The National View. 



103 



" Farmers' Families' 

 having Homes.' ' 



Continental United States, 

 North Atlantic Division, 

 South Atlantic Division, 

 North Central Division, 

 South Central Division, 

 Western Division, 



Massachusetts, 



New York, 



Pennsylvania, 



Ohio, ^ 



Indiana, 



Illinois, 



Michigan, 



Wisconsin, 



Minnesota, 



Iowa, 



Missouri, 



Nebraska, 



Kansas, 



California, 



1900— Owned Per Cent. 



T-. -n/r i. J Mortgaged, 



Free. Mortgaged. „hnn+ 



2,422,678 



315,070 



416,425 



887,774 



654,546 



148,863 



19,058 



89,934 



107.661 



138,568 



97,290 



92,768 



85,608 



77,622 



67,015 



67,673 



109,729 



39,024 



61,865 



33,847 



1,094,573 

 195,921 

 83,858 

 634,559 

 138,955 

 41,280 

 11,976 

 77,429 

 51,438 

 58,669 

 55,889 

 60,089 

 79,836 

 65,645 

 54,377 

 76,417 

 80,692 

 32,430 

 44,370 

 16,072 



31.00 

 38.00 

 17.00 

 41.00 

 17.00 

 22.00 

 37.00 

 46.00 

 32.33 

 29.00 

 36.48 

 39.31 

 48.25 

 45.82 

 44.79 

 53.03 

 42.37 

 45.38 

 41.76 

 32.19 



iThe number of ''Farmers' Families" and the number of farms agree 

 within less then one per cent. 



But the number of mortgages, numerous as 

 thev are, is far from indicating the real condi- 

 tion of the agricultural masses. More than one- 

 third of the farmers were too poor in 1900 to 

 obtain possession of a farm by giving a mort- 

 gage. A mortgage usually implies that the purchaser 

 has the means of paying a considerable part of the price. 

 A part paid down gives additional assurance to the seller 

 that the investment is a safe one. Men who have no 

 capital can rarely find owners of farms willing to risk 

 a trade where the mortgage given represents the total 

 price. Uncle Sam has given away many millions of 



