AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 725 



Again, it should be borne in mind that the mortgage debt in 

 force, January 1, 1890, was distributed within each state largely 

 according to industrial strength. In such states as Iowa, Kansas, 

 and Nebraska, where agriculture is the principal industry, the 

 greater part of the mortgage debt rests upon farm lands ; in 

 states having great manufacturing interests and large urban de- 

 velopment, such as New York and Massachusetts, the debt upon 

 homes is greatly in excess of that upon farms. Owned and 

 encumbered farms, however, were less heavily mortgaged than 

 owned and encumbered homes, the former being mortgaged for 

 35-55 P er cen t f their value and the latter for 39.77 per cent. 



The increase of farm tenants. The last United States census 

 showed a marked increase, not only absolutely but relatively, in 

 the number of farm tenants. In 1880, 30.93 per cent of the 

 farm families hired their farms; in 1890, 34.17 per cent. Dur- 

 ing that decennial period there was in Ohio, Indiana, and 

 Illinois a loss of 22,300 owning farmers and a gain of 18,887 

 tenant farmers. In 47 states and territories the number of 

 owning farmers increased 274,300, and the number of tenant 

 farmers 349,100. 



In order to explain the presence and increase of farm tenancy, 

 and to ascertain whether landlord and tenant classes are in proc- 

 ess of evolution in the United States, it is necessary to analyze 

 several features of tenancy. 



1 . One factor of much influence in making the percentage of 

 farm tenants in the United States so large is the industrial con- 

 dition of the South. In the South Atlantic states 45 per cent, 

 and in the South Central states 48 per cent, of the total number 

 of farm families are tenants ; while the percentage in the North 

 Atlantic group is 21 ; in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific, 18; 

 and in the North Central, 26. The existence of such a large class 

 of tenant farmers in the Southern states cannot, however, in the 

 light of industrial history be held to be an unfavorable symptom. 

 Tenancy in these states simply marks the step from an industrial 

 system based upon slavery to one of freedom. 



2. Especially significant in connection with the increase from 

 1880 to 1890 in the percentage of farm tenants is the fact that 



