The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-11-06
Frederic Haskin's Letter !.
Fewer Farms.

states, and that it is increasin,
some parts very rapidly, in thar.l
or course, one would exnec.
find the, greatest increase i'm ~ =
west, where there are still n,,s Ms
lands and relatively sparse nonn,. c
ton. Even so, the rapid incrsas'
in the west would certainly sSas
that men are willing to farm vh..'
they can get hold of land and ~. ~
it at profit. And the positive y
crease in the east would sn,s,r
seem to prove that men ara ~.
discouraged in that section.
The western states which a.. Z
an increase in the number Of s,N
are Arizona. Arkansas, Callfo,n.i
Colorado, Idaho. Minnesota ~.
tana, Nevada, North Dakota n.
gon, Texas, Utah, Washington WI.
consin and Wyoming that is ma
tically all of the war western st.,..
except New Mexico.
OF the southern states, incre....
are shown by Florida, Georgia. Ken
lucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma So.,.s
Carolina, North Carolina, Tennssl
see and Virginia. But the incrpa.s,
in these states are much smslnss
on an average than those in n.
western states.
All Of the ether states show A.
creases in the number of farm.
This means not only that ths
number Of farms in New England
and the northeast generally IA a.
creasing, but that the number N
farms in the middle west, the tn.
ditional granary of America, ia IA.
cyeasing. The west, then IS dom,
more than its share to feed Amert
lea. The south is doing much. Inn
the average increase in that section
scarcely keeps up with the increaae
| of population. The middle west
and the northeast are steadily fan.
ing behind in food production
They are looking more and more to
the west to feed them.
Why West Leads /,
What then are the cndittna
which have kept the west in 4
state of growing agricultural pro-
ductiveness when the rest Of thu
country has become decadent in
that respect? No doubt the rich
young soil of the region is one rea.
son. No doubt another reason is
that there are fewer industrial
plants to attract men to the cities.
! Neither of these conditions can
be artificially altered, of course.
| The west is inevitably the more pro-
| ductive part of the country, and its
i prime business is food production
while the east is given more and
more to manufacture.
But rich soil and room are not the
only favorable conditions which &C.
count for the increase in the west
In the west there are both statg
and federal reclamation project!
upon which man can get goOt
land for reasonable prices on Ion.
time credit. And state laws in TIL
west are far more favorable to tn
farmer than in most eastern states
Those who are inclined to decry tn
Non-Partisan league, which en-
ables farmers to own their own grail
elevators and otherwise to exercis
much control over the marketing 0
their products, may be interested t
know that in North Dakota, II
home and point of origin. the nun
Der of farms increased AS per cen
while in Minnesota. where it has
headquarters. the number OF farm
increased IAN per cent
y The northwest in general is tn
section of the country where IN
farmers are most progressive an
most successful in getting the lee
islation they want and in cooopera
tive movements. And all Of. tn
northwestern states show large II
creases in the number Of farm
Montana leads them with an II
! crease Of 113 per cent. Oregc
shows an increase Of 1913 per Ger
. and Washington of is per cent