DEPENDENCE OF THE MODERN FARMER

Under present-day conditions, a farmer who raises wheat probably uses none of it himself.  He sells his entire crop for the use of others, while to supply himself and his family with bread he goes to the store and buys flour that may have been milled in Minnesota from wheat raised by other farmers, perhaps in North Dakota or South Dakota.  In exchange for his wheat he also gets clothing manufactured in New York or New England from cotton raised in Georgia or Texas, or from wool grown in Montana.  He buys a wagon made in Indiana from lumber cut in the South and iron mined in Michigan and smelted in Ohio.  Thus he earns his living by producing food for other people, while the things he uses in living are the product of labor expended by other people in the effort to earn their living.  We noticed in Chapter ii how many people and occupations were concerned in producing a pair of shoes.

EARNING BY SERVICE

While the farmer or other worker may be interested primarily in providing for his own wants and those of his family, he can do this only by producing something or performing service for others; and while each worker may be most concerned about what he receives for his work, the community is most concerned about what he produces.  Earning a living has two sides to it:  rendering service to others and being paid for the service rendered.  It is as if the community entered into a sort of agreement with the worker to the effect that it will provide him with a living in return for definite service to the community or for the product of his labor.  What we call “business” is selling A service.  It may be personal service, such as teaching, or prescribing medicine, or nursing, or giving legal advice, or cutting hair, or driving a team, or running an automobile.  Or it may be purchasing, storing, retailing, and delivering things which have been produced perhaps many hundreds or thousands of miles away.  Or it may be raising foodstuffs on the farm, or mining fuels and metals from the earth, or cutting timber from the forest.  Or it may be manufacturing—­ buying materials and converting them into products serviceable to others.  Whatever it is, every man’s business is also the community’s business, and the community has a right to expect industry and honest, efficient work from every worker.

Discuss the occupations named in answer to the two questions on page 26, from the point of view of their service to the community.

To what extent is your father’s business or occupation dependent upon the business or occupation of the fathers of other members of the class?

Show how your father’s business is also the community’s business.

What is the price of land in your neighborhood?  Consult your father or friends in regard to the increase or decrease in price in recent years and in regard to the reasons for it.