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Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - IV. Economics - 12. New Blows to Southern Agriculture During the ’Thirties: Trends and Policies - 11. Constructive Measures
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Chapter 12. New Blows to Southern Agriculture 271
Some of these other policies have begun only recently. Some—^the exten-
sion work, for instance—^are carried on, more intensively than ever, along
avenues opened up long before the New Deal. Few, if any, of these efforts
are made primarily for the purpose of removing the basic trouble: the
excess popxilation on the Southern farm land. But there is an emphasis on
new sources of Income—^both agricultural and nonagricultural. Certain
measures, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Rural Electri-
fication program, may facilitate to an extent the growth of nonagricultural
rural industries. And even regardless of the over-population, there are, of
course, plenty of agricultural problems which need constant attention if
any substantial part of the rural people is to have an economically sound
future on the Southern farm.
We cannot give an exhaustive description of other agricultural programs
now in effect. The array of measures is too wide for even a short summary.
No one can fail to become duly impressed by the diversification of efforts
when he tries to get some idea of what is going on, either by studying the
literature, by running round in the huge buildings of the Department of
Agriculture in Washington, by contacting those working in the field in a
rural county, or just by looking at the periodical farm supplement of one
of the better Southern newspapers. There are soil conservation projects;
there Is farm demonstration and home demonstration work; there are 4-H
Clubs; rural electrification; substantial reforms in the farm credit system;
county planning; encouragement of agricultural cooperation; technical
research and experimentation; and many similar things. And last but not
least, there is adult education, both as a separate program and as an aspect
of almost every single part of the entire system of agricultural policies.
Even if the success cannot well be the same all along the line, it is certain
that huge gains eventually will be reaped from all these varied activities.
An outsider may in the beginning have some doubt about what substantial
reforms can be brought about by cooperative planning work in a Southern
plantation county, where there is little democracy and social participation,
and where issues of any deeper social significance are taboo at public
discussions—not to speak of the fact that Negroes are not allowed to partici-
pate on an equal footing with whites. Yet exactly in such communities there
is a particular need for courageous attempts to democratize agricultural
policies, however futile these attempts may seem to be at the start. The
very fact that farmers of different social strata get into the habit of coming
together for organized discussions cannot fail to bring about some increase
in the mutual insight into the problems of the other man; and some real
cooperative efforts eventually may come out of it.
The farm and home demonstration work, which has been gradually
developed since 1904, is highly significant, and the more so the lower down
it reaches on the soci^ ladder. The work with tenants, however, is largely
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