The Washington herald., 1920-05-09

representing all grades are under the tutsl-
age in q one-room schooIhouse of A boy or
girl Of twenty -one who did not complete
the work Of the seventh grade.
THERE d another side Of the picture.
i Vast stretches Of rural America are pros
porous. The fsrmhomes are well built, filed
with modern conveniences such as plumbing,
running water, bathtubs, washing m.chipes.
electric lights. A moderate priced electric
plant in basement or lean-to furnishes
power for q diversity Of purposes. The
roads are good, trucks carry produce 20
market, autos take the farm family 70
neighbors, to church or TO the nearest town.
The barns house expensive machinery for
plowins, sowing. cultivating, respins. The
consolidated school, serving q number Of the
old school districts and marking the elimina-
tion Of q half dozen or more one-room
schoolhouses, obtains. Il is weIl-squipped,
has q good teaching stsf and is up to city
standard.
But a. much, IL not more, from this latter
type Of countryside, a. from the poorer sort,
the young men and women are running away
TO the city, and the hired man has almost
entirely departed.
Nov, the fact is that the farmer cannot
increase production; cannot, in many cassa,
even keep up his former standard because
he does not have the necessary labor; cannot
even keep on the farm the labor within his
own family, and cannot hire labor.
Out Of this situation Of city development
and country bsckwsrdness one point sticks
up like q policeman's club in q riot. II is
this: That the group gets things done, not
the individual. Cities advance through the
growth Of community spirit. The advantage
is with city dweIlers. They live close, IN
Q herd. and can achieve in mass formation
where the individual would fail.
Whence is that push to come? l have
asked good many country people that ques-
ton. They have given different answers.
Some have said IL can come from the county
agent, an agricultural expert the government
viii send any county that requests him.
Some have said that wide awake country
newspapers can do a great deal along that
line. But all agree that the county agent,
the country newspaper, the state agricul-
tursl college, the country banker, the
grange and other such agencies cannot COM
pletely fll the bill. Then who; Or whsti
1t may surprise you to learn, as have
learned, that intelligent countrymen and
countrywomen believe il is the mission of the
rural church to help rural America achieve
q satisfactory plane Of living, and believe,
furthermore, that if the rural church cannot
do il no agency can.
IIERE let me quote from a speech deliy-
IL cred before the American Bankers As
socistion in annual convention at Seattle
in 1915 by the Rev. W. W. Diehl, Of Al
bion, Mich. Farm born, Doctor Diehl is q
graduate Of Michigan Agricultural College
and country preacher Of such marked sue
cess in rural betterment work that when
the Methodists recently launched their Eve
year centenary program with its S11 900 900
appropriation for country work alone. be
was selected as superintendent Of rural life
betterment for the Detroit area, covering The
states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois.
Indiana and Ohio. Because of that same
success in country life betterment and his
superior knowledge Of country conditions,
the bankers of the nation paid his expenses
to Seattle 90 he could address them on the
subject.
One Of Americas greatest present day
needs" Doctor Diehl told the bankers, sis
q new and progressive type of rural life.
We need men on every farm who under
stand and practice the principles Of scientific
agriculture. The depletion Of soil fertilities
in large areas Of our agricultural sections /;
the relatively small acreage still open for set
tlement. and our rapidly increasing urban
population all make rural life DEVELOPMENT
a grave economic question OF nation wide
import. What can the church do 20 aid
in furthering this noble work? First Of all
the church must supply a new type Of rural
minister. Religiously, country people are
NOT having q fair chance. Clergymen, as q
general rule, avoid work in rural sections.
They regard the country parish as unde-
sirsble, offering limited opportunity for men
of culture, capacity and worthy ambition.
Laymen, both in the city and country alike,
share in holding this false and pernicious
opinion. The order must be chznged. We
must man our rural churches with minister,
Of large vision who can see clearly and are
gripped firmly by the splendid opportunities
for service presented by the country church.
In the second place, the church must ret
q new and enlarged vision"
This, then, is the situation: That Mother
Hubbsrd's cupbosrd, in the condition Of
which the dog-or everybody-is berinuins
to see he hasa vital interest, in in a bad
way but can be helped back to health by
the rural church. Whether the rural church
can do all that is claimed for il in the m,t-
ter, the fact remains that IL is potent t,cto,
for rural life betterment,