THE CO-OPERATIVE FARM AS A FACTOR IN SOCIAL EVOLUTION.
"From the thorough understanding and appreciation of these principles,
by the workers on your model co-operative farm, must come the necessary
zeal, the cementing enthusiasm of a mighty purpose which, with ever
increasing volume, shall urge them forward to the goal of complete
success. As one of the means to insure this success, we must strive to
introduce a new era for agriculture, in which co-operative working shall
be supplemented and reinforced by co-operative thinking. As applied to
farm work, this is a new and untried field which promises grand results.
"In all kinds of productive labor, muscular effort is a mental
demonstration! The keener the mentality controlling the muscles, the
more satisfactory the work accomplished. The more interested and the
healthier and happier the laborer is in his work, the easier it becomes
for him to produce superior results. For centuries, farm work has been
considered the natural avocation of the ignorant and the illiterate!
Strange as it may appear, it seems to have been generally conceded that
the typical clodhopper was the ordained farmer! That this perverted idea
regarding the requirements of a tiller of the soil, should have
maintained its existence for so many ages, is a matter of profound
astonishment to every intelligent thinker!"
"Pardon me, Mr. Fenwick," said Fillmore Flagg, "if at this time I quote
a case in point from my own state. As late as the year 1897, a Bishop
Withington, of Nebraska, speaking of farmers' sons who were struggling
for an education, says of them:
"'The farmers' sons--a great many of them--who have absolutely no
ability to rise, get a taste of education and follow it up. They will
never amount to anything--that is, many of them--and they become
dissatisfied to follow in the walk of life that God intended they
should, and drift into cities. It is the over-education of those who are
not qualified to receive it that fills our cities, while the farms lie
idle.'
"This, Mr. Fenwick, is but a sample of many like expressions from the
lips of public men, showing the stigma and low estimate which is placed
on farmers as a class, by clerical, professional and commercial people.
When we consider that farming people form a large majority of the
citizens of our republic, a republic whose constitution guarantees equal
rights for all; whose chief corner stone from the beginning, has been
its admirable system of free education in its public schools; the
manifest endeavor of the Bishop and his class, to consign the tillers of
the soil to a caste of low order, and to argue that education is for the
few and not for the farmer, indicates something radically wrong in our
social system that augurs ill for the future of our republic. That the
dissatisfaction is widespread and serious, is manifest to all thinkers
and observers. To discover the cause and cure, and to speedily apply the
remedy for this growing discontent, becomes an imperative duty for all
patriotic people. In my experience, the following are some of the most
prolific causes:
"The isolation and loneliness of the small farm.
"The long hours of tedious, monotonous toil for both man and woman.
"The constantly increasing competition of large farms, armed with
capital and expensive machinery, which tends to reduce the price of farm
products.
"The want of proper society, healthful amusements, books, and many other
necessary educational facilities.
"The discouraging meagerness of the financial returns for a year of such
constant toil.
"These things all tend to destroy the farmer's love for, and pride in,
his occupation, until farm work becomes a repulsive drudgery, and he
flies to the city for a more congenial employment. Is it then, under the
circumstances, any wonder that the farmers' sons should become
dissatisfied with the occupation of their birth? That in company with
their sisters and sweethearts they should be determined, at all hazards,
to escape from the evils of what Bishop Withington terms a
'God-ordained' class of hewers of wood, drawers of water, and tillers of
the soil, a class which dooms them and their children to a future of
hopeless toil?
"Agriculture forms the basis and support of our national, industrial and
commercial success. Therefore it is imperative that agricultural
pursuits be made to become the most noble and pleasing of all
occupations. How can this be accomplished?
"Surely, co-operative farming, with its improved conditions and methods,
is the remedy indicated!"
"Yes, Mr. Flagg," said Fennimore Fenwick, "Co-operative farming is the
partial remedy which shall start the healing process, and lead to the
discovery of a perfect cure. You have ably stated the evils which make
living on small farms so unsatisfactory. You have also made an excellent
argument for our work from the text Bishop Withington has so blindly
and unthinkingly furnished. It is quite evident that neither he nor his
class, have the least conception of the true cause of the discontent
they so deeply deplore. It is also equally clear that with all the
advantages of superior conditions, with the observation and education of
a lifetime, they have so far, utterly failed to understand or appreciate
the real object and purpose of human life. They are sorely in need of an
object lesson which we must furnish.
