celebrated for their strongly individualistic character. This trait is
closely related to the initiative and self-reliance which have helped
toward our industrial success; on the other hand, individualism may be
carried to the point of selfishness. It is desirable, of course, that
both men and women maintain high standards of living, and that they
cultivate their respective personalities. It should be noted, however,
that marriage is often delayed or altogether avoided because of
selfish ambition and the desire to live a care-free and self-centered
life. The insistence which many young people place upon personal
rights has encouraged the belief that marriage is intended for man's
and woman's convenience, rather than for the building of normal homes
and the development of community life. In too many marriages the
contracting parties selfishly refuse to make the mutual concessions
necessary in married life and so wreck their domestic happiness.
269. THE DIVORCE EVIL.--Family instability has been increased by the
demoralizing influences which we have been discussing. A familiar
symptom of family instability is the divorce rate. One out of every
eight or nine marriages in the United States is dissolved by divorce.
Not only do we have more divorces than all of the rest of the world
together, but our divorce rate is increasing three times as fast as is
our population.
The value of these statistics is affected by two factors. In the first
place, much domestic unhappiness does not express itself in the
separation of husband and wife. Or, where such separation does take
place, it may not be through the divorce court. Among the city poor,
for example, desertion is four times as common as is divorce. Thus the
divorce rate indicates only a share of family instability.
The second modifying factor, however, lessens the force of our divorce
statistics. A high divorce rate is to be interpreted with care. Our
divorce rate is higher than that of European countries, but it should
be remembered that in those countries where customs, laws, and
religious beliefs are relatively conservative, families may be held
together legally in spite of the fact that they have already
disintegrated. Thus family life may be as unstable in a country in
which the divorce rate is low, as in a country in which the divorce
rate is high.
270. LAXITY OF OUR DIVORCE LAWS.--Although divorce may sometimes be
necessary, it is clear that in many of the states of the Union divorce
laws are too lax. The practice of the states as regards divorce is
divergent: in South Carolina divorce is absolutely prohibited; in the
remaining states there is a variable number of grounds upon which
divorce may be secured. Divorces are often rushed through the courts,
partly because of the overworked character of the divorce tribunals,
and partly because public opinion tolerates the lax administration of
divorce laws. In some states divorces have been secured in fifteen
minutes, being granted without any attempt at solemnity, with no
adequate investigation, and with numerous opportunities for collusion
between the parties involved. The effect of this laxness has been to
encourage the dissolution of the home for trivial and improper causes.
271. THE QUESTION OF STRICTER DIVORCE LAWS.--Uniform divorce laws
among the several states are now being agitated. The essential
provisions of such laws may be outlined as follows: It is desirable to
have a court of domestic relations, which shall carefully and wisely
attempt a reconciliation of husband and wife before divorce
proceedings are resorted to. Applicants for divorce should be _bona
fide_ residents of the state in which the suit is filed, and should be
required to reside in the state two years before a decree of absolute
divorce is granted. In some states at least, the number of grounds
upon which divorce may be secured should be reduced. An adequate
investigation should be undertaken, both in order to determine the
justice of the suit, and to prevent collusion. The primary aim of the
divorce laws should be to allow relief from a vicious and hopelessly
wrecked union, but at the same time to prevent the misuse of the
statutes by irresponsible and unscrupulous persons.
272. LAXITY OF OUR MARRIAGE LAWS.--The fact that unwise marriages are
an immediate cause of divorce leads back to the question of our
marriage laws. Marriage laws often permit the mating of couples unfit
for home-making. In some states the authorities are not overcareful to
prevent the marriage of persons who are mentally defective. There is
among the several states no agreement as to the legal age of marriage,
and no agreement as to the relationship within which marriage is
forbidden. Hasty unions have been encouraged by the lack of solemnity
which characterizes civil marriage. Marriage is more and more a civil
contract, devoid of religious sanctions and spiritual associations.
Many consider marriage as a civil relation not radically different
from any other contract. The effect of this changed attitude has been
to encourage the enactment of loose marriage laws, and the careless
administration of sound marriage laws.
273. THE QUESTION OF STRICTER MARRIAGE LAWS.--Stricter marriage laws
are being advocated in many states. We know far too little about
eugenics to warrant prediction as to the type of individuals best
fitted to build normal homes, but it is clearly desirable to prohibit
the marriage of all mental defectives. There are also good reasons for
the restriction of the marriage of minors, of persons between whose
ages there is a wide disparity, and of persons who are members of
widely divergent races. It would probably check hasty marriages to
increase the length of time elapsing between the issuance of the
marriage license and the performance of the ceremony. If modern
marriages were more distinctly upon a religious basis, it is likely
that many persons who now rush thoughtlessly into marriage would be
led seriously to reflect upon the significance of the step.
274. LAW NOT THE UTLIMATE REMEDY FOR FAMILY INSTABILITY.--The careful
enactment and wise administration of sound laws on marriage and
divorce will undoubtedly check the number of unhappy and unsuccessful
marriages. Nevertheless, law is not the ultimate remedy for family
instability. Unduly restrictive marriage laws may result in abnormal
tendencies among certain classes of the population, while severe
prohibitions upon divorce may prevent individuals from securing
release from a hopelessly wrecked marriage. Divorce is only a symptom
of deeper-lying evils. Really to remove the dangers which threaten the
integrity of the family we must go deeper than legislation.
275. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL READJUSTMENT.--One fundamental method of
safeguarding the family is to counteract the injurious effects of the
Industrial Revolution. Poverty must be lessened or eliminated, so that
men will be enabled to marry and support families decently. The evils
of overcrowding must be attacked in the interest of a normal home
life. Mothers' pensions and social insurance are desirable methods of
protecting the laborer's family against the risks of industry. The
prohibition of child labor and the safeguarding of women in industry
will also tend to keep the family intact, and to permit proper home
training. In short, any measures which will help individuals to adjust
themselves to the economic and social changes of the present age will
provide a more firm and solid foundation for a normal family life.
276. EDUCATION AND THE FAMILY.--Far more fundamental than legislation
on marriage and divorce is the training of young people toward a
fuller appreciation of the responsibilities of home-making. In the
problem of family instability, laws reach symptoms, while education
attacks causes. By education is here meant not merely formal training
in the school, but character-building of every type. This includes
training in the home, in the school, and in the church. Only when boys
and girls are accorded sound training by these various agencies will
they be properly prepared to make homes.
Our whole educational system ought to emphasize the importance of a
pure and wholesome family life. The sanctity of the marriage bond, the
seriousness of family responsibilities, and the duty to rear a normal
healthy family, ought to be impressed upon every boy and girl. Young
people should be taught to consider adolescence as a period of
preparation for home-building. During this period it is the duty of
the boy to fit himself for the proper support of a family, while the
girl ought to feel obligated to become familiar with the tasks and
duties of housekeeping. The choice of a husband or wife ought to be
made, not on the basis of passing fancy, but with regard to a life of
mutual service. Extreme individualism ought to be discouraged;
personal pleasure ought to be interpreted in the light of marriage as
a partnership. Above all, marriage should be faced with the
realization that it requires adaptation and concessions on the part of
both husband and wife. Mutual consideration and respect must
predominate in the future American family, while the spirit of
impatience and selfishness must be eliminated.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. What is the significance of the family?
2. What were the essential characteristics of the medieval family?
3. Why is the modern family in a period of transition?
4. Outline the effect of the Industrial Revolution upon the family.
5. To what extent has the factory supplanted the home as an industrial
center?
6. Discuss the difficulties of home-making in crowded cities.
7. How have many groups of women become economically independent?
8. Discuss the political emancipation of women.
9. What is the extent of divorce in this country? What two factors
must be taken into account in interpreting these figures?
10. To what extent are our divorce and marriage laws lax?
11. What proposals have been made toward the correction of this evil?
12. Why is law not the ultimate cure for family instability?
13. What is the importance of economic and social readjustment in the
problem of the family?
14. What should be the chief aims of education with regard to
preparation for home-making?
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Williamson, _Readings in American Democracy_ chapter xxiii.
Or all of the following:
2. Burch and Patterson, _American Social Problems_, chapter xxii.
3. Ellwood, _Sociology and Modern Social Problems_, chapters v, vi,
vii, and viii.
4. Goodsell, _The Family as a Social and Educational Institution_,
chapters xi, xii, and xiii.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. Discuss the origin of human marriage. (Ellwood, pages 97-108.)
2. Distinguish between the maternal and paternal types of family.
(Ellwood, pages 110-128.)
3. What was the character of the early Roman family? (Ellwood, pages
132-138.)
4. What influence has Christianity exerted upon the family? (Ellwood,
pages 142-144.)
5. Summarize the ways in which industry may disintegrate the family.
(Goodsell, pages 461-464.)
6. What is the origin of higher education for women in this country?
(Goodsell, pages 439-441.)
7. Discuss the divorce rate in this country. (Ellwood, pages 148-154;
Burch and Patterson, pages 315-321; Goodsell, pages 457-459.)
8. Name the various grounds upon which divorce may be secured.
(Ellwood, pages 154-157; Burch and Patterson, pages 321-322.)
9. Why is our divorce rate increasing? (Burch and Patterson, pages
322-327.)
10. What proposal has been made relative to a uniform divorce law?
(Burch and Patterson, pages 327-328.)
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
I
1. Interview an elderly friend for the purpose of discovering how many
commodities now produced outside the home were made within the family
circle a half century ago.
2. Make a list of the advantages which the city offers over the
country or the small town. Make another list showing wherein it is
more difficult to maintain a normal home in the city than in the more
sparsely settled districts of the country.
3. The extent to which girls and women in your community are going
into industrial pursuits.
4. The marriage laws of your state.
5. The divorce laws of your state.
6. What amendments, if any, would you offer to the marriage and
divorce laws of your state?
II
7. The primitive family. (Goodsell, _The Family as a Social and
Educational Institution,_ chapter ii.)
8. The family in the early stages of civilization. (Burch and
Patterson, _American Social Problems,_ chapter vi.)
9. Influence of Christianity upon the family. (Goodsell, _The Family
as a Social and Educational Institution,_ chapter vi.)
10. The family in the Middle Ages. (Goodsell, _The Family as a Social
and Educational Institution,_ chapter vii.)
11. The English family in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
(Goodsell, _The Family as a Social and Educational Institution,_
chapter ix.)
12. The family in the American colonies. (Goodsell, _The Family as a
Social and Educational Institution,_ chapter x.)
13. The feminist movement. (_Annals,_ vol. lvi, part i.)
14. The home in the crowded city. (Riis, _Peril and Preservation of
the Home._)
15. Desertion. (Colcord, _Broken Homes._)
16. Divorce statistics. (Willcox, _The Divorce Problem,_ a study in
statistics; Lichtenberger, _Divorce_, chapter v.)
17. Uniform divorce laws. (Wolfe, _Readings in Social Problems,_
chapter xv.)
18. Education for family building. (_Annals,_ vol. lxvii, pages 47-
53.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
19. Should Congress be granted the power, through constitutional
amendment, to pass a Federal divorce law?
20. Should men be required to have a minimum income before being
granted a marriage license?
21. Is domestic science more or less important now than it was a
century ago?
22. Are the chances of a successful marriage greater or less if
marriage takes place after both parties are more than twenty-five
years of age?
