The Tariff and the Farmer. 27 



fold, but the real increase was far less, as shown in above 

 chapter. 



This tremendous difference in gain in value of prod- 

 ucts indicates a great inflation of prices in one industry 

 and depression of prices in the other. Further, accord- 

 ing to Mr. North's statements concerning agricultural 

 gain, the value of its products in 1850 must have been 

 more than half that of 1900, or not less than $2,400,000,- 

 000. This would give an average value per farm of $1656. 

 In 1900 the average value of products per farm is stated 

 to be $822, not half that of the above figure. The two sec- 

 tions of the Union now showing the highest returns make 

 a poor exhibit beside that for 1850, the North Atlantic 

 $981, the rich North Central division but $1074. Can any 

 one explain why the farms of to-day appear to yield less 

 than half the value of what they did in 1850! 



(c) Under normal conditions where there has been a 

 most rapid gain in non-agricultural wealth, there has 

 been a marked decline in the value of agricultural prop- 

 erty (see chapter X). In the decade that preceded high 

 protection, 1850-60, the value of agricultural property 

 increased wonderfully fast. The cause of this evidently 

 was that the business was so prosperous that there was a 

 great demand for farms. This sent up the value. In 

 1850 the value of agricultural property exceeded the 

 wealth of all the rest of the nation (chapter VIII). In 

 ten years the increase in value of the former was 101% ; 

 of the latter, 158%. These ten years was under the sys- 

 tem of low revenue duties. Then followed forty years of 

 high protection. The gain in agricultural property was 

 156%; average per decade, 39%. The gain in non-agri- 

 cultural wealth, 803%; average per decade, over 200%. 

 During the entire fifty years the chief cause of the 



