Omaha daily bee., 1906-03-25

900, and in 1900 5,7OOoOO. In other words,
in 1861, excluding people living in cities !
OF 500 inhabitants or over. we had one
farm to every fourteen persons, while in
1890, on the same basis, we had one farm
to every S.9 persons. This is fact Of
great Importance, for It shows that our
land is not going into the hands Of
capitalists nor into the clutches Of large
owners, which would be a great detriment
to the country. Touching upon this point,
Assistant Secretary OF Agriculture W. w.
Hays recently said:
Unforeseen financial changes might-turn
capital to purchasing estates, and other
ecoRonjc changes might tend to greatly
increase the percentage of Uncle Sans
| acres owned by landlords Reducing the
proportion of that class who manage and
| work lands which they own lowers the
average living. The principal reason why
the common farmers now hold the 'land is
| because by uniting their capital, their
labor and their brains with the making of
a permanent family home, they can pay 80
much for the land that the capitalist cannot
afford to own it for >sing, nor to run 1t
at arms length without pauper labor Re
Enumeration in the form Of independent
| homes for families is not secured by the
absent landlord and by only few of the
inhabitants on the large estate conducted
| by the owner. Whenever other industries
| lag capital seeks. Investment in landed
| estates, and once estates, with expensive
| central buildings are developed, it is, in
deed very difficult to break them up into
smaller holdings European estates help
to hold as peasants a large class of people
| who do not lack in ability, as shown by the
rapldity with which the rise when placed
on free soil in America"
These we'll known facts serve to empha-
size the Importance to every man who
possibly can do so to acquire ownership in
land. There lies before the American peo-
pie period of greater Industrial struggles
than they have ever experienced. That
period will not come in our generation,
perhaps our children may not witness it,
but sooner or later, as our population con-
tinues to increase, competition will be-
come more severe and the struggle for land
ownership will increase. Those who secure
land now, while there are still millions
of acres to be had at a small cost are
building wiser for the future than they
realize
Word to the Renter.
We are prone to boast Of the wealth of
our country, we point with pride to the
dwell upon the immensely of the crops we
annually raise and their enormous aggre-
gate annual money value. We have good
reason for being proud of our agricultural
prosperity for the American farmer is the
most intelligent farmer on the face of the
globe. In spite of this, however, we have
more renters than we ought to have. No
less than So per cent Of our farmers live
and work on rented land. This should
not be so. There is plenty of good land
for sale, not only as reasonable, but at
/ very low prices compared with their agri-
cultural value. Renters should think of
: the vast opportunities that are still open
! to them. They should not fail to realize
that they can get more out of a farm OF
a their own than out of one they rent. They
g seldom treat a rented farm as they would
e their own land and besides, land thai
5 has been rented for number of years, a:
| is well known. Is invariably run down and
n in poor condition to begin with.
AS rule, the renter is a grain farmer
he is largely a one-crop man. The result
is that in some years he secures fairI!
= good profits and In other years he comes
: out behind. One-crop farming is not profit
h able. 1t is the diversified farmer WIFI
n is making money. The man who raise
f grass and grain. feeds these products t
X MS I'VE SlOCht InuS BetIlng TWO lnStea
d Of one profit each year, and at the sam
n time improves his land, is the successful
= man. and he is usually also the man VIII
e owns the land he tills.
d Land Certain to Increase in Value.
In view of these facts we would urg
renters. whose experience may have le
"a them to conclude that farming is not S
a profitable as it ought to be, to look at thl
~.
, owns his farm has a great advantage owe
~ the one who rents and is Obliged to NOV
: from one place to another every year o
"a two. 1t is not necessary to buy land tina
is worth SO or 500 per acre. There
plenty of good land available at one-hali
b. one-third or one-quarter of these values
:, There are thousands of acres available an
!, awaiting the push and energy of youn
- men who are willing to put shoulder t
-, the wheel of Independent industry. 1t be
:, hooves young men to keep their eyes ope
j, and to seize upon every opportunity {
. better themselves.
:, If every man could see a few years int
a. the future, far as prices of land is cor
IN cerned, thousands of farmers would b
rs ready TO buy this very moment. This "
10 cannot do. We can, however, look int
"a the past. We can observe what has haI
DtH0u III Niit Oulltu DldltS uuIluB the las
es twenty or thirty years, we can ascertai
Mt what land is worth in some of the cour
- tries older than our own. and from sue
ed observations we should be able to dra
d. some helpful conclusions as to the futuI
ht value Of farming land in this country
~ Value of Foreign Lands.
In 1850 the average price Of farm Ian
in the United States was $l1 per arce, viii
he in 1890 the average price was $50 per acr
he This shows an increase in prices of 80 p,
n cent in fifty years. A large proportion
lot our land has increased in value goo
us deal more than these figures indicate a
nd to which many farmers could bear witnes
Lst but this represents the average increa.
n the country over.
nd The French government. in order TO Of
nt. tain a comprehensive view Of land value
nd divided all the land Of the republic in
a five classes. according TO his natur
an fertility. The land comprised in the Ar
Tot class constitutes about II per cent Of Il
ger agricultural land in France. The secoi
to class, about % per cent; the third elias
In=