CHAPTER XXIV
DEPENDENCY: ITS RELIEF AND PREVENTION
277. THE MEDIEVAL NEIGHBORHOOD.--Throughout the earlier part of the
medieval period the majority of the common people of western Europe
lived in small agricultural communities. There was little in the way
of trade or travel, for the area comprising the village or the feudal
manor was relatively self-sufficing. The interests of the people
centered almost wholly about the local neighborhood into which they
had been born, and in which they lived and died. Life was stable, and
the daily work of the peasants entailed few hazards. When, because of
illness or accident, individuals were temporarily unable to support
themselves, informal aid was extended them by neighbors and friends.
In case of a more serious dependency, growing out of physical or
mental defect, for example, the aid extended by neighbors might be
supplemented by help from the feudal lord. The few strangers in the
community found the monasteries always open to them, regardless of the
character of their need.
278. BREAKDOWN OF THE MEDIEVAL NEIGHBORHOOD.--During the latter half
of the medieval period, and during the earlier part of the modern
period, a number of factors combined to break down this early type of
neighborhood. The Crusades, the decay of feudalism, and the
Renaissance disrupted the stable, isolated, and self-sufficing life of
the medieval neighborhood. The discovery of America and the growth of
towns and cities stimulated trade and travel. People moved about more,
strangers came into the community, family contacts and friendships
were broken, and community life became more impersonal. For many
people a change of habitation or of occupation increased the hazards
of life, while the decline of the neighborhood spirit made informal
aid by neighbors and friends less available. To meet the growing needs
of the dependent classes, the Church extended and improved its system
of almsgiving. To a greater extent than ever before the monasteries
became havens of refuge for the helpless and friendless. The clergy
not only themselves dispensed alms, but encouraged the wealthy laity
to do likewise.
Unfortunately, however, the aim of almsgiving in this period was not
so much to help the dependent back to self-support, as to increase the
piety of the individual dispensing the alms. Pauperism was looked upon
as inevitable, and the moral effect upon the giver was generally of
more importance than was the use that the needy made of the alms
received.
279. RISE OF THE URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD.--The breakdown of the medieval
neighborhood was completed by the Industrial Revolution. The factory
system drew large numbers of countrymen to the cities. Here they
worked long hours in insanitary work-shops, and lived in crowded
tenements devoid of many improvements which we now regard as necessary
to health and comfort. Home life was disrupted, and neighborhood ties
were broken in the process of adjusting agricultural laborers to the
factory system. The medieval neighborhood began to be supplanted by a
new type of neighborhood, one primarily urban and impersonal in
character. This new type of neighborhood brought with it greater
hazards for the poor, and at the same time offered fewer opportunities
for mutual aid between neighbors. Under such circumstances, the
problem of dependency became increasingly serious.
280. EXTENT OF DEPENDENCY IN MODERN TIMES.--One of the vital problems
of American democracy is the proper care of those individuals who are
unable, either to support themselves, or otherwise to protect
themselves against the hazards of modern life. The extent to which
individuals are dependent for help upon agencies outside their family
circle is unknown. Statistics are meager, and the complex nature of
dependency renders it difficult of measurement. Perhaps a reasonable
estimate of dependency in the United States is that at some time
during the year about five per cent of the population seeks charitable
assistance. The total amount expended annually for the care of the
dependent classes in the United States is more than half a billion
dollars.
281. CAUSES OF DEPENDENCY.--The causes of dependency in a modern
community are difficult to analyze. Generally the applicant for
charity is not in a state of dependency because of a single isolated
cause, but because of a number of combined causes, interlocking in a
most confusing way. In the effort to throw light upon this tangled
situation, let us briefly survey the problem from the economic,
social, personal, and political viewpoint.
From the economic viewpoint much dependency is the result of
maladjustments in industry. Most laborers have little or no savings,
so that when unemployment, strikes, industrial accidents, or crises
interrupt their earnings, they are soon forced to fall back upon
charity. Economic causes figure in from fifty to eighty per cent of
charity cases, either as minor or major factors. In the majority of
these cases the unemployment or other handicap of the laborer is due
to industrial maladjustments beyond his power to control.
Closely connected with the economic causes of dependency are the
social causes. The crowding of large numbers of workmen into cities
leads to abnormal living conditions, which encourage ill-health,
disease, and vice. Among unskilled laborers, poverty and the large
number of children often prevent the young from securing a helpful
amount of education. The lack of wholesome and inexpensive recreation,
and the existence of costly and injurious forms of entertainment,
encourage unwise expenditure of savings, and, to that extent, may
influence dependency. Child labor and the employment of mothers in
industry prevent a normal family life, and may be intimately
associated with illiteracy, low moral standards, and pauperism.
Often indistinguishable from social causes are the personal causes of
dependency. Laziness, irresponsibility, and thriftlessness figure in
from ten to fifteen per cent of charity cases. Penniless old age is
often the outcome of bad personal habits in youth and middle life.
Idling, gambling, and other vicious habits are important causes of
pauperism. Sickness is a factor in at least a third of charity cases,
while disease figures in seventy-five per cent of such cases. Physical
or mental defect is of great importance in dependency, often
accompanying bad personal habits as either cause or effect. The
feeble-minded, the epileptic, and the insane constitute a serious
burden upon the community.
Defects in government have in some cases either encouraged dependency,
or have perpetuated it. In so far as we have neglected legislation
designed to reduce the force of industrial maladjustments, political
factors may be said markedly to influence dependency. Our tardiness in
protecting the labor of women and children is certainly responsible
for a share of dependency. Our failure to adopt a comprehensive
program of social insurance has added to the burden upon charity.
Housing is receiving more and more attention in our cities, yet the
living quarters in many districts continue to be sources of ill-health
and vice. Probably we shall eliminate a share of dependency when we
shall have established a comprehensive system of state and Federal
employment bureaus. The wise restriction of immigration is also
important, as is the matter of vocational education for the unskilled
classes.
282. THE GIVING OF ALMS.--Until the period of the Reformation in
Europe, the distribution of alms by the clergy and by pious laymen was
the chief method of dealing with the problem of dependency. Then the
Reformation crippled the temporal power of the Church, and
ecclesiastical almsgiving declined in importance. The place formerly
held by the Church was filled, partly by public almshouses or
workhouses, and partly by indiscriminate and unorganized almsgiving on
the part of kind-hearted individuals. Individuals distributed alms
chiefly to dependents with whom they were personally acquainted, and
whose needs could be effectively met without their being removed to an
institution. Wandering dependents, and unfortunates whose needs were
relatively serious and permanent, were cared for in the almshouse.
This latter institution developed very early in England, and appeared
in colonial America in the seventeenth century. Until about 1850 it
was often the only institution in American communities which cared for
the helpless adult dependent. The almshouse, as it existed in this
country a few decades ago, has been described as a charitable catch-
all, into which were crowded paupers, the insane, the feeble-minded,
the blind, the orphaned, and other types of dependents.
283. ALMSGIVNG PROVES INADEQUATE.--The attempt to meet the problem of
modern dependency solely by the giving of alms illustrates the
difficulty of employing an ancient and simple method of treatment for
a disease which has become highly complex.
Almsgiving by individuals very often pauperizes rather than helps the
individual to help himself. When the dominant aim of the almsgiver is
to satisfy himself as to his piety, it is only by accident that the
alms really help the recipient. Very often what is needed is not money
or material aid in other form, but wise direction and friendly advice.
There is still a great deal of unwise and indiscriminate almsgiving by
individuals, but the spread of new ideals of social help is probably
cutting down the amount.
The almshouse, as it existed in the last century, was productive of
much evil. Very often superintendents were allowed to run these
institutions for personal profit, a practice which allowed the
exploitation and neglect of the inmates. The practice of herding into
this generalized institution every variety of dependent had great
drawbacks. Specialized care and treatment were impossible. Disease was
transmitted, and vice encouraged, by the failure properly to segregate
various types of dependents. Inmates were in many cases allowed to
enter and leave the institution at will, a privilege which encouraged
shiftlessness and improvidence.
284. THE EVOLUTION OF NEW IDEALS.--After the middle of the last
century our attitude toward the dependent classes began to change
rapidly. There was a gradual abandonment of almsgiving as the sole
method of attacking dependency. Rising standards of conduct
contributed to the development of new ideals, some of them now fairly
well established, and some of them still in the formative process. The
general content of these new ideals may be briefly described as
follows:
The primary aim of those who come in contact with the dependent
classes should be to help those classes, rather than to satisfy pious
aspirations or to indulge sentimental promptings. Rather than
believing that alms are helpful because they are gratefully received,
we should first discover what will help the dependent, and then train
ourselves and him to take satisfaction in that which is helpful.
Poverty is not to be taken for granted. It is neither inevitable nor
irremedial. It is a social disease which we must attack with the aim
of destroying.
When individuals are found in an emergency they should be given
relief, regardless of personal merit. The extension of relief in case
of fire, flood or other accident is only an act of humanity.
A different and more productive form of help is remedial work. This
type of work often accompanies and follows relief work. It is
corrective, for example, the finding of employment for a friendless
man, or the medical treatment of a sick man, is remedial work.
A still higher form of social work is preventive. Hand in hand with
the giving of work to friendless men, and the curing of sick men, for
example, we must undertake measures which will prevent a recurrence of
unemployment on the one hand, and illness on the other. Preventive
work is often indirect, but ultimately it is the most important type
of social work.
Recently there has been a reaction against almsgiving or pure charity,
and a distinct tendency to develop what may be called the concept of
social service. Charity is too often concerned with the pauper class;
social service is a wider term and includes not only what was formerly
known as charity, but also child welfare, settlement work, folk
dancing, and other socializing activities which are helpful in a
modern community, but which have nothing to do with alms. Charity too
often pauperizes and degrades; social service encourages self-help and
self-expression in the vital social relations. Formerly charity was
almost exclusively the function of the pious and the sympathetic; the
present tendency is for social service to become a distinct
profession, administered by highly trained specialists.
285. THE STAGE OF SPECIALIZATION.--One of the signs that we are
recognizing the growing need of an individualized treatment of
dependents, is the degree to which our social service agencies are
becoming specialized. The treatment of the dependent may take either
an institutional or a non-institutional form. Let us briefly notice
the specialization in each of these forms.
The almshouse, almost universal a century ago, is being rapidly
displaced by a series of specialized institutions. In most states
there are now separate institutions for the treatment of the
pauperized, the diseased, the blind, the deaf, the insane, the feeble-
minded, and the otherwise dependent. Inmates of these institutions are
given special treatment by experts. When the defect has been remedied,
the patient is released; in case remedy is impossible, the individual
is segregated and accorded humane and sympathetic treatment during the
rest of his life. This prevents the untold harm of releasing defective
and irresponsible people into the community. Institutions of this
character are largely under state control, and are intended primarily
for individuals who cannot be properly treated in their homes.
Dependents who are only slightly or temporarily handicapped, or who
are not in need of special treatment, may be best cared for in their
homes and by private individuals or associations. In this non-
institutional form of social service there is also a high degree of
specialization. The casual almsgiver has been succeeded by a whole
series of social service agencies. Prisoners' aid societies,
employment bureaus, immigrant aid societies, flower missions,
Americanization clubs, recreation centers, housing clubs, community
nursing clubs, and scores of other organizations have sprung up. Every
large city in the United States has several hundred of these
organizations, each attacking social problems of a special type.
