Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1919-06-04
CHAPTER Xxx.
Summary.

"The underlying principle is to de-
velop and maintain on our farms a
civilization in full harmony with the
best American ideals. To build up
and retain this civilization means,
first of all, that the business of agri-
culture must be made to yield a rea-
sonable return to those who follow it
intelligently, and life on the farm
must be made permanently satisfy
ing to intelligent, progressive people.
The work before US, therefore, is
nothing more or less than the gradu-
al rebuilding of a new agriculture
and a new rural life"
Report of the Country Life Comm.
Such is the rural problem"
problem which owes its recognition
to the fact that men are thinking
more today of rural life and needs
than formerly. During the short time
since it was recognized as one of the
great problems of modern life,
great number of surveys of many
kinds and degrees of intensity have
been conducted and vast amount of
valuable data secured.
The object of this study was to de-
termine if Orleans county is keeping
pace with the remainder of the state
and the nation, and further, to deter
mine if it is a desirable section for an
ambitious young farmer to locate.
The facts proven by the survey may
be summed up as follows:
Economically, the county is agri-
cultural in type and indications are
that it must remain so as a whole.
While water powers are abundant the
section is too far removed from the
manufacturing centers to be of much
industrially. The lumber
industry is apparently nearing the
end of its great Importance, unless
forestry principles can be practiced
on a large scale. The greatest OPP
portunity for future development is
in asbestos and granite.
The dominant industry, agriculture,
is too largely traditional and too lit
tie scientific. From present indica-
tions the foundation of future pros
perity is the economical production of
high quality dairy products from
cows, aided by the
sale of blooded stock and some such
crops as hay and potatoes. The re-
suits attained by few highly sue
cessful farmers show what can be
done in the county if the farmers
will adopt more scientific methods, Sc
cure more accurate knowledge of
their business, and learn to cooperate
successfully IN buying, producing and
Socially, the conditions are, in the
main, encouraging, though an ele--
ment of serious weakness is supplied
by the great and rapid increase of
French Canadians, which frequently
causes the exodus of all the original
stock from the neighborhood. In
most of the rural towns the popula-
ton has been decreasing for years
and the tax rate has risen, two other
disturbing facts that must be faced.
The church is not yet fully awake to
the needs of the community, but its
methods are gradually improving;
the rural school has shown great i'm
within recent years and
gives promise of continued improve
ment, while high schools are plenty
and well equipped. Communication
is good, as is shown by the mileage
of improved roads and the num-
Der of automobiles owned by farm
ers, while the daily delivery of the
mail, the telephone and the oc-
casional social events tend towards a
rational, social life that somewhat
the drift towards the ur-
ban centers.
The real, great outstanding social
need of these communities is great
er community consciousness that will
eventually solve all the economic and