The Washington times., 1915-12-13
New York Organization Says
This Alone viii Help the
Small Farmer and Tenant.
FARM MORTGAGES USELESS
Letter to Senator Fletcher Cites
Waste Of Billions in Ground
Rent System.

Senator Fletcher OF tloTlud' Cha
man OF the United States commission
on cooperative land mortgage banks
the Society to Lower Rents, and Re
| duce Taxes on Homes, with neal
quarters in New York. declares that
the proposed system OF land NOR
lgage banks will be utterly useless t,
ITO the average tenant farmer of the
country and the man who wants 10
own a farm, unless the present tax
system be changed.
! The communication, which is sign
led by Frederic c. Leubuscher, a.
president and Benjamin G, Marsh, eN-
ecutive secretary of the society, ls eN-
lpected to attract notice In connection
with the efforts to get rural credlts
legislation this winter.
Would Tax Land Values.
It is a plea for transferring taxes
from labor to land values. as the only
means of really helping tenants AMI
small farm owners. 1t is pointed out
that values of farm lands are, swell
ing rapidly, at an enormous rate, and
that reducing interest rates on land
mortgages, under present tax meth
ods, will increase the selling price Of
land and not help the tenant and small
farmer or man who Is trying to get
farm.
The letter follows:
Dear Mr.. Senators: The commend
able effort OF the president and OF your
commission 10 D6IleT inc nndnCldl anu
economic status of the farmers deserves
heartlest support
'Is It conceivable. however, that
farmers themselves will secure any
real benefit from pyramiding specula-
tive land prices and their debt burdens
which would be the inevitable result
of reducing interest rates to farmers,
under our present system Of taxation?
THE United States census gives the
following facts for 1870 The value OF
farm lands was s2S 2S475;S74,lSs &c. an n, In n
1l81 per cent: the value of farm build
ings was IS ,S25. .451 ,52S, an increase in the
decade of 81, 76S.S12 ,O32. or T.S per cent;
the value Of implements and machinery
was 81, 265' 'i49, ,7SS, an increase in the
decade of $515 81, ,Sl3. or 6S.7. per cent;
the value of live stock was, A,9S, ,173 $40.
an increase In the decade of $1S4S, ,6S5 9O7.
or COL per cent.
Billion Dead Waste.
THE net ground rent at per cent on
the increase in land values during the
, decade was, in 1910, SIC, 1888, ,30S, while In
terest at per cent on the increase
would amount to $925. .05s,97O, a total o1
$685. ,943,27s. This sum, nearly one and
lthree-quarters of a billion dollars, anC
only $3.50, ,0OO,0 900 less than the value Of
the corn and wheat crops OF that year
is tn annual dead waste in the cos
Of aEr4cuitural production due to ouI
stupid system of taxation, which al
most forces speculative land prices
while putting heaVy Duruen OF TAXA
tion on all producers.
Land mortgage banks will help th'
average tenant farmer and Would-b
farm owner, under our present tax sys
tenn about as much as sticking feath
er in rushing mountain torrent Woul'
I'm 1910, there were 1854, ,Ss7 farms op
Grated by owners owning the entir
farm. The value of the land of thes
farms was only $13, Al, ,S34, ,6S9
There were S.OO6,6O5 farms operate
md fnWNn &c
the land of which was worth $15,033,
s39, ,lS0. The farms directly operated b
tenants numbered 2,354676, and the Ian
thereof was worth &c. 450, ,6g3, ,276.
The present decades speculation il
farm lands would load an annual vast
of four billions on the country's pro
ducers.
The folly of attempting to meet tn
desperate situation of the tenant farm
srs and small farm owners, shown J
the report of the United States Com
mission on Industrial Relations, by Ian
mortgage banks is even more appaT,en
when we look ahead four years to lS2'
Burden On Consumers.
"If the value of farm rands increase
ms rapidly during the present decad
as during the past. the increase wi
he $50, ,601, .5l9 Five per cent groun
rent on this enormous sum-over ore
sixth of our national wealth in lSAz
Is q, $50 O64, ,7i5. Six per cent INTEREST o
this Increase - N,Olb'utI, ,IOl-a tOttl
SS,6 1851. This is three-ouarters
the total governmental debt Of tn
country. Approximately this sum mu!
lie paid directly, or indirectly betCl
farm producers get any profit, and IN
charge must be paid by the consumer,
Tho total mortgage Indebtedness Il
1910 Of 1,0O66ll farm owners includin
those who rent additional land, VIZ
Cthe census repOrtsl St,726.172 S51,
about one-twentieth of the additions
dead loss debt of producers to lar
spectators involved I'm the probat
speculative increase i'm land values du
. ing the present decade. Reducing Il
rerest rates will increase the selitr
pricc Of land, so long as land valu
are lightly taxed as now.
I'm view of the self-evident facts S
forth above, We respectfully sugge
that any bill establishing land mortg:s
anKs should follow the principle
mo Srnith-Ie ever bill for agricutur
extension work 1t should provide tn
Federal aid, through land mortga
lanks. will be extended only to tho
states which abolish taxes upon n
Irnvcments and all products OF laDC
nd secure revenue for local and Sta
purposes by taxing land values.
You and all members OF your Col
mission. as well as the President knC
this transfer of taxes from labor TO la
values will benefit all small farm ow
frs and tenants. the value of whose Il
I.royements Is several times as much
ihe bare site value Of ther farms.
is also tho only effective means to bre
Np the monopoly OF tafIn ldhu III q
country whore only | pCr cent OF I
iorm acreage Is in farms OF less IN
twenty acres. and nearly one-hfth Is
farms NJ 1900 to 100000 acres.
at alone will insure to real tarm
the benefit Of land mortgage ban
even rural cooperation and credit s.
temS ,ov,, -, tho nroducts
labor is endorsed by the progress
oranges OF the country, The Washil
ION State Grange, at its convention
June, adopted the following resoluu
That we go on record as favOri
the adoption of a system OF tRNat
whereby personal property and all
provements would be exempt, and
burden be borne entirely by IL
values
This principle has been recommen'
hy the United states Comm ssion on
dustrial Relations II Il the now 10
,pl stcp In helping farmers and sho
prccede the establishment OF land mt
Sage banks