286. NECESSITY OF COÍRDINATION.--Specialization in social service has
been followed by the development of means of co÷rdinating the various
specialized agencies.
That there is urgent need of such co÷rdination has been repeatedly
called to our attention. It is still true that often the institutions
for the dependent classes within a single state pursue different
methods, and so limit their separate fields that many types of
dependents are inadequately cared for.
Among the large number of private agencies there has been a great
waste of time and energy. The fact that each society is independent of
its fellows has meant that in some fields of social service efforts
were duplicated, while other fields were neglected. Cases demanding
treatment by several agencies could not be given adequate care because
of the lack of correlation among such agencies. Beggars often imposed
upon a number of different societies by assuming different names. Each
society had its own periods of campaigning for funds, a practice which
meant an excess of tag-days and campaigns and a waste of time and
energy on the part of social workers.
287. COÍRDINATION OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.--The co÷rdination of public
institutions for the dependent and defective classes proceeded rapidly
after 1880. At present the situation in the various states is somewhat
as follows:
The actual administration of local institutions is generally in the
hands of the town or county authorities. Large cities, however, often
have a system of institutional relief separate from that of the county
in which they are located. In many states the local authorities are
subject to some measure of central supervision by a state board, which
is called by various names. In most cases this is merely an advisory
board with power to inspect state institutions, and to make
recommendations to the governor or state legislature. More recently,
there is a tendency to go still further, and to reorganize and
consolidate the various state institutions so as to bring them
directly under the control of a state board or commission. In several
states the board is already one of control, that is to say, it has the
power not only to inspect the various institutions of the state, but
also the power to appoint their superintendents, and, in general, to
administer the institutional relief of the state.
288. COÍRDINATION OF PRIVATE AGENCIES.--The movement to co÷rdinate
social service agencies of a private nature has been relatively slow
and unsatisfactory. This has been due, partly to the large number of
societies involved, and partly to the lack of any centralized
authority to supervise such organizations. In some large cities there
has been a considerable degree of consolidation among societies which
are purely charitable, but among the large number of social service
organizations which are not purely charitable, the co÷rdinating
process has not gone beyond the functional stage. In this stage the
various social service agencies of a city remain separate and
distinct, but may become members of a council or federation which
serves to co÷rdinate their various functions. [Footnote: In this
functional co÷rdination the "consolidated" or "united" charities of
the city generally appear as a single organization.]
The aim of this functional co÷rdination is to secure the greatest
degree of co÷peration possible without the actual amalgamation of the
co÷perating agencies. Imposition by beggars is unlikely, because a
clearing house of information keeps the various agencies informed as
to the work of one another. By periodic reference to a centralized
system of card indices, different societies may keep informed to what
types of social work are being duplicated, and as to which lines of
effort are being neglected. Where the social service agencies of a
city are thus co÷rdinated, an applicant applies to the central agency
and is then directed to the organization best suited to meet his
needs. Such co÷rdinating agencies stress the necessity of scientific
work which will aid in the adjustment of personal relations and help
secure the maximum of result with the minimum of expenditure.
289. THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE FUTURE.--The small, stable, and
relatively unprogressive neighborhood of the early European period has
disappeared before the important economic, social, and political
changes of the last five centuries. The typical neighborhood of modern
times is larger, more inclined to be made up of transient and
dissimilar types of people, and more impersonal. It is more
progressive, but more likely to hold hazards for the average
individual. The whole period since the Industrial Revolution has been
one of neighborhood readjustment, of which many aspects of the
problems of crime, the family, and dependency are phases. The new type
of neighborhood has probably come to stay, but there are indications
that life in the community of the future will prove less and less
hazardous. The development of professional social service, growing out
of the charity movement, but now embracing community work of every
kind, will probably lessen the evils of the modern neighborhood, and
retain its desirable features.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. Describe the character of the medieval neighborhood.
2. What factors contributed to the breakdown of the medieval
neighborhood?
3. What effect did the Industrial Revolution have upon the
neighborhood?
4. What is the extent of dependency in modern times?
5. What are the economic causes of dependency?
6. What are the social causes of dependency?
7. What are the personal causes of dependency?
8. How may defects in government contribute to dependency?
9. Discuss the giving of alms in early Europe.
10. Why is almsgiving inadequate as a method of treating dependency?
11. Outline the new ideals which recently have begun to influence the
treatment of the dependent.
12. What is the nature of social service?
13. Discuss specialization in social service.
14. Why is co÷rdination a necessary step when social service agencies
have become highly specialized?
15. What may be said as to the character of the neighborhood of the
future?
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Williamson, _Readings in American Democracy_, chapter xxiv.
Or all of the following:
2. Devine, _Misery and its Causes_, chapter v.
3. Devine, _Principles of Relief_, chapter ii.
4. Guitteau, _Government and Politics in the United States_, chapter
xiv.
5. Warner, _American Charities_, revised edition, chapters iii and
xxii.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. Why is it difficult to classify the causes of poverty? (Devine,
Misery and its Causes_, pages 167-169.)
2. What are the objective causes of dependency? (Warner, page 41.)
3. What are the subjective causes of dependency? (Warner, page 42).
4. What is the Charity Organization Society? (Warner, page 450.)
5. Why did the Charity Organization Society arise? (Warner, page 451.)
6. Where did the first society of this type arise? (Warner, page 451.)
7. Discuss the methods of the Charity Organization Society. (Warner,
page 458.)
8. What is the nature of the machinery employed by the Charity
Organization Society? (Warner, page 458.)
9. What are the essentials of a sound relief policy? (Devine,
_Principles of Relief_, page 13.)
10. Under what circumstances should charitable aid be refused?
(Devine, _Principles of Relief_, page 21.)
11. What is meant by the term "medical charities"? (Guitteau, page
154.)
12. What is the great aim of social service? (Devine, _Misery and its
Causes_, page 235.)
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
I
1. Make a study of your neighborhood with regard to some or all of the
following points: (a) Increase in population (b) Changes in the racial
type of the population (c) Changes in the occupational tendencies of
the population (d) Changes in the spirit of neighborliness (e) Changes
in the administration of relief to dependents.
2. Study the causes of dependency in your community with regard to the
influence of economic, social, personal and political factors. (For
this information, interview local social workers.)
3. Study an actual charity case, and make a diagram or sketch showing
the number of factors involved.
4. Make a visit to an almshouse (sometimes called the poorhouse), and
report to the class upon conditions there.
5. List and classify the types of institutions which care for
dependents in your state.
6. The extent to which institutions for the dependent have been
co÷rdinated in your state.
7. Classify the agencies which are performing some type of
professional social service in your community.
8. Interview a local social worker with regard to his or her ideals of
social service. (Compare the result with the ideals set forth in
Section 284 of this chapter.)
II
9. The personal causes of degeneration. (Warner, _American Charities_,
chapter iv.)
10. The social causes of degeneration. (Warner, _American Charities_,
chapter vi.)
11. Desertion. (Devine, _Principles of Relief_, chapter xi.)
12. Dependent children. (Devine, _Principles of Relief_, chapter ix;
Warner, _American Charities_, chapter xii.)
13. Relief in the home. (Devine, _Principles of Relief_, chapter vi.)
14. Relief in disasters. (Devine, _Principles of Relief_, part iv.)
15. Beggars and impostors. (Conyngton, _How to Help_, chapter ix.)
16. Volunteer work in charitable relief. (Devine, _The Practice of
Charity_, chapter vi.)
17. The social settlement. (Conyngton, _How to Help_, chapter xxvi.)
18. The insane and the feeble-minded. (Warner, _American Charities_,
chapters xiv and xv.)
19. Medical charities. (Cabot, _Social Work_; Henderson, _Introduction
to the Study of the Dependent, Defective and Delinquent Classes_, part
ii, chapter viii.)
20. Organization of charity in England. (Henderson, _Introduction to
the Study of the Dependent_, etc., chapter iv.)
21. Organization of charity in France. (Henderson, _Introduction to
the Study of the Dependent_, etc., chapter ix.)
22. Organization of charity in Holland. (Henderson, _Introduction to
the Study of the Dependent_, etc., chapter v.)
23. Organization of charity in Germany. (Henderson, _Introduction to
the Study of the Dependent_, etc., chapter i.)
24. The spirit of social work. (Devine, _The Spirit of Social Work_.)
25. Tendencies in social service. (Warner, _American Charities_,
chapter xxiii.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
26. To what extent is the number of inmates in institutions for the
dependent classes an accurate guide to the extent of dependency
throughout the state or nation?
27. Should all institutions for the dependent classes be placed under
the direct control of the state authorities?
28. Should the state authorities attempt to administer relief to
dependents who remain in their homes?
29. Should the giving of alms by individuals be abandoned in favor of
the practice of treating dependency entirely through professional or
official agencies?
30. What should we do when street beggars ask us for money?
CHAPTER XXV
RURAL LIFE
290. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RURAL LIFE.--Agriculture is our oldest and
most basic industry. Almost half of our people are found in the rural
districts, most of them subsisting directly upon the products of farm,
forest, and range. Directly or indirectly our cities are largely
dependent upon the country. The foodstuffs consumed in cities, as well
as the vast quantities of raw materials used by our manufacturing
industries, come largely from the rural districts. To some extent even
our urban population is recruited from the ranks of the country folk.
Altogether, American rural life is a matter of vital concern to the
nation. "Our civilization rests at bottom," Theodore Roosevelt once
said, "upon the wholesomeness, the attractiveness, and the
completeness, as well as the prosperity, of life in the country."
291. NATURE OF THE RURLAL PROBLEM.--Contrary to popular belief, the
rural problem arises not so much from the actual degeneration of rural
society, as from the fact that many rural districts have failed to
progress as rapidly as have urban communities. Compared with his
predecessor of a century ago, the farmer of to-day is better fed,
better clothed and housed, and better able to secure adequate
education and recreation. At the same time the relatively greater
advances which urban communities have made in economic and social
activities render the improvement of rural life highly desirable. The
specific problem of rural life is to develop in the country economic
and social institutions which are especially adapted to the farmer's
needs. Not until this is done shall we be able to maintain on our
farms a class of people who can make the maximum contribution to
American life in all of its phases.
292. THE RURAL PROBLEM IS OF RECENT ORIGIN.--The most spectacular
development in American economic life has been the introduction and
growth of the factory system. Commerce and manufactures were important
during even the colonial period, and during the first half century of
our national history our dominant economic interest was the fostering
of manufacturing, domestic trade, and transportation. With the
development of manufacturing came the growth of the cities, and with
the growth of the cities added attention was called to immigration,
crime, health, and related social problems. Farm life, so familiar and
apparently so healthful, was not thought of as constituting a national
problem until late in the nineteenth century.
293. THE CITYWARD DRIFT.--A half century ago more than three fourths
of our population was rural; to-day less than half of the people of
the United States live in the country. Both urban and rural districts
have been steadily increasing in population since the opening of the
nineteenth century, but since 1900 the city population has increased
three times as fast as has the rural population. One reason for this
more rapid growth of the cities is that since the eighties the
majority of our immigrants have flocked to the cities rather than to
the rural districts. Another reason, however, is that the country
people have been drifting to the towns and cities. This cityward drift
has an important bearing upon the character of rural life.
