The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1894-07-12


gress in 1892. Stearns county Is entitled
to twenty nine OF the 1877 delegates, and
st. Louis county to like number.
|
Labor Bureau Figures.
| The state bureau OF labor in the sum.
mer of 1893 had two of it's agents at
work in the agricultural. sections of the
state gathering certain line of statisti.
cal information. The counties in which
this information was sought were:
Grant, lie Sueur, Martin, Mower, Ohm
sted, Otter Tail, Polk. Redwood, Rem.
vile. Sibley, Stearns and Rock.
| Answers or statements were secured
from 1855 farm owners and 243 farm
tenants. The farm tenants make IN
1851 per cent. of the whole number
The Investigations of the census de-
partment show that 1925 per cent. o
all Minnesota Farmers are tenants. The
| tables of the bureau include, therefore, a
| slight relative excess OF owners over
tenants as found for the whole state.
| The hgures of the bureau upon three
things cover questions investigated by
the census A comparison Of the results
arrived at by the two studies of farm
prosperity in Minnesota is suggestive.
The tables OF the bureau give to the
farm owners an average of $5Os worth
of live stock. The farm tenants possess
on an average $500. The average for
| all is $495. The corresponding average
shown by the census of 1890, $493. The
| average value Of farm machinery and
| implements by the bureau was for own
ers $166, aud for tenants $159, and for
both $163. The corresponding average
shown by the census was $145. The
census only gives real estate mortgage
debt This averaged about $500 per
farm, or a little over IL per cent. of the
value of the agricultural land. The
bureau gives an average OF all debts.
This for the farm owners was $649, and
for the tenants $210. The percentage
of debt to all possessions is for owners
substantially that of real estate, IL per
cent. The tenants have higher ratio
of debt to possessions, viz, II per cent.
The results secured by the bureau and
census upon the three foregoing subjects
show a marked agreement. A variation
is exhibited in land values. The land of
the average farm is shown by the bureau
to be worth, in the opinion of it's owner,
$3.342. and its buildings $605. or a
total value for the farm of $3,947: The
average farm. according to the census,
was worth in 1890, $4,000. The bu-
reau figures are 36 per cent. higher than
those OF the census. This variation is
doubtless due i'll great part to the tact
that land values over great part of
Minnesota advanced between 1890 and
1898 substantially in the ratio shown
by the different results of the two inves-
LEGATIONS.
The / .555 farm owners whose sched-
ules were secured had been farming in
Minnesota on an average seventeen
years each, They began with an aver
age Of $797. and were worth at the end
81, 7S5 over and above their debts. The
average accumulations after paying all
living expenses were 1929 Ger annum to
each individual: The 243 tenants had
farmed in Minnesota an average Of nine
years. They began with property aver
aging $500, and after nine years. work
were worth, over and above debts,
81, O44. The average accumulations or
savings were $50 annually for each.
This is small, and yet it is greater than
the annual addition to the average fami-
ly wealth of the United States from 1880
1890.
The average saving ofthe farm owners
reporting to the labor bureau is three
times that of the tenants, and hence
three times the savings of the average
family of the United States from 1890 to
1890. Had the average family in the
Uuited States increased his wealth pro-
portionally with these farmers, the ma
tional wealth would have increased from
1880 to 1890 bv a sum greater than the
wealth of the nation in the latter year.
The nationality of the farmers-own-
ers and tenants lis Of interest in this
inquiry. and in the counties given was
found to be: Minnesota, LA; United
States, 337; Germany. 317; Great Brit
ain, 76; Scandinavia, 464; Bohemia. "a;
British possessions, Al; other countries,
II, The Scandinayians began farming
with the lowest average wealth of any
nationality, and that fact is an import
ant element in giving them the lowest
net possessions at the present time.
Contrary to popular ideas, the farmers
born in the United States show the
largest average net possessions at
present. This is for farm owners, $6.843.
They also show the largest average
savings-$3OS per annum. The tables
Show the Bohemians with the smallest
average annual savings.
Their Name 10 Legion.