The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1915-05-29
BY Professors Charles IL. AaStin and
George >. WehrWein, University
OF Texas. Written for the United
Press.

AUSTIN, Texas, May 29.-How
does farm tenancy in Texas compare
With farm tenancy in other states?
according TO the 1910 census the
'ercentage of farm tenancy III Tex
was SIS in Mississippi it was
Isl; in Georgia 65.S; in South Car
,lina g. in Alabama co.; in Lou
5iana 55.3; and in oklahoma "a. s.
These six states all had a greater
erccntage of tenancy in 1910 than
existed in Texas.
Conditions are not as bad in Tex
S as in some other states. but in
Texas the question has received more
tudy and there is being manifested
| sreater public interest In the last
subernatorial campaign tenancy be
amc political issue The pres
ut governor advocated measure
hich has become a law, that land
rents should be limited to the Gus
tomary onc-third OF the grain and
1he-fougth OF the cotton and thai
he paEm2at Of any additional sum
in any way would render void CON
ttaCt. IAc campaign simply added
discussion to : question which had
been under consideration for some
tune. Perhaps this public discus
SiGn with the consequent revelation
If conditions has made it appear to
he people OF other sections of the
'ountry that Texas was in a worse
ondton than some Of her sister
itates but this would be false con-
a!usion. In Texas the condition IS
uore hopeful because the public in
obstructive measures have been tai
en-
At first thought one would say
hat conditions are worse in okla
aoma than III any of the states mc1-
tates While generation ago great
tcres in Oklahoma were virgin
>rairie. The situation is someN hat
similar in Texas. But in both Of
these states tenancy is white mars
t,Gblem. In these two states thee
ale lever negroes than in a..y ei the
other states named, both in actual
numbers and by per cent of popula-
ton.
There Is also a greater percentage
Of foreign born population in Tex
as and in Oklahoma than IN any
Of the other states named except
Louisiana where the per cent OF
foreign born exceeds that of Okla
| doma by eight tenths. The actual
number OF foreign born in Texas is
5feater by nearly 10000 than the
combined total foreign born popula-
ton of all the other states, inelud-
ing Oklahoma. The presence of
these foreign born gives a decided
advantage to Texas aud Oklahoma,
Tor the census OF 1910 shows that
% per cent OF those born outside
The United States, who have come
into Texas and gone into agricul-
| ture have acquired farms of their
| own during the first generation
rms percentage would be higher il
there were some way OF separating
| the Mexieans from the others.
At the present time the negro is
| not an Influential factor in the
counties in Texas which have the
highest percentage OF tenancy, and
The conclusion must be that in states
like Oklahoma and Texas where the
white and foreign born arc most
concerned with the question, that
the chances for solution are the
greatest.
According to the last census. IN
ifty counties Of Texas there was
q decrease Of farm owners. From
this. one would expect correspond
ingly large increase in tenants, but
III forty-tWo counties the number OF
tenants actually decreased between
1900 and 1910 In many cases
both owners and tenants decreased
in the same county. SO that forty