Judicial Procedure
The Jury System.—When a legal dispute arises between individuals or corporations, or when some offence is charged against a person, there are usually two questions to be decided. The first question is: What are the facts? What actually took place? The second question is: What does the law provide with reference to these facts? If you charge someone with having done you a wrong, it is not enough to prove your charge; you must also convince the court that common law, or statutory law, or equity gives you the right to redress. The first question in most important cases, both criminal and civil, is decided by a jury; the second question by a judge.
How the grand jury is chosen.
The Grand Jury.—There are two kinds of juries, both of which are selected in much the same way, but their functions are quite different. The first is called the grand jury. It is a body of men, varying from seven to twenty-three in number, chosen by lot from among the qualified voters of the county or district, and charged with the duty of investigating whether crimes have been committed. Evidence is presented to it by the prosecuting attorney, or the grand jury may make investigations on its own behalf. |Its work.| It conducts an investigation, not a trial. If it decides by a majority vote that there are reasonable grounds for placing any person on trial, it submits to the court a true bill or indictment. If it believes that any conditions within the county or district are wrong and ought to be remedied, it submits to the court a statement of these conditions, which is called a presentment. When a person is indicted by a grand jury, this does not mean that he has been proved guilty but merely that, in the grand jury’s opinion, he ought to be placed on trial. The grand jury does not hear the accused person’s side of the case. Its purpose is to protect individuals from being put to the inconvenience and humiliation of a public trial unless there are reasonable grounds for doing this.[[148]]
How the trial jury is chosen.
The Trial Jury.—The other jury is known as the trial jury or petit jury and practically always consists of twelve persons. The method of selecting a trial jury is, in general, as follows: Some public official who is entrusted by the law with this duty makes a list of the persons who are liable for jury service. This list is usually compiled from the roll of voters, leaving off all persons (such as lawyers, physicians, public officials, and so on) who are exempted by law from jury duty. From this list a certain number of names, perhaps fifty to a hundred, are then selected, usually by lot. These individuals are thereupon summoned to court, where they form what is known as the jury panel. One by one their names are called in court and the lawyers on either side of the case are given an opportunity to state their objections.[[149]] When twelve persons have been found to whom there is no objection from either side, these twelve constitute the jury and proceed to hear the facts of the case. |Its work.| The trial jury, however, may hear only such evidence as the judge permits it to hear, for the question whether any item of evidence can be permitted is a question of law. The value of the evidence, after the judge has allowed the jury to hear it, is for the jury to determine.
Jury procedure.
The usual procedure in a jury trial, therefore, is this: When the jury has been chosen and sworn to decide the issue fairly, the prosecuting attorney (or, in a civil case, the counsel for the plaintiff) states briefly to the court what he intends to prove. Then the witnesses for the prosecution, or for the plaintiff, are called, put upon oath, and questioned. As each witness finishes his direct testimony the defendant’s counsel takes him in hand for cross-examination. The purpose of this cross-examination is to test the witness, to see if he is telling the truth, or to induce him to say things which will weaken his original testimony.[[150]] When the witnesses for the prosecution have finished, the witnesses for the defendant are called and they likewise are cross-examined by the other side. After all the testimony is concluded the counsel on both sides make addresses to the jury, the judge explains to the jurymen the points of law bearing on the case, and the jury retires to consider its verdict. This it does in secret, remaining in a room which no one is allowed to enter or leave.
Second jeopardy.
In criminal cases the verdict must be unanimous one way or the other; if not, the case has to be tried all over again.[[151]] In civil cases unanimous verdicts are required in some states but not in others. The verdict, whatever it may be, is reported in open court and is ordinarily conclusive. In some cases, however, the presiding judge is empowered to set a unanimous verdict aside and to order a new trial.[[152]] Where an accused person is found not guilty by the unanimous verdict of a jury he may never, under any circumstances, be placed on trial for the same offence again.[[153]] If he is found guilty, on the other hand, he has in most cases the right to appeal, on points of law, to a higher court.
Value of the Jury System.—The jury system has great value but also some serious defects. Its value consists in assuring to everyone a fair determination of the facts by an impartial body of his neighbors, each one of whom is sworn to decide without fear or favor. It is a great safeguard against the tyranny of judges and public officials. On the other hand it makes judicial administration expensive (for the jurymen have to be paid); it results in making trials much longer than if the evidence were heard by a judge alone; and the requirement that verdicts shall be unanimous often results in no verdict at all. Exemptions from jury service have been given too freely, so that juries are sometimes made up of men who serve because they have no other work to do. The others are either exempted by law or ask to be excused by the court. Prolonged trials and close confinement make jury service a burden which many people try to evade. In serious cases the jurymen are sometimes not permitted to visit their homes for weeks at a time; they sleep in the courthouse, have their meals under the watchful eye of the sheriff, and are not permitted to read the newspapers while the trial lasts. Occasionally we have witnessed the absurd spectacle of a jury kept under guard while the prisoner was out on bail. Yet with all its faults the jury system affords a safer method of trying criminal cases than trial by a judge alone. On the other hand the use of jury trials in civil cases, particularly where the matters in dispute are not of great importance, tends to delay the work of the courts. It has been suggested that all such cases ought to be tried by the judge alone.
The Law’s Delays.—Much complaint is heard nowadays because lawsuits are so long and involve so much expense. The courts are often so overwhelmed with cases that a lawsuit which is brought today cannot be tried for many months. The privilege of appealing from the decisions of lower courts is so widely granted, moreover, that when lawsuits are once begun they may not be ended for years. The claim is often made that all this gives a great advantage to the rich man or the large corporation as against the ordinary individual who cannot afford the expense involved in prolonged litigation. Lawsuits require the hiring of lawyers by both sides and the assistance of lawyers is costly. Judicial procedure can be much simplified, and it ought to be. It probably would be simplified were it not for lawyers. Lawyers profit by the law’s delays; the more lawsuits and the more prolonged they are, the more profitable it is for them. And lawyers form a large element in the legislatures which make the laws relating to court procedure. This is not to imply, however, that lawyers on the whole fail to promote the interests of justice. They do perform great services in this respect. The ends of justice would be far less perfectly served were it not for lawyers.
Reasons for these delays.
The main reason for the slowness with which justice is administered in the United States can be found in the great (and perhaps unnecessary) amount of care which is taken to assure every individual his legal rights. This has multiplied appeals, encouraged technicalities, and given the courts far too much to do. The right to be given a full and fair trial, to have a jury in most cases, to appeal, and to have due process of law with all that this implies—these are rights which the constitution guarantees and which we greatly value. Valuable they are, no doubt, but they make the course of justice slower in the United States than in other countries where these constitutional safeguards do not exist. A famous Prussian king, Frederick the Great, once ordered that every lawsuit should be brought to an end within a year. Despots can make their courts move quickly in this way; but nothing of the sort is possible in a democracy.
Keep the courts incorruptible.
Yet the courts are, when all is said and done, the most important among the institutions of free government. Corruption and incompetence in legislatures, or in the executive branch of the government, are serious evils when they exist, to be sure; but when incompetence and corruption invade the judiciary they reach to the very heart of the Republic. The Great Charter of 1215 provided that “justice should not be sold, delayed, or denied to any man”. That is a principle which must be maintained at all costs.