294. REASONS FOR THE CITYWARD DRIFT.--A number of factors explain the
tendency of rural people to move to the cities. The perfection and
wider use of farm machinery have decreased the need for farm laborers,
and the excess laborers have gone to the towns and cities. The fact
that urban industries offer shorter hours, better pay, and cleaner
work than does farming has attracted many young country people. The
isolation of farm life and its frequent lack of comforts have impelled
many country dwellers to move to the cities. Some country people have
gone to the city in order to be near schools and churches, and in
order to have access to competent doctors and well-equipped hospitals.
The craving for a more fully developed social life than many rural
districts afford, has been an additional cause of the cityward drift.
Unfortunately, the glamour of urban life, with its spectacles and its
artificial pleasures, has also been a factor in the movement away from
the country.
295. WHEREIN THE CITYWARD DRIFT IS DESIRABLE.--In some respects the
cityward drift is a desirable development. When laborers who are no
longer needed on the farms move cityward, the cityward drift may have
the beneficial effect of removing such laborers to where they can find
employment. It should also be remembered that successful rural life
requires qualities which may be lacking in many individuals born and
raised in the country. In so far as the cityward drift is composed of
such individuals, it may be a helpful movement, since individuals
unsuited to rural life may find themselves adapted to some type of
urban life. When unneeded and unhelpful individuals are removed from
the country, the rural population may be more efficient and more
prosperous, even though relatively more sparse.
296. WHEREIN THE CITYWARD DRIFT IS UNDESIRABLE.--In so far as the
cityward drift brings to the city individuals unsuited to urban
conditions, the movement away from the country may be undesirable. It
is certainly undesirable when the individuals in question are really
suited to rural life. The tendency of young people to move to the
cities may ultimately deprive the country of its natural leaders.
Certainly the colleges and factories of the cities often drain the
country of its most able and ambitious boys and girls. The cityward
migration of such persons may strengthen the urban population, but it
weakens rural society and retards the progress of rural institutions.
297. STATUS OF THE "BACK TO THE LAND" MOVEMENT.--Some reformers have
sought to offset the cityward drift by an artificial "back to the
land" movement. In so far as it would bring to the country persons
really able to contribute to rural life, this movement is a desirable
one. In so far as it would bring to the country persons unprepared or
unable to adapt themselves to rural conditions, such a movement is
injurious. On the basis of the data now available, we are warranted in
concluding that the "back to the land" movement is founded upon
sentiment and caprice rather than upon sound principles. It attacks
the rural problem at the wrong end. If the natural leaders of the
country are repelled by rural life and attracted by urban conditions,
the remedy is not to create an artificial movement toward the country,
but rather to make rural life so attractive that country boys and
girls will prefer it to city life. The chief question before us is
this: How can the country be made so attractive that individuals
interested in, and suited to, rural life may be encouraged to lend
themselves to its fullest development? Let us see what is being done
toward answering this question.
298. HOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS HELPING TO MAKE RURAL LIFE
ATTRACTIVE.--The material prosperity of the American farmer is due, in
considerable part, to the activities of the Federal government. For
more than a half century the Department of Agriculture has
systematically encouraged various phases of agricultural industry. The
Department conducts investigations and experiments designed to give
farmers helpful information concerning soils, grains, fruits, and live
stock. It distributes seeds gratuitously, and attempts to encourage
scientific methods among farmers. The Department issues a Year-book, a
Monthly Weather Review, a Crop Reporter, and a series of Farmers'
Bulletins. Among the more important subdivisions of the department are
the bureau of animal industry, the bureau of soils, the bureau of
markets, and the office of farm management. The work of the Department
of Agriculture is ably supplemented by the work of the Reclamation
Bureau, which, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior,
is increasing the productivity of waste and arid lands.
299. THE FEDERAL FARM LOAN ACT.--The growing need of credit facilities
among farmers resulted in 1916 in the passage of the Federal Farm Loan
Act. By the terms of this act, the United States is divided into
twelve districts, in each of which a Federal land bank is established.
A Federal Farm Loan Board has general charge of the entire system, but
each Farm Loan Bank is allowed a large measure of freedom in its own
district in the organization of local Farm Loan Associations. A local
association is made up of a number of farm owners, or persons about to
become owners, who desire to borrow money. The Bank will not deal with
the individual farmer except through the local association, but when a
farmer has been vouched for by this association, he may receive from
the Bank of his district a loan at not more than six per cent
interest. The Bank authorizes loans for the purchase or improvement of
land, for the purchase of live stock, and for the erection of farm
buildings. Loans must be secured by first mortgages not exceeding in
amount fifty per cent of the assessed value of the land and twenty per
cent of the value of the improvements thereon pledged as security.
Loans may run from five to forty years, and provision is made for the
gradual payment, in small sums, of both principal and interest.
300. MARKETING NEEDS OF THE FARMER.--A problem vitally affecting not
only the farmer but the urban consumer as well, has to do with the
marketing of farm produce. The price of farm produce often doubles or
trebles between the farm and the urban kitchen. This is largely
because of a cumbersome marketing system and an overabundance of
middlemen. Often the farmer gets entirely too little for his produce,
while the city housewife pays too much for it. If the farmer is to
secure a larger return for his labor, and if the cost of foodstuffs in
cities is to be reduced, we must devise more efficient methods of
marketing farm produce.
There is a general agreement among experts that in the marketing of
farm produce there ought to be some method of securing the co÷peration
of farmer, urban consumer, and government. The further improvement of
country roads, together with the development of trolleys, motor
trucking and other means of farm-to-city transport would reduce
haulage charges. The number of public markets in cities should be
increased, so that farm produce might be sold to consumers without the
interference of unnecessary middlemen. The grading and standardization
of farm products would also facilitate sale by making it unnecessary
for prospective purchasers minutely to examine goods offered by the
farmers. In some cases farmers might advantageously sell their produce
directly to urban consumers. The co÷perative marketing of farm
produce, also has the effect of reducing the number of middlemen.
[Footnote: See Chapter XII, Section 116.]
One of the most important phases of marketing reform is the regulation
of commission dealers. Many farmers commonly ship their produce to
commission dealers in the city. These dealers are supposed to sell
this produce and to return to the farmer the money thus secured, minus
a small commission. In many instances these middlemen return to the
farmer smaller sums than market conditions entitle the farmer to. At
the same time, commission dealers often add an excessive amount to the
price which they in turn ask of retailers and consumers. In a few
states commission dealers handling farm produce must now be licensed.
They are obliged to keep records which will enable an inspector to
tell whether or not they have made false returns to farmers concerning
the condition of goods on arrival, the time at which sold, and the
price secured. A dealer convicted of dishonest methods loses his
license. The future should see an extension of this licensing system.
301. OTHER ECONOMIC NEEDS OF THE FARMER.--The economic position of the
farmer has been materially strengthened within the last forty years,
yet much remains to be done before farming may be considered an
altogether satisfactory and attractive occupation. Tenancy in rural
districts needs to be studied carefully. Tenancy is not necessarily an
evil, especially where it is a step toward ownership, but its rapid
increase in this country has caused many serious problems to arise.
From both the economic and the social point of view it is desirable
that farmers own their land. Tenants have no permanent interest in the
upkeep of the farm or in the rural community. Where tenancy is
widespread, land and buildings deteriorate, and the development of
rural institutions is slow.
Machinery is shortening the hours of labor for the farmer, and
scientific farming is increasing his efficiency; nevertheless, in most
sections of the country rural life still means long hours of hard
labor for small returns. Many farmers still work ten hours a day in
winter, twelve in summer, and from thirteen to fifteen in the harvest
season. Despite this sustained effort, the perishable character of his
product, the uncertainty of weather conditions, and his dependence
upon commission dealers, too often jeopardize the returns to the
farmer.
302. RURAL HEALTH.--We have noticed that in some cases people have
moved to the city because in the country doctors tend to be both
scarce and poorly trained, while frequently hospitals are
inaccessible.
Recently a number of influences are counteracting this relative
backwardness. The isolation of the rural dweller is disappearing
before the automobile and the telephone. In many sections able doctors
are increasingly plentiful. In most rural districts which are near
large cities, there is now an efficient system of visiting nurses,
free clinics, and health bulletins. Health campaigns are spreading the
fundamental principles of sanitation into many of the outlying
districts also.
But these measures, while helpful, are only a beginning. In the more
isolated rural sections especially, ignorance of sanitary methods is
still a serious evil. Many rural dwellers still rely upon traditional
but ineffective remedies for common complaints. Quacks having nostrums
and injurious patent medicines to sell often prey upon rural
communities in which there is no adequate provision for doctors,
nurses, and hospitals. Rural diet is often so heavy as to encourage
stomach disorders. Farmhouses are in many cases poorly ventilated in
summer and overheated in winter. Stables and stock pens are invariably
so close to the farmhouse as to render difficult the protection of the
dwelling against flies and mosquitoes.
303. THE RURAL SCHOOL.--The chief educational institution in rural
districts has long been the small district school, inadequately
supported and often inefficiently conducted.
But recently rural education has shown many signs of improvement. In
most sections of the country the development of farm machinery has so
reduced the amount of manual labor on the farm that rural children are
enabled to remain in school for a longer period than formerly. The
district school is in many cases being supplanted by the consolidated
school. Under the consolidation plan, a single large and well-equipped
school-house takes the place of a number of separate, small schools,
indifferently equipped. When consolidation is accompanied by improved
means of transporting children to school, the advantages of the plan
are numerous. Because consolidation is a more economical arrangement
than the old district plan, it allows larger salaries to be offered.
This in turn allows the rural school to secure a higher grade of
teacher. The trained educator is also attracted by the fact that the
consolidation of rural schools allows curricula to be standardized and
enlarged. Scientific agriculture and allied subjects are slowly
finding their way into the rural grade school. The rural high school
is beginning to appear.
In some sections of the country, on the other hand, the rural school
is still in an unsatisfactory condition. In a number of states the
rural school needs a more intelligent and consistent support from the
taxpayers, in order that better teachers, more and better
schoolhouses, and better working equipment may be provided. In many
sections of the country there is very little understanding of the
advantages of school consolidation and the necessity of more adequate
rural education. It is desirable that rural schools be more closely
correlated with the admirable work being done by experiment stations
and agricultural colleges. The agricultural press might well co÷perate
with the rural schools in attacking the problems of country life.
Without doubt the rural school curriculum should place more emphasis
upon practical agriculture and other subjects which will demonstrate
the dignity and attractiveness of rural life. Finally, it is desirable
that an increasing use be made of the schoolhouse as a social center.
304. THE RURAL CHURCH.--The rural church, though an older institution
than the rural school, is advancing less rapidly. In many sections the
cityward drift has drained the able ministers to the city, leaving
inferior men to carry on the work of the rural church. Other rural
sections have never had the benefit of an able clergy. In every part
of the country it often happens that country ministers are not only
inadequately trained, but are uninterested in rural problems.
One of the greatest needs of the American farming community,
therefore, is for a vitalized church. In many places rural districts
are overchurched, and there is great need of some such consolidation
as has been developed among rural schools. This development would so
decrease the number of ministers needed that higher salaries could be
offered. This, in turn, would attract more highly trained ministers to
the country. It is also desirable that rural ministers be trained to a
keener appreciation of the economic and social problems of the
country, with a view to making religion a practical help in solving
the problems of everyday life. An efficient and vitalized church could
advantageously be used as a focal point for the development of every
phase of rural community life.
305. ISOLATION THE MENACE OF RURAL LIFE.--Isolation may be said to be
the menace of rural life, as congestion is the menace of urban life.
