658 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
September 28 
THE WEAL TH OF AMERICA. 
HOW IT IS DISTRIBUTED. t 
P ART VII. 
There are certain principles of business 
to be learned from our study of the 
Shakers. Their methods of community 
life have undoubtedly saved wastes, and 
added greatly to the general property. 
It is evidently not suited to any number 
of average people—in fact any serious 
attempt at socialism seems doomed to 
failure. The idea of competition seems 
ingrained into the human mind. All our 
popular literature, all our worldly ad¬ 
vice are built more or less on the prin¬ 
ciple of—get what you can—fight for it 
and hold it. 
The Shakers still have faith that 
their order will revive and become 
stronger than ever. They believe that 
the moral decay in modern society is 
spreading so rapidly that true men 
and women will at last be forced to 
leave it, and by pure and blameless 
lives try to make headway against the 
evils of the day. 
But what of the great mass of country 
people who are now awakening to the 
fact that, through all these years, the 
cities have been drawing values away 
from them ? There are lessons in the 
history of the Shakers that apply to 
them. It is useless to deny that city and 
town have attracted an undue share of 
the country’s wealth and population. 
Country values have been reduced. The 
figures given in the first paper of this 
series, abundantly prove this, and one 
has but to spend a day in any farm 
neighborhood off the railroad, to clinch 
this proof. In New York City, there is 
a society formed for the pfTfpose of ‘'Im¬ 
proving the Condition of the Poor.” The 
members are mostly wealthy men who 
desire to encourage self help rather than 
charity. They find that each winter the 
city is crowded with able-bodied men 
who seem unable to find work. Many 
of these men have families to support, 
and a large share of them come from the 
country. This association has spent con¬ 
siderable money in trying to investigate 
and learn why country people flock to 
the town. Some of their conclusions 
will help us to think the matter out. 
Take New York State alone. In the 
past 100 years, the population of the 
State has multiplied 17 times—while that 
of the city has multiplied 4(5 times. Be¬ 
tween 1820 and 1890 Rochester increased 
in population 60 times, while the whole 
State increased but 4% times. Between 
1860 and 1890 Binghamton increased 4 14 
times, while the whole State barely 
doubled. So it has gone all over the 
country. The town has everywhere 
absorbed a vast proportion of the gen¬ 
eral increase of wealth. 
The first question raised by this as¬ 
sociation was the extent to which farm 
property has depreciated in the past 25 
years. A careful estimate places this at 
50 per cent. Think of that in the face 
of the fact that, during the same period, 
there was an increase of 1,610,389 in 
population, 4,182 miles of railroad, while 
in the 22 years ending 1892, there was an 
increase of $1,659,643,908 in the assessed 
value of real property in the State ! The 
estimated value of the farm products of 
New York State in 1869, was $253,526,153, 
while in 1889, it was $161,593,009. This 
year it is even less. Thus, with a vast 
increase in population and general 
wealth, the value of farm crops in this 
State is gradually declining. Country 
people generally, like the Shakers, find 
their property chiefly in land which has 
been cut nearly 50 per cent in selling 
value, and about as much in earning 
capacity—under old methods of culture. 
These are sad facts—what has caused 
this state of affairs ? The reasons re¬ 
ceived from farmers by the association 
are classified as follows : 
Per cent. 
Low price of farm products.25 
Opening of new Western lands.15 
High price of labor.10 
Loss of fertility. 8 
Scarcity of good labor. 4 
Unjust taxation. 4 
Low tariffs.. 3 
Over-production... 3 
Remember that these are the chief rea¬ 
sons given by the farmers themselves. 
As to why prices are low, of course, there 
are many theories. It is enough to know 
that farmers generally have come to 
realize that something is wrong with the 
distribution of wealth in this land. 
The association also learns that at 
least 30 per cent of farmers would like 
to sell their property, and take their 
chances in town or city. A much larger 
proportion say that they cannot interest 
their children in farm life. This is the 
most unfortunate part of the whole 
thing, because it is easy for any thought¬ 
ful observer to see that American society 
needs more business, trade and popula¬ 
tion in the country, and less in the town 
and city. 
The chief reasons given for a desire to 
leave the farm are that “farming don’t 
pay,” better schools in town, better 
chance to obtain good help, better 
chance for reading and study near good 
libraries, higher cash wages, easier liv¬ 
ing with modern conveniences, bad roads 
and disagreeable work. Reports from 
country districts are generally to the 
effect that the schools are usually not 
so good as formerly, and that the 
churches, as a rule, are weaker, both in 
numbers and public influence. Of course 
these things refer to real country neigh¬ 
borhoods—those removed from the rail¬ 
roads. In railroad towns that serve as 
centers for large agricultural districts, 
there is far more business and public 
spirit ; but even here, this extra energy 
has been drawn from the smaller out¬ 
lying neighborhoods. In other words, 
what the town has gained the farm has 
lost. 