General References
C. A. Beard, American Government and Politics, pp. 294-314; Ibid., Readings in American Government and Politics, pp. 273-290; 488-508;
Everett Kimball, National Government of the United States, pp. 379-422;
James T. Young, The New American Government and Its Work, pp. 275-297;
W. B. Munro, The Government of the United States, pp. 342-371;
S. E. Baldwin, The American Judiciary, especially pp. 3-124;
J. C. Gray, The Nature and Sources of the Law, pp. 84-112.
Group Problems
1. What can be done to improve the work of the courts? Present organization of the courts. How cases are brought. Figures concerning the number of cases. How far are the courts behind in their work? Causes of congestion. Has the jury system anything to do with it? The right to new trials. The right of appeal. Other factors which make for delay. The expensiveness of lawsuits. Justice and the poor. Proposed reforms in judicial procedure. Conclusions. References: S. E. Baldwin, The American Judiciary, pp. 197-251; 365-373; C. A. Beard, Readings in American Government and Politics, pp. 500-508; R. H. Smith, Justice and the Poor, pp. 3-34; C. G. Haines and Bertha Haines, Principles and Problems of Government, pp. 367-402; American Bar Association, Report on the Reform of Judicial Procedure (in Journal of the American Bar Association, Vol. VI, pp. 509-527, July, 1920); See also The Cleveland Survey, 1921.
2. The Supreme Court of the United States and its place in the American scheme of Government. References: W. B. Munro, Government of the United States, pp. 357-371; P. S. Reinsch, Readings on American Federal Government, pp. 703-720; C. A. Beard, Readings in American Government and Politics, pp. 288-290; W. W. Willoughby, The Supreme Court of the United States, pp. 22-42.
Short Studies
1. The Supreme Court at work. F. J. Haskin, American Government, pp. 325-336.
2. The practice of declaring laws invalid. C. G. Haines, The American Doctrine of Judicial Supremacy, pp. 173-184; E. S. Corwin, The Doctrine of Judicial Review, pp. 1-44.
3. The influence of Supreme Court decisions. P. S. Reinsch, Readings on American Federal Government, pp. 706-716.
4. Law: its nature and development. Woodrow Wilson, The State, pp. 69-93.
5. The common law. J. C. Carter, Law: Its Origin and Growth, pp. 167-190; J. C. Gray, The Nature and Sources of the Law, pp. 82-108; 266-292; Sir Frederick Pollock, The Genius of the Common Law, pp. 1-26.
6. Trial by jury. S. E. Baldwin, The American Judiciary, pp. 184-196.
7. Criminal procedure. Ibid., pp. 226-251.
8. The law’s delays. C. A. Beard, Readings in American Government and Politics, pp. 500-505.
9. Justice and the poor. R. H. Smith, Justice and the Poor, pp. 41-59.
10. The courts and democracy. J. H. Tufts, Our Democracy, pp. 255-267.
Questions
1. Is it essential that a country with a government like that of the United States should have some body vested with the power to declare laws unconstitutional? Why or why not?
2. Under what circumstances might a murder case come to the Supreme Court?
3. Tell in each case whether the following controversies would come up in the federal or the state courts and give your reasons: (a) a man charged with murder on an American ship at sea; (b) a suit between the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and the Ford Motor Company of Michigan; (c) a suit brought by Nicholas Nickleby, a citizen of Illinois, against the State of New York; (d) a charge of embezzlement brought against the cashier of a national bank; (e) a complaint against a railroad conductor for assaulting a passenger at a railroad station in Pennsylvania; (f) a charge against a foreign ambassador; (g) a suit brought by a citizen of Massachusetts against a citizen of California for non-payment of a note.
4. What are the subordinate federal courts? How are they organized? How are judges appointed and for what terms? How are they removed?
5. Describe all the steps in a criminal trial by jury, from arrest to conviction.
6. Explain the following terms, using a dictionary where needed: plaintiff; jury panel; venireman; demurrer; second jeopardy; appellate jurisdiction; writ of habeas corpus; affidavit; cross-examination; peremptory challenge; counsel for the defendant.
7. Why should not every voter be required to do jury service when his turn comes? What classes of citizens are exempted in your state? Do you think that these exemptions are justified? Is it right that women should be called on for jury service? Are there any cases in which they should not serve?
8. To what extent should the right of appeal be limited?
9. If a person is found not guilty and a few days later confesses that he actually did commit the crime with which he was charged, he cannot be placed on trial again. Do you think this is right? Why does this rule exist?
10. What suggestions can you make for the prevention of existing delays in the administration of justice?
Topics for Debate
1. The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional should be taken away.
2. Trial by jury should be abolished in civil cases.
3. The loser in a law suit should not be compelled to pay all the winner’s costs, including his lawyer’s fees.
CHAPTER XVII
NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
The purpose of this chapter is to show what nature has done for the United States, and to explain the relation between national prosperity and natural resources.
The source of America’s greatness:
The Things that Make a Nation Great.—Three things have contributed greatly to the upbuilding of the American nation. The first is the wide extent, the richness, and the varied character of American territory. The United States is not only a vast country, surpassed in area by very few other countries of the world, but it possesses great natural advantages. |1. The land and its resources.| It contains, as will be seen presently, extensive regions which are well-suited for almost every form of human activity, including agriculture in all its branches, manufacture, mining, forestry, transportation, and trade. It is abundantly provided with natural harbors and waterways. In soil and climate there is great variety. No other country of the world can produce so many different things under such favorable conditions.
2. The initiative and industry of its people.
But it is not enough that a country shall have natural resources. It must have a people with initiative and industry to develop them. The American people have spent three centuries at the task of making the land yield its increase and they have much to show for it. Originally, for the most part, of Anglo-Saxon stock, the population has been enriched by the addition of immigrants from every country of the old world. This mingling of many races into one people has given the nation vigor and versatility. It has helped to develop among the American people that alert and progressive spirit which is one of their most valued characteristics; it has also given strength to democratic ideals.
3. The national deals.
The enduring greatness of a nation does not depend, however, upon its material achievements alone. It cannot be measured by figures of population and wealth. What a nation contributes to the progress and permanence of civilization depends not only upon its economic prosperity but in an even greater degree upon its spiritual and intellectual strength. This vast land, so richly endowed by nature and with its riches so fully utilized by man, has won and can retain its foremost place among the nations of the world by promoting justice and contentment among its people, upholding the reign of law, diffusing education among all, and holding true to the ideals of democratic government.
Importance of the soil.
The Land.—Soil is the fundamental resource of any country. Its fertility determines, in large measure, the size of the population that can be supported. It is probable that more than thirty per cent of the American people are today engaged in earning their living from the soil; at any rate the whole population is in one way or another dependent upon it. From the soil comes almost our entire food supply.
The land of the country is privately owned.
Outside the original thirteen states practically the entire area of the country has been at some period in the hands of the national government as part of the public domain.[[154]] By far the greater part of it, however, has been sold or granted into private ownership. In the course of this disposal many corporations and individuals managed to obtain large tracts of land for very little outlay, because careful attention was not always given to the administration of the land laws; nevertheless the policy of selling land cheaply and giving it free to settlers helped to build up the great Western territories. Out of a public domain which at one time or another included nearly two-thirds of the entire United States only six hundred million acres now remain in the federal government’s hands. Most of this is desert, mountain land, or land that is otherwise unfit for cultivation.
The Need of Conservation.—So long as land remained plentiful and natural resources seemed to be abundant, very little thought was given to the possibility that some day both of these things would become scarce. The land in some parts of the country was exhausted by wasteful methods of cultivation and then abandoned. |Some examples of wasted wealth.| There are thousands of abandoned farms in the New England states. Coal, iron, and copper were mined in ways that permitted enormous wastage. Through negligence much of our forest wealth was destroyed by fire. By the beginning of the twentieth century it began to dawn upon the people that the natural resources of the country were rapidly melting away, that practically all the good land was gone, while the natural resources in the way of coal and timber were being so wastefully used that they would both be exhausted within relatively few decades unless something were done to conserve them. Accordingly a movement for the conservation of natural resources was started and since 1900 it has made considerable progress both in securing the passage of laws and in the education of the public to the urgency of the situation.
