158 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR 
consciousness of the value of her own work, a sense of personal dig- 
nity, and a jealous regard for her rights. Another surprising dis- 
covery in this connection was that the peasant women were less 
conservative than the men; spurred on by necessity, they showed 
themselves quite ready to welcome new methods of farming. 
The Economic Section of the Central Committee. 
On March 14, 1916, the conference of the Union of Zemstvos de- 
cided to organize an economic section under the Central Committee, 
whose business it should be to coordinate the economic activities of 
the Union, and to prepare a plan for a better and more effective use 
of the agronomic resources of the country. 
Accordingly, an economic section was formed, and enlisted the 
services of many prominent specialists and experts; it held several 
conferences at which a number of economic problems were carefully 
considered and worked out. Unfortunately, its activities were of 
short duration and it was therefore unable to accomplish much of 
practical value. It called the attention of the authorities and the 
public to the excellent work of the zemstvo of Perm and its volost 
economic councils, and it carried on a vigorous propaganda for the 
organization of similar committees elsewhere. The economic section 
undertook the organization of student farm-labor squads, but dur- 
ing the first year it was able to satisfy only about 20 per cent of the 
demand. It organized courses of instruction for skilled mechanics at 
the Moscow Agricultural Institute, the Moscow Society of Agricul- 
ture, and the Voronezh Agricultural Institute. Those graduating 
from the courses found employment with the zemstvos but their 
number did not exceed 59 per cent of the demand.