ountry. The settlers are very
largely immigrants who are trying to acquire a home and livelihood on
the land. The writer of this Introduction has been studying this same
subject for many years, and has done so in many different parts of the
United States. The conclusion which we might reach deductively is
confirmed by observation--namely, that the man who settles on the land
in the right way is, with the rarest exceptions, likely to become a good
American, as are also his children.

But what do we mean by the right way? We mean that he must be on a farm
of suitable size, of good productivity, with needed help in learning how
to farm in the new country and with sufficient time in which to pay for
his farm. These are not the only considerations, but they are the main
ones, and to these Doctor Speek has given his attention.

One of the outstanding features of every study of land settlement is
that the first great cause of failure is poor selection of land. The
second chief cause of failure is insufficient length of time in which to
pay for the land. While this is of very great importance, it stands far
behind the first as a cause of failure. The third cause of failure is
closely connected with the second. It is inadequate credit and capital.

We are dealing here with the results which are universal. The selection
of land is extremely difficult, even for unusually intelligent farmers
who have had long experience in our country. To select land wisely is
quite beyond the capacity of the ordinary settler. The present writer
could give unlimited illustrations of this truth. The man who has lived
in the corn belt of Illinois is very apt to think that black soil is
necessarily good soil, and, going to another state, may perhaps select
some black peat land, underlain with sand, which is almost worthless. He
is sure to be prejudiced against red soil, which may, after all, be good
land. Once, when the writer was being shown citrous-fruit land in
California, the wise friend who was his host would point to one orchard,
which was "planted for oranges," and another "ranch" which "was planted
to sell to suckers"; yet the ordinary man, even if he spent many years
in the study of land values, could not tell the difference.

John Stuart Mill presents, in his _Principles of Political Economy_, strong
arguments for non-intervention of public authority in "the business of the
community." He says that those who stand for intervention must mak