The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-04-19

ing In the CITY was maze ElSt HiRht.
, renter must stay a renter, and that
the proportion of rented farms In
Southern Minnesota will steadily in
crease, as in the older states, what
can be done TO make the situation
more tolerable? base my answer
on that given by one of my CORE
spondents. When asked to compare
the work of the owner and the rent
err, he said About one-half OF the
farms-those having good improve
ments-are well farmed. The poorly
equipped farm gets the poor renter.
/ | believe that there we have the
situation in a nutshell, The evils
of the rented farm which have been
noted, serious evils from the stand.
point of the eommunity-smal
crops grown. land impoverished,
growth of noxious weeds, failure to
I! keep buildings in repair. lack of in.
terest in community affairs-will be
largely remedied If II is made an
object with the renter TO become a
more or less permanent tenant My
practical suggestions to farm owners
are therefore as follows:
/. Abolish the gambling in crops
which is known as share-tenancy
! This | have enlarged on.
2. Put in the best improvements
just as good as If you were farming
the land yourself have known an
ant by refusing to build him de
cent house. The tenants he has had
since have probably lost him the
price of that house several times
over Remember that you are moi
to expect an adequate return now
from the money invested in land
drainage and buildings. II You car
clear 3 per cent you'll be doing
well: you could get more than thai
in the savings bank But you'll new
er get any more from the savings
bank than You are getting now; you
/ are likely to get less after while
So with Industrial stocks, mortgages
etc. The tendency is for the inter
est rate TO go down rs the country
gets older. Your land. on The Other
hand, is an investment OF constantly
growing value. Twenty years from
now, when it is worth $3.50 IN
acre, yonll be charging Sc rent
and celaring Z per cent on yonl
in
children will do even better, if oul
present system OF land tenure con
tinues. You can AFFORD TO wait
! Don't kill the goose which is laying
that golden egg. You can't AFFORD
to have such poor buildings on YOU
place that you attract only one-yeal
renters.
J. As one way to make it attrac
tive to man to stay on your farm
year after year, offer him long
term lease. say ten years. with tn,
chance of renewal Not until theI
! can you count on n mans farming
the land as ii it were his own. The
!, greatest difficulty of course is TO de
termine what rent to charge from
year TO year for an increasing val
liable property. 1t would take
! government statistician 10 figure j
accurately, but | believe the follow
: ing rough-and-ready method to b.
fairly satisfactory. Our farm lane
is probably increasing in value abou
i so per cent every ten years. or al
; average of 5 per cent a year. Bet
:. ter sacrifice something for the SAKE
: of getting a ten-year man on YOU
, land. Offer it to him for ten years
, at the highest rental now curren
: for such location and improvements
/ Then include an option of renew
! ing, after ten years, at an increas'
! OF so per cent in the rental, sa.
| $3.50 instead of the s. You are ask
Ing now. believe the best mer
!, would jump at such contract, ant
! in ten years would be glad to renew
at the rate mentioned. ! leave It 4
! y0n to suggest more radical meas
J ures.