546 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



It has been well solved in several European countries ; but in 

 America the farmer pays a high rate of interest on what he 

 borrows, and is frequently short of ready capital for carrying 

 on advantageously the operations of the year. A good system of 

 marketing and a good system of credit would retard the move- 

 ment toward tenancy. But even so, an equitable system of leasing 

 land is needed, one which in itself will make tenancy more tol- 

 erable and possibly less frequent. The arrangement under which 

 one man owns the land and another tills it is not necessarily bad ; 

 it may conceivably be of advantage. Yet it must be recognized 

 that landownership on the part of the farmer is one of the best 

 assets he can have both as a producer and as a citizen. 