SCIENCE REVEALING THE TREASURES
OF THE EARTH
By Edwin A. Abbey
From a mural painting in the Pennsylvania State Capitol at Harrisburg.
In this picture the artist portrays an open coal mine into which several mine-workers are descending. They are stalwart, young, artless pioneers, eager for discovery. They impart dramatic energy and realism to the picture.
Science is pointing the way. She is accompanied by Fortune, the latter blindfolded and tiptoeing on her wheel. Grasping Fortune’s right hand is Abundance, with an overflowing cornucopia, or horn of plenty, on her shoulder. These mythological figures lend the picture its symbolism.
The artist portrays a great truth. Human labor, wisely guided by science, has found fortune and abundance in the mines and quarries of the earth.
SCIENCE REVEALING THE TREASURES OF THE EARTH. By Edwin A. Abbey
Copyright by Edwin A. Abbey. From a Copley Print, copyright by Curtis & Cameron, Boston. Reproduced by permission.]
Conservation means three things:
What Conservation Means.—Conservation means three things: |1. Retention.| First, that public lands still in the hands of the nation and the states shall not be thoughtlessly turned over to private corporations and individuals for their own profit, but shall be administered so far as practicable by the public authorities for the benefit of the whole country; second, |1. Retention.|that such portions of our timber, coal, oil, and mineral resources as have already passed into private hands shall be so regulated by law as to prevent their wasteful exploitation; and |3. Replacement.|third, that the government shall do its best to encourage the replacement of such natural resources as can be replaced (for example, by the reforesting of land and the restocking of lakes with fish).[fish).]
Coal and iron.
The Mines.—No country can ever become great in industry unless it has ready access to minerals, especially iron and coal. It was the possession of iron and coal in great quantities that served to make England during the nineteenth century the industrial leader of Europe. Various regions of the United States possess these great stores of mineral wealth and have made good use of them. There is one great difference between mineral resources and other natural resources, namely, that when minerals are once taken from the earth there is no way of renewing them. Soil can be replenished, and forests regrown; but minerals form an endowment which, when once drawn from the bowels of the earth, can never be replaced. Hence the urgent need for a policy of conserving these important sources of national wealth. Coal and iron, while they are the natural resources upon which the growth of industry mainly depends, are not the only forms of wealth drawn from below the surface of the ground in this country. |Other minerals.| In the mining of silver and gold the United States is one of the foremost among the various producing countries. Copper, lead, oil, zinc, aluminum, quicksilver, and other natural materials are also taken from the earth in large quantities each year.
The earlier practice.
The Conservation of Coal, Oil, and Minerals.—Until about fifty years ago, land containing coal or other mineral resources was sold and granted by the government like any other lands. The individual or corporation became the owner of whatever wealth might happen to lie beneath the surface. In this way an enormous amount of wealth was practically given away. It was not until a few years ago that the government decided to reserve for itself all coal and minerals which might be discovered in lands given to settlers. |The present coal situation.| But this action came too late, for most of the coal-bearing lands had already passed into private ownership. By its failure to take due thought for the morrow the government had sold, for a few dollars per acre, what might have been a source of enormous revenue. If the practice of reserving the right to all coal, oil, and minerals in granted lands had been adopted in 1810 instead of in 1910 the value of these rights today would be greater than the entire national debt.
A large and steady supply of coal is of the utmost value to industry; in fact modern industry depends upon it. Yet when coal is once taken out and burned it cannot be replaced; there is only so much of it in the country and when that is gone there will be no more. It took nature many millions of years to produce the coal that is there now. At the present rate of increase in yearly consumption all the coal that is known to exist in the United States will be gone in about one hundred and fifty years. Some saving can be made by the use of oil and water power. Some economies in mining and in the use of coal are also possible. But these will hardly avail to prevent the ultimate exhaustion of the supply. At best we can only set that day a bit further off.
Conservation of oil.
Speaking of oil, the amount of crude petroleum or fuel oil now actually known to be available in the United States will be exhausted in less than fifty years if the present rate of consumption is maintained. There is every likelihood that this rate of consumption will be increased owing to the greater use of gasoline and kerosene for motor power. Large quantities of oil, however, are, available in Mexico. Within recent years it has been hoped that, with the progress of mechanical appliances, it will be practicable to obtain oil from shale rock.
The wastage of our forest wealth.
The Forests.—When the first European settlers came to America, the colonists depended heavily upon the forests. From the woods they obtained timber for their houses and barns, wood for fuel and, by hunting, a considerable part of their food supply. In all stages of civilization men have depended upon the forests to satisfy many of their diversified wants. Nowadays steel has taken the place of timber in the construction of buildings and ships; coal and oil have largely replaced wood as fuel; the days when men subsisted by hunting are past; and mankind is no longer so heavily dependent upon the forests as in the olden days. Yet the forests of America are still a great source of wealth even though the timber resources have been heavily drawn upon during the past hundred years. This is one of the natural resources which has been wastefully used and it is only in recent years that attention has been given to conserving what is left of it. The forests are needed, not only as a source of timber supply, but in order to preserve the fertility of the soil and to retain in it the moisture which is otherwise evaporated or run off.
The earlier practice.
The Conservation of Timber.—In the days when so much of the land was covered with timber the chief concern was to get it out of the way so that the ground could be used for agriculture. No one seemed to realize that the day would ever come when forest land would be more valuable than corn land. Before 1878 the national government sold off many million acres of valuable forest land at low prices to individuals and corporations and they, in turn, used it in whatever ways would yield the largest profit to themselves. |The Timber and Stone Act, 1878.| By the Timber and Stone Act of 1878, however, it was provided that only a limited area of government land containing timber or stone could be sold to any one person or corporation and then only at a higher price than agricultural land. But even this did not prove a sufficient measure of waste-prevention, and in 1891 Congress adopted the policy of withdrawing large areas of government forest land from the market altogether. |Forest reserves.| These tracts were set aside as national forest reservations and today there are about one hundred and fifty million acres set apart to ensure the country’s future supply of timber. The national government is also permitted to buy from private owners forest lands in the watersheds of navigable streams in order to protect the natural flow in such waterways. The administration of all the forest reservations is in the hands of the United States Forest Service, which forms part of the Department of Agriculture.
Forest policy of the states.
The area of timber land owned by the states, by corporations, and by individuals is very much greater than that contained in the national reservations. It is here, moreover, that the greatest amount of waste is taking place. Forest fires, most of which are due to carelessness, burn up enormous quantities of timber every year. The states which still possess considerable forest resources, such as New York, Minnesota, and California, are also adopting the policy of creating reservations and everywhere more effective measures are being taken to prevent destruction by forest fires. These measures include the maintenance of fire patrols, the construction of fire-breaks on the ridges of hills, the clearing out of underbrush, and the stricter supervision of camping parties.
Timber, fortunately, is a natural resource which can be replaced. Lands which have been cut-over can be reforested and used to supply timber for future generations. Large trees take a long time to mature, however, and the lands which are being planted with seedlings today will not be yielding material for the sawmill until the middle of the twentieth century has faded into the past. Both the national and state governments are now reforesting on a large scale. To some extent private corporations and individuals have followed their lead.
Harbors, lakes, and waterways.
Other Natural Resources.—All the nation’s wealth does not come, however, from the fields, the mines, and the forests. In fisheries America leads the entire world. The harbors and the waterways of the country are as important to commerce as the soil is to agriculture. No other country is better provided with natural harbors, lakes, and navigable rivers than the United States. All the largest cities are located upon them, and were it not for the waterways, we would not have the great cities. Run over in your mind the ten or fifteen largest cities of the United States and see if you can name any that are not situated on one of the oceans, the Great Lakes, the great navigable rivers, or on the Gulf of Mexico. It is not a mere accident that none of the great industrial centers are without facilities for trade by water. Geography, not man, determines for the most part the situation of all great industrial communities. Water power is another natural heritage. |Water power.| From the giant Niagara to the smallest cataract, thousands of these water powers have been harnessed and made to function as the servant of man, running factories and generating electricity. Water power does the work of coal.[[155]] Its presence has often determined the location of large industries.
