534 READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



a year or two. For these undesirable conditions a favorite remedy- 

 is the long lease. No doubt the longer lease would carry with it 

 certain desirable results. It is, however, not easy to comprehend 

 how the long lease is to be put into effect where landowners stand 

 ever ready to sell their land. Again, if landlord and tenant cannot 

 agree to continue from year to year the arrangements of a short 

 lease, it is questionable whether or not they would be able to enter 

 into an agreement for five or eight years and carry out the contract 

 in a way satisfactory to both. England is pointed out frequently 

 as the splendid example of the land of the long lease. It is true 

 that the tenure of the tenant is usually secure ; but, contrary to 

 the prevalent notion, the lease is in most instances a short one. 

 The landlord finds a suitable tenant and keeps him almost in- 

 definitely, often a lifetime. But in England very little land is 

 for sale, and few tenants hope to become landowners. In Amer- 

 ica the greater number of farms are for sale, and the majority 

 of tenants acquire landownership sooner or later. During this 

 stage of frequent sales of farms, the long lease will not be 

 viewed with favor by the landowner. Neither must it be taken 

 for granted that the tenant will always take kindly to the longer 

 contract. 



An impoverished soil and an impoverished people will result 

 from a continuation of the present unstable conditions in the 

 matter of tenancy. There are, no doubt, counteracting forces. 

 A slackening in the advance in land values will make for stability 

 in ownership and a better landowner class. Education concerning 

 the nature of soil and crops will improve the tenants as well as 

 other farmers. Better organizations through which to effect the 

 marketing of farm products will encourage farmers, including the 

 tenant. A better system of farm credit will make the acquisition 

 of land easier. This seems to be the effect in Europe, notwith- 

 standing the tendency of better credit to raise the prices of land. 

 Better schools and better roads, in fact, better rural conditions 

 of every sort, will stimulate a desire to own land and keep the 

 farm people on the farms. The need for a plan by which the 

 young farmer can become a landowner, and also a plan under 

 which the tenant system can be made tolerable, are beyond doubt 



