Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-10-27
FEDERAL sTATIsTlclANS %
IOWA INJUSTICE ON FARM
LAND VALUES.
FIX AVERAGE PRICE OF
ARMS At SOS PER ACRE
At Some Time State Report. Deter
nnine Average Price is SIS Per Acre
- Government Reports Advertise
State as Booming Its Lands to Fancy
Priee-state Has 1so,4ss Farms.

Des Moines, Oct. 81 How many
farms are there in Iowa and what are
they worth? The authorities differ
and differ so widely that it is going
to be a serious question as to how to
reconcile the differences.
The census enumerators who gath
cred statistics for Uncle Sam found
farm land in Iowa Of the value of over
$500 million dollars. and they found
that the average value of Iowa farm
land was $96 an acre
Under a new law the findings of the
assessors Of the state. are reported to
the department of agriculture, from
which Secretary Simpson has just COM
pleted a compilation showing that the
first Of this year the farm lands Of
Iowa were worth about $2,266,601.700
and that the average value, estimated,
was about $75 an acre.
The census men found more than
Is. 900 more farms in Iowa than did
the assessors. They found over 81
100000 more acres of farm lands than
to the puzzle?
loss to understand how the census
enumerators could possibly find that
the average value Of Iowa farm land
is as much as $96 an acre. 1t is not
true. 1t is an injustice and an injury
to the state to have this kind of a re-
port sent out. 1t creates at once the
impression that Iowa farm lands have
been doomed far beyond their actual
value as revenue producers.
The report of Secretary Simpson, just
completed for insertion into the Iowa
year book shows a total Of 0,4SS
farms, with 30,221. 356 acres. The aver
age number of acres in a farm Is 49,
Sc. On the estimate of SIS an acre for
the land, good and bad, improved and
unimproved this farm land is worth
1926, 601.700.
The total value of Iowa farms and
farm machinery and live stock was
$3,174,12S,97S The average value Of
the farms was s1s,663.
These same statistics gathered from
the assessors reports show rural pop
ulation of 1,142,114. The average
monthly wage paid farm help was
$3.50
Statistics of the live stock on Iowa
farms show:
N u11QDeT value
Horses ;. 49,. 1,322,464 $152,O83,360
Mules ;. $3.50. 1854 6,19s,4SO
Mich cows ....-1, 10Y ,233 44,2S9,32O
Other cattle ....3,53O,3O4 sS,257,SO0
Swine :. 6,312,634 69,43S.974
Sheen ... SS9,796 4,S93,493
Poultry .22,O62,7O7 11,O31, 1853
The total value of all farm crops
marketed last year was s466.170.0 900.
This included all grain. hay. forage,
butter, seed, wool, poultry and eggs.
The sum is larger than was shown by
the preliminary report issued last
winter by the Iowa crop service.
There is great reason to hope that
the suit just entered upon by the state
of Iowa, or rather the intervention on
behalf Of Iowa in the Oklahoma case,
will result in an order of the interstate
commerce commission to the railroads
and sleeping car companies to reduce
the prices for upper berths. 1t is re-
called that in similar case before the
commission involving rates in the
north the commission did declare that
1t is a discrimination to fix upper and
lower berth rates the same. The re-
auctions specifically asked by Attorney
General Byers include, for sample, the
following: From Des Moines to Chi
cago, SO to s1.5O, to Omaha $3.50 to
SIPS, to Denver $3.50 to 1925; from
Sioux City to Chicago $3.50 to $1.75, to
Denver $3.50 to $3.50; from Cedar Rap
ids to Chicago 1.5o to s1.25, to Denver
$3.50 to Sand SO on. The pleadings
and arguments of the state of Okla
homa are adopted for Iowa. Assistant
Attorney General John Fletcher has
prepared the case for Iowa.
The interstate commerce commission
has taken action in the matter of the
proposed increase of grain rates from
northwestern points eastward and has
suspended the rates announced last
summer This was the case concerning
which the Iowa commission was in
vited to go to ST. Paul and meet with
commissioners from many states and
consider what should be DONE 1t was