How geography determines a nation’s progress.
Geography and the Future.—From what has been said in the last four sections it will thus be seen that natural resources are a great factor in determining the progress and prosperity of a nation. |The energy of man cannot replace the bounty of nature.| No amount of intelligence and industry on the part of the people will ensure rapid economic progress if they occupy a country which lacks a fertile soil, is devoid of minerals, possesses no forests or fisheries, and is deficient in natural harbors and waterways. Man can do much, but his powers are limited without the aid of nature. Animals and plants can be carried from one part of the world to another and made to thrive in their new environment; but mineral resources were laid down many millions of years ago in certain definite places and there they have stayed. A country which has no mineral resources cannot create them by the genius or industry of its people. On the other hand, if great natural resources are at hand, progress becomes merely a question of applying human intelligence and industry to these resources. The rise of the American nation to its present position, therefore, is not surprising, although it has taken a relatively short period of time. It is the joint result of nature’s bounty and man’s efficiency. To which of these we owe the larger share of the nation’s progress no one can say. If the country had lacked either, it could not have progressed in any such measure during the past three hundred years.
Natural resources and national power.
The same things have been true of other countries. England, during the greater part of the nineteenth century, was the leading industrial country of the world. This was unquestionably due not only to the enterprise of Englishmen but to the great natural resources of the country in coal and iron. When Germany defeated France in 1870 she took away from the French certain territories which were rich in minerals. With the aid of these materials Germany in the course of fifty years was able to become a great industrial power. Now, as the result of the World War, the French have recovered these territories and we may look for a marked revival in the industries of France. During the peace negotiations more importance was attached to small areas of coal and mineral lands than to whole provinces of agricultural land.
As the mineral resources of older countries become exhausted it is altogether likely that industrial supremacy will pass with them. New countries, which today have unexplored possibilities in coal and iron, will then have their turn in industrial prominence. Who knows where the balance of industrial power will be lodged a hundred years hence. China, for aught we know, may be the chief manufacturing country of the world in the twenty-first century. If we knew exactly how long the natural resources of Europe and America will hold out, and if we knew also just how much mineral wealth there is in the Far East, we could predict these things with reasonable certainty.
How geography will influence the future progress of America.
Certain it is, at any rate, that the past history of America has been determined, in no small degree, by geographical conditions. The same factors are likely to influence the future. The country is becoming less agricultural, less dependent upon the soil. As it becomes more industrial our dependence upon its other natural resources, upon coal, iron, oil, copper, timber, and water power must necessarily increase. The commerce of the country keeps on growing, and with this growth the reliance of the nation upon its harbors and waterways will inevitably become greater. As population expands there will be a heavier demand upon the food supply and the time will doubtless come when the United States will have no food for export. Indeed the day may arrive when agricultural products will have to be imported from outside. All this points to the need for emphasis upon conservation. It means that we should avoid all wastage of natural resources. The fertility of the soil should be preserved by scientific methods of agriculture. The mineral wealth of the country should be utilized in such a way as to give the greatest advantage over the longest period of time. We must reforest our unused lands. Harbors and waterways should be developed to aid commerce. If these things are done, America can face the future with confidence.
General References
Gregory, Keller, and Bishop, Physical and Commercial Geography of the United States, pp. 252-350;
A. P. Brigham, Geographic Influences in American History, especially pp. 70-104;
E. C. Semple, Influences of Geographic Environment, pp. 51-71;
O. W. Price, The Land We Live In, pp. 99-138;
N. S. Shaler, Man and the Earth, pp. 1-19;
C. R. Van Hise, The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States, especially pp. 263-306;
T. N. Carver, Sociology and Social Progress, pp. 174-270 (The Influence Exerted by Physical Laws over the Organization of Society and the Character of Individuals, by T. H. Buckle); Ibid., Principles of National Economy, pp. 3-14; 123-152;
C. A. Beard, American Government and Politics, pp. 405-416; Ibid., Readings in American Government and Politics, pp. 368-374;
P. S. Reinsch, Readings in American Federal Government, pp. 538-589;
M. H. Gregory, Checking the Waste, pp. 42-85;
Isaac Lippincott, Economic Development of the United States, pp. 149-182.
Isaiah Bowman, The New World: Problems in Political Geography (see index).
Group Problems
1. The civilization of the future as determined by the exhaustion and development of natural resources. When European and American resources in coal, oil, and iron give out, what substitutes can be used and to what extent? What countries have the resources to enable them to forge ahead when that time comes? Show the connection between industrial progress and each type of natural wealth. Consider whether there is any way in which a country may keep its industrial supremacy despite the exhaustion of natural wealth. References: Encyclopedia Britannica; Statesman’s Year Book; Gregory, Keller, and Bishop, Physical and Commercial Geography, especially pp. 252-350; 384-394; C. R. Van Hise, The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States, especially pp. 359-379; H. T. Buckle, History of Civilization in England, Vol. I (1868 edition), pp. 39-151; Isaiah Bowman, The New World, passim.
2. Conservation and its apostles, especially President Roosevelt. References: H. R. Burch, American Economic Life, pp. 101-108; C. R. Van Hise, The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United Stales, pp. 1-14; 359-379; Ely, Hess, Leith, and Carver, Foundations of National Prosperity, pp. 19-20; Gifford Pinchot, The Fight for Conservation, pp. 40-70; Theodore Roosevelt, Autobiography, pp. 408-436.
3. The coal industry: its past, present, and future. References: W. J. Nicolls, The Story of American Coal; Peter Roberts, The Anthracite Coal Industry, pp. 3-16; 212-227; Ely, Hess, Leith, and Carver, The Foundations of National Prosperity, pp. 191-209.
Short Studies
1. The relation of human progress to geographic conditions. Gregory, Keller, and Bishop, Physical and Commercial Geography, pp. 126-179; T. H. Buckle, History of Civilization, I, pp. 174-270.
2. What are the fundamental factors in national prosperity? T. N. Carver, Principles of National Economy, pp. 3-15; Isaac Lippincott, Economic Development of the United States, pp. 14-34.
3. American forest reservations. H. D. Boerker, Our National Forests, pp. 170-232; O. W. Price, The Land We Live In, pp. 65-98; Ernest Bruncken, North American Forests and Forestry (1900), pp. 161-182; U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Circulars.
4. The oil situation. David White, in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (May, 1920); C. R. Van Hise, The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States, pp. 47-61.
5. The growth of the iron and steel industry. H. N. Casson, The Romance of Steel, pp. 1-26; 72-100; J. R. Smith, The Story of Iron and Steel, pp. 108-126; Andrew Carnegie, Autobiography, pp. 130-197.
6. The conservation of water power. C. R. Van Hise, Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States, pp. 144-161.
7. The conservation of iron and copper. Ely, Hess, Leith, and Carver, Foundations of National Prosperity, pp. 210-231.
8. The settlement and use of the national domain. Albert Shaw, Political Problems of American Development, pp. 87-115.
9. The homestead system. C. R. Van Hise, Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States, pp. 279-287; G. M. Stephenson, The Political History of the Public Lands, pp. 190-245.
10. The reclamation of desert and swamp lands. H. R. Burch, American Economic Life, pp. 93-99.
Questions
1. Mark on an outline map the chief geographical divisions of the United States. State the chief characteristics of each.
2. Locate on the map the chief agricultural areas, the chief mining districts, the chief industrial centers, and the chief harbors of the United States.
