Omaha daily bee., 1921-09-10
.Scullys To
Lower Rent
InNebrask
AZ
English Brothers, Owners 0,
10000 Acres in This
State, Reduce Charge
To Tenants.
400 Families Affected

Beatrice, Neb.. Sept. o.-(Special
Telegram )-Aba,ement OF part oil
this years cash rentals ior lands
OF the Seully estate will be All.
nounced in a few days. according t.
]. Z. {. Fisher, general manage,
OF the properties in Nebraska and
northern Kansas. The exact amount
OF reduction for the properties here
is not known.
Mr.. Fisher said that he had re-
ccivcd notice from the American
headquarters OF the estate at Lincoln,
H.. that a reduction would be made
and that he would be told the cx-
&C, amount in a few days.
The estate. consisting OF 10000
acres OF Nebraska, Kansas. Mis-
souri, and Illinois land. is owned by
the Scully family OF England. The
Nebraska holdings are $4,000 acres
III Gage county and about $4,000
acres in Nckolls county. This is
tenanted by lS5 families i'll Gage
county and about $50 in Nuckolls.
In Family for Years.
The estate has been i'll the Scully
family for generations. With the
deatl, OF Lord Scully the estate
passed into the hands Of his two
sons. Thomas. who owns the Ne
braska and Illinois lands, and Fred
who owns the acreage in Missouri
and Kansas. The accou-.s are kept
separate, but the same policies arc
carried cut in connection with all
OF the properties.
Uprisings OF the tenants have been
a frequent occurrence. Repeatedly
alien land laws have been introduced
in state legislatures aimed at this
family. Shortly after Lord Scully
obtained his Kansas holdings, the
legislature of that state passed an
alien land law which was later de-
clared unconstitutional. Scullv never
took any chances with the law and
became naturalized so he could con-
tinue to hold his large acreagcs.
Cash Rent Required.
The Scully brothers are continu-
ing a policy strictly adhered to by
their father of renting the land OIL
a basis OF so many dollars an acre.
The Tenant is required to pay the
taxes and make such road improve
ments as are deemed necessary.
The tenant may build himself
house and barn, put up fences and
make other Improvements, but when
he quits his tenantry he must take
the improvements along with him or
sell them to the incoming tenant. The
leases provide certain crops that
must be raised and the clover acre
age requirements is opposed by some
tenants. @nM-t
Few Improvements.
The policy adopted by the Scully
family in handling its huge holding
has had tendency to keep the ten
ants on the same farm for many
years. However. in driving over
their estates. it is noticeable that
there are few good houses or barns.
Few orchards are maintained on
Scully farms.
Scully tenants at big picnic in
Antelope, Kan, threatened to move
en- masse from the lands and refuse
to put in crop Of wheat unless
their demands for reduced rentals
were agreed to. The tenants also
have been holding numerous school
house meetings where many agreed
10 refuse to sign leases unless the
rental was reduced 40 per cent.
Reduced 20 Per Cent.
The announcement of the reduction
IN Illinois brings the rental down to
less than 81 an acre or about 20 pei
cent decrease and smaller GLOVER
acreage. Whether this decrease will
'orestall the strike is unknown.
The tenants assert the rentals have
increased on them every year for a
period and that they
lave had bad season. With the
present low prices for grain the ten
,nts say they cannot pay the present
,ental. Some say their rent is now
iouble what it was eight or 70 years
lgo with produce prices back to al (
most the pre-war levels.
Following an uprising of the ten
Ints against rent increase a few
ears ago legislative investigations
# absentee landlordism were started
tut resulted in affecting none of the
,cully holdings. (;