Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-04-12
A STUDY IN RURAL LIFE,
The Interesting Judgments Of an Expert
Visiting sociologist, as to Conditions In
New Hampshire and Vermont


parts of New Hampshire and Vermont
with a view to forming a first-hand esti-
mate of the social conditions there ex-
listing His informal statement as to
what he found and his suggestions as to
ways of betterment are presented in the
following extracts from his letters sent
by him to two Y. NJ. G. "A. county work
secretaries in the states visited. They
are published in the belief that
knowledge of the facts, as keen-eyed,
dsinterested, scientifically trained OBJ
servers see them, must precede all intel
lgent effort, on the part of those who
should be leaders in rural New England
to better certain conditions, that are
nothing less than deplorable. True state
pride Is not shown, as regards such mat
ters, by silence and a shutting of the
eyes, rather 1t will take the form of
fearless struggle in the open with a stu
alton which If not met and overcome
will eventually make all state pride i'm
possible. To the real lovers, therefore.
of these rural commemorative, the real
believers in their splendid possibilities,
the words here quoted should prove a
veritable call to action; they should
stimulate and strengthen rather than dis
courage and depress.
Some of the conditions referred to
were more noticeable in one state than in
the other, but most of them, in varying
degrees, are common to both states, and
detailed comparisons would be unjust.
Among those of a general nature the fol-
lowing were noted:
An extreme shrinkage in the size of
families of native stock.
Parental neglect of children.
Precocious sex immortality.
An absence of adequate means of
gratifying the social and recreative
needs of young people.
decline of standards and loss of
higher interests.
AS regards the relations between the
churches and their communities, the fol-
lowing conditions were observed:
The absence of a positive, militant
church spirit on questions like drinking
and sexual immortality. One pastor says:
THE reason for the unreceptiveness of
the young people up here is not in the
young people themselves but in the
spirit of the churches. There is a lack
of emotional vitality in the spirit of the
churches There is a lack of emotional
vitality in the observation-disclosures of
revival phenomena-church very con-
sentative, bound by precedent, lacking
vitality. The church runs too much to
women, and this alienates both boys and
girls
There is stubborn indivdualsm on the
part of the old pillars" that is break
ing the hearts of the earnest pastors.
Often the pillars" frown on the idea
that the church has a social mission.
The people put business, pleasure. and
everything else ahead of spiritual things.
! In one county only one out of IA is a
| church member. The young people are
| not reached by the church. The preacher
| may get a personal hold on them, but
he cannot awaken a religious life in
them. The ministers despair of the flu
ture, for no one takes the place of the
| members who die.
/ Of do
ditions. with remedies suggested by his
| practical experience, set forth by
| Professor Ross in the following letter
of summary:
MY impressions from the more back
ward parts of Vermont and New Hamp-
shire all confirm and corroborate one
| another. For from so to 70 years the
energetic persons who naturally are the
| generations and up-holders of high
standards have been going out from
| these rural communities and enriching
| other communities in other parts of the
country. More and more the community
has come to be composed of culls, and
| these lack the initiative to improve their
| farming and introduce new industries
which may be well adapted to the local.
| ity. Each generation of young people
| grows up with the feeling that the town
| is dead and that anyone who has
ginger in him will get out. Thus stag
nation breeds more stagnation and the
| exodus is accelerated The economic
consequence of the community being
continually 'fished out is unthrift, per-
sistence in slack, Anticipated methods,
and poor ways of living resulting in pow
| erty and hopeessness. The religious
consequences are failure to support the
church and deafness to all spiritual APP
| peal. The moral consequences are low
standards of life and conduct stinginess
furtiveness. hypocrisy, lack of public
| spirit, precocious seXuality, unfaithful-
ness to the marriage vows, and taste
for crude pleasures.
There are two remedies, one super
fetal, the other fundamental. The one
| perceives that the trouble with these
depleted communities Is lack of the
leadership toward better things enjoyed
in all normal communities, and proposes
| to fill this need in a measure by putting
In a qualified leader from outside and
setting him to discover and train ur
such material for leadership as is found
among the rising generation. This pol
icy Is rational and helpful, but 1t leaves
the community dependent for its higher
life on the continual injection of slim
uli from outside.
The more fundamental policy is tc
keep the natural leaders of each gener-
alton in the community by showing then
how they can prosper as well by staying
IL
aid in showing the community the patti
toward economic betterment, in making
them acquainted with new crops, or II
fostering the development of new loca
industries. The resulting economic re-
generation will automatically cause tn,
better element among the young PEG
pie to remain in the community and they
in time will impose upon their fellows
higher sanitary, moral. and religious
standards.
Really, both lines of endeavor ough
to be followed. The state government
ought to send into the decaying com
munities economic missionaries to de
monstrate the profitableness of scien
tifc farming, apple growing, or rails
Ing small fruits, or cooperative mark
citing, or scientific forestry. On thu
other hand, philanthropy ought to pu
in men to discover and foster such lead
ership material as there is among tn
young and turn 1t toward better things
The county work of the Young Men
Christian Association strikes me a
wisely conceived and well adapted to tn
purpose Only the Y. NJ. c. A. ought t
push hard to induce the state govern
ment, the colleges, the Grange, or othe
agencies to back up and support 1t
work by putting forth efforts to restor
economic prosperity to the stagnant ru
raj towns
THE tendencies here mentioned towar
the depletion of purely farming dis
tricts have become noticeable In South
Ifllat n