INDEX

Abandoned farms, 6 Adelbert College, 227 Agriculture, scientific, 95, 98-109 government patronage of, 246-8 triumphs of scientific, 91-113 teaching of, 163, 241-8, 251 U. S. Department of, 96-8 Agricultural colleges, 37, 51, 167-9, 231, 246-8, 251 professions, opportunities in, 246-8 societies, 50 Allies of the country church, 203-220 Anderson, W. L., 11, 43, 174 Animals and plants, breeding of, 100-4 Automobiles in the country, 72-4 Bailey, L. H., 22, 41, 42, 56 Bible study in the country, 206 Birth rate and rural depletion, 127 Boardman, J. R., 134 Boston University Law School, 242 Bowdoin College, 226 Boys and girls and the farm, 22 Breeding, achievements in scientific, 100-4 Burbank, L., 102 Business cooperation, 122, 139-145 Butterfield, K. L., 117, 120, 218-9, 237 California Fruit Growers’ Exchange, 143 Canada, 10, 101, 102, 157-8, 164, 253, 256 Carver, T. N., 76, 98, 122, 187, 263 Cazenovia church, 214 Challenge to college men, 227-49 to college women, 249-63 to faith, 27 of the difficult, 45-7 Christian forces, rural, 173-223 Church in the country, necessity for, 173-4 opportunity and function of, 173-183 elements of weakness, 183-5 factors which determine its efficiency, 185-203 types of success, 213-19 must serve its community, 189-91 Church efficiency, 178 equipment, 200 finances, 198-200 ideals, old and new, 176 unity and federation, 193-5 City, the, xii, 46, 152-4, 230-1 and country, 4, 18, 25, 46, 63-5 and its boys, 33, 37 City life drawbacks, 39 Cities, growth of, 4 Clark, F. E., 47 College graduates in the country: men, 227-249 women, 249-264 Colleges, xiii agricultural, 37, 51, 167-9, 231, 246-8 relation of to rural problem, 227 neglect of rural needs, 228 and rural leadership, 227-264 Columbia University Law School, 242, 243 Comenius, 165 Commission on country life, the, 51-56 Community building, 248 festivals, 136 Communities, classification of, 2 Conservation, 109 Consolidation of schools, 157-61 Cooperation in country communities, 84, 130-148, 218-30, 248, 249 in rural Denmark, 144-5 failures in, 121-5, 184 Cornell University, 227 agricultural department, 36, 38, 41, 245 law school, 242 Country boy, the, xii, 20, 22-25, 42, 154, 234 Country Boy’s Creed, 35 Country life leadership, 223-266 movement, 18, 48-63, 86-7, 111, 233 attractiveness, 41, 86 deficiencies, 117-130 optimism, 33-59 Country, privilege of living in, 39 Country church evolution, stages in, 175 County work of the Y. M. C. A., 132, 167, 207-11 County secretary’s opportunity: men, 249-51 women, 261-3 Curriculum for rural high school, 162 Davenport, C. B., 16 Deaconess work, 256 Decadence, rural, 7 stages of, 13 Degeneracy, in city and country, 12, 14-17 Denmark, cooperation in, 144 Depletion, rural, 7, 11, 17 District nurse association, 252 District school system, 155 Doctors, need of country, 241, 251-3 Drudgery, emancipation from, 74-82 Dryden, John, 101 Dry farming possibilities, 107-8 Economics, household, 234 and country church, 187 Education for country life, 151-170 rural, 20, 82-3, 151-68, 231-4, 250 Educators, the call for rural, 232-4 women, 250 Efficiency, urban and rural, 91 Electricity on the farm, 79-81 Evergreen Sporting Association, 133 Eyerly, E. K., 142 Farm development, 92-3 life, 45-7 machinery, evolution of, 75-80 Farmers’ Alliance, 50, 121 Farmers, conservatism of, 93-4, 118 needs of, 52 difficulty of organizing, 120 political ineffectiveness of, 121 Farmers’ Institutes, 167 Farmers’ National Congress, 50 Farmer’s wife, neglect of the, 257 Foght, H. W., 156, 160, 234 Franklin, B., 49 Fruit growers, cooperation among, 141 Gardens, rural school, 163-5 Giddings, 12, 18 Girls in country, 20, 23, 24, 28, 261 Government cooperation, 167 Grange, the, 50, 137-8 Grinnell College, 237 Grover, E. O., 35 Gulick, L. H., 128 Hartt, R. L., 12 Harvard Medical School, 239 Hatch Act, the, 96-7 Hays, W. M., 100 Hill, J. J., 109 Hillsdale College, 227 Homes, remodeling rural, 259 Household economics, 257 Hutchins, H. L., 13 Illinois, University of, 227 agricultural department, 37-8 Immigrants and cooperation, 143 Indiana school law, 160 Individualism, rural, 117-120 Interdenominational commissions, 194-5 Irrigation, 