ment in the seventeenth century, which, mainly through the New England settlement, has left its impress on all America. At the present time large numbers of the most excellent people we have are profoundly convinced of the essential immorality both of card playing and dancing. Some churches make it a matter of discipline; some wink at it, and some see nothing wrong in it.

On the other hand, many estimable people, doubtless comprising the majority of the community, believe dancing in itself to be an agreeable and innocent amusement, and that the evil consists in the promiscuous entertainments, conducted in public places and open to all, which are common in rural districts. As to "card playing" they claim that it is an absolutely innocent recreation, which has proved its acceptability for ages, and in all countries, and deny absolutely that it has any tendency whatever to lead to "gambling," or that in fact it ever does so lead. It may not seem clear to all what this has to do with the economic relations of the farmer to his fellows, but the fact is that in many rural districts this question of dancing and card playing lies at the root of rural discontent. It did so in the neighborhood where I was brought up. The people of most sterling worth set their faces strongly against these amusements, which the rougher element freely indulged in. The more headstrong of the youth of the better families tended to break loose from home restraints and associate themselves with the rough element, to the unquestioned deterioration of their morals.

Youth craves amusement and will have it. Age really requires it more than youth. The trouble with rural society is not the modesty of its pecuniary rewards, but the grinding, cheerless habit of life, which, by the way, is more marked in the American farmers than in any other people in the world. The youth do not drift to the cities so much with the idea of making more money as of having a better time. The remedy for much of the farmers' discontent is more abundant social intercourse, in which it is extremely desirable that parents and children should participate together.

The difficulties in the way of this seem almost insurmount

able. Farmers' houses are not usually built to accommodate large companies. This of itself often compels the resort to the objectionable public hall. It is always possible, however, for heads of families to unite to engage such halls, control the company invited, and by their presence exercise all necessary restraint. When gatherings are held at farmhouses, the labor of preparation, and, worse still, of clearing away after, often falls almost entirely upon the already overworked women of the family. There is often, also, an unfortunate strife to outdo each other, which adds greatly to the labor, and bears harder on the weaker.

No one can settle these things but the farmers themselves and their families, in the light of their sturdy common sense, and their regard for themselves and their youth. But one thing is sure, if rural conditions are to improve, the beginning must be made in its social features. The American farmer does not need to work harder but to play more. He must mingle with his fellows for the mere enjoyment of it. And when gatherings are held, they must be so managed that a good time is assured. Grange meetings are good, but the majority of farmers are not grangers, nor can any formal organized meeting take the place of the unrestricted freedom of intercourse at the home.

And such gatherings do not need promotion in any organized way. Any family can begin a round of "visits" to other families, which will be quite certainly returned in due time Or the more formal course can be taken of issuing invitations for an afternoon and evening, or for the evening alone. There would be more of this if the women of rural households would content themselves with such preparations as are within their strength. Perhaps this is not possible, the vice of "showing off" being apparently inseparable from the make-up of a good housewife. But in some way the social conditions of rural life must improve if fathers and mothers are to be contented, or the brighter youth to be retained there.

I do not think it an ignoble view of life to consider its main end rational enjoyment, for the highest pleasure unquestionably comes from labor profitably directed, interspersed

with suitable recreation, and accompanied by the discharge of civic, social, and religious duties. The importance of the

social side comes from the fact that through that we in a great - measure shape the lives of our youth. Recreation they will have, and if they deteriorate it will almost certainly be through companionships formed in pursuit of recreation in which parents do not participate. The economic importance of this chapter grows out of the danger that under present social conditions the drain of vigor from the farm to the city will be greater than the farming class can endure without impairing its power of survival. The weaker residue left may not be able to sustain themselves in competition with other classes. As the lack of social enjoyment on the farm is unquestionably the main factor in driving boys away from the farm, it is best to frankly recognize the fact. Rational recreation is an economic factor of great power.

CHAPTER III.

THE FARMER AND HIS COMPETITORS.

F, in a certain town upon a certain day, two men need loads of hay and two farmers are in town with hay to sell, the demand is exactly equal to the supply. Each can buy If the hay n

what he needs or sell what he has to spare. the two loads is of the same quality it would seem that the element of competition hardly entered into the transaction. As a matter of fact, it is operating as strongly as ever. The competition of sellers prevents a rise in price and that of the buyers a fall. It is also evidently true that neither buyers nor sellers would probably know that the market was in exact equilibrium, and consequently would act under the full influence of the competitive feeling.

Aside from the competition of these buyers and sellers in reference to these loads of hay, in any town there is likely to be grain and straw for sale, which may entirely take the place of hay, and would do so if the price of the latter were placed too high. If, instead of considering the competition merely with reference to the business of one day, we consider it in the long run, as in fact it always operates, we see that timothy hay, for example, competes in the market with all other forms of forage and grain which will serve for stock food. It is the same with food for human beings. All food materials compete in the market with all other food materials. So also the fibers suitable for clothing compete among themselves. When wool is extremely high as compared with cotton, more of the latter will be used in cloths. As the business of the farmer is mainly the production of raw material for clothing and for food for men and animals, all farmers are in competition with all other farmers for the sale of their products. The wheat farmer does not merely compete with other wheat or even with other breadstuffs, but with all other food products.

But there is another way of looking at this matter. The combined labor of mankind for a given time, together with the use of the accumulations of ages, results in the power to obtain a certain number of satisfactions which those belonging to the race may enjoy during that time or reserve for future enjoyment. Each one of us is struggling to obtain for himself in each year the largest possible portion of this common stock of satisfactions.* In common language we do not use the term "satisfactions," but "money," which, so far as they are objects of economic thought, will procure them. What, however, we really seek is the satisfaction which we obtain by the use of money.

When a farmer who has hay to spare deals with one who desires to buy hay, we do not usually think of the temporary relation as one of competition, but as an exchange of satisfactions for the mutual benefit of both, as in fact it usually is; but the farmer desires to get the highest price possible for his hay, with no thought for the profit which the buyer may obtain for its use, while the buyer desires to purchase as cheaply as possible without regard to what it may have cost the seller. They are competing with each other for the possession of money.

The economic transactions of modern times have become so inextricably interwoven with each other that they can by no possibility be separated, and the result is that all men are competitors of all other men. This competition which pervades all nature is called the struggle for existence. Its only limit is that imposed by affection, which leads men to forego personal satisfactions for the sake of their families and friends, and by an altruistic† feeling which impels a comparatively few men and many more women to prefer the general welfare to their personal gain. Economic science recognizes the existence of this influence but does not deal with it. It assumes competition to continue unhampered.

*" Satisfaction" is a term used in economic science to denote anything which is the object of human desire, even though its use may be actually injurious.

† Altruism means regard for others."