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N the present advanced stage of indus trial life, the city has apparently con centrated the interest and thought of the great majority while the country u 965% has been allowed to keep the even tenor of its way. But people are now awakening to the fact that the country districts have their needs and problems, imperative and difficult as those of the city, and the thinkers on so cial problems find these more and more ab sorbing. Undue congestion is the problem of the city; undue segregation is that of the coun try. The home, the school and the church all present questions for solution. The country home should not be merely a workshop or a coaling station. It should have comforts and conveniences; especially should it have books and music which are the most potent educating and elevating influences known. Chas. R. Henderson says in substance that in the present day too much attention is paid to the country as a productive factor, too many books treat of improving agricultural conditions, making two ears of corn grow where one grew before, while too little en couragement is given to the farmer and his fami'y to become w T ell rounded individuals. The betterment of agriculture is one of the most important steps of the present day, but the betterment of the individual is and ever will be more important. No longer is it thought that any one can farm, that no education and very little intellect is required to wrest a liv ing from the soil. Now college training and all that broadens the intellect and softens the heart are acknowledged to be the heritage of him who feeds the nations. The country home should be attractive so the son or daughter when educated wi'.l not desire to go to the city as so many have done, but will go back to the soil.” It seems to us that all the country problems culminate in the education of the individual— educated people do better work and make bet ter homes. Lack of education has ever been the re proach and drawback of the country commu nity. The school is often poor and has a short Grove,” T. L. Haecker, head of the Dairy School, College of Agriculture, Minn. What can the country church do to promote the intellectual and social life of the commu nity ? What can it do to stimulate reading and the intellectual life in general? Dr. R. H. Pitt, editor of the Religious Herald. Richmond, Va. What can it do to develop an interesting elevating social life? Rev. J. J. Gravatt, of Rapidan, Va. The Relation of the Village Church to the Open Country—Miss Anna B. Taft, assistant superintendent, department of church and country life, board of home missions, Pres byterian church, New York. Is it possible for the country church to work for more wholesome and attractive homes? What can it do for sanitation —J. A. Far rell, assistant secretary, state board of health, Raleigh, N. C. How can it make the homes more artistic and attractive —Everybody. At Richmond, in Addition to the Conferences PROBLEM OF THE COUNTRY The Golden Age for April 3, 1913 SALLIE V. CLEMENTS term. The country boys and girls become dis couraged and cease to care for education at all or leave the country forever to find the learn ing which they crave. One great aid in this line is the consolida tion of schools. One good school in the center of a circle 8 or 10 miles in radius is better than a half dozen poor and insufficient equip ped ones. Wagons can collect the children and convey them to and from school. This is now being agitated in a number of states and is working successfully in many places. The school should correlate its interests with those of the home and farm, thus awakening enthusiasm and becoming a center of improve ment for the whole rural district. The corn and tomato clubs of the south are promoting education and agriculture as well. The rural school, however, should not -teach agricultural subjects merely; it should broaden the pupil’s mental horizon in every possible way and im plant within every pupil thq desire to un fold to fullest fruition every talent given to their keeping. Stagnation is the great peril of the rural districts. The school should be a pure spring, whose life giving waters refresh the whole country and “passing thro’ the valley of Ba raca make it a well.” Some educators of ability are even now giv ing all their power and influence to the accom plishment of these high ideals for the rural schools. But more are needed to help wake the country residents to the co-operation and effort necessary to attain such. Every country school teacher should work with enthusiasm toward this end. Yet one of the greatest hindrances to fuller development of home and school in the country is the industrial oppres sion which even at the present time the farmer undergoes. His just profits are denied him, not that the consumer may save expense, but that the middle man may gain money. The farmer stands at the starting point of the three economic processes of production, dis tribution and consumption. His part is most important; his remuneration least adequate. It is now time for the farmers to form unions to protect their interests, to study industrial on the Country Church, April 16-18. The Farmers’ Conference to get at the best means of marketing farm products and of financing farm operations. The Business Men’s Conference to consider the question of Commercial Aid for farm and country-life development. A Conference of School Workers to find an effective means for making the rural school serve farm needs. The College Conference to plan extension ac tivities in country communities. General conferences on “Co-operation Among Farmers;” “Rural Credit Societies;” “Educa tion of Women in the Country,”' in which all join. General Programs and an Extensive Exhibit setting forth what is being done for rural up building in the South by farm demonstration, health, rural school and other agencies. Reduced railway rate, lines between Poto mac and Mississippi, three cents per mile one distance plus 25 cents for the round trip. Full programs can be had from A. P. Bour- conditions and use intelligent methods of sell ing. The days when the gold bricks of commerce could be passed off on the unsuspecting farmer must be and now are past. If the country school is so vital a factor, what of the country church? It likewise is a prob lem. The country church is too poor finan cially to have a resident pastor and too often it tends to become a social center where the men exchange farm news and the women house hold gossip instead of a real spiritual force. But to us it seems that this danger is not very great. The country church is usually sincere and even enthusiastic. Lack of “sa voir faire” is the greatest drawback. The country church has not the problems of coun ter attractions to face that the city church has and in general is to a marked! degree influential in rural life. Country churches should bestir themselves so that they may have services every Sunday and with better educational advantages, the people will know how to run the Sunday school and auxiliary societies in a more interesting manner than ever before. n Thus the problems of the country to our mind resolve themselves into the one great problem of the training of the individual. We must not be understood to say that religion is not powerful without education; it is for we have seen it tried, but we do say that trained minds are best in every sphere of life and certainly the country is no exception. The day will surely come when Markham’s picture of the “Man with the Hoe” will be a relic inapplicable to any recent time. The day will surely come when country life will become full and rich; when education will be considered a necessity, not a luxury; when the trained mind and noble heart will unite to follow the precepts of Him who came 41 that all might have fife and have it more abund antly.” And let us who can, aid in the great awaken ing of the country to its wondrous possibilities “And its paper, aid its type, Aid it for the hour is ripe; Aid its tongue and aid its pen, Aid its hearts of honest men.” land, executive secretary, 725 Southern build ing, Washington, D. C. “WE LOVE IT AS NO OTHER PAPER.” In Mr. J. J. Hodnett, Lineville, Ala., The Golden Age has a practical, substantial friend. Sending a check for $4.50 covering his own renewal and sending the paper to two friends whose families he wants to enjoy its blessing and inspiration every week, Mr. Hodnett says: Give Dr. Broughton a good, warm, hearty handshake for me while he is in Atlanta and tell him he has been a great blessing to me through his sermons in The Golden Age. I wish to say this much more: We love The Golden Age in our home as we love no other paper. God bless the man who edits the pa per and gives his readers something that is worth reading—because his heart seems to be burning with the desire to inspire and lift up humanity and honor God. May the Lord bless not only the editor, but all the officers and as sociates who are helping to make The Golden Age such a blessing to the world.” 7