to completely rewrite the work. The present issue of it brings the accounts of the new practices and discoveries as they relate to fruit growing up to date. All of the text and practically all of the illustrations are new. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY PUBLISHERS 64-66 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK