Western Illinois University

A Foundation for Sustainable Rural Community Development

Surveys and Hearings

The commission used three different methods to seek information:

Circular of Questions

From The Report of the Country Life Commission (text) (p. 26):

  1. Are the farm homes in your neighborhood as good as they should be under exiting conditions?
  2. Are the schools in your neighborhood training boys and girls satisfactorily for life on the farm?
  3. Do the farmers in your neighborhood get the returns they reasonably should from the sale of their products?
  4. Do the farmers in your neighborhood receive from the railroads, highroads, trolley lines, etc., the service they reasonably should have?
  5. Do the farmers in your neighborhood receive from the United States postal service, rural telephones, etc., the service they reasonably should expect?
  6. Are the farmers and their wives in your neighborhood satisfactorily organized to promote their mutual buying and selling interest?
  7. Are the renters of farms in your neighborhood satisfactory to the hired man?
  8. Is the supply of farm labor in your neighborhood satisfactory?
  9. Are the conditions surrounding hired labor on the farms in your neighborhood satisfactory to the hired man?
  10. Have the farmers in your neighborhood satisfactory facilities for doing their business in banking, credit, insurance, etc?
  11. Are the sanitary conditions of farms in your neighborhood satisfactory?
  12. Do the farmers and their wives and families in your neighborhood get together for mutual improvement, entertainment, and social intercourse as much as they should?
  13. What, in your judgment, is the most important single thing to be done for the general betterment of country life?

Country Life Commission Public Hearings

From The Report of the Country Life Commission (text) (p. 27-28):

The Country Life Commission held 30 hearings across the country between November 9 and December 22, 1908. In many cases, hearings were held in front of the whole commission; frequently two or more long sessions were held in the same place. Full notes were taken of the proceedings. Attendance was said to be good, in some instances overflowing the hall.

At several meetings, especially in the Northwest, delegates represented associations and communities in the vicinity. They were anxious to present their views and needs. Speeches were said to be numerous, often short and pithy, and apparently represented various aspects of rural life, including many women who discussed the domestic and educational aspects of the subject.

Governors and other state officials were often present, along with presidents and professors of institutions of learning, clergy, physicians, librarians, and others. Most speakers and audience members were said to be country people. No attempt was made to follow a definite program of questioning. An occasional show of hands or outburst of applause to signify general assent to the speaker’s words marked the general discussions.

The Hearings

November, 1908

  • 9          College Park, MD
  • 10        Richmond, VA
  • 11        Raleigh, NC and Atlanta, GA
  • 12        Spartanburg, SC
  • 13        Knoxville, TN
  • 14        Lexington, KY
  • 16-18   Washington, DC
  • 19-21   Dallas, TX
  • 22-23   El Paso, TX
  • 24        Tucson, AZ
  • 25-26   Los Angeles, CA
  • 27-28   Fresno, CA
  • 28-29   San Francisco, CA
  • 30        Sacramento, CA

December, 1908

  • 1          Reno, NV
  • 2          Portland, OR
  • 2-3      Salt Lake City, UT
  • 4-5      Spokane, WA
  • 5          Cheyenne, WY
  • 6          Bozeman, MT
  • 7-8      Denver, CO
  • 9-10    Omaha, NE
  • 10       Council Bluffs, IA
  • 11       Minneapolis, MN (St. Anthony Park)
  • 12       Madison, WI
  • 14       Champaign, IL
  • 16       Ithaca, NY
  • 17       Springfield, MA
  • 18       Boston, MA
  • 22       Washington, D.C.

The Schoolhouse Meeting

From The Report of the Country Life Commission (text) (p. 28):

President Roosevelt suggested that the country people of the United States come together in their district schoolhouses to discuss country-life questions under consideration by the commission. The commission relied on the press and the county superintendent of every school district of every state and territory to encourage participation of school officials, country church ministers, and rural residents concerned with the advancement of country matters. Many communities across the country established an annual schoolhouse meeting for country people. This day of national observance served as a day for inventory- taking and planning community advancement for the following year.