The Devils Lake world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1920-1982, 1921-02-16

yours, when dealing with farm con-
ditions. a
.fYou say that If the farmer fig-
nres the price Of his land at what
some neighbor il reported to have
been ofered-say $4,000 an acre
Il Is perhaps true that it cost him
over $500 . bushel, to raise wheat.
The context in which you use this
sentence makes It apparent that
you mean to assume that it is prob
ably true Yet you could have easily
secured Information demonstrating
that farm costs : determined on
no such himsy basis. Bulletin No.
142 Of. the North Dakota Agricul-
tural College, issued in September
1920, contains on page s an itemized
table Of contents in which the charge
for the use. Of land is given at
1910 an acre. This is 6 per cent, on
! fraction over $50 an acre.
Based on Low Valuation
I'm q study Of the cost Of grow
ing wheat in Kansas in 1919, the
results Of which are given in the
quarterly report Of the Kansas state
board Of agriculture for the quarter.
ending September, 1919, the charge
per acre for the use of land and
buildings is given at 1924, which is,
g per cent Of ,$1l5.66 an acre. In a
study made somewhat earlier, on
the cost Of producing corn in corn
sections, by the United States Office
Of Farm Management, the average
charge per acre for the use Of land,
Is placed at $3.50, or 6 per cent on
. land valuation Of t$142.66. The
average valuation per acre for these
three studies Is $102.62 an acre.
''This ~conservatism i'm estimating
land values runs thru all the work
of the department of agriculture,
the agricultural colleges and state.
universities, and the economic and
statistical services Of farmers
organizations and farm papers. And,
on . basis for other costs equally
conservative, they have proved that
the cost Of producing wheat in re-
cent years has been from 81 to s. a
bushel. Clehrly4 il the .dissemina-
ton Of this knowledge among the
farmers has made readjustment
more dificult-as you say-it is
either because these costs are. an
actual element Of difficulty in the
situation, or because Of the exist
ence Of such conditions enabling
other industrial and financial inter-
ests better q protect themselves
and TO- throw . disproportionate
share Of the burden Of readjustment
upon the farmer. 4r
\. Picture Farmers o <Joyriders
You say that figured on basis
Of actual costs, he {thes farmer) can
make money at present prices Of.
wheat and corn-provided lie works.
and does not spend most Of his time
riding around in automobiles.
Where do you get the idea that
farmers do spend q great deal Of
time riding. around in automobiles?
Perhaps from = hurried scanning
Of statistics showing the number Of
ears owned ia farming communities,
u possibly even from press stories
playing up the mythical JOY rides
OF farmers and wage earners in.
higkpowered cars. Il. ID true that
the sscomparative number u auto:
mobiles In use in farming sections
u vaery large. But it III alsofstrue
that the most Of these ears are
utility trucks Of 'ttin Lizzies', which
ares used The faltrsllrtery because
they arc economical than.
horse-power, Il follows TINT Il farm
ersssrodes around on thar farm
wagons Of mounted 81 plooddin,gl
a4araM horses the cost oSs producing
crops would tbe even greater. Asss Sss3
Kou ~ thats government
alndgssthe farm Journals wonlda do the:
Saa1Nu1i5Slerrs, we'll VI thea1drs1 doun-
realssslyies telling HIN
thels plain tho uhWelcon1 fScctst-
thSs aa3actssrefearsd to being sugp
4 posi3alienl h.ssts!tf bsslllss is
cosesG onswhak some nsig66bor
terI6elsd shayIssl ben olRstedsld III
stan& and tint No. does 1otss2iWlb1laali
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