122 THE farmer's relationships. 



The actual owner of five acres of land from which he gets a 

 living for himself and family, is a small capitalist who proves 

 by keeping out of debt that he has adapted himself to his 

 environment and is thus in a way to survive. If he has 

 irrational discontent, the causes thereof are incident to his 

 personal character, and demand no special thought. It is 

 the indebted farmer who complains aloud, and the causes of 

 whose discontent deserve investigation. And yet, putting 

 aside the question of his weakness, which we can not mend, 

 we can not reach the real sources of his discontent without 

 considering the situation not only of all other farmers, but of 

 all other classes. 



The causes which are usually assigned as the sources of the 

 farmer's discontent are appreciation of money, inequality of 

 taxation, monopolistic combinations, excessive transportation 

 charges, donations of public lands to be worked in competition 

 with land which farmers have paid for, the exploitation of 

 new lands and inferior races, and the competition of expensive 

 machinery which the small farmer can not own. Most of 

 these subjects are considered in detail in other chapters of this 

 book. In this ])lace it is only necessary to call attention to 

 the fact that the operation of these causes is not uniform even 

 upon farmers. They help some while injuring others. The 

 Nebraska farmer who owes an old debt is hurt by the appre- 

 ciation of the purchasing power of money, while the Connecti- 

 cut farmer who holds the little mortgage is greatly comforted 

 thereby. The farmer who hires help in fruit harvest desires 

 cheap labor. The one who, with his family, works in the 

 cannery after his grain is cut, desires wages to be high. All 

 these are farmers. The farmer desires cheap cloth, cheap 

 machinery, and cheap transportation, but the owners and 

 operatives who produce these commodities all desire them 

 to sell liigh. Here tlie farmer clashes with other classes. By 

 as much as he is satisfied in these particulars, by so much 

 some other class tends to discontent. We are on boggy ground 

 unless we can hit upon some law which operates uniformly 

 on all. 



And this brings us face to face with a question whose 