"In efforts to slake a natural thirst for knowledge, the brightest
minds, the most profound thinkers of the past ten centuries, at the end
of lives devoted to study, have declared that the vast domain of
knowledge still remained practically an unexplored field. This domain is
for coming generations to conquer and possess. It invites the efforts of
millions of co-operative thinkers, born and trained for the task. Hence,
to me, it is as clear as the noonday sun that the embodiment of more
mind by our agricultural people, is a matter of imperative necessity.
They should have the leisure and the opportunity to become familiar with
all the varied phenomena of nature, through the recorded observations
that comprise the different sciences, which describe and explain all
phases of surrounding life. Thus equipped, they will be able to discover
that they are a living, working, part of nature, which defined, means
the combined life of the planet; that they act upon all things about
them and are in turn acted upon. A comprehension of these things can
come only to the cultivated mind, and the richer its store of facts, the
more perfect its grasp and control of surrounding conditions. Therefore
mind, as the expression of the soul and body of the dual individual on
the physical plane of existence, is EVERYTHING! It controls and molds
structure; the body; the people around. All history is but a detailed
description of the action of mind.
"The great minds are the dominant thinkers; they sway the multitude,
mold public opinion, effect legislation and shape the nation. These
dominant minds should come from the people of the soil, as best equipped
to discover and proclaim the law of the planet's unfoldment, also best
able to conceive and formulate the wise laws which should guide and
govern its people. Hence the necessity for our farmers to become
thinkers--dominant thinkers.
"What are the best conditions for mind unfoldment?
"As Professor Elmer Gates so wisely says, 'The human body is composed of
myriads of living organisms--a co-operative colony of more or less
intelligent cells--which respond to the control of the individual Ego
through the action of the mind, and to the electrical conditions which
flow from the emotions.' Hence the body is an important part of the
thinking machine and, therefore, a perfect mind must absolutely be the
highest expression of a perfect body. The perfect body needs to be well
born. To be well born, is to demand conditions for a perfect motherhood,
and the perfect unfoldment of both mother and child together.
"Where can these conditions be found?
"We find them best and most abundant in the rural districts, far from
the turmoil and strife, the smoke and poisonous gases of the great city.
Surrounded by fields and forests, in the pure air of a broad expanse of
country, domed with the blue sky, and flooded with golden sunlight, on
the soil of the farm, close to the fostering bosom of our planet
mother, Earth. Therefore it must be the distinctive and well defined
purpose of our co-operative farm to furnish and perfect these
conditions, thus uniting in perfect harmony stirpiculture with
agriculture, a union as poetical as it is practical. From these
conditions must come a race of dominant thinkers, the exponents and
champions of the real objects and purposes of human life.
"With the coming of such a race, comes the beginning of the era of
unselfishness, and the end of the present era of selfishness, the age of
gold worship, where greed for gold blights and withers public and
private conscience, dominates and corrupts all forms of society, and
makes conditions which breed monopolies, caste, tramps, paupers, armies
of idle men, strikes, discontent, starvation and revolution!
"Verily, a perfect catalogue of the ways and means by which 'Man's
inhumanity to man, makes countless millions mourn!' With the dawn of the
unselfish era, comes the demonstration of how man's humanity to man can
and will make countless millions rejoice!
"In selecting the people who are to be the active, working members of
our co-operative farm, it is a matter of the utmost importance that they
should be chosen from a class of persons who are capable of thinking in
harmony on religious and political questions, who are already in
sympathy with progressive ideas and co-operative work, intelligently
alive to its importance and to its advantages, capable of understanding
and appreciating that it is not the sole purpose of the organization to
make money but also to accomplish a multitude of things besides:
"First and foremost, to ennoble the occupation of their birthright.
"To make farming the most charming and healthful and most desirable of
all vocations.
"To make it so remunerative that a reserve fund can be accumulated,
sufficiently large to enable its members to purchase the necessary land
for an ever increasing series of co-operative farms, for their children
and their children's children for generations yet to come.
"To unite stirpiculture so closely with agriculture that a race of
perfect children shall be the crowning glory of all the productions of
the farm.
