The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1946-02-22

Tuvs
IReaosss
hin WASHINGTON
BY WoIter Sheod
WNU Correspondent
Why Do They Leave
The Family Farm?
WNU Washington Bureau.
1916 Eye ST., N. w.


AT LONG LAST, so your home
"A town reporter believes, some
thing may be done about getting at
the basic and underlying reasons
why American rural life is breaking
up in these United States.
And Immediately / can envisiOn
the raising of eyebrows from many
individuals and leaders of farm or
CARNATIONS. 'What do you mean,
breaking up?" they will all ask, and
then they start pointing pointing
to good roads, to All clubs, Future
Farmers organizations to farm
bureaus and oranges and farm
unions, to co-ops, to consolidated
schools, to rural identification, to
many, many newly won farm con-
veniences. They point to all these
things, and more, and they are
all good for farm life.
Members of the congress who rep
resent the so-called farm bloc
spend their time listening to these
farm pressure groups and pushing
through the legislative mills bills
intended for the advantages of the
farmers. read their speeches. Con-
gresham John W. Flanagan Jr.
of Virginia, one of the outstanding
battlers for agricultural legislation,
made a speech before the American
Farm Bureau Federation in Chi
cago and listed eight "musts" as
necessary to place American post
war agriculture on firm basis. But
in no place in Mr.. Flannagan's
speech are there answers to the
two factors which are breaking
down rural life in America.
What's the Trouble?
Why, with all these things being
done, is there steadily diminish
ing rural population?
Why Is there such a larger pro-
portion of rural youth physically I'M
fit than in other strata Of our ma
tional life?
There have been attempts to
make general answers to these two
questions chronological devel-
opment power machinery r.
greater yields per acre, but there
has been no basic research up to
this point, in an attempt to find the
real answer.
Farm leaders are concerned =
economic, industrial and spiritual
leaders are concerned and as
a result there has been in the proc
1f h4
year the Foundation for American
Agriculture. It's organization is
now complete, its research under
way in several fields and to steer
its progress it has obtained the serv-
ices of Charles Dana Bennett. That
name Charles Dana Bennett
conjures up a long line Of
writers, artists, publicists, CORE
spondents, publishers who have
made history in America.
Food Professors Interested
Upon it's board of directors, the
foundation has the names of some
of the "Big Business" leaders of the
nation, leaders interested primarily
in agriculture because their business
is with agriculture . Quaker Oats,
Swift & Co., Ralston-Purina Co.,
Pillsbury Mills, Sears, Roebuck and
Co., and others, but it also has rep
resentatives of the various farm or
CARNATIONS, co-operatives, milk as
sociations and outstanding individu-
al farmers and ranchers.
It's work will be educational, based
upon research findings.
"The Foundation for American
Agriculture is to serve as place
for men and women to think out
their problems, rather than to fight
them oNt. Its job Is to create
through the processes Of education,
a better understanding between the
people in our cities and the people
in our villages and on our farms
that education will bring this under
standing and understanding will
bring tolerance out Of tolerance
comes peace and progress" Mr..
Bennett explained.
Why does farm boy or farm
girl leave home? Is it because the
house is implanted, because there is
no bathroom in the house, or is it
the lure of better paid city jobs?
Why do young people in the home
towns m,ve on to the larger cities?
Why do the oldsters on the farm
retire to the smaller nearby towns
and let the farm 60 to tenancy?
The answers to these questions are
being sought in foundation-backed
project undertaken at Milford, Ind,
small rural town of about 700 pop
ulation in Kosciusko county. Re-
search has been started there under
the direction of the Rev. Harry Ora
ham, lecturer for the Indiana State
Grange.
Better Educational Movies
Another research program has
created the Rural Film Foundation.