3. Why do the great railroads of the United States run east and west rather than north and south?
4. Do you approve of granting free lands to bona fide settlers? Under what restrictions?
5. Mark on the map the location of (a) the principal coal areas; (b) the principal oil-bearing areas; (c) the national forests.
6. Show what natural resources are utilized in the building of a house, from cellar to garret, and tell what section of the United States is the largest center of production for (a) oak timber; (b) glass; (c) steel beams; (d) electric wire; (e) sewer pipe.
7. Name the harbors of the United States in the order of their (a) natural advantages; (b) commercial importance.
8. Compare the general geographical advantages of North and South America. To what extent has the difference in the relative economic progress of the two continents been due to geographical differences?
9. Which do you regard as the more urgent need at the present day: the conservation of timber or of coal or of oil? Give your reasons.
10. Compare the relative geographical advantages of the following cities: Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco, Baltimore.
Topics for Debate
1. The United States should adopt a rental system for all public lands on which there are mineral resources or water powers.
2. The United States should insist upon free access to foreign natural resources (for example, in Mexico).
CHAPTER XVIII
THE AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS
The purpose of this chapter is to show the large part which agriculture plays in the life of the country and to discuss briefly some of the problems of agriculture today.
Importance of American Agriculture.—Agriculture has always been the most important single industry in the United States. |The crops in earlier days.| It was at one time practically the sole occupation of the people; even today it directly or indirectly engages the attention of more than half the adult male workers of the country. In colonial days the chief task of the people was to raise a food supply sufficient for themselves. Corn was their principal crop, the colonists having learned from the Indians the methods of cultivating it. Corn had the advantage of being well suited to the soil and climate; besides it grows well even in partially cleared land. But in colonial days and even for a time after the Revolution the country did not produce much grain beyond its own needs. The production of large quantities for export came with the opening up of the great agricultural areas of the West.
1. Mixed farming.
Types of Agricultural Activity.—American agriculture has developed, during the past three hundred years, in five or six different directions. The earliest settlers in the northern colonies devoted themselves to general or mixed farming, in other words to the raising of grain, hay, and cattle on the same tract of land. This was because the environment and needs of the northern region alike favored this method. Mixed farming has continued to be the mainstay of agriculture east of the Alleghenies; in some measure it has spread to other parts of the country as well.
2. Staple or plantation farming.
A second type of agriculture, almost from the very outset, made progress in the South. This involved the raising of certain staple products, such as rice, tobacco, sugar, and cotton on large plantations. The soil, climate, and general environment of the southern colonies all lent themselves to this type of agriculture and it eventually spread itself over the whole region. Cotton in time out-stripped the other staples and became king of the whole South. This was largely because the invention of the cotton gin, an appliance for removing the seeds from the fibre, greatly reduced the cost of preparing cotton for the market. The scarcity of free labor to work these great plantations led to the importation of negro slaves and the institution of slavery had a profound effect upon the subsequent course of American history. Since the emancipation of the negroes, the plantation system has remained although many of the larger tracts have been broken up into small holdings.
3. Cereal growing.
The opening of the Middle West and Mississippi Valley brought in a third form of agricultural activity, namely, the production of cereals (such as corn, wheat, oats, rye, and barley) on great tracts of prairie land. This form of agricultural production received a great impetus from the invention of labor-saving machinery, notably the power-reaper. The region of extensive cereal production today includes the Middle West, the Northwest, and the Mississippi Valley, making the richest grain-growing area in the world.
LAND REGIONS
OF THE
UNITED STATES.
LAND REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
The great geographical regions of the United States are indicated by this map. Starting from the East we have the Atlantic Plains and, just behind them, the Eastern Plateaus running north and south. Then come the Appalachian Mountains and the Allegheny Plateaus, followed, still further westward, by the Lake Plains, the Prairie Plains, and the Great Plains. Southward, fringing the Gulf of Mexico, are the Gulf Plains. To the far west are three great land regions, namely, the Rocky Mountain area, the Western Plateaus, and the Pacific Slope.
This map should be used in connection with Question 1 (page [354]).
4. Cattle raising.
As the frontier rolled westward to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains a fourth type of agriculture—using the term in its wider sense—began to make rapid strides. This was the stock-raising industry, the production of horned cattle and sheep on large tracts of grazing land or ranches. This branch of agricultural activity has made its greatest progress in the Middle Southwest and upon the upland states just east of the Rockies (Montana, Wyoming, etc.). Cattle are raised on the ranches, then shipped to the corn belt where they are fattened before being sent to the abattoirs at St. Louis and Chicago.[[156]]
Miscellaneous activities.
Other branches of agriculture which have developed largely within the past half century are dairying, market gardening, and fruit growing. These activities are not confined to any one section of the country but to a considerable extent are carried on everywhere. Dairying and market gardening have made most progress within convenient distance of the large cities, although improved transportation facilities in the way of air-cooled and refrigerator cars now permit the shipment of dairy and garden produce over long distances.
From all this it can be seen that when one speaks of the interests of agriculture a great many different things are included. The agriculture of the United States is diversified to an extent that is found in no other country.
Size of the various crops.
The Value of American Agricultural Products.—The largest cereal crop produced in the United states is corn; the total in some years runs as high as three billion bushels. This is more than twice the amount of corn grown in all the rest of the world. Oats come next, with about one and one-half billion bushels in the best years, and wheat third, with a round billion or thereabouts. Cotton is the largest staple crop, with an annual yield of from ten to fifteen billion bales, each bale containing five hundred pounds. Of this nearly half is exported. More than twelve million cattle are received each year at the great abattoirs, besides an equal number of sheep and twice as many hogs.
The value of this enormous agricultural production, if stated in dollars and cents, would be misleading because prices change from year to year; the fluctuations are often considerable within a very short period of time.[[157]] But in any case the contribution which agriculture makes to the yearly income of the nation is enormous. Upon it the national prosperity depends in a very great measure.
How the war stimulated American food production.
American Agriculture and the War.—American agriculture had a very important part in winning the World War. As this great struggle progressed the task of providing food for the Allied armies and for the civilian populations became month by month more difficult. Men were drawn off the farms of Europe to fight and the fields went uncultivated; practically the whole of Belgium and a considerable part of France were in the hands of the enemy; no supplies could be drawn from remote parts of the world such as Australia, South America, or the Far East because the available ships were needed to carry troops and munitions; so the American farmer had to speed up production in order to save the situation. When America entered the war the Allies had practically reached the end of their resources in foodstuffs; their populations were living under a rigid system of food rationing. Under the stimulation of this great emergency American agriculture rose to the occasion and the increased production of foodstuffs, together with the savings which were made through the observance of “wheatless” and “meatless” days enabled the United States not only to maintain an army of two million soldiers in France but to contribute largely to the food supplies of the Allied armies and civilian populations as well. The supply trains which fed the American army in France (and never on a single day did they fail to reach the front), started from Kansas City and Chicago, not from Brest or Havre. The American farmer was the great factor in this service of supply.
An example of increasing returns.
A Peculiarity of Agricultural Production—The Law of Diminishing Returns.—There is one fundamental feature in which agriculture differs from industry. In industry, as a rule, the more labor and capital you apply the greater the amount of the produce. Many industries, indeed, are so constituted that by applying additional capital and labor you obtain more than proportionate returns. Take the book-binding industry, for example. A small shop, employing three men, might bind and stamp two hundred books per day at a cost of twenty cents per book. But a large establishment, employing a hundred workers with modern machinery can easily put through many thousand books at half the cost per volume. A manufacturer, if he is wise, finds out what branches of his business are most profitable. Then he applies more capital and labor in that direction so as to increase his earnings, and devotes less attention to the things which cannot be made so profitably. This is known as production under the law of increasing returns.
