56 BULLETIN 920, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
even with war prices in 1916 and 1917 to bring up the average for the five years. Yet 
it must be admitted that under the same conditions more than half the farmers made 
labor incomes which, when combined with what the farm furnished the family, put 
them in a position to get ahead financially year after year. The future of American 
agriculture demands that the road be kept open to the top. A high percentage of 
the young farmers must be able to save from their earnings and buy farms. This 
requires adequate prices, and while there is no law of human justice which demands 
that prices be so high that the man without ability and willingness to work success- 
fully under his own guidance shall be made to flourish as the manager of a farm, 
prices.should be high enough to give at least five out of six a labor income. ~ It took 
the prices of 1916 and 1917 to bring the Verona farmers up to this level and to give 
them a 5-year average labor income of $408. 
From the study of the profits of the farms in the three areas we 
have seen that the incomes of most farmers were much higher during 
the last few years than for previous years. In this connection it 
must be remembered, however, that the increase in income is more 
apparent than real because of the decreased purchasing power of the 
dollar. 
Whether or not farmers have bettered their conditions through 
this increased income depends upon the way in which the additional 
income is used. If the additional money is used in better equipping 
the farm, providing more conveniences, or, in other words, raising 
the standard of living on the farm and in the farm home, and a more 
satisfactory rural social life results, the industry and the rural popu- 
lation have been benefited. On the other hand, if this increased 
income becomes absorbed in increased land value, it may be of im- 
mediate advantage to those selling out of the business but may 
react upon those who purchase farms by going in dept for them. 
These purchasers must make interest on the investment, enough for 
their own wages and management, pay living expenses, and make 
payments upon the principal. The harm comes when men purchase 
farms with the idea of paying for them out of the results of their 
labor and management and at the same time maintaining or im- 
proving their standard of living, but later find that they are unable 
to do this because the land values were not based upon what the 
land yields. 
O 
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