VI FOREWORD 



heart of its assets as security to voluntary creditors, 

 those creditors fail? 



The effects of the panic of 1873 upon agriculture 

 were not seriously felt throughout the Central West 

 until 1878 and 1879. During that period, it devolved 

 upon me to take charge of the foreclosed lands belong- 

 ing to my employers and their clients see that they 

 were rented, rents collected, taxes paid, and lands sold. 



Again, between 1893 an d 1896, nearly 95 per cent, 

 of my competitors failed or went out of business, and 

 at the urgent request of my clients I took charge of 

 millions in mortgages which had been made by those 

 now defunct concerns. A great many of these mort- 

 gages were, of course, foreclosed, and as a result, for 

 nearly ten years, I had the control and management of 

 from 100,000 to 150,000 acres of farm lands scattered 

 through four of the best agricultural States. As these 

 lands were owned -by a very large number of indi- 

 viduals and corporations, a strict account was kept 

 with each tract. None of these tracts paid current 

 interest on its costs. Poor farming ! So I thought 

 until on investigation it transpired that the increased 

 mortgage indebtedness on surrounding farms was 

 greater than the shortage of my farming operations. 

 This experience, coupled with my early labors on the 

 farm, gave me, I think it will be admitted, an oppor- 

 tunity to study the farmer and his problems enjoyed 

 by few during the last fifty years. The result was 

 not in keeping with what I had hopefully anticipated. 

 Pleasing fancies were dispelled by unpleasant facts 

 truth sometimes seems a cruel thing. 



Agriculture is the basic industry of our nation. It 



