Low wheat prices, destruction brought about by insect pests, and mortgages which could not be paid, caused two million persons to leave the farms last year. During the same period, nine hundred thousand people moved from the cities to the country. If births and deaths are also counted, the farm population suffered a net loss of one and one-half per cent of the population in 1921.

The flight from the country to the cities is an old story not only here in America but also in most other countries. All attempts which have been made to prevent it are outweighed by the attractions of the city.

Last year, it was demonstrated that the American farmers, in spite of a lessened supply of labor, are able to harvest large crops--thanks to modern 2machinery and modern farm methods. But suppose the harvest should fail, as a result, say, of a cold summer, or more destructive insect pests than ever before, or an actual shortage of workers! Such a misfortune would serve to bring home the fact that the growth of our cities at the expense of the farming population constitutes a real danger to the nation.