104-8 Irvine, Dean, 242 Irving, W., 43 Isolation, triumph over, 65-74 Israel, Henry, 211 Kansas, University of, 226 Kern, O. J., 161 Law faculties quoted, 244-5 Lawyers, country, 244-6 Librarian, opportunity of the village, 256 Libraries, public, 134, 166, 256 Leadership, city, xi, 1, 230 country, 120-1, 227-265, 231 woman’s, in the country, 249-64 Literature, rural, 166-7, 264-75 Machinery, agricultural, 74-81 power, 79 Maclaren, Ian, 243 Manikowski, G., 79-81 Mann, Horace, 155 Mann, A. R., 245 Marietta College, 226 Marshall county churches, 125 Masculine church leadership, 201 Massachusetts Agricultural College, 37, 38, 168 McElfresh, F., 207 Means, Dean, 242 Medical faculties, quoted, 241-4 rural practice 241-4 Meyer, Dean, 248 Michigan University Law School, 242 Minimum wage for rural ministers, 198 Ministry, the rural, 196-9 the call to, 235-40 the modern type of, 237 women in the, 253 Missouri, University of, agri. dept., 37, 199 Morality and the play spirit, 129 Mormon irrigation work, 106 Nam’s Hollow case, 15 Nature, partnership with, 43 Neighborhood house, 133, 257 New England, 8, 9, 17 New rural civilization, the, 117-145 Newspapers, 72 New York State College of Agriculture, 36, 45, 168, 245 North Carolina Agricultural College, 37 Nurses, need of, in country, 252 Oberlin College and Seminary, 230, 237, 254 Oberlin, J. F., 68, 188, 216-18 Ohio Medical School, 240 Ohio State University, 227 Pacific University, 226 Pastors, few resident in country, 253 Patrons of industry, 50 Pepin County Cooperative Co., 139 Physicians, call for country, men, 240-4, women, 251-3 Physicians and Surgeons, College of, 240 Plainfield church, 214-5 Play, the gospel of, 134, 233 Playground Association of America, 135 Plow, evolution of the, 77-9 Plunkett, Sir H., 26, 144, 152 Political ineffectiveness of farmers, 121 Power of machinery on the farm, 79-81 Princeton University, 226 Quaintance, H. W., 74 Railroads, steam and electric, 69 Reading courses for farmers’ wives, 257 Recreation and organized play, 128, 233-4 Religious cooperation, lack of, 123 plans for, 193-5 Right Relationship League, 141 Roads, C., 70 Roads, country, 13, 68-70 Roberts, A. E., 211 Robertson, J. W., 157 Roosevelt, T., 40, 51-3, 135 Rural Manhood, 135, 167 Rural problem, the, 2, 19, 1-32, 51-4 losses, 5, 7, 8, 11 gains, 5, 8 degeneracy, 12, 14-17 contentment, 35-36, 65 sincerity and neighborliness, 44 self-respect, 63-5 individualism, 117-120 progress, 54, 63, 86-7, 134, 110-1 culture centers, 258 agencies for betterment, 56-8, 84-6 postal service, 71 opportunities for social reconstruction, 117-145 morals and recreation, 125 Rural progress associations, 133 Saunders, W., 102 School, rural problems of the, 156-8 inferior equipment and support, 154 building, 156-7, 161-2 centralization, 157-61 a social center, 137 School improvement leagues, 165 School teachers, men, 231-3, 250 women, 250 Scientific agriculture, 91-117 Scudder, M. T., 136, 230 Secretary, County Work, 249-59, 263 Sectarian divisions, 192, 193, 196 Smythe, W. E., 105 Social reconstruction, 117-145 Social consciousness, the new rural, 83 Social life, lack of, 125-7, plans for, 134-7 Socialization, community, 130-2, 189 initiative in, 132 plan for, 133 South, country life in the, 64, 204 Stone, H. F., 243 Strong, Josiah, 13, 17, 229 Student recruits for the ministry, 237 Student volunteer bands, 237 Stanford University, 226 Sunday-schools, rural, 203-7 Surveys, community, 202 Swaney School, the, 161-2 Teachers in country schools, 152-4, 232-4, 250 Telephones, rural, 66-8 Text-books, 152-3 Theological study for women, 255 Trolleys, rural, 70 United Christian forces, 191 Unsocial streak, rural, 118-9 Urbanizing of rural life, 20, 152-4 Washington, George, 49 Washington State College of Agriculture, 244 Whitman College, 226 Williams College, 226 Wilson, W. H., 14, 128, 163, 198, 202, 253 Woman’s opportunity in rural leadership, 249-263 responsibility in rural education, 250 Women, nurses and physicians, 251 in the service of the church, 253-5 college graduates, 254-64 Young Men’s Christian Associations, 132, 167, 207-211, 248-251 Young Women’s Christian Associations, 212, 261-3

