THE LITTLE DEMOCRACY
applied to suffering New York and to other cities?
The Problem of the Country.—As in the city, so in the country, the main problem is that of transportation. A century ago when the farmer made the larger number of things necessary for the use of the family, the problem was not so great. With the development of modern machinery the farmer must buy his machinery and tools, his clothing, and even much of his food from the manufacturer, or from the merchant who is the salesman of the manufacturer. Manufactured articles are sold as freely to the countryman as they are to the man who dwells in town. It is a matter of indifference to the manufacturer who buys his wares, so long as he sells them. But the city man, being nearer the manufacturer, has the advantage in transportation. The farmer not only has to consider how to get the things he wants from town, but how to get the things he wants to sell to the markets. Such problems of the country led the farmers to see that only by coöperation could they help matters. One of the first organiza-
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