Evening star., 1921-03-14
CITY FOLKS HASTEN
| TO BUY UP FARMS
Back.to-Land Movement Is
> Noted for First Time in
Many Years.
DEPRESSION TURNS TIDE
200 Per Cent Increase in Farms
Sold in New England Over
Same Period Last Year.
By the Associa ted Press

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, March IA real es-
tate firm of nationwide scope which
in the past year sold 4.272 farms, VAL
ued at more than $2O.O00,0 900. from
Maine to California, has made public
at its offices here the interesting dis
covery that. for the first time in many
years. there are signs of a change in
the drift of population away from
the cities and back to the farms"
Recently announced federal census
statistics showed that the aggregate
population of American cities. when
the canvass was made six months or
more ago, actually exceeded the ag
gregate population of the farming
districts. a condition unprecedented
in the country's history. This is eX
planned by the fact that there was
an influx of people from farming
communities to the cities. especially
in the period of abnormal industrial
activity during and Immediately fol-
lowing the war. Thousands of farm
ers and members of their families
came to factory localities. where, for
Two or three years. they made big
wages. With the slump following the
ever. these farmers. and, in many
cases. idle city dwellers as well, are
turning to the farms. where labor has
long been at a premium.
City Folks Lead Purchasers.
The records of the firm in question
are said to show that during the past
twenty years its sales have been made
IN almost unvarying proportion two
thirds 70 farmers moving from one
section or state to another and one
third to men from the cities. The
present back to-the la nd movement
however. shows an almost exact re-
versal of these percentages-that is.
two-thirds of the sales are now being
made to men from the cities as
against one-third to farmers.
The first check in the cityward
movement" a member of this Arm
stated. appears from available sta
tstics to have come late last fall,
with the Tightening of industrial con-
dltions and consequent lack of en-
ployment in the cities. 1t became
increasingly evident this winter un-
til 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 zoo per cent
over those of last year. those in the
middle Atlantic states about 175 per
cent over last year and in the steel
centers and manufacturing districts
OF the central west approximately 100
New England was said to be lead
ing the entire country in the back
to- o-the land movement. While the
increase throughout the United States
is in excess of so per cent greater in
February than for the same period
last year. New England's farm sales
show an increase of 200 per cent. due
to the fact that many factory work
ers, who have been thrown out of
employment or forced to submit to
wage reductions, have left the cities
and towns and gone into general
farming, dairying. poultry and hog |
raising and bee keeping, az well as
the cultivation of small fruits. |
An interesting feature of the sit |
uation Is that Of the 4,272 farms sold |
last year. Iii were disposed OF in |
New England. more than one-quarter
of them to residents of other states; |
W lille of the 8 100 farms sold in other
states. only fifty-seven buyers were
New England people.