The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-19
By LOUIS zooHocK.

uPOA Tic AaAuACAo nave 4AOiO than
doubled in a period of ten years; the
number of those owning farms has
greatly decreased while the number
of tenant farmers has considerably
risen. The farmers are on the brink
of ruin.
Financial capital is conquering agri-
culture. The monopolists and ex-
ploiters of this country. who control
the machinery of the government, the
presidency and the congress are re-
sponsible for the distress of the
farmers; they have brought to con-
dition where the income Of the agri-
cultural laborer is transferred to the
pockets other than his own. A very
careful statistician has estimated that
out Of every dollar of farm products
sold to the consumer the farmers gets
only 38 cents; that 62 cents of his
dollar goes to the other agencies that
handle the farm product before it gets
to the consumer. 1t is generally es-
timated that the cost of distribution
of the varied farm products to the
consumer range from SO to IS per
cent. These estimates only partly tell
the story of the farmers distress.
What is more important, is the
growing speculation in land. Thru
out the country land is held for spec
ulative purposes. Financiers, bank
ers, etc., have contributed to the spec
ulative spirit-purchasing land with
idle funds, deriving whatever income
it yielded in the hands Of tenants,
and awaiting the natural increase in
value. The effect of this speculative
activity has been to raise the value
of land far above the capitalization
of its rent at the current rate of in
terest; many farmers were ruined
and passed into the class Of landless
farmers.
The same group of financiers have
brought about a process Of forced de-
fiation which has overtaken the coun-
try in the last few years. During the
autumn of 1920, while crops were be-
ing harvested and when the farmer
was looking forward to a winter of
fair prosperity, the process of defia-
ton began. Loans were called and
renewals were refused" Freight rates
had, in the meantime, been raised so
high that in many places the farmers
products were allowed to rot on the
farms because the freight rates were
equal, if not exceeding, the price re-
ceived for the products; if we add to
this the increase in taxes of 1875 per
cent in the last years, taxes which
absorb one-third OF the farm income,
we get complete picture of the
farmers distress.
DepopuIation of Farms and Tenancy.
The distress of the agricultural pop
ulation has led to two results: ca
many farmers left the country and
moved to towns, thereby increasing
the reserve army of unemployed, ~
it increased the number of tenant
farmers.
Hard times on the farm are causing
a rapid shift of population. In 1922
no less than million people gave up
the effort to get a living out of the
soil and moved to towns and cities.
To offset this about 100000 left town
for the country, a loss of 100000
of the farm population. This exodus
was accompanied by the ruin of the
best farmers; in many cases they
have been compelled to forfeit large
sums of money as part payment on
farms and finally have the mortgage
take it all. The mortgageers then
kept the farms idle for speculative
purposes. Thus, in Michigan 1890
farms were idle in 1922. and 1881
in 1921. OF the 276,O00 men on farms
three years ago, 10000 have since
left; in Ohio, 10000 farmers left the
farms for the city up till June, 1922. |
In Minnesota, in 1923, 1880 farmers
were bankrupt and 1859 have been