In many out-of-the-way rural districts isolation has resulted in moral
inertia and intellectual dullness. Isolation has weighed particularly
hard upon the farmer's wife. Often she is called upon, not only to
rear a large family, but to cook and keep house for hired men, raise
poultry and garden stuff, and even to help in the fields during the
harvest season. In spite of this deadening routine, she has had fewer
chances than the farmer to go to town, to meet people, or otherwise to
secure a share of social life.
306. COMMUNITY SPIRIT IN THE COUNTRY.--In view of the injurious
effects of rural isolation, it is encouraging to note the beginnings
of a genuine community spirit in country districts. To a considerable
extent this development is the result of improved means of
transportation and communication. The coming of the automobile, the
telephone, and the trolley, the development of the rural free
delivery, the parcel post, and the agricultural press,--all these
factors have been important. The farmer has been enabled to share more
and more in the benefits of city life without leaving the farm. Even
more important, perhaps, improved methods of transportation and
communication have stimulated social intercourse among farmers.
Co÷peration in church and school work has been encouraged. Clubs and
community centers are more practicable where farmers make use of the
automobile and the telephone. The fair and the festival are also
proving to be admirable methods of developing the co÷perative spirit
in rural life.
The growing realization among students of rural life that a strong and
constructive community spirit is not only desirable but possible, is
encouraging an interest in rural problems. The development of such a
spirit must ultimately stimulate a healthy social life in the country,
with a resultant increase in health and prosperity, not only for the
farmer but for the nation as a whole.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. What is the significance of rural life?
2. What is the nature of the rural problem?
3. Why is the rural problem of recent origin?
4. What is meant by the cityward drift?
5. To what extent is this drift desirable? To what extent is it
undesirable?
6. What can be said as to the "back to the land" movement?
7. How does the Department of Agriculture help the farmer?
8. What is the object of the Federal Farm Loan Act?
9. Why is the marketing of farm products a problem?
10. What are some suggestions for solving this problem?
11. Discuss the recent improvement in rural health.
12. In what way is rural health still in an unsatisfactory condition?
13. What is the purpose of consolidating the rural schools?
14. What can be said as to the condition of the rural church?
15. What is the effect of isolation upon farm life?
16. What has been the effect of improved means of transportation and
communication upon community spirit in rural districts?
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Williamson, _Readings in American Democracy_, chapter xxv.
Or all of the following:
2. Butterfield, _The Farmer and the New Day_, chapter iii.
3. Carney, _Country Life and the Country School,_ chapter i.
4. Carver, _Rural Economics,_ chapter vi.
5. Ely, _Principles of Economics,_ chapter xxxix.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. In what way is the rural problem threefold? (Butterfield, pages 30-
31)
2. What changes have taken place since 1850 with regard to the size of
American farms? (Ely, pages 596-603.)
3. What problem arises in connection with the control of land in this
country? (Butterfield, pages 40-41.)
4. Is absentee landlordism a danger in American rural life? (Ely, page
605.)
5. How could farm management in this country be improved?
(Butterfield, pages 42-45.)
6. Discuss co÷peration among Danish farmers. (Carver, pages 357-358.)
7. Discuss agricultural credit in Europe. (Ely, pages 611-613.)
8. In what way is rural local government a problem? (Butterfield, page
47.)
9. Name an important defect of the rural church. (Carver, pages 343-
344.)
10. What are the chief organizations which are aiding in the
reconstruction of the rural community? (Carney, page 13.)
11. What is the importance of community building in the country?
(Carney, pages 9-10.)
12. What is the importance of federating all of the social
organizations of a rural community? (Carney, page 16.)
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
I
1. Nature of the cityward drift in your section.
2. Extent to which there is a "back to the land" movement in your
section.
3. Work of the Federal Farm Loan Bank of your district. If possible,
interview a farmer as to the advantages and disadvantages of the
Federal Farm Loan system.
4. Work of the agricultural college in your state.
5. Use of the automobile by farmers in your locality.
6. Food markets in your neighborhood.
7. Draw up a program for reducing the cost of food distribution in
your section. (Consult King, _Lower Living Costs in Cities_, chapter
xiii.)
II
8. Transportation in rural districts. (Vogt, _Introduction to Rural
Sociology_, chapter iv; Gillette, _Constructive Rural Sociology_,
chapter ix; Waugh, _Rural Improvement_, chapter iii.)
9. The marketing of farm products. (Weld, _The Marketing of Farm
Products; Annals_, vol. xlviii, pages 91-238; King, _Lower Living
Costs in Cities_, chapter x; Harris, _Co÷peration, the Hope of the
Consumer_, chapter iii.)
10. Tenancy. (_Annals_, vol. xl, pages 29-40; Vogt, _Introduction to
Rural Sociology_, chapter v.)
11. Rural hygiene. (Ogden, _Rural Hygiene_; Gillette, _Constructive
Rural Sociology_, chapter xi; Vogt, _Introduction to Rural Sociology_,
chapters vii and viii.)
12. Immigrant communities in the country. (_Annals_, vol. xl, pages
69-80.)
13. Rural housing. (_Annals_, vol. li, pages 110-116; Waugh, _Rural
Improvement_, chapter x.)
14. The country town. (Anderson, _The Country Town_.)
15. The rural school. (Bailey, _The Training of Farmers_, pages 173-
194; Vogt, _Introduction to Rural Sociology_, chapter xv; Galpin,
_Rural Life_, chapter vii; King, _Education for Social Efficiency_,
chapters iii and iv; Butterfield, _The Farmer and the New Day_,
chapter vii.)
16. The country church. (Butterfield, _The Country Church and the
Rural Problem_; Gill and Pinchot, _The Country Church_; Carney,
_Country Life and the Country School_, chapter iii; Gillette,
_Constructive Rural Sociology_, chapter xv; Vogt, _Introduction to
Rural Sociology_, chapters xvii and xviii; Galpin, _Rural Life_,
chapter xi; _Annals_, vol. xl, pages 131-139.)
17. The Grange. (Carney, _Country Life and the Country School_,
chapter iv.)
18. The farmer in politics. (Vogt, _Introduction to Rural Sociology_,
chapter xii.)
19. Clubs and organizations in rural districts. (Gillette,
_Constructive Rural Sociology_, chapter xiii; Waugh, _Rural
Improvement_, chapter v; Galpin, _Rural Life_, chapters viii, x; Vogt,
_Introduction to Rural Sociology_, chapter xiv; _Annals_, vol. xl,
pages 175-190.)
20. The Country Life movement. (Bailey, _The Country Life Movement in
the United States_; Carney, _Country Life and the Country School_,
chapter xiii; Gillette, _Constructive Rural Sociology_, chapter viii.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
21. The relative advantages of life in the city and life in the
country.
22. Should immigrants be encouraged to settle in rural districts?
23. Advantages and disadvantages of tenancy from the standpoint of the
rural community.
24. To what extent should country people copy the social institutions
of the city rather than develop institutions of their own?
CHAPTER XXVI
EDUCATION
307. THE MEANING OF EDUCATION.--A half century ago education might
have been defined as the process of acquiring certain types of book
knowledge which contributed to the culture of the individual. More
recently the concept of education has been broadened and deepened.
Present-day education aims not only to add to the culture of the
individual, but to vitalize the community as well. Education is no
longer limited to the schoolroom, but includes all agencies and
activities which in any way help toward a fuller and more responsible
citizenship. Education is no longer confined to infancy and youth, but
is a life-long process. Our educational system no longer assumes that
the needs and capacities of all pupils are similar, but attempts so to
diversify training that each individual will be enabled to develop his
peculiar powers and to contribute to American life in the manner best
suited to his individual ability. Taken in its widest sense, education
has seven great objectives. These are health, command of fundamental
processes (such as reading, writing, and arithmetic), worthy home-
membership, vocation, citizenship, worthy use of leisure, and ethical
character. [Footnote: These objectives have been formulated by the
National Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education.]
308. EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY.--Two centuries ago the education of the
masses was politically a matter of small concern, for most governments
were conducted by a narrowly restricted class. But in a democracy
education is fundamental. The idea that the masses should govern
themselves is an appealing one, but before self-government is safe a
comprehensive educational system must have made substantial inroads
upon illiteracy and ignorance. Not only must the citizen of a
democracy be individually capable, but his capacity to co÷perate with
his fellows must be large. Under an undemocratic government the people
rely upon their rulers; in a democracy they must rely upon their own
joint efforts. From both an individual and a social standpoint,
therefore, democracy demands more of its educational system than does
any other form of government.
309. DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES.--Education was an
important concern in most of the American colonies, and especially so
in New England. After 1800 the common school system was extended
rapidly, the district school passing westward with the pioneer
movement. Educational facilities continued to expand and to diversify
until at the end of the Civil War period there were more than seven
million children in the elementary schools of this country. The period
following the Civil War also saw the beginnings of the high school, a
characteristic American educational institution which arose to take
the place of the older Latin grammar schools and the private
academies. Normal schools for the training of teachers, and colleges
and universities for higher education, developed rapidly after 1880.
Today there are more than three quarters of a million teachers in the
United States, instructing more than 25,000,000 students in
institutions ranging from kindergarten and elementary schools to
colleges and universities.
310. MERITS OF OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.--The merits of our educational
system are of great significance. We are definitely committed to the
ideal of an educated citizenry. It has been the policy of the several
states to establish and maintain free public schools. School
attendance is compulsory, on full or part time, for children up to a
certain age, the age varying from state to state. No public school is
sectarian, the freedom of religious thought and action guaranteed by
the Federal Constitution having been continued into our public school
system. The public schools stimulate democratic tendencies by bringing
together large masses of children from all walks of life. Our school
system likewise has an Americanizing influence upon a large number of
foreigners because their children study in our public schools and then
carry into their homes the influence of the school. Within the last
quarter of a century our schools have greatly extended their
functions, becoming, in many cases, genuine community centers.
311. FINANCIANG THE SCHOOLS.--The substantial advances made in
American education during the last century are a cause for
congratulation. At the same time, our standards of education are
rising so rapidly that a number of educational problems are becoming
acute.
An important problem has to do with the financial support of our
rapidly expanding school system. In many states the schools are
inadequately supported by the tax payers. In some of these states the
public schools are not readily accessible to large numbers of
children, while in the schools that are accessible the equipment is
often inadequate to the demands made upon it. In many states teachers
still receive insufficient salaries.
Our schools ought not to suffer from lack of funds. Ours is the
richest country in the world, and our school system is one of the most
vital and fundamental of our institutions. Often the failure of
taxpayers properly to support the schools is due to either or both of
the following causes: First, failure to appreciate the importance of
education; second, the lack of accessible wealth as a basis of
taxation. The first objection must be met by so perfecting our
educational system that taxpayers will be convinced that money
invested in schools means large profits in the form of a more
efficient and prosperous citizenship. The second objection calls for
the reform of our taxation system.
312. CONTROL OF EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES.--In the United States
education is a state rather than a national function. There is no
Federal administration of schools, each state having its independent
system. Each state has a system of elementary education, and nearly
every state has a secondary or high school system. Nearly all of the
states also have state universities in which instruction is either
free or is available at a nominal charge. The public schools are
supported chiefly by local taxes and are controlled mainly by the
local authorities. In most states local outlays are supplemented, to a
greater or less degree, by state contributions. State support is
almost always accompanied by a measure of state control, though the
extent of this control varies widely among the several states.
