Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1910-09-22
GROWTH COUNTRY
LIFE MOVEMENT
CITIES CONTINUE TO GROW AT
THE EXPENSE OF RURAL
SECTIONS.

Twb years before he LEFT office
President Roosevelt appointed Coun-
try Life Commission and gave its pro.
iected work the Importance OF an
administration policy. AS soon as the
colonel left the white House Congress
lost all interest In the commission
and since then ligtle has been heard
Of II, II now seems that the mem
bers have neither been dead MOI
asleep and that they have been plan
ming TO give form and energy to the
work and make II II companion ol
the conservation movement.
Prof. l.. H. Bailey, Of Cornell, was
the chairman of the commission, and
recently he told the man who CAV,
him office that the spirit to continue
the work Is as wdkeful as II was al
the beginning A rural life" CON
ventlon wa be held before lonJ and
Colonel Roosevelt -wil be the brn-
cipal speaker, The problem which II
Is ought to solve is one vital TO the
people,, and admittedly the solution
is harder than anything differential
calculus has to offer
The Country Life Commission dur
ing It's active life tried To find out
what II Is that Is draining the country
districts Of It's population and why
many Of the newly arrived immi.
grants, although bred TO agricultural
pursuits, refuse to spread themselves
over the land Members Of the com
mission made personal study ol
conditions in the farming districts IN
many parts of the country. and 10y
a correspondence system they reached
tens of thousands of country people
who gave information freely concern
ing conditions and offered suggestions
.of ways and means to turn the pop
ulation tide away from the great
cities.
Concerning the question of how Ia
turn the drift Of the urban population
back 70 the country Professor Bal
ley said a day or two ago:
Everyone knows that the cities are
growing at the expense of the country
districts To some this fact I'm Itself
IS alarming, but 1t Is not so import
ant as the achieving Of proper
combination between these two parts
Of our civilization"
In expanding his views on this mat
ter Of combination. or cooperation.
Professor Bailey said:
I'VE must find an adjustment that
Will develop the city and country to-
gethbr
Two most; important means are
at hand. and can be Immediately put
into operation to bring about this fun
damental adjustment The first Is to
send broadly trained men into the
open country. In North America the
best system or college instruction in
rural life In the world Is now well
established. Some OF the city mans
farming Is demorallzing 20 real conn
try interests | do not look for much
permanent good to come to rural So
ciety from the moving out Of we'll
to-dO city men or from the farming
In which they ordinarily engage. II
" proposed to send TO the country
the poor to die and the dissatisfied
ana the unemployed This lis n very
doubtful policy In the first place a
person who does not do well I'm the
town would not do wen in the ooun-
try. and In The second Vplace the
country does not need them Farm
labor should be produced in the coun-
try and kept there by profitable and
attractive rural life; the city can not
supply It. The city must take care
OF its own population and not expect
to escape is natural responsibility by
sending It's surplus to the country
The telephone and the trolley and
the rnral free delivery have driven
some OF the loneliness from theA farm
life. Conditions are better than they
have ever been before for holding tot
the soil the man who leaves the citvl
behind him. TO direct the half heart
ed or the unwilling to the countiyl
would. as Professor Bailey intlmatus.
he worse than useless, II does seem,
however, that good would result from
a plan to send capable farm bred
to the counSry before
the city has its opportunity to fasten
on them the grin which 10 seldom.
nan be shaken off There are com
forts and freedom In the country OF
which tenement dwellers know moth
ng.