Footnotes:

[1] This loss however was in the early half of the decade, as the state census shows.

[2] For the year ending March 31, 1910, 103,798 immigrants from the United States settled in western Canada, while only 59,790 came from Great Britain and Ireland. The wealth of the immigrants settling in western Canada during the five years previous to that date was estimated as follows. British, cash, $37,546,000; effects, $18,773,000. From United States, cash, $157,260,000; effects, $110,982,000.—The Toronto Globe, July 27, 1912.

[3] “The Country Town,” p. 76.

[4] Principles of Sociology, Giddings, p. 348.

[5] “The Church in the Open Country,” p. 9.

[6] The Survey, March 2, 1912. “The Nams; the Feeble-minded as Country Dwellers.” Charles B. Davenport. Ph.D.

[7]

New England Towns Losing Population 1890 1910 Total towns (in 1910)

Maine 348 291 523

New Hampshire 152 163 224

Vermont 187 156 229

Massachusetts 154 123 321

Rhode Island 12 8 32

Connecticut 79 48 152

—— —— ——

932 789 1481

[8] The writer wishes to make it quite clear that he is thinking, in this discussion, merely of the boys and girls who ought to stay on the farm. Unquestionably many of them must and should go to the city. This book pleads merely for a fair share of the farm boys and girls to stay in the country,—those best fitted to maintain country life and rural institutions. Country life must be made so attractive and so worth-while that it will be to the advantage of more of the finest young people to invest their lives there. Every effort should be made to prevent a boy’s going from the farm to the city, provided he is likely to make only a meager success in the city or possibly a failure.

[9] Yet in a class of 115 college men at the Lake Geneva Student conference in June, 1912, a surprising number stated that they had suffered a similar experience as boys at home, though usually at times when the farm work was particularly pressing. One claimed that he had driven a riding cultivator by moonlight at 2 A. M.

[10] Quoted by M. Jules Meline (Premier of France) in “The Return to the Land.”

[11] “The Rural Life Problem of the United States,” p. 47.

[12] By Edwin Osgood Grover, the son of a country minister.

[13] Some allowance should be made for the possibility of students enrolling from a small city who actually live on a suburban farm.

[14] “The Country Town,” p. 185.

[15] “Rural Christendom.” Roads. p. 84.

[16] H. W. Quaintance. in Cyc. of Am. Agric. IV; p. 109.

[17] Publication of the Amer. Econ. Assn. V; pp. 817-821.

[18] The financial results of these improvements in farm machinery will not at all surprise us. It follows as a matter of course that machinery has greatly reduced the cost of production. A leading agricultural engineer at Washington is authority for this comparison. In 1830 a bushel of wheat represented over three hours of labor; while in 1896 only ten minutes; making a saving in the labor cost of producing wheat equal to the difference between 17 3-4 and 33 1-2 cents. In 1850 it required 4 1-2 hours labor to produce a bushel of corn; while in 1894 it was reduced to 41 minutes. Likewise the labor represented in a ton of baled hay has been reduced from 35 1-2 hours in 1860 to 11 1-2 in 1894; reducing the labor cost of a ton of hay from $3 to $1.29.

