260 THE GREEN RISING 



prises can stand. Agriculture itself is composed of 

 two conflicting groups farm owners and farm 

 tenants. While farm owners are essentially capital- 

 ists, they are primarily borrowers and not lenders, 

 which places them more or less in conflict with 

 financial interests. Bankruptcy comes to the farmer 

 more often than to any other class. The range of 

 capital and income of the farmer varies greatly. 

 The small farmer is usually a laborer and is depend- 

 ent upon a laborer's income. Farm tenants are 

 laborers for wages. In 1920 over half of the farms 

 in the United States were operated by tenants. At 

 the present time there are probably three million 

 tenant farmers in the United States. The organiza- 

 tion of agriculture, therefore, makes for diversity 

 rather than for common interests. 



For these reasons an agrarian party of command- 

 ing influence seems unlikely. The farmer's best 

 opportunity for political influence is through private 

 organized effort. The old political parties have re- 

 sponded very sympathetically to agricultural influ- 

 ence in recent years. If the farmer will capitalize 

 his strength through existing party organizations 

 instead of dissipating his energies in temporary agri- 

 cultural party organizations, his efforts will prove 

 more effective, and beneficial results will be more 

 readily forthcoming. 



The ineffectiveness of agrarian efforts in the past 

 has been due largely to inexperienced and incompe- 