"To afford ideal conditions for motherhood and childhood, that all
children may be proudly welcomed to a world of loving hearts; that they
may be well born, wisely and beautifully unfolded mentally, morally,
spiritually and physically; that they may be skillfully taught how to
work, to think, to reason, and to comprehend and appreciate the true
purposes of life, consequently their duties as true men and
women--self-poised and noble, a law unto themselves--capable and fully
prepared to enter the walks of life as worthy and honored citizens of an
ideal republic.
"That it is to be the province of the farm, by the co-operative thinking
of its workers, to develop and increase the fertility and productiveness
of the valleys and plains to such an extent that the hills and mountains
may be reclothed with beautiful forests of choice trees, of varieties
most valued for lumber and timber; also great orchards of the choicest
varieties of fruit and nut bearing trees, as a source of future pleasure
and profit, at the same time preparing the way for a more complete
control of climatic conditions. By the process of shading and protecting
the slopes of both hill and mountain by these valuable forests, a
magical change for the better is effected. Everywhere a soft, spongy
carpet of fallen leaves, ever increasing in thickness, is spread out,
moistening and enriching the soil and conserving the waters of the
increased rainfall. A thousand living springs of pure, sparkling water
make glad the plains and valleys. The evils of flood, erosion and drouth
are checked; the climate made more congenial; the value of both hill and
mountain, as a source of wealth, increased a thousand fold.
"Aided by the organization of our co-operative association, which makes
it possible to treat large tracts of land as a single farm, this great
work can be easily and surely accomplished by the earnest and united
efforts of a people who, surrounded by conditions of comfort and plenty,
are in a suitable mood to plant what their children and coming
generations may enjoy.
"As an evidence of man's awakening consciousness of his power, by means
of intelligent co-operation, to make conditions that shall protect him
and his loved ones from the many calamities which have hitherto beset
and overwhelmed human lives, we note the extraordinary work accomplished
by the different classes of insurance companies, during the past fifty
years. These companies are in fact large bodies of people, incorporated
and working co-operatively and systematically together to protect
themselves. The success which has followed their efforts in this
direction has, for the thinker, a marked significance, pregnant with
suggestions for the future. In the co-operative farm, organized and
carried forward on lines in harmony with the principles and purposes
before stated, this system of insurance, in its simplest, least
expensive and most practical form, is to be carried to its fullest
extent into all the departments of life. By its wise provisions for the
care and protection of the weaker units, it insures its members against
loss of employment or wages; against sickness, injury or accident;
against poverty, hunger and crime. It insures to all, for themselves and
their children, the perpetual right to occupy and till the soil, and
thus to secure by short hours of pleasant, attractive labor, the
generous return which can be obtained only by the most perfect system of
scientific, co-operative farming, armed with abundant capital. In
addition, it insures to them all the advantages of birth, health,
education, society and amusement which money can buy for the wealthy:
more leisure, more opportunities for mental, social, ethical and
scientific self-culture. It also insures to the world at large an object
lesson which shall demonstrate that the way is open for the poorest farm
laborer to secure the same results by joining these progressive
co-operative bodies.
"In looking forward to the effect upon society which these combined
farms may have, we must consider the numbers and strength of the
opposing force which, on every hand, will rise up as a bar to progress.
For years, gold, that concentrated essence of selfishness, has been
recognized by its worshipers as the crowned king of society, whose
crimson banners have borne these suggestive mottoes: 'I am not my
brother's keeper! His injuries concern me not!' 'Every man for himself!'
'It is well and good and right that the happiness of the few should be
secured at the expense of the misery of the many, for is it not written,
"The poor ye have always."?'
"Fortunately, the law of compensation limits and finally crushes the
reign of selfishness, causing it to perish by its own efforts to live,
which in time destroy the substance upon which it feeds. Hence we may
look hopefully to the future. With prophetic eyes we may behold the
victorious march of these farm units by companies, battalions,
regiments, brigades and divisions, like a vast army of peace, silently
spreading, absorbing and conquering the old selfish system, grandly
demonstrating the solidarity of human life, and the irresistible force
of the combined efforts of thousands of bravely unselfish souls, working
and thinking in unison, filled with enthusiasm kindled and inspired by
the magnitude and grandeur of the true purposes of life.
