CHAPTER III

THE ORIGIN AND CONSEQUENCES OF RURAL NEGLECT

The origin of rural neglect in English-speaking countries traced to the Industrial Revolution in England--Effect of modern economic changes upon the mutual relations of town and country populations--Respects in which the old relations ought to be restored--Three economic reasons for the study of rural conditions--The social consequences of rural neglect--The political importance of rustic experience to reenforce urban intelligence in modern democracies--The analogue of the European exodus in the United States--The moral aspects of rural neglect--The danger to national efficiency of sacrificing agricultural to commercial and industrial interests--The happy circumstance of Mr. Roosevelt's interest in rural well-being 35