The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1916-04-07

to q certain question is made by
asking another question. To the
query, why should the farmers
and the boys stay on the FARM" the
answer comes. why should they want
70 leave a good thing?"
There is war In Europe, and there
fore 1t may be held by the entirely
ihoughtless that the farming prosper
ty In the United States to which At
IGNITION has just been called by the
department OF agricultures statisti-
clans, is merely thing of the year,
and that q slump will come, and that
~ = consequence there will be sim
ply one bright spot to Offset several
black spots. There is a good deal OF
nonsense in this view of the case.
1t 10 not always wise to take what
may be called a boom year and to use
It either as q basis of comparison or
a. q towering landmark to which some
hole in the ground of the past is to be
compared. with the dismal prophecy
that other holes in the ground are
sure to be dug by fortune in the fu-
ture. This sort Of thing tends to dis
courage the men who believe that hill
tops are to remain the general fea-
lures of picture landscapes.
Values Grow Constantly.
The year Just past has been a great
one. The aggregate production Of all
crops is estimated to be seven per
cent larger than the preceding year.
The American farmer has protited, but
1t should not be understood that be-
cause attention is called to a particu-
larly marked growth that development
and increasing prosperity are only
matters of a twelvemonth that il
yast
Let us see what has happened In
he country in the last few years
Complete government statistics, be
cause the census is taken only once
In ten years, are not available for the
last two or three years, but the word
Ia that the progress OF the preceding
decade has been maintained. Here
are some figures which mean some
thing:
In the year 1900 the value of farm
property in the United States, In
GLIDING land, machinery. houses and
all other things pertaining to agricultu
raj production was 500, 439 ,901, 164. In
ten years these values had more than
doubled, reaching in 1910 the astonish
ing figures of $4o,ss1, 449, 900.
Farmers Better on.
Now 1t might be held by some per
sons that these figures simply would
mean that the farm had multiplied
tremendously and that the increased
valuation would be spread over al
enormous territory occupied by new
farms and that therefore the individ
ual farmer was In no wise better of
Well, let us see about this.
In the year 1900 there were In the
United States 5,737,372 farms. In thu
year 1910 there were 6,361 ,502 farms
A glance at the figures will show tina
while the farm property values more
than doubled, the increase in the mum
Der of farms. comparatively speaking
of course, were small. To have KEEP
things down at the old basis of values
the number of farms should hav'
doubled, while the values wer'
doubling.
In the year 1900 the average value
OF all property per farm was 1868
In 1910 the average value of all prop
erty per farm was 36,444. These fig
ures perhaps almost better than any
thing else can show the advance o
prosperity In the agricultural regionl
OF the United States.
Other figures, however, are avail
able. In the year 1900 the average
value OF farm land per acre wal
1857. In the year 1900 the average
value of land per acre was 1924
more than 4 doubling up in LAM
wealth.
An 80 Per Cent Increase.
The census bureau OF the Unite,
states furnishes other figures whicl
have to do with crop values. In tn
year 1899 the value OF all crops In tn,
OulJCO OtdtoS Was *1,ooo, fu1,fl6 IL
the year 1909, that is Just q decad
later, the value of the crop was IS,
487 ,161, 1923, an increase of SO per cen
in ten years.
For the same ten years we find al
increase of another kind. In 1879
the average value Of crops per farm
was q trifle more than $500, while IL
1909 1t reached the value of 1858.
A curious thing is noted In Wash
lngton concerning the thoughtlessnes
of some men in gauging the proceed
of industry on the individual farm, o
II you will. on farms in the aggregate
Some men who think of farming ig
more utterly the actual land value t,
the man who owns his farm. The.
say $50 and So made SO much las
year, but the sum In not big" To tn,
opoupf m q n q must ha adda1 a hpuf Nv