The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-22
Shall We Rent. or Buy ON Crcdits

A large percentage Of the farming class
are renters instead OF freeholders, when
the exact reverse should be the case.
In a majority of instances the tenant
is a loser in more ways than from mere
financial standpoint, says h. B. Mitchell
In Practical Farmer. In the first place,
he possesses none of the home-feeling;
that love for home without which there
can be very little If any true patriotism.
A man who has no home has dim Idea
of love of country.
We have often read-and can readily
believe the fact-that the best soldiers
of all nationalities, are those who own
their homes.
In the next place, a shiftless, careless
disposition is engendered, knowing as
ne does that he is subject to ejectment al
the will Of an ofttimes whimsical land
lord, and that any improvements on
either lands or buildings will, at best, be
to him of temporary benefit.
He looks at the matter like this: eff
l make improvements, I increase my
burdens; l have to expend my money
and labor to put them there, and then
pay higher rent because they are there,
thus paying twice for the same improve
! ments, and II rebel, am elected"
Next, the renters land, continuously
growing poorer. as it almost invariably
does under the tenant system, he lacks
that stimulus system of increasing crops
to spur him on to renewed efforts and
| cause him to take the interest in farm
ing that he should and he fails into a
narrow minded rut and stays there.
Just so he pays his rent and makes a liv-
ing is the height of his ambition. And
lastly, from long continued adversely and
encouragement he viii eventually become
soured In disposition, losing all interest
in others as well as in his calling and
like the terrapin, become slothful of mind
and body, drawing his head within his
shell of discontentment at the approach
of his fellow man.
If we consider the loss of the tenant
from a moneyed point of view we find
that 1t, too, is a very losing business
After a lifetime of tenancy he has paid
out sufficient in rent and expense of NOV
ing, not to mention the loss Of time, tn
convenience, and wear and tear incident
thereto, TO have paid for and comfortably
equipped from three to six convenient
| fair-siZed farms.
And yet after his life Of toll and worry,
| when old age has slowly, but surely crept
| upon him, how much better off does he
find himself than the day he entered upon
| his career, strong and sturdy youth,
! without anything, mayhap to start with
/ but his strength and bright hopes for the
| future? The whole system of renting is
| wrong, whether we view IL from the side
! OF the landlord, with his depreciating
land, or from the side of the tenant with
/ his many losses.
Were we thrown upon the world with
out home, or a dollar, we would not
rent for a single year. We would find a
home for sale upon easy terms; if not in
| our immediate vicinity, We would ind
one somewhere, and then go to work ind
/ pay for 1T. Not one dollar would we ex-
! mend in rent which might go towards
| acquiring a home.
To man possessed of health and energy
| with a determination to succeed, the fact
| that he is in debt and owes for his place
/ is a matter of only secondary considers
| ton. Every payment he makes renders
the burden less and brings the goal of his
ambition nearer. With the tenant each
| payment is but the counterpart of a life
! time of payments, the home being as dis
tant at the close of a long life OF toll as
| at its start
The very consciousness that he Is in
| debt will ofttimes bring to light the lat
ent energies of a mans nature, caus-
! ing him to work harder. think more, and
live within his means; till fixed habits are
formed that viii stand by him when there
| are no debts.
Then, too, when he feels that every
| Improvement he makes upon the place
! his place, whether accomplished by the
/ sweat of his own brow or by his hard
earned dollars, is for the benefit of him
self and family, he will take greater pains
herewith and feel a pride therein, that
! the tenant knows nothing of.
The farming population who own their
/ homes and live within their incomes, are
to-day the most contented, thrifty and
independent class in the world. Their
time, their land and what they make, be
it much or little, is their very own.
|