Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 10.djvu/623

 SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN FARMERS 607

these facts merely add to the importance of the farm question. And it should not be forgotten that there has been a large and constant growth both of our agricultural wealth and of our rural population. During the last half-century there was a gain of 500 per cent, in the value of farm property, while the non-urban population increased 250 per cent. Agriculture has been one of the chief elements of America's industrial greatness, it is still our dominant economic interest, and it will long remain at least a leading industry. The people of the farm have furnished a sturdy citizenship and have been the primary source of much of our best leadership in political, business, and professional life. For an indefinite future, a large proportion of the American peo- ple will continue to live in a rural environment.

In a thorough discussion of the " social problems of American farmers " it would be desirable first of all to analyze with some detail the general question which we have called the farm prob- lem. Only thus can we understand the social difficulties of the rural community, the significance of the social agencies designed to meet those difficulties, and the real ambitions and needs of the farming class. But time will permit merely a concise, and necessarily a somewhat dogmatic, statement of what the writer believes to be the ultimate farm problem in America. We may perhaps most quickly arrive at the conclusion by the process of elimination.

Current agricultural discussion would lead us to think that the farm problem is largely one of technique. The possibilities of the agricultural industry, in the light of applied science, emphasize the need of the farmer for more complete knowledge of soil and plant and animal, and for increased proficiency in utilizing this knowledge to secure greater production at less cost. This is a fundamental need. It lies at the basis of success in farming. But it is not the farm problem.

Business skill must be added, business methods enforced. The farmer must be not only a more skilful produce-grower, but also a keener produce-seller. But the moment we enter the realm of the market we step outside the individualistic aspect of the problem as embodied in the current doctrine of technical agricultural