But in agriculture the situation is quite different. Any farmer or ranchman will tell you, if you ask him, that some of his land is better than the rest and yields him greater profit for the capital and labor applied to it. But if you thereupon suggest to him that he should devote all his attention to this particular piece of land, and neglect the rest, he would think very poorly of your intelligence. |An illustration of decreasing returns.| And rightly so, for if he applied more labor and capital to his best land, he would not be sure of getting a crop-increase in proportion; on the contrary, he would be quite safe in saying that, after a certain point, his extra labor and capital would bring him less than proportionate returns. An investment of ten dollars per acre may result in a crop of fifteen bushels per acre. It is very doubtful whether by applying twenty dollars worth of capital and labor to the land this yield could be doubled and it is quite certain that it could not be trebled by spending thirty dollars per acre on the land. In other words, agriculture is carried on, for the most part, under the law of diminishing returns, which may be briefly defined by saying that, “if at any given time, the amount of labor and capital applied to agricultural land is increased beyond a certain point, the increased investment will yield less than proportionate returns”. If this were not the case, no one would ever cultivate the poorer lands. We would raise our entire crops from the most fertile tracts. The point at which the returns will begin to diminish can never be exactly fixed, for improvements in the methods of agriculture may place it further ahead. These improved methods also bring into cultivation lands which otherwise would not be utilized.
Another Peculiarity of Agriculture—Limitations on Division of Labor.—In one other fundamental feature there is a difference between agriculture and industry. In industry, as will be seen presently, the individual worker confines his attention to one operation in the process of production. He does not make a shoe, but only part of a shoe. But in agriculture, this division of labor cannot be carried so far. |Why division of labor does not apply to agriculture.| The workers engaged in agriculture cannot be ploughmen, sowers, reapers, or threshers only; they must take a hand at all these things when the time comes. This is because the tasks connected with agriculture change with the seasons. Agricultural labor must, therefore, be much more versatile than labor employed in large-scale industry. Most industries, moreover, are able to run along at an even pace throughout the year, affording steady employment to a fixed number of workers. But in most forms of agriculture, the amount of labor required is much greater at some seasons of the year than at others, thus giving the farmer a labor problem of great difficulty to contend with.
The chemical elements in soil.
The Exhaustion of the Soil.—The agricultural production of the country depends upon the fertility of the soil. Agricultural soil contains various chemical properties which are exhausted by long-continued cropping, particularly if only one type of produce is grown. These chemical elements are, more particularly, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. Some crops draw chiefly upon one of these chemical elements and some upon the others. Wheat and corn take large amounts of nitrogen from the soil, while potatoes draw a larger proportion of potash. The exhaustion of the soil is prevented in two ways, first by rotation of crops and, second, by the use of fertilizers. Rotation of crops involves the growing of different products in successive years, such as wheat, potatoes, and hay. It is not always practicable. |Fertilization.| Fertilization involves the putting of chemical elements back into the soil. It may be effected by the use of natural manure or artificial fertilizers or by ploughing under the soil a green cover crop. Land retains its fertility to the degree that chemical elements are conserved in it.
The Effects of Agricultural Improvements.—During the past half century great progress has been made in all the processes of agriculture. The methods of treating the soil, the types of grain and other produce grown, the machinery available for use in agriculture, and the general intelligence with which the lands are cultivated—all have vastly improved since our grandfathers’ day. |The increased yield of the soil.| The results are apparent in an increased production. At the time of the Civil War the yield of wheat throughout the United States averaged only nine to ten bushels per acre; today it is nearly double that figure. Good farms and good farmers are now producing twenty-five bushels of wheat to the acre, sixty bushels of corn, or six hundred pounds of cotton. Similar progress has been made in the raising of cattle and in dairying. This has been accomplished by the selection and breeding of improved stock.
Year by year this improvement continues and it is certain that we have not yet nearly reached the limit of possibilities. On the highly fertilized lands of some European countries the wheat yield is as high as thirty or even forty bushels to the acre. In the case of root crops, fertilization of the land is an extremely important factor in production. |Our future possibilities.| One of the great present-day needs of American agriculture is a better and cheaper supply of nitrates for fertilizing the land and this has directed attention to the possibility of manufacturing nitrates in this country instead of importing them from abroad.[[158]]
The United States Department of Agriculture.—To assist the agricultural interests of the country a Commissioner |How the national government helps the farmer.|of Agriculture was appointed by the national government in 1862, and seven years later this office was expanded into a Department of Agriculture, with a member of the cabinet at its head. The work of this department at the present day covers a wide range. Its more important activities, carried on through various bureaus, may be summarized as follows: The Bureau of Plant Industry studies new agricultural methods, endeavors to find improved varieties of grain and plants, conducts research work on soil fertility, and devises measures for the extermination of noxious weeds. It has combed the whole world for new grains and plants likely to thrive in this country. Its agents go about the country giving talks and demonstrations to the farmers with a view to educating them in all these matters. The Bureau of Animal Industry makes investigations into improved methods of breeding and raising live stock; it studies the problem of preventing communicable diseases among animals, and has charge of federal meat inspection. The Bureau of Entomology gathers and publishes information concerning insects which do harm to crops and cattle. It suggests methods of exterminating each form of insect pest. In this it has a giant task, for the ravages of insects like the gypsy moth and orange thrip are still costing the country millions of dollars per year. The work of the United States Forest Service, which is in this department, has already been mentioned. The Weather Bureau’s work is also well known. It gathers information concerning the weather in all sections of the country and sends out timely forecasts of probable storms, heat-waves, frosts, and rainfall for the benefit of agriculture and navigation. Other bureaus make chemical analyses of soil, water, and foods, and compile all manner of agricultural statistics. The Department of Agriculture also maintains, in different parts of the country, sixty experiment stations, at which new methods are fully tried out before being recommended.
It will be seen that by far the greater portion of the department’s work is scientific and educational. Its educational work is carried on not only by speakers and demonstrators who go about the country, but by the issue of bulletins and an annual volume known as the department’s Year Book. This volume, which may be had free of cost, contains more useful information on agricultural topics than any other book of its sort.
How the state governments help the farmer.
State Encouragement of Agriculture.—The encouragement of agriculture has not been left entirely to the national authorities. Most of the states also maintain departments of agriculture in charge of boards or commissioners. In most of the states, moreover, state colleges of agriculture have been established, and these may be attended, usually without the payment of tuition fees, by any qualified resident of the state. Short courses of instruction are given in various branches of agriculture for those who can spend but a few weeks or months at these agricultural colleges; extension work is carried on and scientific investigations made. This work has been, to some extent, assisted by grants of land and money from the national government. The chief individual factor in bringing both the federal and state agricultural authorities into touch with the farmers and cattle raisers is the county agent. He addresses them at their meetings, advises them on all agricultural matters, and helps them to form agricultural clubs.
The Problem of Agricultural Credits.—In agriculture, as in industry and commerce, a considerable amount of capital is needed. It takes capital to buy land, to improve it, to obtain machinery and live stock, to purchase seed, and to pay expenses during the period between seedtime and harvest. Until recently the agriculturist has been at a disadvantage, as compared with the manufacturer, in securing this capital. The banking system of the country was organized mainly to assist the operations of industry and commerce; there were no special banks to assist agriculture. |The Federal Farm Loan Banks.| In 1916, however, a system of Farm Loan Banks was established. There are now twelve such banks situated in as many regions of the country. Their function is to loan money on the security of agricultural or grazing land at reasonable rates of interest, the loans to be repaid in installments over a term of years. This has placed agriculture on an equality with all other forms of production as regards loans based on the security of land; but for loans upon the security of cattle, crops, and other personal property, the agriculturist must still depend upon the regular banking institutions.
“Seasonal” character of agriculture.
