FELLOWSHIP OF URBANITES AND RURALITES
(Digest of Article by Rotarian Paul C. Rouzer, Keyser, West Virginia, U.S. A.)

We have all heard the slogan: “Get
acquainted with your neighbor, you
might like him.” Let me paraphrase
it as follows: “Get acquainted with the
rural people, surrounding your city;
you should understand them and they
might like you better.”

Country folks differ from city people
in only two ways; where they live and
_ what they do. They are the original
producers of food stuff and we are as
much dependent on them for raw ma-
terials, as they are dependent on us for
processed and manufactured goods.
Many rural people have more capital
invested in their business than we city
folks have in ours, and some have
more deposited in our banks than we
have. Without them we would not
only fail, but starve.

These rural people buy from us and
sell to us. Do we go out and meet
them in their environment? You can’t
understand a man, unless you get well
acquainted with him; where he lives
and works. Mutual understanding
comes from contacts and we must not
allow these visits to be one-sided.

What are farmers’ interests? Their
farms, their churches, their schools,
their farmers’ and farm women’s and
boys’ and girls’ clubs, their fairs, their
homecomings and reunions are their
life.

There are a number of methods for
making understanding contacts with
farm people. An annual Rotary-Farmer

Banquet, at which farmers and Ro-
tarians talk over their common prob-
lems. Good fellowship always pays big
dividends, both in cash and friendship.

A merchant may talk before a farm-
ers’ organization, telling of his over-
head expenses and explaining why his
selling prices are so much higher than
the price he pays to the producers.
Business secrets (so called) are the
cause of much unwarranted criticism
and misunderstanding.

A city family visiting a farmer with
the idea of making a small purchase of
a farm commodity, coupled with a real
interest in the farmer’s mode of liveli-
hood is good business and good Rotary.
We trade with people we know and
like. We buy from the merchant we
like best. It’s the human thing to do.

Many Rotary clubs loan money to
4-H club members to purchase seed
potatoes, seed corn, pure bred pigs,
calves or lambs. Thus a contact be-
tween a city family and a farm family
is maintained throughout a crop season
or the life of the animal and may be
extended indefinitely. Frequent visits
to see the growing crop or animal and
the developing boy or girl make for
growth of understanding.

Provincialism can’t live long where
there are telephones, hard surfaced
roads, autos, newspapers and radios.
We all have a common interest. Only
our vocations differ. We all seek happi-
ness, truth and the greatest good.

 

 

As a Wartime Activity
The war has made the farmer more indispensable than ever. He is called
upon to produce more—and then more—of the vital foodstuffs that are
needed at home and abroad. At the same time the war has brought new
problems to the farmer—labor shortages, difficulties in obtaining certain
equipment, etc. The city man, of course, has his problems too. The Rotary
club which helps to bring about a closer working arrangement between the
two groups is doing an effective wartime service.

 

 

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