62 THE FARMER OF TO-MORROW 



The situation existing between the Farmer 

 of Yesterday and our Jeremiah who goes back 

 to the land to-day is that of two brothers en- 

 gaged in the same business as competitors, 

 one outfitted by his parent with the tools of 

 production and the other forced to expend in- 

 terest-producing capital for the same plant. 

 The only way in which our Jeremiah can com- 

 pete with his subsidized brother with the same 

 tools and there are none better to be had is 

 by increasing the efficiency of his plant by 

 speeding up and producing beyond the sun- 

 shine-and-rain rate of production that con- 

 tents the Farmer of Yesterday. 



The subsidized farmer of to-day is a pros- 

 perous individual for this one reason: the $16 

 or $17 he is now receiving for the product of 

 his average acre is still wages to him, nothing 

 more. His land cost him nothing; then why 

 should he keep books and pay tribute to 

 Capital when his land, so far as he is con- 

 cerned, is still only a means of labor? Yet, 

 that is the very first account to eat in on the' 

 returns of the man who goes back to the land 

 to-day, and when he scans the result he finds 

 that his antiquated methods leave him bank- 

 rupt. With him it is not the simple act of 



