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Show SMALL TOWNS. U.S.A. Rural Life Program Seeks Improved Standards of Living By EAKLE HITCH Released by WNU Feature Concerted action aimed to develop an improved rural life must be launched on a widespread scale if small town America Amer-ica is to survive. That is the motivating factor behind the rural life movement, an energetic program which now is getting get-ting under way throughout America and which eventually will attempt to reach all small towns and rural communities i me nation. Aim of the program is a better rural life an attempt to make the country a better place in which to live and work. Rural problems have been discussed for years, and various solutions have been proposed. pro-posed. Experience has shown that the best results come from local action, planned by the people on their home grounds. Aroused Citizenry Needed. Before action can be expected, community consciousness has to be aroused. There "" """"" " " must be deter-Rural deter-Rural America mination to act. At Stake P1?" pla"s h to be made. The plans that do the No. 2 I most good are In a Series made to fit the local situation. All rural communities commu-nities do not need the same things, nor can they go about getting what they do need in the same ways. The rural life program Is simply sim-ply this a recognition that the nation needs to add new features fea-tures to Its rural economy. This is because the types of rural labor la-bor are changing. Machinery has changed farming, and in some areas farm land has worn out. Some men who once worked at farming are having to turn to other occupations. The present system of farming is far out of balance. Too many farmers farm-ers are living on slim fare. Of the 5,800.000 farmers in the United " ' Machinery is revolutionizing our farming system and our whole rural economy. Power is taking the place of men on U. S. farms, the plowman of old rapidly is vanishing from the scene. States only the top third are enjoying enjoy-ing the present high-level Incomes lor agricultural produce. The low-r low-r third, about two million, are averaging aver-aging no more than $400 a year. This sum does not provide an adequate ade-quate standard of living for happiness happi-ness and health. Cities, Too, Concerned. From the standpoint of national stability there is urgent need for solutions which will prevent great numbers from being forced off the land. There Is need to give those in the lower brackets encouragement and help to make them self sustaining. sustain-ing. Growing numbers moving to cities add to Job competition there, and make heavier unemployment risks in times of business slumps. Thus the cities as well as the rural areas have cause to be concerned. Consequently leaders In public affairs af-fairs are growing more disturbed as they witness: IThe continuing shift of popula- tion from country to city. 2 The decline of the country church, which always has been a strong moral force In the nation. 3 A declining standard of living in many rural homes, from which comes the bulk of our population popula-tion growth. The government, acting through congress and the department of agriculture, has been giving help, and various organizations . and agencies are following programs of Rural Awfluca NEEDS MORE Rural America needs new occupations occupa-tions and more small industries. Sew rural occupations must be developed to provide employment away from the fields. their own. Among them are the Farm Bureau federations, the cooperatives, co-operatives, the Farmers' Union, the National Grange, and Protestant and Catholic churches acting through the town and country departments de-partments of the leading denominations. Income from farming is unevenly divided. Only the lop third of the nation's 5,&00,000 farmers are reaping reap-ing the present high-level incomes for agricultural produce. The middle mid-dle third are making about $900 a year while the lowest third average, no more than $400 a year, according to estimates from census statistics based on 1944 reports. All these organizations are agreed on general objectives. Briefly these objectives are: ITo provide more opportunities for earning a good living in the country. 2 To establish better rural health and rural hospital services. "2 To provide more rural recre- atlons and better uses for rural leisure. 4 To discover civic and cultural outlets that will add to a feeling feel-ing of appreciation of the importance impor-tance of country life and the country coun-try home. The work to be done In this broad program does not concern farm people alone. Every small town has a stake In it. Whether the towns of the future grow in Importance or languish depends on keeping a happy and satisfied satis-fied population both In the towns themselves and the country roundabout. Ways to do this are what the leaders lead-ers of local community enterprise will have to discover. A knowledge of what has been done by communities communi-ties that have made notable progress prog-ress will be of interest to small communities everywhere, particularly particu-larly those in a mood to do likewise, like-wise, i Future articles in this series will tell about some outstanding small community programs, t |
