The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1907-05-16
TENANT FARMERS
ARE ON INCREASE.
RENTED FARMS IN SOUTHERN
COUNTIES DOUBLED IN
TWELVE YEARS.
TAYLOR'S INTERESTING PAPER
Professor Finds Young Men Exceed Old
Men Ten Times Over in Number
as Leaseys OF Soil

MADISON, Wis. May H. ,pccial.L
The number of rented farms IN the
twelve southern counties of Wisconsin
has nearly doubled in ton years accord
ing TO investigations made by Prof. H..
{. Taylor Of the department Of political
economy Of the university.
Prof. Taylor discovered a number oi
interesting facts, as, for instance taat
there wcr, ia 1900 5000 farms III the
state. of which 22,gyG were operated Uy
tenants. These with the -l.2lG owner,
of rented farms max" a tptu. of more
lhHu 4l,OpD people IN Wisconsin who
are directly Interested IN lhc present
methods OF letting farm land. lot in
comparison with tH" state Of Illinois,
whrr. nearly 10 per cent. of The farm
lands are rented, W!sronslns percentage
of tenancy Is low, being bat ia per cent.
of the total number O! farms of the state.
In the northern eighteen counties Of the
state but > per cent. of the farms are
run by tenants. This. however, is easily
explained by the relatively low land val
uns and the regency of settlement \
decade has nearly doubled the number
of farms IN those counties while IN the
older part Of the state there has been
practically no increase in numbers.
Increase in Southern Counties.
In the twelve counties in the extreme
southern part Of the state during the de
cade preceding 1900 the number of
rented farms increased from JiJl 10
oJ92 The seven years that have since
elapsed, Prof. Taylor finds, have con
~IdrrIbly augmented these numbers. His
comparison OF conditions Of rental in
these counties for 1850 and 1900 is OK
tr"mcIy interesting. He finds that in the
twenty years the number of farms
rented in Rock county increased from
y To 3J.i per cent. Of the total number
in the county In Milwaukee, county the
increase was from ~ to 3I2 per cent,
in kcnOshu county, from lG.,i 10 ~ per
cent: in Walworth county, from l,j,I 10
20 per cent; in Lafayette county, from
1873 to 27G per cent; in Green county,
from ll.9 10 90; in Dane county, from
lJ.T 10 2G2, in Racine county from BIB
10 2iS; in Grant county, from lI.b 10
POI; in Waukesha county, from BIB to
% per cont; in Iowa county from l29
TO 1879; and in jefferson county whcre
there was the smallest percentage OF
rented farms, 1t jumped from to IS
per cent
This rapid inrr1," in The tenant -Js-
ten Of farming is not confined To- these
southern counties. In the state as q
whole the number of rented farms ln-
creased in the decade from l., $50 to
- 1896 I'm considering these 1000 adj
diiunal rented farms, however, 1t must
loo remembered that there was an i'm
crcaS" Of 3JlG3 in the number Of farms
of the state 50 the increase ~ percent
age of rental IS not $50 great rs the de-
cadc,'s statistics of rental would suE-
gr~t.
Some Causes of Change.
Various reasons are given for the in
crease in the proportion of tenant far
nrrs. The scarcity Of farm Iauurrrs Ms
sometimes named ms the cause FOR own
cr~ turning their land over to tenants.
Tho number uf farm laborrrs, however,
increased more rapidly in the decade an
der consideration than did the numprr
Of farms. In 1850 the farm labur"rs
Were 2SS per cent. of the total number
of farmers and laborcrS. while twenty
years later that percentage was IN
creased from JG1IO to g5,IlS while the
farmers increased from l3S.4i% 10 lGD,-
10, but prosperity increased the demand
for lahOrcrs 50 that many of the farmers
who formerly did their own work wished
to hire help, aud, failing to secure H.
rented the land to tenants and retired
The same prosperity has Increased the
market value Of farm land 50 that young
men find ii more dlliCul to become own.
ere. and another factor in the increase
Of t"uancy is introduced.
The tenant farmers are. rs rule
young men. 1t Is unusual Tor u farmer
TO remain in tn" tenant class all his life.
Census statistics show that the percent
AZ" of tenant farmers diminlshcs i'm pro
portion with the adylnc" from the loves
10 the higher age periods. \ chart which
Prof. Taylor had made shows that hut
80 per cent Of the farms Of the state
pTp uutrutrI by men under - Year, Of