102 THE AGRARIAN CRUSADE 



leave the farm, he put two and two together and 

 came to the conclusion that farming was in a peril- 

 ous state. He heard the boy who had gone to the 

 city boast that his hours were shorter, his toil less 

 severe, and his return in money much greater than 

 had been the case on the farm; and he knew that 

 this was true. Perhaps the farmer did not realize 

 that he had some compensations: greater security 

 of position and a reasonable expectation that old 

 age would find him enjoying some sort of home, 

 untroubled by the worry which might attend the 

 artisan or shopkeeper. 



Whether or not the American farmer realized 

 that the nineteenth century had seen a total change 

 in the economic relations of the world, he did per- 

 ceive clearly that something was wrong in his own 

 case. The first and most impressive evidence of 

 this was to be found in the prices he received for 

 what he had to sell. From 1883 to 1889 inclusive 

 the average price of wheat was seventy- three cents 

 .1 bushel, of corn thirty-six cents, of oats twenty- 

 eight cents. In 1890 crops were poor in most of 

 the grain areas, while prosperous times continued 

 to keep the consuming public of the manufactur- 

 ing regions able to buy; consequently corn and oats 

 nearly doubled in price, and wheat advanced 20 



