e "well-being," rather than
mere wealth. We have been obsessed with the glamour of the bigness of
the modern city and we are but beginning to seriously question its real
efficiency. The possibility of superior living conditions in a small
town are now being recognized both by employer and laborer, and better
transportation and the development of electric power lines make possible
the organization of certain of our large industries in small units. As
this process proceeds the business of the village and small town will no
longer be chiefly dependent on agriculture and there will be a further
need for accommodation of the different interests of the community. Here
again, some see only loss to rural life; but if one examines the
situation more thoroughly, mutual advantages are equally apparent. If
the farmers are organized for cooperative selling, they will be
benefited by the better local markets, which are the backbone of the
agricultural economy of so prosperous a country as France. Certain local
industries, whose production is of a seasonal nature, might so arrange
their operation that some of their labor might be available to work on
the neighboring farms during the rush season. Even more important would
be the increased purchasing power of the community, making possible
better stores and business and professional services of all sorts, and
the increase of wealth which would make possible the support of better
schools, churches, and social advantages of all sorts. It is, of course,
true that the introduction of industry in not a few cases seems to have
lowered the standards of community life, but this is by no means
universal or inevitable.

One of the unfortunate phases of the efforts of small communities to
secure industrial plants is that they often secure establishments which
are not adapted to local conditions or whose financial status is
insecure, and the enterprise inevitably results in failure, with
discouragement to all concerned. There is great need for county chambers
of commerce or commercial clubs with skilled commercial executives as
secretaries who can give the same expert service to the business life of
the small rural communities that the cities now have. The business life
of the community might profit as much from such a service as the farms
have from the expert assistance afforded through the Farm Bureaus.[17]

We have been considering the economic relations of the farm and the
village as affecting