Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-05-17
FARM OWNING IN
WISCONSIN DECLINES
IN JEFFERSON COUNTY JUMPS
FROM 9 TO 1872 PER CENT.
Increase in Renting of Farm Lands
Shown by Investigation of Prof,
Taylor CT Department of Eco
nOmiCs of the State UniVer-
Sity.

Madison, Wis, May 1.-THE num-
Der of rented farms in the twelve
southern counties of Wisconsin has
nearly doubled in ten years, according
to the Investigations made by Profess
sor H. G. Taylor of the department of
political economy of the University of
Wisconsin. The rapidity with which
land owning farmers are being replace
ed by tenant farmers. and the large
problems growing out of such tenancy
make this Investigation Of special i'm
portance in Wisconsin. The main
purpose of the work has been to find
out the extent and manner in which
farm lands are now held in this state,
with view to an adjustment of rela-
lions between landlords and tenants
looking toward the conserving of the
best interests of both.
Professor Taylor has made a thor
ough study of the subjects of land
tenure both in Europe and America
and has recently published mono
graph on "The Decline of Land Own
ing Farmers in England. - He gath
cred the information for his present
study of conditions in Wisconsin at
first hand gong from county to
county, meeting farmer who are IN
terested IN renting land, and gaining
from them complete and accurate in
formation upon with to be his conclu-
sions.
Il the course Of his investigation
Professor Taylor discovered number
of interesting facts as, forss instance,
that there were in 1900, 169, 1916 farms
IN the state, on which %, 996 were
operated = by tenants. These, with
the 2i,2l6 owners of rented farms
make total of more than "A, 600
people in Wisconsin who are directly
interested in the present methods of
letting farm land. Yet in comparison
with the state Of Illinois, where
nearly 40 per cent of the farm lands
are rented, WIsconsin's percentage
of tenancy is low, being but Is. S per
cent of the total number of farms of
the state. In the northern eighteen
counties of the state but 5 per cent of
the farms are run by tenant. This
however, is easily explained by tie
relatively low land values and the re-
cency of settlement. A decade has
nearly doubled the number of farms
in those counties, while IN the older
part uf the state there has been prac-
ticallY no increase in numbers
In the twelve counties in the ex-
IRENE southern part of the state dur
ing the decade preceding 1900 the num-
Der of rented farms increased from
5, 431 to 1852. The seven years that
have since elapsed, Professor Taylor
finds, have considerably augmented
these numbers. His comparison of the
conditions of rental in these counties
for 1880 and 1900 is extremely inter-
esting. He finds that in the 20 years
the number of farms rented in Rock
county increased from q to 35.4 per
cent of the total number in the county.
In Milwaukee county the increase
was from lat to 312 per cent; in
Kenosha county, from 1868 to 29.1 per
cent; in Walworth county, from 1875
to 29.7 per cent; in Lafayette county,
from 1873 to 2i.6 per cent; in Green
county from 14.9 to 26.5; in Dane
county, from I5.7 to 262; in Racine
county from 1873 to 24.8; in Grant
county, from l4.6 to 2O.7; in Wauke-
sha county from 1873 to 20.7 per cent;
in Iowa county, from 1873 to 1879; and
In jefferson county, where there was
the smallest per centage of rented
farms, it jumped from to 1872 per
cent.
This rapid increase in the tenant
system of farming is not confined to
these southern counties. In the state
as a whole the number of rented
farms increased IN the decade from
II, 159 to %, 996. In considering these
II, 900 additional rented farms. how
ever, it must be remembered that there
was an increase of 35, 473 in the num-
Der of farms of the state so the IN
crease in percentage of rental is not
so great as the decadez' s statistics Of
rental would suggets.
MY BEST FRIEND.
I