It has been estimated that the use of agricultural machinery saved in human labor in this country alone, in the year 1899, the vast sum of about seven hundred million dollars, with doubtless a great increase the past decade. No wonder American farmers are spending a hundred million dollars a year for their implements, and for this very reason have outstripped the farmers of the world, not only in the vast amount of production, but also in the increased comforts and satisfactions of farm life.

[19] George Manikowske, Mooreton, N. D.

[20] See Genesis 3:17-19.

[21] Report of the U. S. Sec. of Agric. for 1910. p. 11.

[22] “Brains that Make Billions.” W. M. Hays, in Saturday Evening Post, Aug. 29, 1908.

[23] However, let us not jump to the conclusion that general farming to-day is highly profitable. Inflation of farm values in many sections has resulted in serious over-capitalization. The general farmers making big dividends bought their farms some years ago, or inherited them.

[24] Cyc. of Am. Agri., Vol. IV.

[25] Doubtless this single fact would account for the loss in population in many townships. There are just as many families as ever but a lower birthrate.

[26] “The Church of the Open Country,” p. 79.

[27] Rural Manhood, Vol. I, p. 22.

[28] “Rural Recreation, a Socializing Factor.” Annals of the Am. Acad. of Pol. and Soc. Sci., March, 1912; p. 189.

[29] “Rural Recreation, a Socializing Factor,” p. 190.

[30] Annals of the Am. Acad. of Pol. and Soc. Sci., March, 1912, p. 61.

[31] Of course country children should also be taught much about city life; city children should be taught about country life, and in the main the standard curriculum will be the same. The point to be made here is the exceedingly important one that rural schools must be made to fit the boys and girls for happy and efficient life in rural communities. This is the specific task of the country school.

[32] “The American Rural School,” p. 323.

[33] “The Country Town,” p. 299.

[34] In several of the stronger denominations, and, in general, east of the Allegheny Mountains, the proportion is much higher.

[35] Yet an earnest young college student in an Indiana college asked my advice recently on this significant personal problem. He is anxious to consecrate his life to the ministry of the country church, but his particular sect does not believe it right to pay salaries to their ministers; so he asked advice as to whether he should earn his living by farming or school teaching,—while giving his services as pastor and preacher! Quite possibly in such a church a salary of $1000 might actually handicap a pastor’s influence; but mainly with the conservative older people.

[36] For an authoritative statement of the County Work program and principles written by International Secretaries Roberts and Israel, see “Annals of the Amer. Acad. of Polit. and Soc. Sci.” for March, 1912, pp. 140-8.

[37] “The Country Church and the Rural Problem,” p. 146.

[38] “The Annals of the Am. Acad. of Pol. and Soc. Sci.,” March, 1912, p. 177.

[39] “Country Life,” p. 155.

[40] “The Country Church and the Rural Problem,” p. 131.

[41] Forty-six out of 166 medical colleges have been closed in very recent years and the entrance requirements of many others raised, with a strong tendency to make a college course prerequisite.

[42] Also a few of the third generation. For eighty years Oberlin has offered women, equally with men, its privileges of higher education; and in 1908 conferred the honorary degree of doctor of divinity upon a distinguished woman-minister, an alumna both in arts and theology a half century before.

[43] Disciples, Congregational, Methodist Episcopal, Unitarian, Baptist, Universalist, Free Baptist, Free Methodist, Evangelical Association, Christian Brethren, Methodist Protestant, Christian, Evangelical Lutheran, Seventh Day Baptist, Wesleyan Methodist, Dunkard, United Brethren, Methodist Episcopal South, Presbyterian and African Methodist Episcopal.

[44] Ninety-five and two-tenths per cent. of the 300,000 rural homes in Ohio last year had no bathtub.

[45] From “The Religion Worth Having,” Thomas Nixon Carver, p. 137.

[46] Issue of the “Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,” March, 1912.

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