30 BULLETIN 874, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



of August, 1919, the percentages for various systems of renting in 

 both districts are reduced below the percentages of 1913 and 1915, 

 respectively, the percentage falling to 1.65 in the Tama district and 

 3.60 in the Warren district. 



It is, of course, possible that these percentages may be increased 

 through the increase of rent rates. The possibility of this may be 

 determined by comparing contract rents and economic rents. This 

 comparison is presented in Table XVII. In the last line of the 

 table is shown the estimated rent per acre that landlords must 

 receive in order to have as large a percentage of return on the basis 

 of land values in August, 1919, as they received in 1913 and 1915, 

 respectively 



Table XVII. — Comparison of economic rents and contract rents, all tenant farms. 



Economic rents per acre: 



1913 



1915 ' 



1918 



Net contract rents per acre: 



1913 



1915 



1918 



Estimated contract rent on basis of land values, August, 1919. 



Tama 

 district. 



$7.59 



"ii'42' 



4.79 



5.78 

 8.60 



Warren 

 district. 



85.37 



6.89 



4.72 

 7.24 

 11.44 



The table shows that in the Tama, district contract rent per acre 

 in 1913 averaged but little more than half the economic rent, while 

 in the Warren district contract rent per acre in 1915 was also sub- 

 stantially less than economic rent. The difference, of course, between 

 economic rent and contract rent accrued to the tenant as a return 

 for his enterprise and risk, in addition to the estimated value of his 

 labor and superintendence. In 1918 economic rent in the Tama 

 district had advanced to such an extent that it was two and one-half 

 times as great as contract rent. In the Warren district, however, 

 as a result of poor crops, contract rent was more than 5 per cent 

 higher than economic rent. In the Tama district economic rent of 

 1918 is more than sufficient to pay the same rate of return on the 

 land values of August, 1919, as prevailed in 1913, but in the Warren 

 district the amount necessary to pay the same rate of return on 

 land values of August, 1919, is about 66 per cent greater than the 

 economic rent of 1918. 



Even in the Tama district, however, if the landlords should receive 

 the same percentage of return on land values of 1919 as they received 

 in 1913, the labor income of tenants would have to be $2.84 per acre 

 less than it was in 1918. This would reduce the tenant's labor 

 income to an average of $2,421 as compared with $1,315 in 1913. 

 Considering the change in the purchasing power of money during 

 the period, the tenant would probably have a smaller real income. 



