AMERICAN FARMER'S ECONOMIC POWER. 37 



those who have made the greatest progress in gathering 

 wealth, have secured the power of position over their 

 contemporaries — the power to dictate terms. This has 

 been a rule, with few if any exceptions, all the way up. 



The typical American farmer once held such control 

 of the national purse strings ; even in the year 1850, the 

 farmers of the United States could boast of possessing 

 60 per cent, of the capital power of the Union. It is 

 not easy to give a sufficiently high estimate to this rela- 

 tive power, secured and maintained as it was by indi- 

 vidual effort. It undoubtedly secured for its possessors 

 a commanding influence in political and social affairs, 

 while fostering a most desirable spirit of independence. 



This power, however, which was really on the wane in 

 1850, though 60 per cent, of the total, sank to 53 per 

 cent, in i860. This decline of relative wealth has con- 

 tinued until the present day. In 1880, it had gone down 

 to 40 per cent, and it is probably not more than 35 per 

 cent, to-day. 



Further than, this, I say, the farmer's power is declin- 

 ing, absolutely as well as relatively. In i860 there were 

 2,044,077 farms in the United States ; in 1880, 4,008,907. 

 In i860 the total value of farm property was $7,980,493,- 

 063, or an average of $3,904 per farm ; in 1880 the value 

 of the total value was $12,104,001, or an average of 

 $3,019 per farm. Up to i860 the farmers held their 

 ground, or rather increased the value of their possessions, 

 but from that date to 1880 the shrinkage has been 

 equivalent to $885 per farm, and we have every reason 

 for supposing that this decline is still going on. 



In 1870 the property of the farmers of the six New 

 England States was valued at $707,942,439 ; in 1880 it 

 had fallen to $671,846,058. Is this not a serious change 



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