OCR Text |
Show - f ylPS!? f flirt 1 1 'wg$ By ELMO SCOTT WATSON I Jt lw eKGE upon a time a Bong writer sat him down and composed a song about the difficulty of "keep-""""" "keep-""""" i,' log 'em down on the J. farm after they've seen laree." Although it Is iLtL probable that this par-Uyyii par-Uyyii ticular writer had no more accurate conception concep-tion of real farm life than the average aver-age resident of New York's famous "Tin Pan Alley,'1 his song did reflect a certain condition in our national life which has been causing concern for a number of years. That is the steady drift of population from the rural sections to urban centers and economists have been painting dark ' pictures of what will result if this movement from the farm to the city is not checked. A somewhat brighter picture, however, how-ever, has recently been painted by a man whose position puts him in close touch with conditions throughout the country. He is Merlin H. Aylesworth, president of the National Broadcasting Broadcast-ing company, one of the two big systems sys-tems which Is providing daily entertainment enter-tainment and instruction for millions of Americans, and In view of the importance im-portance of the farm-to-city migration migra-tion problem, there Is considerable significance to the statement which he makes. He says : The old refrain "How're you goln' Co keep 'era down on the farm?" wa? written before the advent of radio. For, even a decade ago, the cities then as now the centers of education, entertainment and similar influences that contribute to the satisfaction and enjoyment of life kept their favorB well confined within their own boundaries. bound-aries. The outsider who craved them had to go to the city to enjoy them or do without. Today, however, thanks to radio, thl Ib changed. The best that the city hap In music and the drama. In art and literature, in entertainment and information, infor-mation, is available to the farm family fam-ily as quickly and as fully as it Is to th city dweller. The greatest opra and concert stars, the Jazziest Jazz artists, the stars of the vaudeville and statecraft all spak or sing or perform per-form for the resident of the farm or the country village as directly as they do for their metropolitan audiences One result of this Is noted In repent census statistics covering the shift in population, as between cities and farms. Since the advent of radio It p noted that not only h;is the movement of population from the country to the cities been checked, but thnt a Conner-movement Conner-movement from the cities toward the farms Is gnlniner Impetus. In l!.i!7. for Instance, 1,347,000 persons mowj from our cities to the country. In the same year the drift from farm to city was reduced by about 300,000 as compared with Yyrt and 1025. Hut this, in my Judgment, Is only a beKiminfi. What r;idio has done In tho I pant toward relieving the isolation nnd 1 monotony of farm life is only an mU-x 1 of greater things to be done In the future. fu-ture. improved conditions of life on the f.i rrn are not, of con rpe, due to rad to alone. A u I ornoMI'-s, telephones and. to a very large and an IncraHlng d-tr'e, the extension of electric fn-itjr int UK ncu It ural territory, have each plav-d j ...port a nt pa rt s. Th"y ha ve pro vid'-d th': farm dweller with comforts nnd conveniences e'ual to thorns enjoyed In t li city a rid have defln H ! v Ini p roved itiH economic opportunities and outlook I'.iH In maintaining moral on the f: rins. In ke'plng the young folki nnt-llt'd, nnt-llt'd, In establishing con tact bet wcc 7 country and city in terms of spiritual as well as material values, no single factor has played so important a part as radio. It has been estimated that there are now in nse 10,000.000 radio receiving sets which serve between 30.0u0.000 and 60,000,000 listeners. Just what percentage of these 10,000,000 sets are In farm homes Is unknown, but a survey made two or three yours ago showed that one of every five farm homes in the United Stales has a radio set. Considering the amazing growth of the radio Industry, which has increased by leaps and bounds ev ery year, it Is reasonable to suppose that that ratio has held Its own. if not actually Increased, so that It would not be a bad guess to assert that one In every four, or perhnps even one In every three farm homes, now has a radio set. The results of the survey referred to, made by the National Farm Itndlo council, revealed some Interesting facts In regard to the importance of the radio to the farmer. lis Im portunce in changing the marketing methods of entlie groups of fanners was reflected In reports from 4.'! states. More than 40 per cent of the replies to the questionnaire sent out gave specific examples of cash savings sav-ings effected by the use of radio and practically every report Indicated the importance and value to the farmer of having market reports from 21 to 48 hours earlier than they are obtainable ob-tainable through any other source or medium. Typical of hundreds of reports of the farmer's use of radio In marketing market-ing is this one from a farmer living near Keytesville, Mo.: "I!:idi report ed hfis'S lue to drop In two days. Shipped at once. Saved $l."0. In same week Hit olT haying hecMiio of storm warning. This prevented henvv loss of hay." In conducting this nal lon-w Ide radio survey the Nalional Farm Kadin council gathered anil tubulated ll.V.n Individual e.'.'prcsslons. The survey was coii'lucied by the coainil in co operation wilh 15 farm publiiitfions. ir.O county agents -'Ml buys' and girls' club leaders, 1IVI home demonstration agents, the National I'rarr.'", the American Farm I'.ureau fedeiailon, several hundred teachers of vocal !nn-al !nn-al a','i'icu! I ure, deans of "!7 colleges and several radio srallnns. Ninety-five per cent of fanner radio owners, the council said, think nl their radios as a ulllilv as w-l as an amusement device. They think of V 0 ; : s -. . - ' , It as a utility because it brings to them market reports from 24 to 4S hours earlier than obtainable In any other way. These enable the fanner to market his produce to the greatest great-est advantage. It is, however, as an nmusement. rather than a utility device, that the radio Is playing an Important role In satisfying the desire of the farm youth for entertainment and helping to answer the question of "Ilow're you going to keep 'em," etc. Thanks to radio, the farm boy today sits in the great national sporting evenus He attends, by pro?:y, the world's series games, the great gridiron clas sics, national championship bouts of all sorts. He thrills at a reception to Lindbergh, ut nn address by the President from Washington. He not only knows what Is happening when it happens, but lie Is enabled to feel a real sense of participation In the event. The voices of grand opern stars, the masterpieces of music, both vocal nnd Instrumental, the latest dance tunes or vaudeville Jokes are as fa miliar to the farm family today as they ure to city folks. Fiirm life, In deed, has entered u new era of com fort, convenience and satisfaction For In a very true sense, nnd to a far greater extent than the govern meat's census llgures yet show, tin city is moving to the country. That Is, the factors that made the city at tractive are rapidly becoming equally available on the farms. And In this evolution radio Is playing a major role. This Is due to a greater extent In America than elsewhere by reason of the lines along which our radio hrondcas; ing has developed. Through the association of stations Into nn lion-wide network It Is possible to give radio listeners, throughout the country, the very lines! programs that talent nnd Ingenuity can produce. Without the co-operation of these stations, remiife parts of the country would still tie dented the pleastne ol healing ninny of our finest artists since these artists for the mo-.t part are still city-minded and ciir.grecnto in those corners of population where rich concert and theatrical contraciH ure to be found. lint wlille the nrlisl slays In the city, his voice nnd his artistry lire broadcast, by radio, to every corner ol the land Su lire the lulest news ami the views or informed men. Itadlo In a very definite way, hits carried the city to the farm. "So, when today the question is asked: 'llow're you gien' to keep 'em down on Ihe farm?" the answer Is obvious." says Mr. Aylesworth. "The don't have to be kept. They're slav Ing from choice. I'tale Sam's census llgeres I hcniscl It mosi con liltslvely I" |