Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1921-03-17
BACK TO THEFARM
MOVEMENT SEEN BY
REAL ESTATE FIRM
First Check in the Cityward
Movement Came Last Fall
Two-thirds Of Farm
Sales Now Being Made to
Residents of Cities.

| New York, March. IA real es-
state firm Of nation wide scope
which in the past year sold 4,272
farms, valued at more than $2O,-
100000. from Maine to California,
has made public 1T its offices here
1.-THE interesting discovery that, for
the first time in many years. there
are signs of change in the drift
of population away from the cities
and back to the farms.
| Recently announced Federal CEN
sus statistics showed that the aggre-
gate population of American cities,
when the canvass was made six
| months or more ago, actually ex-
ceeded the aggregate population OF
the farming districts, a condition un-
Iprecedented in the countrys history.
This is explained by the fact that
there was an influx or people from
farming communities to the cities
especially in the period of abnormal
industrial activity during and i'm
mediately following the war. Thou.
sands OF farmers and members of
their families came to factory local
tiles where, for two or three years,
they made big wages. With the
slump following the general indus
trial readjustment. however, these
farmers, and, in many cases. idle city
dwellers as we'll, are turning to the
farms where labor has long been at
a premium
The records of the firm in Ques-
tion are said to show that during
the past 20 years its sales have been
made in almost unvarying proper
ton, two-thirds to farmers moving
from one section or state TO another
and one-third TO men from the cit
les. The present back-tO-the-land
movement, however, it is declared.
shows an almost exact reversal Of
these percentages, that is, two
thirds Of the sales, are now being
made to men from the cities as IL
gainst one-third to farmers.
'The, first check III, the eityWard
movements member OF this firm
stated, "appears from available stat
istics to have acome late last Fall,
with the tightening of industrial
conditions and consequent lack Of
employment in the cities. 1t be-
came increasingly evident this Win
ter until in February the tide seems
To have begun to flow the other way.
'The change. naturally is most
marked in the vicinity of the indus
trial centers, the February sales in
New England, for instance, having
increased more than 200 percent ov-
err those Of last year, those in the
Middle Atlantic states about 175
percent over last year and in the
steel centers and manufacturing dis
tricts fthe Central West approxi-
mately 100 percent.
"The great majority of men go
ing from the cities and manufactur-
ing towns back, to the farms are be-
lieved to be men who came from the
country originally, attracted by high
wages in industry. Many of these
men accumulated considerable saw
ings and now that work is uncertain
and scarce, they are using their saw
ings to purchase self-supporting
homes for themselves, rather than
to accept lower wages or to live in
idleness while their savings are be-
ing eaten up by high rents and other
unavoidable living costs in the cit
ies''
New England was said to be lead
ing the entire country in the back
to-the-land movement While the in
crease thruout the United States is
in excess of 80 percent greater in
February than for the same period
last year. New 'England's farm sal
es show an increase Of 200 percent,
due to the fact that many factory
workers who have been thrown out
Of employment or forced to submit
to wage reductions, have. left the cit
les and towns and gone into general
farming, dairying, poultry and hog
raising and bee keeping as well as
the cultivation Of small fruits
An interesting feature of the sit
uation is that of the 4,272 farms
sold last year, LII were disposed
of in New England, more than one
quarter of them to residents Of 9th Ar
states; while of the 3,10O farms sold
in other states, only 81 buyers were
New England people.