313. THE QUESTION OF UNIFORM STANDARDS.--To what extent should there
be uniformity within our school system? We have no national system of
education, and the lack of co÷rdination between the educational
systems of the several states has many undesirable features.
Educational standards vary widely from state to state, and often from
county to county within the same state. The confusion growing out of
this situation has given rise to the demand for the systematization or
standardization of our school facilities.
The question is a difficult one. Most authorities believe that
education ought not to be centralized under the Federal government,
but ought, rather, to remain a state function. But even though it is
not desirable to allow the Federal government to take over the chief
educational powers of the state, it is believed by many that some
national agency might render valuable service in co÷rdinating the
educational programs of the several states. At present many educators
feel that the Federal government should insist upon minimum standards
in education in the various states of the Union.
Standardization within each state is considered desirable by most
authorities. All of the educational facilities of a given commonwealth
probably ought to be co÷rdinated under some supervising state agency.
The administrative ideal in state education is so to systematize the
schools of the state that they will be bound together by a common
purpose, guided by the same set of established principles, and
directed toward the same social ends.
314. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.--A serious defect of our educational system
arises in connection with school attendance. In many states the school
attendance laws are laxly enforced. It is claimed that at no one time
is more than three fourths of our school population enrolled in the
schools. Of those who do comply with the school attendance laws, there
is a considerable percentage which cannot acquire an adequate
education within the limits of the compulsory school period. Only
about one third of the pupils who enter the first year of the
elementary school reach the four-year high school, and only about one
in nine is graduated. Of those who enter high school, about one third
leave before the beginning of the second year, about one half are gone
before the beginning of the third year, and fewer than one third are
graduated.
Within the last decade there has been a marked tendency among the
several states to enforce school attendance laws more strictly. No
less encouraging is the growing belief among educators that the school
attendance period ought so to be adjusted that every child will be
guaranteed the working essentials of an education. There is grave
doubt as to the wisdom of raising the minimum age at which children
may withdraw from school, but at least greater efforts ought to be
made to keep children in school at least for part-time schooling
beyond the present compulsory period. As will be pointed out
presently, much is already being done in this direction.
315. EDUCATION AS PREPARATION FOR DAILIY LIFE.--It is sometimes said
that our educational system neglects practical activities for subjects
that have no immediate connection with the problems of daily life.
Many citizens have thoughtlessly condemned the whole program of
education because they have observed that particular schools have
allowed pupils to go forth with a fund of miscellaneous knowledge
which neither helps them to get a better living, nor aids them in
performing the duties of citizenship. On the basis of these and allied
considerations, there is a growing demand that education be made more
"practical."
There is much to be said for and against this attitude. Some
enthusiasts are apparently carrying the demand for "practical"
education too far. The growing importance in our industrial life of
efficiency and practical training should not blind us to the fact that
education is cultural as well as occupational or vocational. The
education of an individual is not estimated alone by the degree to
which he succeeds in practical affairs, but as well by the extent to
which he shows evidence of training in the appreciation of moral,
artistic, and literary values. It is sometimes difficult to see that
the study of literature, ancient languages, and similar subjects is
preparation for life, and yet wise training in these fields may prove
as important as studies which aid more directly and immediately in
getting a living.
On the other hand, our educational system must take note of the
growing importance of industrial activities. Since education is
preparation for life, the school must accommodate itself to the
changes which are now taking place in our economic and social
organization. As modern society becomes more complex, more tinged with
industrial elements, more a matter of co÷peration and interdependence,
education must become more highly evolved, more attentive to
vocational needs, and more emphatic in the stress which it lays upon
the actual duties of citizenship.
The more complex the needs of daily life, therefore, the greater the
necessity of shifting emphasis in education. But in thus shifting the
emphasis in education we must be careful not to disturb the balance
between cultural and "practical" subjects. To discriminate between
what should be taught and what should be omitted from the curriculum,
to retain the finest elements of our cultural studies, but at the same
time to fit our citizens to meet the demands of office, shop, and
factory,--these are the tasks of the educator.
316. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION.--Vocational training is one of the most
significant developments in modern education. This type of education
is designed to train the young person to earn a good living in that
branch of work for which he seems best fitted. Some of the supporters
of vocational education believe that this specialized form of training
ought to be commenced very early and in connection with the regular
curriculum. Others think that vocational education should not be
attempted until the child has been given enough generalized training
to enable him properly to perform the fundamental duties of
citizenship.
But whatever its relation to the curriculum, vocational education is
of great significance. If combined with vocational guidance it not
only prevents the boy or girl from aimlessly drifting into an
unskilled occupation, but it singles out for special attention
children who show special aptitude for particular trades and
professions. Vocational education for the blind, the deaf, the
crippled, and the otherwise disabled is social service of the finest
and most constructive type.
317. FEDERAL ENCOURAGEMENT OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION.--In February,
1917, Congress passed the Smith-Hughes Act, establishing a Federal
Board for Vocational Education. This board promotes vocational
education in co÷peration with the several states, and administers the
Federal aid granted to the states under the Act. Each state accepting
the provisions of the Act must provide a state board to control a
system of vocational schools. Evening, part-time, and continuation
schools offer instruction in agriculture, industry, commerce,
transportation, and the professions. Each state must also agree to
appropriate, either through the state or locally, an amount of money
for teachers' salaries, equivalent to the sum received from the
Federal board. Such states must also agree to provide proper buildings
and meet the running expenses of the system. In the first year under
this Act, the Federal appropriations amounted to more than a million
and a half dollars. This sum is to be increased annually until the
year 1925-1926, when the states will receive $7,000,000 from the
Federal government in support of vocational education.
318. LIMITATIONS OF THE CONVENTIONAL SCHOOL TERM.--A few decades ago,
the typical school in an American city offered instruction to certain
classes of young people between nine o'clock in the morning and three
or four o'clock in the afternoon, for from 150 to 180 days a year.
During the rest of the time the schoolhouse was idle.
This policy greatly restricted the education of important groups of
people. Adult immigrants were barred from the elementary public
schools. Persons desiring educational guidance in special fields often
found that the school offered them no help. Cripples, men and women
employed in the daytime, and other individuals who found it impossible
or inconvenient to attend school during the conventional time limits,
were restricted in educational opportunity. Many boys and girls who
drop out of school because of the necessity of going to work, do so
before their education has been completed. For most of these classes,
the inability to take advantage of the regular school term has meant
the denial of adequate education.
319. WIDER USE OF THE SCHOOL PLANT.--Recently the "wider use of the
school plant" movement is helping these classes to secure or continue
their education. For unassimilated immigrants, day and evening courses
in citizenship are now provided in many cities and towns. In many
cities vacation schools have been established for the convenience of
children who have failed in their studies, or who are able and willing
to make unusual progress in various subjects. For those who work by
day there is often a chance to go to school by night. For those who
find it inexpedient to leave their homes, there are, in many places,
travelling libraries and correspondence courses. In some western
states the farmer now has an opportunity of taking extension courses
from the State university during those seasons in which his work is
lightest. For pupils who are under the necessity of partially or
entirely supporting themselves, some cities now have part-time or all-
around-the-year schools.
320. THE SCHOOL AS A SOCIAL CENTER.--Closely associated with the
movement to extend school facilities to those who would ordinarily be
debarred from them, is the movement toward making the school a social
center. Many city and some rural schools now provide free to the
general public lectures on science, art, literature, and business.
Moving pictures, dramatics, and other forms of entertainment are
becoming a regular feature of this type of school work. In many
schools the gymnasiums are available to the public under reasonable
restrictions. Folk singing and dancing are being encouraged in
numerous schools. Schoolrooms devoted by day to regular school courses
are in many places being used during the evening for the discussion of
public questions. In these and other ways the school is becoming a
center of life for the community. It is extending into the homes of
the people and is becoming the instrument of the community rather than
of a particular group.
321. EDUCATION AND SOCIAL PROGRESS.--We may sum up the problems so far
discussed in this text by noting that their solution calls for three
different types of treatment.
First, we must strike at the root of poverty by giving every
individual just what he earns, by making it possible for every
individual to earn enough to support himself and his family decently,
and by teaching him to spend his income wisely and economically.
Second, wise and careful laws must be passed for the purpose of
correcting and lessening the social defects of American democracy.
Third, education must be relied upon to render the individual able and
willing to do his duty toward himself and his country. The boys and
girls of to-day are the voters and home-makers of to-morrow, and the
responsibility of preparing those boys and girls for the efficient
conduct of community life rests almost entirely upon the school. Thus
education is one of the most basic factors in social progress. Neither
a reorganized economic system, nor the most carefully drawn laws on
social questions will solve the problems of American democracy until
the individual citizen is trained to a proper appreciation of his
responsibilities toward himself and toward his country.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. What is the scope of education?
2. What is the relation of education to democracy?
3. Trace briefly the development of education in this country.
4. Enumerate the chief merits of our educational system.
5. What problem arises in connection with financing the schools?
6. Explain the failure of some taxpayers properly to support the
schools.
7. Discuss the control of education in this country.
8. Outline the problem of uniform educational standards.
9. To what extent is school attendance a problem?
10. What are the chief tasks of the educator?
11. Discuss the purpose of vocational education.
12. What is the nature of the Smith-Hughes act?
13. What are the limitations of the conventional school term?
14. What is meant by the "wider use of the school plant" movement?
15. To what extent is the school becoming a social center?
16. What is the relation of education to social progress?
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Williamson, _Readings in American Democracy_, chapter xxvi. Or all
of the following:
2. Cubberley, _Changing Conceptions of Education_, all.
3. Guitteau, _Government and Politics in the United States_, chapter
xviii.
4. McMurry, _How to Study_, part i.
5. Perry, _Wider Use of the School Plant_, chapter i.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. Discuss briefly the progress made in education since the Civil War.
(Cubberley, pages 38-42.)
2. Name an important defect of our educational system as it existed in
the eighties. (Perry, page 3.)
3. Discuss the development of the high school. (Guitteau, pages 174-
175.)
4. To what extent does the Federal government aid State education?
(Guitteau, page 176.)
5. Compare briefly the four types of school administration. (Guitteau
pages 177-180.)
6. What are the chief sources of school revenues? (Guitteau, pages
182-183.)
7. What has been the effect of immigration upon our educational
system? (Cubberley, pages 14-15.)
8. What is the function of the vacation school? (Perry, pages 6-7.)
9. What is meant by the problem of leisure time? (Cubberley, page 20.)
10. Outline briefly the present tendencies in education. (Cubberley,
pages 49-69-)
11. Outline the principal factors in study. (McMurry, pages 15-23.)
TOPICS FOR INVERSTGATION AND REPORT
I
1. Trace the development of public school education in your state.
2. Classify the types of schools in your state.
3. Draw up a list of the more important provisions in your state
constitution regarding education.
4. Sources of school revenues in your community.
5. State supervision of the public schools in your commonwealth.
6. Influence of the Smith-Hughes act upon education in your state.
7. Use of the school as a social center in your community.
8. The meaning of education. (Butler, _The Meaning of Education_;
Henderson, _What is it to be Educated?_ Hadley, _The Education of the
American Citizen_; Baldwin, _The Relation of Education to
Citizenship_.)
9. The beginnings of American education. (Cubberley, _Public Education
in the United States_, chapter ii.)
