Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-04-12
DOES FARMING oPAYq
@Answ ers to the Question Returned to Kaa
sas Labor Commissioners.


Labor Commissioner.
TOPEKA, Kan, April 3.-Pursuant to
a special act of the legislature of 1893.
directing the Kansas labor depart
Tment to investigate and report on the
farming industry of the state, Labor
Commissioner James f. Todd yester-
day transmitted to the governor the
facts aScertained through such investi-
cation. The work submitted is de-
signed to be an answer to the ques-
ton, Taken as a whole, does farming
pay9 Why?'
The scope of the work embraces if
teen years, ending January 1, 1894 In
"A series of 1O6 ia bles is given the num-
Der of bushels of corn and wheat. the
O. local shipping price, and the total value
cot theSe in each county for each year
for the five years ending January /,
1884, which was tine beginning of the
boom period Then covering period
of ten years ending January 1, 1894, is
given series of 1O6 tables, showing
by counties the number of bushels of
wheat and corn produced in each coun-
ty each year, the local shipping price,
the total value; also the value of wheat
AND corn each year at the general aver
age price for the preceding five years;
also the net loss to the farmers by de-
cline in prices
The coma iIions or circums tances that have
caused the price of these two principal cereals
10 show an average annual diminution or the
remedial course to be pursued. IS left for the
consideration of the philosopher and states
man 1t is Sufficient for this work to have de-
termined that in the last ten years Kansas has
produced 3J7. 10, 825 bushels of wheat the value
of which was si5S, IA, 62a 10. that had wheat
maintained its price OF the five years,
ended January /, 1884 this wheat would have
been worth S2i6, 344, s0I.52. or net loss to the
farmers of the state, occasioned by decline in
price. Of $S7.S74, 1871. 70. Also during the same
period the amount OF corn produced in Kansas
was l. 473 800. 3l6 bushels the value OF which. at
local shipping price, was 1885,, s7402 The value
OF this same corn, al the general average price
for the five years ended January 1, 1884, would
be S4s3,S56,S 47s. loss of A 49,. 83L "a
to the growers of corn
The total amount of mortgages farms in
Kansas. according to the census in 1890, is
Sl67, las. 039 On wheat and corn the total loss
during the ten yearS, in which this mortgage
debt was mainly contr acted, was $685. 753 0:3 20,
or an amount that exceeds the entire mortgage
debt by SIS, COZ 9S45& In the LOG counties given
in this report there are 1874, 40 farm
homes, and unoccupied tillable land
enough for double that number or this
number, however, I04,5I7 farms are cultivated
wholly or in part by owners, while the tenant
farmers reach the number of Sc, 1893, or nearly
As per cent OF the entire farming population
An es timation of the value OF farm products
five persons is found to be s232 Os, based up
ON responses from l.0l6 prominent farmers re.
siding in as many different townships of the
state The earnings OF farmer and his fami-
1y, five in all. is SOL 80
From this department was sent 1918 letters
to as many different farmers in the state, ask.
ing among other things. this question: Taken
as VIII ole does farming pay? Why?" Te2this
query l,292 of the I,52i townships in the state
responded or that number 1,25I answered
'emphatically mo" while the forty-one who
answered "yes" qualified the stat ment with
one or more adjectives. the universal testi-
mony8being that farming does not pay becau-e
of low and continually declining prices. The
price OF wheat has at no time during the past
ten years reached the general average price OF
the preceding five years. and the same is true
OF corn for eight of the ten years.
1t is ascertained that the average cost OF pro-
ducng bushel of wheat in Kansas is 90
cents, while the average loo al shipping price
paid for wheat for five years ended January l..
1888 is So g. The price of wheat in Kansas, as
well as other states, shows steady average
decline for two decades. In 1888 it had de-
'qualled the cost of production, and in
1884 it crossed the danger line. 1t is
notorious fact that except in 1885 and
1890, and in few localities of the state in 1893
wheat has been produced at loss in Kansas
for the last ten years In each county sum-
maries and tables celebrating the above, and
hundreds OF additional facts pertaining to the
subject matter in hand, are given
Kansas makes a showing of 1873 bushels OF
wheat per acre, which is 81 per cent above the
national average
The total number Of persons out OF employ
-ment in the state on January 1884, was ILL.,