rural narrowness and provincialism. Herein is great hope for
the future of the open country as a worthy home for people of the finest
tastes and of genuine culture. This important topic will be considered in
detail in Chapter VI, under Education for Country Life.

IV. The New Social Consciousness.

In these days when the gospel of class consciousness is being preached by
labor union leaders, as requisite to success, the farmers may well heed
the lesson. Let them stop the luxury of self-pity and discover a genuine
pride in their life calling. Thousands do not in the least need this
exhortation. They rejoice in their privilege as scientific tillers of the
soil. They are also discovering a real social spirit among themselves
which speaks well for the future. As a class they are claiming their
rights with a new insistence and a new dignity which is commanding a
respectful hearing.

Legislatures and the national Congress are taking notice; likewise the
railroads; but the middleman remains unterrified, secure in his
speculative castle. He may look well to his profits however, for the days
of organized agriculture are not far distant. The farmers are getting
together for business and are comparing notes with the consumers. The
producer finds he is often getting less than half what the consumer pays
and the cooperative spirit grows apace. The efficiency of farmers'
organizations for mutual profit has varied greatly in different sections,
but they serve a genuine need and have a great future, as class
consciousness increases among farmers.

But the new social consciousness in the country is not merely a matter of
group loyalty. It has to do with the interests of the whole community. The
selfish days of the independent farmer are rapidly passing. The social
spirit of mutual interdependence is certainly growing. One of the tests of
modern civilization is the capacity for cooperation. Tardily, very
tardily, the country has been following the city in this ability to
cooperate for common ends and the community welfare, but improvement is
very evident.

The problem of community socialization will be treated in Chapter V. We
shall find that the need of cooperation runs through every phase of rural
life and explains the common weakness of every rural institution. But
leaders of country life, both East and West, have caught the social vision
and are sharing it with their neighbors. "_Together_" is the watchword of
the new day in