Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-09-06
The Financial Condition OF Farmers
In Vermont.


many of our farmers as the cause of much
of the emigration from the state. The Brat
tleboro Phonir, noticing this article, stated
that this cause was not applicable to the farm
ers of the southern counties. We are glad if
this is the fact. We have long taken lively
interest in the matter, and have never failed,
as opportunity offered, to make enquiry of
leading farmers and others in all parts Of
their vicinity as regards indebtedness. Our
travels have not taken us very much into
southern Vermont, but in all the northern
and central parts the unanimous report has
improvement in agriculture has been the
heavy mortgage debts resting upon the
farm property of the state. We have asked
the question many hundred times in the
last fifteen years, of intelligent farmers
from all over the state, whether the average
annual net profits of all the farms in their
towns would exceed $50 per farm, and never
once got the answer that the average would
exceed that amount. We began asking the
question in view of the plan of cooperative
purchases and sales, because we felt sure that
nearly every farmer could save at least $50
year in this way. We wanted to show
that this would considerably increase the
net profits of every farm, but we confess our
surprise when we found that in the opinion
of many of our most thoughtful farmers
such a saving would more than double the
net profits Of Vermont agriculture. Now it
is plain enough that any decent farm that
is free from debt and is fairly well titled
can be made to support family and give a
net return in addition of more than five per
cent on $1,000. We say it is plain enough,
because plenty of men who hire farms pay
rents at this or greater rate, and easily
make both ends meet. But when a man
nominally owns his farm, but in reality has
a mortgage upon it for more than it will
fetch at forced sale, besides being in debt
to neighbors and merchants, he is in far
worse condition than a renter. He is
cramped upon every hand, and does every
thing at disadvantage great enough to take
of all his profits. Such farmer gets worse
and worse off every year, and he is wise to
get together what he can and go where he
can Homestead himself upon public land.
That hundreds have done so in the central
and northern parts of Vermont during the
last ten years is notorious. If our " south.
ern brethren are in better fix we are
glad of it, but in travelling through that
part of the state the signs that are taken
elsewere for the ear-marks of a mortgaged
farm have not seemed to us less numerous
than elsewhere in New England.
To show that we have not overestimsted
the condition of agricultural indebtedness
in our own section, at least, we print an ex.
tract from letter in the last issue of the
New England Farmer, dated at Barton, Ver-
mont. Says the writer y" When look about
| and consider, cannot in my own mind ac-
count for our sad financial condition. find
eight out of ten of the farms under mort
gage, many of them to that extent they can
never be redeemed by the income of the farm
itself. For the past fiteen or twenty years
our taxes have been constant drain upon
the income of the farm. Farmers have been
taxed at fabulous rates in all the rural dis
tricts, and have paid the great burden of the
war debt in Vermont, and in most cases
they have done so without murmur or
complaint, thinking and hoping the succeed
| ~ oF tha l,r
but when the next year came around the
same or larger amount would appear on
the collectors books opposite their name
and 80 on from year to year, to which might
be added the interest on the mortgage and
the extra per cent which debtors are com.
PEELED TO pay, all of which has completely
absorbed the income from the farm, and in.
stead of reducing this general difficulty il
has been constantly growing worse, so that
farms are now the exception that are not
sadly involved"
This writer says he cannot account in
his own mind for this condition of things
We will tell him (f he is reader of these
columns), how we account for it. The
eagerness with which young men sought
for farms much larger than they had money
to pay for, especially in the times immedi
ately succeeding the war, had the effect tC
greatly increase the selling price Of land
doubling it in not few instances. Thus
by their own competition with each othel
they greatly increased the burden of theil
debt. The dairy business was rushed into
faster than good COWS could be produced, ant
was thus rendered far less profitable, moi
only by competition but by the use of poo
stock. Those young men are now middle
aged, and they find themselves-those who
still remain-yet burdened with the mort
gage debt they assumed to begin with
while the pressure of other mortgageC
farms for sale has reduced the selling valut
of their own perhaps even below the amount
OF the mortgage There are many suct
farms upon which the nominal owner still
remains, merely because his creditor knows
he cannot rent or sell the property so as t.
bring him in as much as the interest he il
receiving. This is state only not worst
than slsvery because it may be said thai
the man is free to go. But practically, il
many cases he is not. Circumstances bint
him in letters that he does not feel able Il
break.
Little can be done for these unfortunat,
men. But lesson may be drawn from
their experience. Land is cheap now. Oul
young men of this generation may buy
farms and pay for them in full with thu
sum that only half paid for them eighteer
years ago. But the temptation will still b.
TO buy twice as much as can be paid for
Young men, don't Rather buy less thar
you can pay for and don't be in hurry Il
buy at all when you can increase your stor'
of cash 500 year by working for you
neighbors. You are doing twice as well a
the average farmer of Vermont at that rate
and though you are deprived of the pleas
ures Of ownership and home, it is only TO
| H. Id