The Problem of Agricultural Labor.—Mention has already been made of the fact that agriculture is a “seasonal” occupation to a very large extent. It is an occupation, moreover, in which the workers cannot at all times call eight hours a full day’s work. At the busy seasons of seedtime and harvest the day of the farmer and his helpers is from before sunrise until after sunset. As a result of these features the securing of a sufficient labor force at the busy seasons is an agricultural problem of great and constantly-recurring difficulty. Time and again it has happened that valuable crops have gone to waste because men could not be hired to harvest them. During the war years the scarcity of labor was especially acute and the wages of farm workers went up very rapidly. It is believed that this problem of getting sufficient labor might be solved by some organized action such as the United States government took during 1917-1918, recruiting labor in the cities, moving them from section to section in accordance with the demand, and effecting a more even distribution of the available workers.
Farmers’ Organizations.—It is harder for farmers to organize than for men in most other occupations. They live apart from one another; they are not dependent upon one another to the same extent that townsmen are; and their manner of life tends to make them individually self-reliant. In organizing they have, therefore, been much less active than workers in industry and commerce. Nevertheless there are many farmers’ associations in the United States at the present time and their membership is steadily increasing. Some of them are co-operative bodies, organized for the buying, selling, or manufacture of products. Others are agricultural societies formed for the purpose of holding fairs and meetings.
The Grange and the Farmers’ Alliance.
Two farmers’ organizations of a fraternal and social nature have spread all over the country. The first is the Patrons of Husbandry, more commonly known as the Grange. The other is the National Farmers’ Alliance. Between them these two organizations include several million members. Their main purpose is to promote the social and economic interests of the agricultural population, but they are also, on some occasions, active in politics. Farmers’ Institutes, which are being held under the joint auspices of the national and state agricultural departments in all sections of the country have also contributed to the facilities for popular education and recreation. These institutes are attended by more than two million persons per year.
The agricultural “bloc.”
The Farmer in Politics.—While the farmers of the United States do not possess a political organization of their own they are able through the various bodies mentioned in the preceding paragraph and through other associations to exercise a very important influence upon the action of the government. Many senators and representatives come from sections of the country where the farmers constitute an important element among the voters and on matters affecting the interests of agriculture these legislators usually stand together. In recent years this group of congressmen from the agricultural areas has been commonly known as the “agricultural bloc”; they do not form an actual majority in Congress, but they have usually had enough strength to get what they want. At the session of 1921 they obtained a tariff duty on wheat, which is in effect a tax on bread, and any political organization which can put a tax on bread must be powerful indeed. The farmers’ lobby at Washington is exceedingly strong.
Attempts have been made to unite the farmers in the rural districts with the workers in the cities into a regular political party. At the presidential election of 1920 a so-termed Farmer-Labor ticket was placed in the field, but it did not muster much strength. A combination of these two elements, if it could be effective, would be all-powerful. It is very doubtful, however, if any such political combination can be really made. The interests of the two elements are too far apart. The farmers are producers of food; the city workers are consumers. One wants prices to stay high; the other wants them to come down. It will be difficult to get two such groups to come together and to stay together.
The rural exodus.
The Special Problems of Rural Communities.—One of the chief problems of every rural community is to keep its young men and women from migrating to the cities and towns. In many parts of the country the agricultural population is steadily declining by reason of the constant exodus to the towns, and wherever population decreases there is usually a fall in the value of land.[[159]] Thereupon the community ceases to move forward; the lands are neglected; methods of agriculture fail to keep pace with the times, and the whole region takes on a shabby appearance.
Now the chief reason why young men and women leave the rural districts for the cities is to be found in the outward attractiveness of city life. This attractiveness is really not so great as it appears to be; but it is the appearances that often count. Rural comforts and conveniences have been all too few in the past; the hours of labor have been long and the work often disagreeable; the dearth of social recreations has also been a factor in making rural life seem monotonous to youth. These drawbacks, however, are not essential and permanent features of rural life. The balance of advantage which towns and cities have heretofore possessed is in fact being steadily reduced by the advent of things which greatly enhance the attractiveness of life in rural communities. |The increasing attractions of rural life.| The motor car, the paved roads, the parcels post and rural mail delivery, the extension of telephone service and electric lighting into the country, the tractor and other labor-saving devices, the organization of societies and clubs among the young people of the rural areas, the improvement and centralization of rural schools—all these are having influence. The application of scientific principles to agriculture, moreover, has made it a skilled occupation, not a common industry. Routine farming by rule-of-thumb methods is not very interesting and not very profitable; but scientific farming is both. For these various reasons the exodus from the farms is not likely to be as great in the future as it has been in the past. This is a fortunate circumstance for, as President Roosevelt once declared, our whole civilization rests upon the attractiveness as well as the prosperity of rural life.
General References
H. R. Burch, American Economic Life, pp. 209-232;
H. C. Taylor, Agricultural Economics, pp. 13-30;
G. F. Warren, Elements of Agriculture, pp. 372-398;
Sir Horace Plunkett, The Rural Life Problem of the United States, pp. 59-82;
John Phelan, Readings in Rural Sociology, pp. 162-183;
K. L. Butterfield, The Farmer and the New Day, pp. 1-29;
E. G. Nourse, Agricultural Economics, pp. 210-223;
A. H. Benson and G. H. Betts, Agriculture and the Farming Business, pp. 1-12;
S. J. Buck, The Agrarian Crusade, pp. 111-141.
Group Problems
1. How the national and state departments of agriculture help the farmer in your state. References: J. E. Boyle, Agricultural Economics, pp. 312-327; L. H. Bailey, The State and the Farmer, pp. 89-111; E. G. Nourse, Agricultural Economics, pp. 553-565.
2. Making country life more attractive. References: C. J. Galpin, Rural Life, pp. 212-260; J. M. Gillette, Constructive Rural Sociology, pp. 168-199; L. H. Bailey, The Country Life Movement; University of Virginia, Alumni Bulletins, Rural Life Conferences, passim; Report of the Country Life Commission.
3. The farmer in politics. References: S. J. Buck, The Granger Movement, pp. 34-39; 80-122; F. L. McVey, The Populist Movement, in American Economic Association, Economic Studies, Vol. I, No. 3 (August, 1896), pp. 131-209.
4. Who owns the farms in the United States? References: H. C. Taylor, Agricultural Economics, pp. 238-269; P. L. Vogt, Introduction to Rural Sociology, pp. 61-100; T. N. Carver, Selected Readings in Rural Economics, pp. 498-546; E. G. Nourse, Agricultural Economics, pp. 665-673; William Kent, Land Tenure and Public Policy, pp. 213-225.
Short Studies
1. The farm population of the United States. P. L. Vogt, Introduction to Rural Sociology, pp. 120-145; L. H. Bailey, The Country Life Movement, pp. 31-60.
2. The rural school and the rural community. Irving King, Education for Social Efficiency, pp. 21-42; E. P. Cubberley, Rural Life and Education, pp. 163-176; 226-255; Mabel Carney, Country Life and the Country School, pp. 133-148.
3. The grange. S. J. Buck, The Granger Movement, pp. 279-301; Mabel Carney, Country Life and the Country School, pp. 72-89.
4. The non-partisan league. Andrew A. Bruce, The Non-Partisan League, passim; Herbert Gaston, The Non-Partisan League, pp. 269-283.[pp. 269-283.]
5. Community life in the country. C. J. Galpin, Rural Life, pp. 176-211; L. H. Bailey, The Country Life Movement, pp. 97-133; T. N. Carver, Rural Economics, pp. 334-382.
6. The farmer of the Middle West. John Phelan, Readings in Rural Sociology, pp. 27-44.
7. The South and the negro farmer. Ibid., pp. 46-72.
8. The New England farmer. Ibid., pp. 1-25.
9. The farmer of the Rocky Mountain states. W. E. Smythe, The Conquest of Arid America, pp. 19-30; 150-163; F. I. Anderson, The Farmer of Tomorrow, pp. 98-140.