10. The reorganization of elementary education. (Cubberley, _Public
Education in the United States_, chapter x.)
11. Education through play. (Curtis, _Education through Play_.)
12. The use of leisure time. (_Annals_, vol. lxvii, pages 115-122.)
13. Wider use of the school plant. (Cubberley, _Public Education in
the United States_, chapter xiii; _Annals_, vol. lxvii, pages 170-202.
Perry, _Wider Use of the School Plant_.)
14. The relation of the school to the community. (Dewey, _Schools of
To-morrow_, chapter vii.)
15. Physical education. (Sargent, _Physical Education_.)
16. The education of Helen Keller. (Keller, _The Story of My Life_.
See also an encyclopedia.)
17. The education of the crippled child. (Hall and Buck, _Handicrafts
for the Handicapped_.)
18. Education for efficiency. (Eliot, _Education for Efficiency_;
Davenport, _Education for Efficiency_.)
19. Vocational education. (Taylor, _A Handbook of Vocational
Guidance_; Bloomfield, _The Vocational Guidance of Youth_; Leake,
_Industrial Education, Its Problems, Methods and Danger_.)
20. Choosing a vocation. (Parsons, _Choosing a Vocation_.)
21. The United States Bureau of Education and the immigrant;
(_Annals_, vol. lxvii, pages 273-283.)
22. Education and social progress. (Ellwood, _Sociology and Modern
Social Problems_, chapter xvi.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
23. Do grammar school graduates who fail to enter high school stop
their education at this point because of poverty, because of the
attraction of industry, or because of dissatisfaction with school?
24. The question of free text books.
25. The question of uniform text books throughout your state.
26. At what point in the school curriculum should vocational education
be begun?
27 How are ancient languages, ancient history and the fine arts
helpful in daily life?
28. The question of a more intensive use of your school building as a
social center.
PART IV--AMERICAN POLITICAL PROBLEMS
A. SOME ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER XXVII
PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: REGULATION
322. NECESSITY OF PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS.--Although individuals
carry on business primarily for their own ends, the economic
activities of men affect not only themselves, but the community as
well. If every individual voluntarily confined his attention to those
forms of business which strengthened the community as well as adding
to his own prosperity, there would be little need for laws regulating
the conduct of business. But because experience has shown that some
persons will seek to benefit themselves in ways that react to the
injury of the community, it becomes necessary for law to adjust
private and public interests. A community cannot remain indifferent to
the economic activities of its citizens. Public interest in business
is a fundamental necessity, if the community is to be safeguarded
against the abuses of free enterprise.
323. NATURE OF PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS.--In general, the object of
laws regulating business is either to encourage helpful business
methods, or to discourage harmful business methods. A good deal of
legislation has been designed positively to encourage helpful business
methods, yet it remains true that the most significant of our
industrial laws have been aimed primarily at the discouragement of
harmful business. A fundamental American ideal is to insure to the
individual as much freedom of action as is consistent with the public
interest. Thus we believe that if harmful business is controlled or
suppressed, private initiative may be trusted to develop helpful
business methods, without the aid of fostering legislation. In this
and the following chapter, therefore, we may confine our attention to
legislation designed to suppress harmful business methods.
324. THE NATURE OF MONOPOLY.--We may begin the discussion by inquiring
into the nature and significance of monopoly.
Under openly competitive conditions the free play of supply and demand
between a number of producers and a number of prospective consumers
fixes the price of a commodity. In such cases consumers are protected
against exorbitant prices by the fact that rival producers will
underbid each other in the effort to sell their goods.
But if the supply of a good, say wheat, is not in the hands of several
rival producers, but is under the control of a unified group of
persons, competition between the owners of the wheat is suppressed
sufficiently to enable this unified group more nearly to dictate the
price for which wheat shall sell. In such a case a monopoly is said to
exist. Complete control of the supply of a commodity is rare, even for
short periods, but modern business offers many instances of
enterprises which are more or less monopolistic in character.
The essential danger of monopoly is that those who have secured
control of the available supply of a commodity will use that control
to benefit themselves at the expense of the public. By combining their
individual businesses, producers who were formerly rivals may secure
the chief advantage of large-scale management. That is to say, the
cost of production per unit may be decreased, because several combined
plants might be operated more economically than several independent
concerns. If the cost of production _is_ decreased the combining
producers can afford to lower the price of their product. But if they
are practically in control of the entire supply, they will not lower
the price unless it serves their interests to do so. Indeed it is more
likely that they will take advantage of their monopoly to raise the
price.
325. TYPES OF MONOPOLY.--Monopolies are variously classified, but for
our purpose they may be called either _natural_ or _unnatural_.
A _natural_ monopoly may exist where, by the very nature of the
business, competition is either impossible or socially undesirable.
Examples of this type of monopoly are gas and water works, street
railways, steam railways, and similar industries. These will be
discussed in the next chapter.
Where an _unnatural_ monopoly exists, it is not because the essential
character of the business renders it unfit for the competitive system,
but because competition has been artificially suppressed. The
traditional example of an unnatural monopoly is that form of large-
scale combination which is popularly known as a trust.
326. ORIGIN OF THE TRUST.--After the Civil War, rivalry in many
industries was so intense as to lead to "cutthroat" competition and a
consequent reduction in profits. For the purpose of securing the
advantages of monopoly, many previously competing businesses combined.
In 1882 John D. Rockefeller organized the Standard Oil Company, the
first trust in this country. The plan drawn up by Mr. Rockefeller
provided that the owners of a number of oil refineries should place
their stock in the hands of a board of trustees. In exchange for this
stock, the owners received trust certificates on which they were paid
dividends. Having control of the stock, the trustees were enabled to
manage the combining corporations as one concern, thus maintaining a
unified control over supply, and opening the way to monopoly profits.
327. PRESENT MEANING OF THE TERM "TRUST."--The plan initiated by Mr.
Rockefeller was so successful that other groups of industries adopted
it. After 1890 the original trust device was forbidden by statute, and
the _trust proper_ declined in importance. But there continued to be a
large number of industrial combinations which, under slightly
different forms, have secured all of the advantages of the original
trust. In some cases previously competing corporations have actually
amalgamated; in still other cases, combining concerns have secured the
advantages of monopoly by forming a holding company. A holding company
is a corporation which is created for the express purpose of "holding"
or controlling stock in several other corporations. This the holding
company does by buying a sufficient amount of the stock of the
combining concerns to insure unity of management and control. Since
the holding company and similar devices secure the chief advantages of
the original trust, the word "trust" is now used to designate any
closely knit combination which has monopolistic advantages.
328. GROWTH OF THE TRUST MOVEMENT.--The trust movement developed
rapidly after 1882. There were important combinations in the oil, tin,
sugar, steel, tobacco, paper, and other industries. By 1898 there had
been formed some eighty trusts, with a total capitalization of about
$1,000,000,000. At the beginning of 1904 the number of trusts exceeded
three hundred, while their combined capital totaled more than
$5,000,000,000. The largest single trust was the United States Steel
Corporation, which was capitalized at almost a billion and a half
dollars. At the beginning of 1911, in which year the Supreme Court of
the United States ordered two important trusts to dissolve, the
combined capital of the trusts was probably in excess of
$6,000,000,000.
329. ABUSE OF POWER BY THE TRUSTS.--Trusts have often abused their
monopolistic powers. They have often used their wealth to corrupt
legislatures and to attempt to influence even the courts, in the
effort to prevent laws and court decisions from restricting their
monopoly. The corruption of railway corporations and of political
parties has been partly due to the evil influence of the trusts.
Trusts have often crushed out independent concerns that endeavored to
compete with them. This has been accomplished, partly by inducing
railroads to discriminate against independent concerns and in favor of
the trusts, partly by cutting prices in competitive markets until
independent concerns were crushed out, and partly by the use of
bribes, threats, and other unfair methods. After competition had been
suppressed, the trusts took advantage of their monopoly to raise
prices on their products, thus imposing a heavy burden upon the
public.
330. THE SHERMAN ANTI-TRUST ACT. (1890.)--During the eighties a number
of states attempted to control the trust movement. But the Federal
government has exclusive jurisdiction over interstate business, and
for this reason the action of the states was limited to the control of
the relatively unimportant trust business lying entirely within their
respective borders. The fact that an increasing proportion of trust
business was interstate in character stimulated interest in Federal
anti-trust legislation, and in 1890 the Sherman Anti-trust Act was
passed. This Act declared illegal "every contract, combination in the
form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or
commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations."
331. FAILURE OF THE SHERMAN ACT.--For more than twenty years after its
passage, the Sherman Act did little to curb the growth of the trusts,
indeed, the most marked tendency toward trust formation occurred
_after_ 1890. Numerous suits were brought under the Act, but the
lukewarm attitude of the courts rendered difficult the administration
of the law. After 1911 the courts held that the restraint of trade was
illegal if "unreasonable," but few juries could be found that could
agree upon the difference between a "reasonable" and an "unreasonable"
restraint of trade. Lastly, combinations which had been organized
under the original trust plan were not disheartened by court decrees
ordering them to dissolve, but reorganized under some device which was
practically as effective as the trust plan, but which did not
technically violate the Sherman act.
332. FURTHER LEGISLATION IN 1914.--Finally in 1911 the government
succeeded in dissolving the Standard Oil Company and the American
Tobacco Company, two of the largest trusts in the country. This
success encouraged the Department of Justice to institute other suits,
and stimulated such general interest in the trust problem that in 1914
Congress passed two new Anti-trust Acts. These were the Clayton Act
and the Federal Trade Commission Act. The general effect of these laws
was to strengthen anti-trust legislation by correcting some of the
fundamental defects of the Sherman Act, and by still further extending
the power of the Federal government over monopolistic combinations.
333. The Clayton Act of 1914.--The Clayton Act forbids "unjustifiable
discriminations in the prices charged to different persons," and also
prohibits the lease or sale of goods made with the understanding that
the lessee or purchaser shall not patronize competing concerns. The
Act specifies a number of other practices which constitute
unreasonable restraints of trade. Somewhat complicated limitations are
imposed upon interlocking directorates, by which is meant the practice
of individuals being on the board of directors of different
corporations. [FOOTNOTE: The danger of the interlocking directorate,
of course, is that individuals who are directors in two or more
corporations may attempt to suppress competition between those
corporations. This may lead to monopoly.] The Act likewise forbids the
acquisition by one corporation of stock in another corporation when
the effect may be "to substantially lessen competition" between such
corporations, or "to tend to create a monopoly."
334. THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT OF 1914.--The second of the two
Acts of 1914 created a Federal Trade Commission of five members,
appointed by the President. The Commission has the power to require
annual or special reports from interstate corporations in such form
and relating to such matters as it may prescribe. At the request of
the Attorney General, the Commission must investigate and report upon
any corporation alleged to be violating the anti-trust laws. The most
important power of the Commission is undoubtedly that of issuing
orders restraining the use of "unfair methods of competition in
commerce." This clause aims at prevention rather than at punishment,
and if its power is wisely used it will check monopoly in the early
stages. Most authorities claim that in this regard the work of the
Commission has already proved definitely helpful.