"Having thus broadly outlined the scope of the work, with its underlying
principles, we may now give attention to the details of the plan for the
initial farm. In this I would advise that the enterprise be made to
adapt itself, so far as possible, to the present commercial and
industrial conditions. That it be an incorporated stock company,
limited. That its corporate life be for the longest possible term of
years, with the right to renew. That it shall secure and control at
least five thousand acres of land, to more readily enable it to dominate
the township, as the lowest political unit of the republic; and also to
give room for the planting of suitable forests. That its capital stock
be limited to one thousand shares, to be divided equally among five
hundred co-operators, composed of two hundred and fifty couples or
families. That at the end of five years the stock be issued to the
subscribers as paid up stock, by cash from the sinking fund, paid in for
that purpose. That the stock of a retiring member can be sold only to
the treasury of the company, the same to be re-issued to the succeeding
member. That in order to avoid friction with the outside commercial
world, the stockholders collectively shall sell to themselves
individually, at ruling market prices, whatever they may need, the
profits to go as a contribution from all to the insurance fund for the
aged. That the care of the sick and the injured, and the education of
the children, be classed and paid as a legitimate expense of the farm.
That the co-operators collectively, pay to themselves individually, a
wage sufficiently generous to enable them to purchase what they may
desire in the way of furniture, food and clothing; allowing for a
liberal percentage to be devoted to the sinking fund, to pay for the
farm, the stock, and also for the additional land that may be secured as
future farms for the children. That all other details necessary for the
successful carrying out of these plans, be left for a satisfactory
solution, to the practical working and co-operative thinking of the
members of the farm.
"I wish you, Mr. Flagg, as soon as may be convenient, to make a tour of
inspection for the purpose of selecting and purchasing ten of the most
available sites for such farms that you can find. From the ten you shall
choose the one best adapted to the conditions required for the initial
farm.
"After occupation, at the end of five years, these lands are to be sold
to the co-operators, at the purchase price, which, in any event, must
not exceed the sum of ten dollars per acre. Until the deeds are made to
the co-operators, these lands are to be in your custody as sole agent
and director.
"In these matters my daughter, Fern, will aid you in every possible way.
Many times you will find her advice valuable, therefore when needed,
command it without hesitation. I have an abiding faith that her
inspiration will benefit you in many ways in achieving success for the
model farm; a matter in which I am greatly interested and to which, as
both mortal and spirit, I have for a number of years given close
attention and much earnest thought. I now leave the matter to you and to
Fern for such thought and discussion as the occasion may demand. I shall
be glad at any time to answer questions concerning any particular point.
Good night, Mr. Flagg; Good night my daughter."
As Fennimore Fenwick bade them good night, both Fillmore and Fern
returned the salutation, and Fern rose from her chair, saying:
"I think, Mr. Flagg, that until now I have never quite understood the
broad principles of real unselfishness. In the light of my father's
comprehensive statement of the true purpose of human life, they stand
forth in bold relief, clear and strong. What a grand incentive they
offer, to stir the zeal and enthusiasm of our co-operative workers! All
life is affected by them and discloses new meanings. All life seems more
precious, more sacred. Yet the task assigned to you, Mr. Flagg, is not
an easy one: I foresee many difficulties, but you will overcome all of
them. The plan is so thoroughly in harmony with right and justice, so
fraught with happiness for the masses, that it must succeed! I trust
that you feel encouraged to go forward hopefully with the work?"
"Thanks to Fennimore Fenwick," replied Fillmore Flagg, "I am armed
against all obstacles by a new philosophy of life. Its possibilities, as
applied I to practical work, are beyond computation! His masterly
statement of the true theory and purpose of human life, embodies the
crystallized wisdom of centuries. I am profoundly impressed with it.
Applied to my chosen life work, it demands my best thought, my entire
devotion: to co-operative work as exemplified by our proposed model
farm, it means unqualified success!
"Pardon me, Miss Fenwick, you have been hard at work, writing rapidly
for a long time. You need rest. Let us then postpone further discussion
until tomorrow."
"Yes, I think that will be best," replied Fern, "so good night, Mr.
Flagg."
"Good night, Miss Fenwick."