AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 753 



upon the proportions in which he puts them upon the market. 

 For example, in the seven years ending with 1891, the average 

 price of wheat was 24 per cent lower than in i860, that of corn 

 25 per cent, that of hogs for live weight 22 per cent; while dur- 

 ing the same period tobacco averaged 20 per cent higher than 

 in i860, mutton sheep 29 per cent, and fat cattle 28 per cent. 



Likewise, the farmer's condition depends very greatly upon 

 what articles he buys, and in what ratio various commodities 

 enter into the budget of his expenditure. Thus, during the 

 seven years ending with 1891, cloths and clothing were 16 per 

 cent lower than in i860, metals and implements 24 per cent, 

 and house-furnishing goods 30 per cent. The conditions have 

 therefore been favorable for those families with a liking for good 

 clothes and for a house furnished in an attractive manner. On 

 the other hand, the farmer who built a new house or barn in 

 1 89 1 had to pay 24 per cent more for lumber and building 

 materials than in i860. 



No comparative study of farm prices, however, should fail to 

 take account of the low price level for farm products which has 

 prevailed since 1 891 . The effect of this upon the burden of 

 mortgage indebtedness has already been pointed out. But the 

 farmer has also suffered in consequence as a consumer. Owing 

 to his inability to reduce adequately the cost of production, the 

 simultaneous decline in prices of commodities which he buys has 

 afforded him no compensation commensurate with the fall in 

 the prices of his own products. 



2. Farm wages. In regard to the cost of labor, the farmer 

 has been placed at a disadvantage by the recent fall in prices. 

 Wages of hired labor have declined somewhat during recent 

 years, but not to such an extent as adequately to offset the 

 downward movement in the price of farm commodities. Today 

 wages of farm labor are almost double what they were fifty years 

 ago. This increase in the cost of labor, together with the un- 

 certainty about securing any help at all during critical periods, 

 such as harvest time, has doubtless hastened the introduction of 

 labor-saving machines upon the farm as a matter of economy, 

 convenience, and necessity. Specialization in farming has also 



