54 LAND TENURE 



118.1 per cent. The average size of farms decreased from 146.2 acres to 138.1 

 acres. The tendency is slowly but surely towards the smaller farm." 2 



These same figures are interpreted in quite a different manner 

 by students with socialistic tendencies. Thus A. M. Simons writes 

 of them as follows : 



"If we disregard cotton, then nearly one-half of the agricultural staples 

 of the United States are produced within 500 miles of Chicago. 



" Census bulletins are now available for three typical states in this terri- 

 tory. These bulletins show the same tendencies in every state. It is therefore 

 certain that what is true of these will hold good of this entire section, and prob- 

 ably of a much wider area. The three states are Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. 

 In all of these the average number of acres per farm is increasing. During the 

 last ten years the average area of an Iowa farm has increased from 151 to 156 

 acres; of Indiana, from 97 to 98; and of Illinois, from 124 to 129 acres. 



"This increase in size becomes still more evident when more closely 

 examined. In all three of these states the largest increase in the number of 

 farms has been in that of the little, intensively cultivated garden patch of 

 less than ten acres. This would naturally tend to show a great decrease in 

 the size of farms, were it not offset by the fact that the second group of farms 

 to show a rapid increase in number is that of those containing between 175 

 and 500 acres. 



"In all three of these states the area embraced in farms of between 20 

 and 100 acres shows a considerable decrease during the last ten years. In 

 Illinois, which in all respects, shows a more advanced stage of development 

 than any of the others, this decrease extends to farms of less than 175 acres. 

 But it is the small farmer, owning between 40 and 160 acres, that has always 

 been pointed out proudly as the backbone of American agriculture, the great 

 conservative element in our society, the solid middle class farmer for whose 

 salvation the politician loves to stand. Apparently, that ' backbone ' is 

 being broken . . . 



"The other type, whose importance is rapidly increasing, is that on which 

 it is possible to utilize the most efficient machinery. Hitherto this size has 

 been limited by the system of using animal power. With the appearance of 

 the mechanical tractor these farms will at first gain in importance, and then, 

 in all probability, give way to a much larger size. The application of the power 

 to farming will at once increase the size of the farm unit which can profitably 

 be cultivated under a single management, and it is safe to say that the next 

 census will show a great acceleration of all tendencies toward concentration. 



"Another set of facts evident in all three of these states lends support 

 and emphasis to the conclusion that we have entered upon a new era of con- 

 centration in farming throughout this territory. In spite of the rise in value 

 of farm products, in spite of the multitude of garden patches near cities and 

 all the general results of the 'back to the farm' movement, there has been a 

 decided decrease in the total number of farms. In 1900 those three states 

 contained 714,670 farms; by 1910 these had shrunk to 684,410. 



"But while the farms had grown larger in size and fewer in number, their 

 value per acre had grown enormously. The farms of Indiana had increased 

 in value from $32 to $62 per acre; those of Iowa from $36 to $83; and of Illinois 

 from $55 to $108 per acre. The significance of these figures is seen when we 

 apply them to the farm as a unit. We then see that the average value of a 

 farm in Indiana has grown from $4,410 to $8,396; in Illinois from $7,588 to 

 $15,505; and in Iowa from $8,023 to $17,259. Combining these facts multi- 

 plies their importance because they all tend in the same direction. 



2 United Mine Workers' Journal, October 10., 1912, p. 3. 



