The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-11-05

lie irnprovennent, end R he Roas <nto
 business, he pays sysry lev EAses ir
 Eve are are waiting for the old hSss.
 to die, "sis the alI-too-6reQueut anGs s-r
 when one aslzs why part1cular tl- provementS have not been ma6e-
 Tn the older states Of the so1H farming has always been gsm1-fI fIrnaI-
 a1fstic; but Texas began az@r aETacul-
 a. type the early settlers were hardy frugal and hoIne-1ovfng- Sucn were the farmers found in che SouttT1zt
 in the early eighties Yet by 1890 Che ed somewhat alarming proportlC11- During the last ten years the 1ncrea1e
 of tenant-operated farms over fa1nLs operated by owners has exceeded POD per cent. To be more specidcs in 1900 the total number of farms iu
 Texas was divided as follows. culfL- 174s639. In 1910 the number of farms cultivated by tenants had risen tD 21s.1O6. while the nunber cu1tiyatefi During these same ten years tnoua- ands of acres of ranch lands were 0p-
 ened for sale; yet those who bous.t sufficient number to offset the tenant increase.
 ward tenantry. Tn 1880 tenants farm
 ed Of all farms in the South 3s-2 per
 cent: in 1910. 53-1 per cent
 While landiordism is well adVauce-
 
 farming is 50 crude sas to a<ouse. the ridiculeZ of a good Englfshu tenant L4t- tie attention is pa1d f1 % G euts.ns @ esSs -s 1t is reflected in our appalling need c1 good roads. an efficient educato1sl system and an organized country lie
 As 1ir1bed, over cropping has dlmlr- ished fertility of soils &zntirezy blind to tine cause of his d4rnfnfsf1ed retuz11E- the landlord thinks he must have n1cro rent; but he is not willing 70 cnals- his crops. When the writer moved to Texas cotton farm in 1894 euEtCu yielded on the average from thsse- per acre Had landlords pressrwEE soil fertility. or forced thstr teuaut9 ito follow constructive farm uer1oei1. they would secure just as good yseld1 to-day The average acre yield of cotton lands in the black hands yaEle8 now from one fourth to ons-thiro oL e. bale in a fair season
 The vicious field crop system Of te1- ant farming is kept alive by Ghe help Fessness and ignorance Of the pe14-nt- He is too poverty stricken 40 heap hl1a- self He does not know that h1sl zm- bo- can be applaed to better advan- tage The writer has seen cases cG room with other members of the fam iIy eating from the same dlsEzeo aud using the same face towels Such con ditionS can be erad1ca1ted only Dy Go- ucating the class
 The tenant is the under dog fn tas present struggle. He Is the vicaz4orE 6. hand. the landlord is in the relation ce an economic suicide us By a1fs1 reTEl1t- ent enforcement of cotton farming aE a specially, he narrows his income end keeps the tenant in virtual slavery.
 Individual landlords have recognize1 that their ownership of land fmpoDe1 upon them a duty to it and to tbeir tenan ntry. Several have built social center buildings and have uudertalran a. systematic course of agricultural i'm strllction- One or two have co-oper@t- ed with the U s. Federal Departm&Eat of Agriculture and are instalfing a8 experiments ideal crop rofe4luu schemes In all such cases there has been a marked Improvements both Ga cr4op yield and in the attitude Of che tenants toward the 1andoWEeTa
 The main hope of SOutnwesterE far mers lies in our improved facilities for agricultural and high school lnGtruc- ton in country districts. In the Opin- ion of the writer the state must rct only take upon its shoulders respon- sibility for the present system baz- must also pass corrective laws
 Tenants should have certain rlGnt8 with regard to their improvements on the landlords property Sucn laTe have already been enacted in Crear Britain Since landlords are rapidly assuming a relation to the people par alIeI to that of public service corpo- it is becoming increasinSlT necessary that we should reg1la.te landlords. Finally federal appupure-- tions should be made tcr tssza7z1e - borrow money at low rates of 1llteI- est repaya ble on long time.