The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1920-02-11
NEWSPAPER LIE
IS NAILED
Metropolitan Newspaper Writer Has
Been Proven False by the
Federal Authorities
IOWA FARMERS NOT PROFITEERs
Department Of Agriculture Shows
That Land Prices Have Been
Boosted by City People

:. WASHINGTON, D. c., Feb. "A
metropolitan newspaper recently print
ed on its front page an article signed
by one of its staff correspondents, de.
voted to what purports to be an expos.
ure OF profiteering by farmers in Iowa.
The article is full of inaccurate state.
ments and misinterpretations of facts,
say farm management specialists OF the
United States department of agricul.
ture. These inaccurate statements and
neutrality-suspicious. are not peculiar to
the particular newspaper in question.
They have been made or insinuated by
q considerable number of newspapers
and other publications. The division
Of land economics, Office of farm man.
agement, has just completed study OF
the recent increase lin land values In
Iowa and is in position to indicate the
conditions that, actually exist in that
state.
The newspaper article said that "last
year there was an unprecedented turn
over in Iowa farm lands, and values
were artificially, increased by speculat.
ors to such an extent that land former
~ selling at $50 ON acre found willing
purchasers at s400,t $500, up to $3.50 an
acre." IA s.a
Formerly is Good
Land was formerly selling at $40 an
acre" in Iowa, but not since about 1890
have farm land values in that state
ranged anywhere around that figure.
And these lands are not now selling at
$4OO, $500 and up to $500 an acre." as
the correspondent says. The average
selling price of Iowa farm land is not
higher than $3.50 to s275 an acre. Out
of 1900 instances of actual sales on
which the department of agriculture
gathered information, less than doz-
en- represent prices Of $40O. and less
than per cent represent as much as
$4OO an acre.
The impression is created all the way
through the article that the high prices
of food are caused by the high price OF
land. The fact Is, however. that the
prices of food rose and the rise in land
values followed.
The further fact is that if the gov
eminent were to take from the Iowa
farmers by taxation nearly all of the
net earnings of farm lands, as single
takers advocate, prices of farm prod.
ucts would still be as high as they are
now, unless lowered by some other
cause. Prices Of food products have
moved up in approximately the same
proportion as general prices and in re,
Spouse to the same Worldwide causes.
! WAR. scarcity and currency inf1atiOn. /
81 Here are1 other statements from, the
article: The farmers in this region are
richer today than they have eXari been
int ttheirolivesu.and this. means that noi
tihss the soil profit as these folks are
profiting. Today 1t is the east which yiIs
paying tribute to the mQney bar6ns Of
the western farms" 4s5.3is ,jgirT. I.
One of the studies made by the de-;
partment of agriculture included a
group of 324 farms in the richest portion
Of Iowa. The average net income of
these farms in 1918, with no allowance
whatever for interest on the invest.
ment in land and equipment, was $3,480.
If S per cent be allowed for interest on
the investment at the value of the land
before the recent BOOM" there is left,
on the average only $1,124 to pay for
the labor Of the farmer and for the risk
to the business. On the basis OF aver
age values of land in August, 1919, there
would be left an average of only $151
to pay the interest on the value or the
land and equipment.
wildcat SPECTATORS" those Iowa
farmers are called. But, the facts show
that nearly one-half ,Of the people en-
gagged in buying and selling farm lands
in. iowa during the recent tboOm We're
city people--and this onei half who live
in the city got about tWo-thirds of the
money represented by the increase of
sale value IN IarIlNldllOS uuflAS flSAo. =,
!, !, Farmers Not; PrOf1teers 4 ~ r.
In the light Of these facts and of the
almost universal prevalence of what
might be called profiteering. the depart
ment of agriculture thinks tits ,unfor-
tunate to single out as q profiteer the
farmer-the man who sells his goods in
an open market characterized by intense
competition and free, so far as the farm
er himself is concerned, from any ele-
ment of monopoly or price control.
There can be no question, the depart
ment believes, that the recent increase
in the price of Iowa farm lands is un-
fortunate, even in relation to farm
earnings under the favorable conditions
of production and prices in 1918, and
that it is doubly unfortunate if the
world faces the period predicted by
many economic prophets. The land
economics specialists of the department
say, however, that the increase was an
inevitable result of the present indus
trial system and that the farmers were
no more to blame for it than any other
class of people.
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800 Motor Cars of "a Different Makes
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