The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1922-08-18
Not Backward but Forward.

the rural sections. For thirty year
or more the drift of population ha
been toward the cities and centers o
human activity. The large trans
portation and corporate interest
have, more or less, encouraged ant
contributed to this movement. There
was a day when the farm home wa;
the flower of American civilization, the
inspiration of American standards.
l would not only like to see condi-
tions accompanying return to rural
supremacy, as matter of sentiment,
but fear that if such a movement is
not soon inaugur&tcd the return Of
progress and prosperity and the hap
piness of the people is not at hand.
The good times we are looking for
as a reaction of the present depres-
sion may be long delayed if we are
not mindful of the Importance of
agriculture and the correlated inter
ests.
The farm and the small town be-
long together. By those who have
lived long enough to observe the COM
parison, it is easy to establish the
fact that the change began some thir-
ty years or more ago 1t was more
apparent in the apathy and discour-
agement in the small towns. From
that time to this the small town and
its rural surroundings have striven
against obstacles and odds. The
transportation lines-the railroads.
abandoned the competitive system,
and established system of long anil
short haul freight rates discriminat-
ing against the small interior points
in favor Of the large terminals and
water competition, This discrimi- |
nation therefore was against the
great rural area and in favor of the |
urban centers. With this advantage |
the cities grew rapidly and Wed with
each other in their growth They did
not mind wrecking the hopes and for
tunes of the ambitious individuals
who have never tired of boosting ana
the interests of the small
town, but they did not reckon on
the loss entailed in a gradual disin.
tegration and decay of agricultural
effort and achievement
There was and is another agency
at work in the process Of robbing the
rural section to the advantage of the
urban interest. This is the legisla- {
live lobby controlled by speculative t
interests. These lobbyists have an c
axe to grind. They work in league b
With the commission system which al v
70 takes the cream of the farm prod t
let. And then what a howl when it C
S known that there is such an or t.
ANIMATION as the farm bloc Fair or "
Unfair, God knows the sinister influ- II
noes that have been brought to bear n
o put collar on the farmer are o
nough and more to make him back G
re- Il
All this effort and propaganda R
ave been steadily and persistently W
work for thirty years or more. p
I'D you ever stop to think that when es
city gains one hundred thousand or W
million in population, that popula- OF
on, unless it is alien, must come OF
ON some other section or sections W
the country not otherwise in be
'eased by natural human growth. M
id you ever stop to think that when he
le man makes money there is be- sil
md that gain either a special pro- pr
lctive effort or a considerable loss -
some other man. Did you ever go
op to think that the small town and pr
e farmer cannot succeed when the pc
eat capitalistic and monopolistic do
rces are against them tri
Now, the thing is to look about us rel
ID see what can be done toward re- tai
BRING the natural and normal condi a
ms; toward establishing a proper TIL
lance between the various fields of oil
1ustry and endeavor; toward a rec
milton of the value and importance
agriculture and toward the rights '1'
d equities of agricultural interests. 80
must by all means be a Il
.ent factor in this work. Educat- ~
, a nation in agriculture and to the N">
nifty and Importance of agricul- ~.
al supremacy is not altogether en-
raging to the get-rich- quick quack
promoter either in politics or bus
IS, but it is the education of the
pie in the life, health and strength
/ nation. 1t is an education that =,
been studiously ignored by many
ntries and is being ignored by
own people. 1t is an education roo
appeals only to the better ele 49,,
is and instincts of human ma ~,
/. And that nation which persis-
.ly refuses to recognize these 7
5 must ultimately crumble and are
into decay. ifica
he farmer must be an independ- som
Icnd oH.rY1nr proY