335. THE OUTLOOK.--Since 1911, and especially since the passage of the
two Acts of 1914, the trust situation has materially improved. The
vague and wholly inadequate powers of the old Sherman Act have been
clarified and supplemented by the more specific provisions of the
Clayton and Federal Trade Commission Acts. Fairly adequate machinery
for the investigation and prosecution of trusts is now provided. The
present laws cover not only combinations making use of the old trust
device, but also combinations employing other methods of exercising
monopoly control. The Federal Trade Commission Act provides for
publicity, so that public opinion may have a chance to enforce the
principle of fair play and open competition in business. The trust
problem in the United States is not yet solved, but the careful
control which we are now exercising over this type of organization
justifies the belief that the trust evil will become less important as
time goes on.
336. THE TRUST PROBLEM OF THE FUTURE. In connection with the matter of
making anti-trust legislation more effective, a new and pressing
problem is arising. This has to do with the necessity of
distinguishing, first, between the legitimate and the illegitimate
practices of trusts [Footnote: Large-scale combination or management
allows important economies to be practiced. Plant can be used more
advantageously, supervision is less costly, supplies can be purchased
in large quantities and hence more cheaply, etc. The securing of these
economies constitutes a legitimate feature of large-scale combination
or management.]; and second, between combinations which are
monopolistic and combinations in which there is no element of
monopoly.
We are coming to realize a fact which in Europe has long been a matter
of common knowledge, namely, that trusts are never wholly and
unqualifiedly bad. The law should not aim to destroy trusts, but
rather should attempt so to regulate their activities that their
economical features will be preserved while their harmful practices
will be suppressed. Laws should also recognize the fact that many
large-scale combinations have in them no element of monopoly, and that
such combinations should be exempted from anti-trust prosecution. In
drawing up anti-trust legislation, prohibitions and restrictions
should be as concise and as definite as possible, both in order to
facilitate the execution of the law, and in order to prevent hardships
being worked upon combinations which have consistently observed the
rules of fair play in competitive business.
QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT
1. Why is public interest in business necessary?
2. What is the nature of public interest in business?
3. What is the nature of monopoly?
4. What are the two types of monopoly? Give an example of each.
5. Describe the origin of the trust.
6. Explain clearly the meaning of the word "trust" as it is now used.
7. During what period of our history was trust development greatest?
8. In what sense have trusts abused their power?
9. What was the purpose of the Sherman act of 1890?
10. How did the act work out in practice?
11. What important development is associated with the period 1911-1914?
12. What are the main provisions of the Clayton act?
13. What is the purpose of the Federal Trade Commission act?
14. Outline the problem of the future with respect to trusts.
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Williamson, _Readings in American Democracy_, chapter xxvii.
Or all of the following:
2. Durand, _The Trust Problem_, chapter i.
3. Ely, _Outlines of Economics_, chapter xiii.
4. Fetter, _Modern Economic Problems_, chapter xxviii.
5. Seager, _Principles of Economics_, chapter xxv.
QUESTIONS ON THE REQUIRED READINGS
1. What are the four methods by which industrial combinations have
taken place? (Fetter, pages 433-434.)
2. What are the three types of trusts? (Durand, page 9.)
3. What is a pool? (Durand, page 9.)
4. Name some of the important trusts which were formed between 1890
and 1899. (Fetter, pages 435-436.)
5. Name some of the most successful trusts. (Seager, page 456.)
6. What is the relation of trust development to the tariff? (Seager,
pages 464-465.)
7. What is the evil of over-capitalization? (Seager, pages 465-466;
Ely, pages 221-223.)
8. What are the chief advantages claimed for the trust? (Ely, pages
228-230; Durand, page 28.)
9. What are some of the devices used in "unfair competition"? (Ely,
pages 239-240.)
10. What are the three ways of dealing with the trust evil? (Durand,
pages l0-11.)
11. How has the trust evil been handled in other countries? (Ely,
pages 245-246.)
12. What can be said as to the ultimate solution of the trust problem?
(Durand, page 30.)
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND REPORT
I
1. The chartering of corporations in your state
2. History of anti-trust legislation in your state.
3. Outline the present laws of your state relative to monopolistic
combinations.
4. Trust development in your state, or in your section of the country.
II
5. The nature of monopoly. (Ely, _Outlines of Economics,_ chapter xii;
Seager, _Principles of Economics,_ chapter xxiii.)
6. Causes of trust formation. (Van Hise, _Concentration and Control,_
pages 21-25.)
7. Purposes of trust formation. (Van Hise, _Concentration and
Control,_ pages 25-31.)
8. Forms of industrial combination. (Van Hise, _Concentration and
Control,_ pages 60-72.)
9. Text of the Sherman anti-trust act. (_Ripley, Trusts, Pools and
Corporations,_ pages 484-485; Durand, _The Trust Problem,_ appendix i.)
10. Early Supreme Court decisions relative to the Sherman act.
(Ripley, _Trusts, Pools and Corporations,_ pages 506-549.)
11. The Sherman act in actual operation. (Hamilton, _Current Economic
Problems,_ pages 433-441.)
12. The "rule of reason." (Ripley, _Trusts, Pools and Corporations,_
pages 606-702.)
13. Difficulty of regulating trusts. (Durand, _The Trust Problem,_
chapter in.)
14. Text of the Federal Trade Commission act. (Durand, The _Trust
Problem,_ appendix in.)
15. Relation of the Federal Trade Commission to the courts. (_Annals,_
vol. lxiii, pages 24-36.)
16. Relation of the Federal Trade Commission to our foreign trade.
(_Annals,_ vol. lxiii, pages 67-68.)
17. Alleged advantages of trusts. (Durand, The _Trust Problem,_
chapter iv; Van Hise, _Concentration and Control,_ pages 8-21.)
18 Trust regulation in foreign countries. (Van Hise, _Concentration
and Control_, chapter iv.)
19. The history of some one trust, as, for example, the American Sugar
Refining Company, the United States Steel Corporation, the American
Tobacco Company, or the International Harvester Company. (Consult any
available literature.)
FOR CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
20. What is a reasonable as opposed to an unreasonable restraint of
trade?
21. How is it possible to tell when combination has resulted in
monopoly?
22. To what extent is the mere size of an industrial organization an
indication of monopoly?
23. Does monopoly always result in a higher price being asked for the
monopolized article?
CHAPTER XXVIII
PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: OWNERSHIP
337. BASIS OF NATURAL MONOPOLY.--The most important examples of
_natural_ monopoly are found in those industries which are known as
public utilities. Public utilities include gas and electric light
works, waterworks, telephone and telegraph plants, and electric and
steam railways.
These industries are by their very nature unsuited to the competitive
system. This is chiefly because they operate under the principle of
decreasing cost, that is to say, the greater the volume of business
handled by a single plant, the less the cost of production per unit.
In order to serve 100,000 customers with gas, for example, it may be
necessary to make an initial outlay of $90,000 in plant and supplies.
With this identical plant, however, the gas works could really
manufacture gas sufficient to serve more than 100,000. If, later, the
city grows and the number of customers using gas doubles, the gas
works, already having its basic plant, will not have to expend another
$90,000, but only, say, an additional $30,000.
This principle has the double effect of virtually prohibiting
competition and of encouraging combination. Since a street or a
neighborhood can be served with water or gas more cheaply by a single
plant than by several competing plants, competing plants tend to
combine in order to secure the economies resulting from decreasing
cost and large-scale production. On the other hand, the cost of
duplicating a set of water mains or a network of street car tracks is
so prohibitive as to render competition undesirable, both from the
standpoint of the utility and from the standpoint of the public.
This natural tendency toward monopoly, together with the social
importance of public utilities, has given rise to a demand that
businesses of this type be publicly owned. The problem of public
ownership may be considered under two heads: first, the municipal
ownership of local utilities; and, second, the national ownership of
steam railroads.
A. MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP
338. REGULATION OF LOCAL UTILITIES.--In many American cities it was
formerly the custom of the city council to confer valuable privileges
upon public service corporations on terms that did not adequately
safeguard the public interest. In making such grants, called
franchises, city councils often permitted private corporations the
free use of the streets and other public property for long periods of
time or even in perpetuity.
The abuses growing out of the careless use of the franchise granting
power have recently led to a more strict supervision of franchises to
public service corporations. In most cities, franchises are no longer
perpetual, but are limited to a definite and rather short period, say
fifty years. To an increasing extent, franchises are drawn up by
experts, so that the terms of the grant will safeguard the interests
of the public. In many states there are now public service commissions
that have the power to regulate privately owned utilities. The chief
aim of such commissions is to keep informed as to the condition of the
utilities, and to fix rates and charges which the commission considers
fair and reasonable.
339. ARGUMENTS FOR MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP.--Those favoring municipal
ownership, as opposed to regulation, declare that the conditions
affecting rates change so rapidly that no public service commission
can fix rates fairly or promptly. Public ownership would save the cost
of regulation, in many cases a considerable item. It is maintained
that regulation is inevitably a failure, and that in view of the
social importance of public utilities, ownership is a logical and
necessary step.
Important social gains are claimed for municipal ownership. It is said
that where the plan has been tried, it has promoted civic interest and
has enlisted a higher type of public official. If all utilities were
municipally owned, state legislatures and city councils would no
longer be subjected to the danger of corruption by private
corporations seeking franchises. If utilities were owned by the
municipality, it is claimed, service and social welfare rather than
profits would become the ideal. The public plant could afford to offer
lower rates, because it would not be under the necessity of earning
high profits. Finally, service could be extended into outlying or
sparsely settled districts which are now neglected by privately owned
companies because of the high expense and small profits that would
result from such extension.
340. ARGUMENTS AGAINST MUNICIPAL OWNDERSHIP.--Other students of the
problem believe that public regulation of utilities is preferable to
municipal ownership. Those holding this view maintain that on the
whole regulation has proved satisfactory, and that ownership is
therefore unnecessary.
Rather than improving the public service by enlisting a higher type of
public official, it is maintained, municipal ownership would increase
political corruption by enlarging the number of positions which would
become the spoils of the political party in power. The periodic
political changes resulting from frequent elections in cities would
demoralize the administration of the utilities. Under our present
system of government, municipal ownership means a lack of centralized
control, a factor which would lessen administrative responsibility and
encourage inefficiency.
The opponents of municipal ownership also contend that the
inefficiency resulting from this form of control would increase the
cost of management. This increased cost would in turn necessitate
higher rates. Moreover, municipal ownership might increase enormously
the indebtedness of the municipality, since either private plants
would have to be purchased, or new plants erected at public expense.
341. EXTENT OF MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP.--Some cities have tried municipal
ownership and have abandoned the scheme as unworkable. In some
instances this failure has been due to the inherent difficulties of
the case, in other instances the inefficiency of the city
administration has prevented success. In still other cities ownership
of various utilities has proved markedly successful.
Most American cities now own their own waterworks, and about one third
of them own their own gas or electric light plants. A few cities own
either a part or the whole of their street railways. Municipal
ownership of public utilities is still in its infancy, but the
movement is growing.
342. CONDITIONS OF MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP.--Past experience indicates
several mistakes to be avoided in any future consideration of the
problem of municipal ownership.
The terms upon which the city purchases a utility ought not to be so
severe as to discourage the future development of new utilities by
private enterprise.
Public ownership is practicable only when the utility has passed the
experimental stage, for governmental agencies cannot effectively carry
on the experiments, nor assume the risks, so essential to the
development of a new enterprise.
Any discussion of public ownership ought to include a consideration of
social and political factors, as well as matters which are strictly
economic.