AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 729 



I think there is quite a tendency among renters of Iowa farms to become 

 owners of farms in the near future. Out of four renters under my supervision 

 upon an Iowa farm in ten years, three of them became independent and pur- 

 chased farms for themselves. Iowa Agricultural College has leased quite a 

 number of thousands of acres of land in the last twenty years with condition 

 that they could be purchased at a nominal sum at the expiration of a certain 

 number of years. A vast majority of these renters have purchased the land at 

 the expiration of the leases. 



The success with which tenants struggle for farm ownership 

 may be roughly measured by comparison with the success of 

 heirs in retaining ownership. Nearly every country community 

 is rich with examples of individuals who have lost the farms 

 they inherited. In the farm community where the writer once 

 lived and with which he has been familiar all his life, the farms 

 which descended to heirs have in the great majority of cases for 

 one cause or another been transferred to new owners. Often the 

 explanation is found in thriftless or bad habits. Frequently, 

 however, embarkation in some line of business other than farm- 

 ing is responsible. With the record of this class of owners the 

 industrial career of farm tenants compares favorably. While the 

 statement cannot be made upon statistical authority, the percent- 

 age of farm tenants who fail of property ownership is probably 

 not much greater than the proportion of financial wrecks among 

 those who inherit farms. If this be admitted, it follows that the 

 farm tenant is relatively not unduly handicapped in the race of life. 



In conclusion, the subject of farm tenancy suggests this line 

 of thought : 



One cause that promoted the downfall of the English yeomen 

 was the fact that land was, more than any other form of property 

 of the time, a source of income, as well as of power and influ- 

 ence, to its possessor. In marked contrast with that condition 

 of affairs is the fact that in modern society farm lands have to a 

 great extent been displaced by other means of securing income, 

 power, and social prestige. " Investments in lands which are valu- 

 able for agriculture only, are not regarded with favor by capitalists. 

 Better use for their money is found elsewhere. 



" The banker, merchant, manufacturer, and capitalist have be- 

 come wealthier than the landowner. The moneyed classes have 



