That far-seeing Irish leader, Sir Horace Plunkett, after a searching study of American conditions, is inclined to think that our great prosperous cities are blundering seriously in not concerning themselves more earnestly with the rural problem: "Has it been sufficiently considered how far the moral and physical health of the modern city depends upon the constant influx of fresh blood from the country, which has ever been the source from which the town draws its best citizenship? You cannot keep on indefinitely skimming the pan and have equally good milk left. Sooner or later, if the balance of trade in this human traffic be not adjusted, the raw material out of which urban society is made will be seriously deteriorated, and the symptoms of national degeneracy will be properly charged against those who neglected to foresee the evil and treat the cause.... The people of every state are largely bred in rural districts, and the physical and moral well-being of those districts must eventually influence the quality of the whole people."[11] V. A Challenge to Faith. The seriousness of our problem is sufficiently clear. Our consideration in this chapter has been confined mainly to the personal factors. Certain important social and institutional factors will be further considered in Chapter V under Country Life Deficiencies. With all its serious difficulties and discouragements the rural problem is a splendid challenge to faith. There are many with the narrow city outlook who despair of the rural problem and consider that country life is doomed. There are still others who have faith in the country town and village but have lost their faith in the open country as an abiding place for rural homes. Before giving such people of little faith further hearing, we must voice the testimony of a host of country lovers who have a great and enduring faith in the country as the best place for breeding men, the most natural arena for developing character, the most favorable place for happy homes, and, for a splendid host of country boys and girls the most challenging opportunity for a life of service. TEST QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER I 1.--How would you define the Rural Problem? 2.--Illustrate how the growth of the city has affected the rural problem. 3.--Explain the terms rural, urban, city, town, and village. 4.--What misleading comparisons have been made between city and country conditions? 5.--In what six states has the rural population, as a whole, shown a net loss in the last ten years? 6.--To what extent has rural America grown in population the past half century? 7.--Describe the symptoms of a decadent village. 8.--Under what conditions do you find a village improving even when losing population? 9.--Discuss carefully the comparative degeneracy of the city and the country. 10.--Describe some of the stages of rural degeneracy. 11.--What signs of rural degeneracy have come under your personal observation and how do you account for the conditions?