The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-14
FARM RENTIN IS GAINING SLIGHTLY OVER PAST DECADE
In 1920 Tenants Operated 38 Per Cent Of Farms
 In United States

MADISON. Wis. Oct. 13.-(By As sociated Press)-Farm tenancy in the United states incree sed but 1 per cent during the last decade, con trary to the general belies that agri- cultural lands were rapidly passing out of the hands of owner-operat9rs into the hands of tenants, judging by a report 10 the Institute for Re search in Land Economies and Pub- lie Utilities. This body, directed by pr. Richard 2. Ely, well-knoWn economist, is organized specifically to conduct research in land prop lems.
 Easing its conclusions upon 1920 census figures, the institute con cludes that an increase in tenancy can be expected In the normal devel- opment of a nation. a fact neglected by many who look upon tenant farm ing as something absolutely unde- sirable."
 p The report showed that tenants operated approximately one-fourIh ood of the farms of the country in 18SO' with a jump to 2S per cent in 1S9O' and to 35 per cent in 1900. A more gradual increase came ir the next two decades, the proportion in l9I0 being 37 per cent, and in l9zO' 5e per cent.
 Measured in terms of acreage of land in farms, about 2S per cent o4 farm land is being cultivated by tenants, according to the institute statement Measured in terms Of lm- proved acreage, tenants are sala to occupy almost 55 per cent of the lm- proved land.
 The south is shown to have steadv increase in tenant farms, with some states showing over GO per cent of farm tenancy.
 The reason must be sought in the prevalence of one crop farming, par ticularly cotton and tobacco, and m the human factor" the report de- clared "Three-fourths of the negro farmers aad a large proportion or the whites are renters. The boil weevil and the migration of negro labor to the north is bound to pro duce great changes in the present renting arrangements.
 However, in the last decade seven states in Lhe south have had de- crease oIfelse practically no change in the proportion of tenants to own CTS. They are: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland
 Ever since 1880 there has been a steady increase in farm tenancy in the corn belt. Missouri alone is an exception. In the corn belt, eco- homie forces determining tenancy have had full play. Farms have in creased in size ever since 1850. Ag- ricultural machinery has made pos sible a larger acreage per man. The tractor has had a powerful influ- ence in the same direction. Land IS at d premium and it's value often in- Hated, making ownership more dif- ficulc.
 Kansas, Nebraska and the Da- kotas have had the most remarkable
 
 to owners during the last decade. Western Minnesota shares in this in- crease with the Dakotas. North Da- .kota had only 4 per cent of tenancy in 1910, but now has over % per cent, while South Dakota jumped from 25 to 35 per cent. One crop agriculture, large scale operations and the many farms held for speculation are fea- lures that partly explain this rapid rise in tenancy.
 Notable declines in tenant ope- rated farms have persisted in the eastern states on the Atlantic sea board from Virginia northward. Only New York had a larger proportion of tenants in 1920 than it had in 1880. and even then in 1920 less than one-fifth of it's farms were tenant operated.
 "Western states have such a va riety of conditions that tenancy figures are not significant. The agri- culture ranges from irrigated land to ranching. New farms are still be- 7 ing created from the public domain, and these are practically all in the hands of owners. This fact tends to obscure the increase in tenant farms.
 Utah has the lowest rate of ten ancy In the United States outside of New England and Nevada, although 1t Is one of the oldest of the western states ard has we'll developed agri- culture. The peculiar social and re- llgious institutions of the Mormons have to be examined to explain this.