THE FARMER AND HIS COMMUNITY
BY
DWIGHT SANDERSON
PROFESSOR OF RURAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
NEW YORK
HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY
HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC.
PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY
THE QUINN & BODEN COMPANY
RAHWAY, N. J.
EDITOR'S PREFACE
In the "good old days" of early New England the people acted incommunities. The original New England "towns" were true communities;that is, relatively small local groups of people, each group having itsown institutions, like the church and the school, and largely managingits own affairs. Down through the years the town meeting has persisted,and even to-day the New England town is to a very large degree a smalldemocracy. It does not, however, manage all its affairs in quite thesame fashion that it did two hundred years ago.
When the Western tide of settlement set in, people frequently went Westin groups and occasionally whole communities moved, but the general rulewas settlement by families on "family size" farms. The unit of our ruralcivilization, therefore, became the farm family. There were, of course,neighborhoods, and much neighborhood life. The local schools were reallyneighborhood schools. Churches multiplied in number even beyond the needfor them. When farmers began to associate themselves together as in theGrange, they recognized the need of a strong local group larger than theneighborhood. A subordinate Grange for example is a communityorganization. Experience gradually demonstrated that if farmers wishedto coöperate they must coöperate in local groups. Strong nation-wideorganizations are clearly of great importance, but they can have littlestrength unless they are made up of active local bodies. Gradually, thecommunity idea has spread over the country, in some cases springing up[Pg vi]almost spontaneously, until to-day there is a very widespread beliefamong the farmers, as well as among the special students of ruralaffairs, that the organization and development of the local ruralcommunities is the main task in conserving our American agriculture andcountry life. It is interesting to note that what is true in America isproving also to be true in other countries. In fact, the farm villagelife in Europe and even in such countries as China is taking on newactivities, and it is being recognized that the improvement of thesesmall units of society is one of the great needs of the age.
Professor Sanderson, in this book, has attempted to indicate just whatthe community movement means to the farmers of America. He has broughtto this task rather unusual preparation. In turn, a graduate of anagricultural college, a scientist of reputation, Director of anagricultural experiment station, Dean of a college of agriculture, hehas had a wide, varied and successful experience in various states. Hefinally arrived at the conviction, however, that the most importantfield of work for him lay in dealing with the larger phases of countrylife, and he gave up administrative work for further preparation in thenew field. In his position as Professor of Rural Orga