Problems in American Democracy

by Thames Williamson

293. THE CITYWARD DRIFT.—A half century ago more than three fourths of our population was rural; to-day less than half of the people of the United States live in the country. Both urban and rural districts have been steadily increasing in population since the opening of the nineteenth century, but since 1900 the city population has increased three times as fast as has the rural population. One reason for this more rapid growth of the cities is that since the eighties the majority of our immigrants have flocked to the cities rather than to the rural districts. Another reason, however, is that the country people have been drifting to the towns and cities. This cityward drift has an important bearing upon the character of rural life.

294. REASONS FOR THE CITYWARD DRIFT.—A number of factors explain the tendency of rural people to move to the cities. The perfection and wider use of farm machinery have decreased the need for farm laborers, and the excess laborers have gone to the towns and cities. The fact that urban industries offer shorter hours, better pay, and cleaner work than does farming has attracted many young country people. The isolation of farm life and its frequent lack of comforts have impelled many country dwellers to move to the cities. Some country people have gone to the city in order to be near schools and churches, and in order to have access to competent doctors and well-equipped hospitals. The craving for a more fully developed social life than many rural districts afford, has been an additional cause of the cityward drift. Unfortunately, the glamour of urban life, with its spectacles and its artificial pleasures, has also been a factor in the movement away from the country.

295. WHEREIN THE CITYWARD DRIFT IS DESIRABLE.—In some respects the cityward drift is a desirable development. When laborers who are no longer needed on the farms move cityward, the cityward drift may have the beneficial effect of removing such laborers to where they can find employment. It should also be remembered that successful rural life requires qualities which may be lacking in many individuals born and raised in the country. In so far as the cityward drift is composed of such individuals, it may be a helpful movement, since individuals unsuited to rural life may find themselves adapted to some type of urban life. When unneeded and unhelpful individuals are removed from the country, the rural population may be more efficient and more prosperous, even though relatively more sparse.

296. WHEREIN THE CITYWARD DRIFT IS UNDESIRABLE.—In so far as the cityward drift brings to the city individuals unsuited to urban conditions, the movement away from the country may be undesirable. It is certainly undesirable when the individuals in question are really suited to rural life. The tendency of young people to move to the cities may ultimately deprive the country of its natural leaders. Certainly the colleges and factories of the cities often drain the country of its most able and ambitious boys and girls. The cityward migration of such persons may strengthen the urban population, but it weakens rural society and retards the progress of rural institutions.

297. STATUS OF THE "BACK TO THE LAND" MOVEMENT.—Some reformers have sought to offset the cityward drift by an artificial "back to the land" movement. In so far as it would bring to the country persons really able to contribute to rural life, this movement is a desirable one. In so far as it would bring to the country persons unprepared or unable to adapt themselves to rural conditions, such a movement is injurious. On the basis of the data now available, we are warranted in concluding that the "back to the land" movement is founded upon sentiment and caprice rather than upon sound principles. It attacks the rural problem at the wrong end. If the natural leaders of the country are repelled by rural life and attracted by urban conditions, the remedy is not to create an artificial movement toward the country, but rather to make rural life so attractive that country boys and girls will prefer it to city life. The chief question before us is this: How can the country be made so attractive that individuals interested in, and suited to, rural life may be encouraged to lend themselves to its fullest development? Let us see what is being done toward answering this question.

298. HOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS HELPING TO MAKE RURAL LIFE ATTRACTIVE.—The material prosperity of the American farmer is due, in considerable part, to the activities of the Federal government. For more than a half century the Department of Agriculture has systematically encouraged various phases of agricultural industry. The Department conducts investigations and experiments designed to give farmers helpful information concerning soils, grains, fruits, and live stock. It distributes seeds gratuitously, and attempts to encourage scientific methods among farmers. The Department issues a Year-book, a Monthly Weather Review, a Crop Reporter, and a series of Farmers' Bulletins. Among the more important subdivisions of the department are the bureau of animal industry, the bureau of soils, the bureau of markets, and the office of farm management. The work of the Department of Agriculture is ably supplemented by the work of the Reclamation Bureau, which, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, is increasing the productivity of waste and arid lands.

299. THE FEDERAL FARM LOAN ACT.—The growing need of credit facilities among farmers resulted in 1916 in the passage of the Federal Farm Loan Act. By the terms of this act, the United States is divided into twelve districts, in each of which a Federal land bank is established. A Federal Farm Loan Board has general charge of the entire system, but each Farm Loan Bank is allowed a large measure of freedom in its own district in the organization of local Farm Loan Associations. A local association is made up of a number of farm owners, or persons about to become owners, who desire to borrow money. The Bank will not deal with the individual farmer except through the local association, but when a farmer has been vouched for by this association, he may receive from the Bank of his district a loan at not more than six per cent interest. The Bank authorizes loans for the purchase or improvement of land, for the purchase of live stock, and for the erection of farm buildings. Loans must be secured by first mortgages not exceeding in amount fifty per cent of the assessed value of the land and twenty per cent of the value of the improvements thereon pledged as security. Loans may run from five to forty years, and provision is made for the gradual payment, in small sums, of both principal and interest.

300. MARKETING NEEDS OF THE FARMER.—A problem vitally affecting not only the farmer but the urban consumer as well, has to do with the marketing of farm produce. The price of farm produce often doubles or trebles between the farm and the urban kitchen. This is largely because of a cumbersome marketing system and an overabundance of middlemen. Often the farmer gets entirely too little for his produce, while the city housewife pays too much for it. If the farmer is to secure a larger return for his labor, and if the cost of foodstuffs in cities is to be reduced, we must devise more efficient methods of marketing farm produce.

There is a general agreement among experts that in the marketing of farm produce there ought to be some method of securing the co÷peration of farmer, urban consumer, and government. The further improvement of country roads, together with the development of trolleys, motor trucking and other means of farm-to-city transport would reduce haulage charges. The number of public markets in cities should be increased, so that farm produce might be sold to consumers without the interference of unnecessary middlemen. The grading and standardization of farm products would also facilitate sale by making it unnecessary for prospective purchasers minutely to examine goods offered by the farmers. In some cases farmers might advantageously sell their produce directly to urban consumers. The co÷perative marketing of farm produce, also has the effect of reducing the number of middlemen. [Footnote: See Chapter XII, Section 116.]

One of the most important phases of marketing reform is the regulation of commission dealers. Many farmers commonly ship their produce to commission dealers in the city. These dealers are supposed to sell this produce and to return to the farmer the money thus secured, minus a small commission. In many instances these middlemen return to the farmer smaller sums than market conditions entitle the farmer to. At the same time, commission dealers often add an excessive amount to the price which they in turn ask of retailers and consumers. In a few states commission dealers handling farm produce must now be licensed. They are obliged to keep records which will enable an inspector to tell whether or not they have made false returns to farmers concerning the condition of goods on arrival, the time at which sold, and the price secured. A dealer convicted of dishonest methods loses his license. The future should see an extension of this licensing system.