The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-02-22

y
In 1919 they spent nearly $330,000,000
Twenty years ago not S4,000,000 q
year was spent for fertilizers by farm
ers west of the Mississippi river; in
1919 the farmers Of that region spent
approximately $27,0O000O. The Pa
cific states are using nine times as
much fertilizer now as they did then
These figures are evidence OF the ex-
haustion of the soil.
Hired Men Get Better Pay.
The hired man on the farm gets bet
ter pay than he used to. His wages
now, figuring in his board as part of
his pay, are about three and one-half
times what they were in 1898. It is
costing farmers today nearly four
times as much to feed their live stock
as 1t did only ten years ago.
In ten years the farms of the ma
lion have nearly doubled in value, due
to the increasing cost of land. The
average farm in 1910 was valued al
s5,4T1. The present value of the av
erage farm is $10514, while the total
present farm value is close to $68,OO0.
100000 This represents an increase
of about s32,OOO,O00,O00. On this in
creased value interest must be paid
and the greater difficulty of making
the farm pay as an investment is one
of the things which is embarrassing
our farming.
Although in 20 years there has beer
a great increase in the use of farm ma.
chinery, the crop statistics do not In
dicate that machinery is increasing
production. 1t is permitting fewer mer
to operate the farms, but it is not
sending the farm output ahead of the
increase in population. Yet, as farm
labor grows harder and harder to get
the tendency Is toward a greater use
of machinery. This is another indi
cation which points to higher foo6
prices in the future.
Farm Implements Cost More.
Farm machinery and tools have
greatly increased in price. SO has
lumber. Today one farm in every
twenty-eight owns at least one trac
tor; two out of every hundred main
tain motortrucks; while the automo
bile has now become so prevalent that
practically one farm Of every three
has one. The great wheat and corr
states of the upper and middle Missis
sippi valley are the chief users of rac
tors. Here there is a tractor for every
nine farms
While machinery has not increased
the output Of crops per acre, it has
increased crop output per unit of la
Dor.
The physical conditions of living or
farms are growing better. The great
number of automobiles in use-nearly
100000 cars on the farms in 1920
is an indication of this There are
about 10000 motortrucks and 25000C
tractors in use. Telephones are now
installed in more than 100000 Amer
lean farmhouses, or in almost 40 pei
cent of them Nearly $4,000 Ameri
can farm homes have their own wa.
ter and sewerage systems. About $50
900 of them are lighted by gas or cleo
tricity.
Science, while it has done much
has not vet rescued the farmer from
the business hazards Of weather, de
structive insect pests, or plant ane
animal diseases. The commission be
lieves much more can be done to rem
der farming less exposed to these
risks.
Hand in hand with the increase In
the value of the farm lands has gone
an increase in the total mortgage or
those lands. The lands themselves
have nearly doubled in value, but the
mortgage has considerably more than
doubled 1t is estimated that the pres
ent total mortgage debt on American
farms is S8,663, 100000, as against
approximately $4,000, 100000 in 1910
On the average the interest rate on
the farm debt at present is 81 per