The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1900-09-10
FARM OWNERSHIP BASIS
SUCCESSFUL AGRICULTURE

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Wa ere all thinking more or less about
the census Of 1890. Nlulhall gives US some
idea of what It will be I'm his "torecaS'.
of the Twelfth American Census II
The North American Review for July. lie
shows the enormous gain which the west
has made over other sections, both IN
population and wealth; and gives as the
cause. the emigration from the east anu
from abroad, OF people who nave eohe
there and purchased homes. the opeI!hs
IN of homestead lands and the buildlne
of railways.
The prairie states show a gain In wealth
in the last census of s243 per CAPITA; the
Pacific states. 1868. and the south, ssl'
while the average cor the union is si55 per
capita
A balance at the eleventh census shows
us that the per cent of farm ownership
IS smallest at the south and increases as
we 20 north and west. OF the farmers IN
Mississippi 62.27 per cent are tenants
while in North Dakota only $50 per cent
rent land In Georgia 5S.l9 PER cent OF
those who cultivate the soil are renters,
and in Minnesota the per cent is ONLY
15S We find also that the degree Of
farm tenancy Mt the south was on the
increase between 1880 and 1880. ana the
supposition is that the tendency Is stu
i'm the same direction. This fact mas II"
a number CT our prominent ciuzehs 70
make the statement that the land wouiu
eventually pass entirely into the hahoS Oh
the moneyed classes. and the great bulk oil
farming In this country be done on the
tenant system, with the farmer little bet
ter than serf. and his margin OF prohI
barely sufficient 10 maintain existence.
This IS, indeed n danger which our
people must face-a danger which threat
ems almost irreparable injury and loss 70
the country. 1t means the converting OF
our rich and beautiful land into a barren
waste: the gradual destruction OF her re-
sources, with final abandonment, as has
been the case in many parts of Europe.
" hy2 Because a system of tenancy farm
ing exhausts the soil. for the sinipi"
reason that the tenant takes everything
eft and puts nothing back which ne can
possibly avoid because tenant farmers
are composed almost entirely of the low
est and most ignorant class of farmers,
and there is no incentive for them to take
care of the land. or improve 1t. Thus. we
find that where the tenant system is most
in vogue the yield of farm produce IS
smallest
The south for the past thirty years has
been moving forward under a terrible
handicap. having on her hands large
negro population which she was not in
position TO hire for wages. in consequence
the land TO live as best they could. This
class. possessing the acme of poor Judg-
ment, and with only n rudtmentary knowl-
edge of how to grow corn and cotton,
have been moving from place to place.
leaving devastation and ruin behind them.
Small wonder that the south shows up
last OF all sections in the production OF
agricultural wealth. The inquirer and
would-be settler secs the low percentage
x.-ftb dinp no
which produced IT; they also the high
percentage of wealth I'm the west, and
west they go to look for homes and in
vestment.
1t goes against the grain for me 10 let
this state of affairs go unchallenged. liV-
ing as 1 do at the south, where the nat
ural conditions are infinitely superior to
those of any other section for agricul-
tural prosT Gritty.
The south must come out from under
the ban which the irresponsible ignorance
Of a negro tenantry has cast over her.
Forewarned Is forearmed. To see clearly
the conditions and their destructive ten
cency Is the first step toward their cor
rection.
We have shown that the tenant farmer
is a menace TO the agricultural prosperity
of a country. and when we say this 1t
means also menace to every other line
of enterprse in short the country itself
AS the ratio of farm ownership in
creases, other things being equal the
agricultural wealth and general prosperity
of the country also increases. The reason
for this IS not far TO seek. The farm own
er has a personal interest in the land
itself. He not only seeks to make a
crop. but tries to improve his soil at the
same time. Thus we the small farm
ers in the west growing well-to-do and
independent from TIE unearned increment
or increase In the value of their farms. |
brought about by good management, |
where the prcductiveness of the soil and |
general output of the farm has heen en- |
larged. These are the men who make a /
country prosperous, the independent farm |