10. Marketing farm products. E. G. Nourse, Agricultural Economics, pp. 524-540; F. W. Card, Farm Management, pp. 109-138; T. N. Carver, Selected Readings in Rural Economics, pp. 769-782; H. C. Taylor, Agricultural Economics, pp. 352-365.
11. Women’s place on the farm. C. J. Galpin, Rural Life, pp. 101-117; John Phelan, Readings in Rural Sociology, pp. 313-324; P. DeVuyst, Woman’s Place in Rural Economy, pp. 23-42.
12. Rural credits. J. B. Morman, The Place of Agriculture in Reconstruction, pp. 310-347; E. G. Nourse, Agricultural Economics, pp. 712-723; 789-795; M. T. Herrick, Rural Credits, pp. 439-455.
13. Agriculture and reconstruction. J. B. Morman, The Place of Agriculture in Reconstruction, pp. 146-180.
Questions
1. Name the various types of agricultural activity and indicate on the map where they are chiefly carried on.
2. Place the following agricultural products in the order of their relative annual value (referring to the World Almanac for such information as is not given in the text); wood, cotton, rice, wheat, cattle, corn, sheep, sugar, tobacco.
3. Explain fully the law of diminishing returns as applied to agricultural land. Name some of its effects.
4. What are the chief chemical elements in agricultural soil? How are they saved from exhaustion? What is the order of crop-rotation practiced in your district and why is this order chosen? Explain how the “cover-crop” system helps the soil.
5. List, in what seems to you to be their order of importance, the services rendered by the National Department of Agriculture.
6. How are Farm Loan Banks financed? What functions do they perform?
7. Find out how a Grange is organized, what officers it has, and what members do at their meetings.
8. The government assures to the owners of the railroads a minimum return on their invested capital (see p. [367]). Should it guarantee the farmer a minimum price for his products?
9. Do you believe that the farmers are justified in organizing a “bloc” in Congress to promote their own interests? If the industrial workers, the shopkeepers, the manufacturers and so forth were to do likewise, how would this affect the party system?
10. Explain how the attractiveness of rural life has been increased in recent years.
Topics for Debate
1. The national government should (a) directly engage in improved road-building for the benefit of agricultural areas; or (b) assist the states by grants of money for this purpose; or (c) leave the matter entirely to the states and communities.
2. Farmers and cattlemen should be permitted to form organizations in order to prevent competition and keep up the prices of their products, although such agreements among manufacturers are forbidden.
CHAPTER XIX
THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND REGULATION OF
COMMERCE.
The purpose of this chapter is to explain what commerce is, how it is regulated, and what the government does to promote it.
Who are engaged in commerce.
The Purposes of Commerce.—The people of the world spend a large part of their energy in supplying their material wants, including food, clothing, and shelter. We commonly think of the farmer and the manufacturer as the ones chiefly engaged in this task, but if you stop to think of it you will quickly realize that the farmers could not feed the world nor could the manufacturers clothe it without the aid of another important class, which includes merchants, traders, transportation workers—in a word, all who are engaged in commerce. The purpose of commerce is not to create things but to put economic goods into the hands of those who need them. It places commodities where they are wanted at the time when they are wanted. |Commerce produces values.| In this sense commerce is a great producer, a producer of values. It fetches the raw material from the mines or agricultural areas to the industries. It brings the products of the factories to the merchant and from the merchant to the homes of the people. It helps to adjust the supply to the demand. Without commerce there would be an abundance of things in one place and a shortage in another. Commercial organization permits every part of the country, and indeed every part of the civilized world, to produce the things which it is best fitted to produce and to use these things in buying goods made elsewhere. Florida grows oranges and Massachusetts makes shoes, but through channels of commerce each secures what it needs from the products of the other.
Commerce in its earliest forms.
The Development of Commerce.—Now although the advantages of commerce are so easy to realize, the commercial system of the modern world took many centuries to develop. Primitive people did not have many wants and all of them they supplied by their own exertions. Each little group of people, each tribe or village, met its own needs. Then trade between different villages and tribes began. It grew slowly in the early ages because there were no easy means of transporting goods, and because neighboring tribes were so often hostile to each other. This early trade was conducted by barter, the direct exchange of one article for another, there being no general use of money as a medium of exchange.
As time went on the area of trade widened until it covered whole countries, and finally expanded into international trade or commerce between different countries. |Inventions which have helped commerce to grow.| This widening kept step with improvements in the methods of transportation from pack-horse to wagon, from wagon to railroad, and from sailing vessel to steamship. The expansion of trade was also aided by the growth of strong governments which protected the trader and made the paths of commerce safe. Likewise the general use of money facilitated the operations of trade; so did the creation of a system of commercial credit. Without railroads and steamships, law and order, money and credit, it would not be possible to carry on commerce as we have it today. If the world can feed and clothe and shelter an enormously greater population than it could two hundred years ago this is not because the people work harder; it is because they work more intelligently and because they have created that gigantic system of economic co-operation which we call commerce.
Commerce includes exchange.
The Scope of Commerce.—It is an error to suppose that commerce is concerned only with the transportation of goods. Its scope is far wider. Commerce includes not only the moving of goods but the whole process of buying and selling. Wholesalers, jobbers, retailers, together with all those who work for them are engaged in commerce. Not only are the steamship lines, the railroads, and the motor trucks entitled to be called agencies of commerce, but the telegraph and telephone systems as well. The pipe lines which carry oil from the depths of the earth to the great cities are instrumentalities of commerce; so are the gas mains in the streets, the subways, and the street cars. The postal service, likewise, is one of the most important factors in expediting commercial transactions.
It depends upon currency and credit.
Commerce cannot be carried on, at least in any large measure, without currency and credit. Hence the whole system of money and banking links itself up closely with commercial organization. Goods are bought on credit by the wholesaler, and sold on credit to the retail merchant who, in turn, often sells on credit to his customers. The banks and other credit institutions provide the money to carry on these operations of trade. So when one takes all these things into account it will be seen that a considerable proportion of the people are engaged in one or another of the various branches of commerce.
Local, interstate, and international commerce.
The Three Fields of Commerce.—In order to clarify the relations of government to commerce it is necessary, at the outset, to distinguish between three fields or types of commerce. The first is local or intra-state commerce, which comprises all the trading operations carried on within the boundaries of a single state. Goods produced in Pittsburgh and marketed in Philadelphia are said to be within the sphere of local or intra-state commerce. As such they are wholly within the jurisdiction of the state of Pennsylvania. In the second place there is a large amount of commerce which, originating in one state, crosses into another. Shoes made in Massachusetts are shipped to Indiana; cotton grown in Georgia is sent to New York to be manufactured. This is called national or inter-state commerce and it is under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Finally, trade is carried on between the United States and foreign countries and this is known as international commerce. It also is subject to regulation by the federal government.
The state governments control local commerce.
Local Commerce.—Each state makes provision for the encouragement and regulation of commerce within its own territory. The communities and the state provide the improved roads which are essential for trade between country and town. The development of motor cars, motor trucks, and suburban trolley lines has greatly increased the facility with which this trade can be carried on. Each state, again, has control over the street railways, short-line railroads, and other channels of commerce within its own borders. This control is exercised through provisions of laws made by the state legislatures, but the enforcement of these regulations is usually placed in the hands of one or more boards, commonly known as public service commissions (see pp. 480-481). It is the duty of these commissions to see that the rates charged are reasonable and that adequate service is rendered. The jurisdiction of the state authorities, it should be repeated, does not extend over any commercial operations which are not strictly local; if the commerce concerns more than a single state it can be regulated only by the national government.