Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-05-05

1 TOOK the same interest in my work
as a tenant as take in my own farm.
/ began work without dollar and
with very little knowledge of farming,
but while I was on the farm l learned
a good deal. l had ample opportunity
to study the principles controlling crop
growth, soil improvement, stock man
agement, etc. The inspiration l re-
ceived was valuable indeed, and dur
ing my period of service 1 earned
enough money to buy the small farm
on which 1 now live"
This extract from a statement made
by a former farm tenant employee,
now farm owner, reviews a relation
snip between owner and tenant that
great many persons on both sides of
the farm-landlOrd situation may we'll
envy. There is possibly no subject
connected with the business of farm
ing which leads to as many misunder-
standings dissatisfactiOns and mutual
losses as the management of a farm by
nOnOwner. Somebody has said that
nothing short of application of the
golden rule would ever bring about sat
isfactOry arrangements between the
owner and occupant of a farm, and
yet, in this case, there was nothing
eleemosynary in the arrangement.
Tested by Fifteen Years Trial.
The man who made the statement
quoted above was for a number of
years the manager of. one of two ordi-
nary7sized hog farms owned by a man
in Illinois, and the plan under which
he was engaged as farm manager has
been followed by the owner with al
most unfailing success for more than
fifteen years. Briefly, the plan was
nothing more or less than a straight
annual salary which included tenant
house and the usual garden and poul-
try perQuisites, and as a bonus, a
share of the net profits.
The profit-sharing plan has served to
stimulate the efforts of the employee
and has greatly lessened the supervi-
sion necessary on the part of the
owner. BY the use of the telephone
and occasional visits he is able to keep
in touch with the farm problems and
to cooperate effectively with the man.
ager. Since the owner was farming
himself it was important that the man
agement of his other two farms take
as little of his time as possible. Thus
far the managers have been selected
from the men employed on the home
farm, which serves as a training
school.
How Net Income Is Determined.
The managers are given a regular
monthly wage and a bonus consisting
Of one-third of the net farm income
In determining the net income per
cent interest on the valuation of the
property is first taken out, as due re-
turn for capital, after which all eX-
penses are deducted, such as for
thrashing, the managers wage, extra
labor, machinery repairs, depreciation,
and the cost Of fertilizers and seeds.
Each of the two managed farms has
a house for the manager, who also can
use the work horses to drive for per-
sonal use, has a garden, and a COW or
LWO lOI SuBplyll IlAS 4tllh1lJ win min
and butter. Fifty chickens are fur
nished, and the family is permitted to
raise as many as possible to supply the
needs of the farm table, but on Deem
Der / all the chickens above the Origi-
nal number must be sold, and the land
lord gets one-half the receipts. The
purpose of this limit on chickens is
70 ho ic
poultry supply without taking undue
advantage of his opportunity
In order to calculate the amount of
money which the manager is to re-
ceive on this plan it is necessary to do
a certain amount of bookkeeping. This
is left to the owner, who keeps set
of farm accounts, and on March l a
complete inventory is taken and a
yearly summary of the farm business
is completed. In cases Of disease, poor
crops. or a partial failure which is I'M
avoidable. thus cutting down the in
come of the manager, the owner makes
some allowance and gives the mana
ger in addition to the wages he has
received, what he thinks is due him
for the work he has done, and the re
sponsibility he has assumed.
In the period before war imitation
the managers made from SAL to $40
ner month the year round, in addition
to having their rent, garden, milk, but
ter and eggs. The manager of the
sD,olIer farm. comprising 96 acres, re-
,oi,od s25 a month straight wages for
1our years up to 1918, and his bonus
Averaged s168 8 year. The manager
70 mo other farm, comprising 100