Tenant farming is largely on the in¬ 
crease in New York State. The reports 
of the association indicate that 75 per 
cent of the farmers of this State are not 
making a living and five per cent on the 
estimated value of their farm property, 
and that 40 percent of them are running 
behind every year. At least 60 per cent 
of those reporting, say that no accurate 
farm accounts are kept. Fifty-six per 
cent report that country schools were 
not so well attended as last year, and 
that, on the whole, the grade of teachers 
is not so high as in former years. 
Now these are bold and hard state¬ 
ments which we believe to be close to 
facts. We know of the following actual 
case which illustrates the changed con¬ 
dition of farming. There is a farm in 
New York State worth, with its fixtures, 
at least $12,000. Father, mother, son 
and daughter live on it. By hard work, 
they manage to make a living, pay taxes 
and insurance, and keep up repairs. 
Another daughter teaches school, and 
actually saves more cash out of her 
salary after paying for her board, cloth¬ 
ing and other expenses, than all four 
people on the farm. This woman has no 
capital but her head and hands. The 
others have $12,000 in hard earned money 
invested; yet her investment yields 
more than all theirs. Thatfis an illustra¬ 
tion of the disadvantages under which 
much farm property is held. It cannot 
be sold, and it does not yield fair re¬ 
turns. The chief reason for it is that 
money, enterprise, and political and in¬ 
dustrial power, have centered in the city. 
Business has become a savage fight for 
mastery. Too many men have become 
crazy with greed. The nation is becom¬ 
ing top-heavy, and unless something is 
done to equalize population and wealth, 
it will never see its second century as a 
Republic. 
Steam force has held a monopoly for 
years. The great coal fields located 
steam in our great cities, and gave our 
railroads vast monopolies. That killed 
the business of the thousands of little 
factories that were built on country 
streams and ponds. Steam stole their 
business, and took it to the town, and 
thus ruined the little country villages 
that grew up near every water-power. 
The time is now coming when the mo¬ 
nopoly of steam is to be broken. The 
electric motor and the bicycle will re¬ 
distribute force. Power will go back to 
the country river and brook, because it 
can be produced cheaper there than in the 
crowded city. This change is coming, it 
cannot be kept back. Electricity will 
make a change in the history of this 
land before which all the marvels of the 
past will, pale into insignificance. What 
can the American countryman do to 
benefit by this change ? We want to 
discuss that next from moral, business, 
political and educational standpoints. 
Potatoes vs. Bran. —What is the feed¬ 
ing value of 100 bushels of potatoes as 
compared with one ton of bran for milch 
cows ? I can buy second size cheap. 
Christiana, Pa. c. E. m. 
R. N.-Y.—It is hardly fair to compare 
bran and potatoes, since one is even more 
bulky than hay. As regards their chem¬ 
ical composition, a son of each food will 
contain : 
1’OUNDS IN ONE TON. 
Muscle- Fat- Pure 
makers. formers. fat. 
Bran. 235 893 51 
Potatoes. 42 436 4 
Thus you see that in order to obtain the 
muscle-makers in 10 pounds of bran, we 
would be forced to feed nearly 45 pounds 
of potatoes, which would give a great 
excess of fat-formers. In value for feed¬ 
ing, the potatoes are worth somewhat 
over one-fourth as much as bran ; but 
there is something besides actual feed¬ 
ing value to be considered. It will not 
do to feed too many raw potatoes to 
horses or cattle. They contain a good 
deal of starch, which swells with heat 
and will cause colic if this swelling takes 
place in the stomach. To prevent it, the 
potatoes should be cooked before feed¬ 
ing. In this way, mixed with meat, 
blood or animal meal, they make an ex¬ 
cellent poultry food especially for the 
warm morning mash. For hogs, too, the 
potatoes are excellent—in fact we con¬ 
sider them most useful for hens or swine. 
We would want to feed them mixed with 
straw or some coarse product, otherwise 
there might be danger of their forming a 
tough, indigestible mass in the stomach. 
^UtfccUancoutf pMU'Cvtisinjv 
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If you are going to 
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send for sample 
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A. F. SWAN, 
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The Farmers’ Choice 
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THE NATIONAL SHEET METAL ROOFING CO., 
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ZW Look for this ad. every other week. 
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IRON AND STEEL ROOFING 
CURTIS STEEL ROOFING CO., 
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Salesmen Wanted. 
$100 to $125 per month and expenses. Staple line. 
Position permanent, pleasant and desirable. Address, 
with stamp, KING MFG. CO., G. 51, Chicago. 
IF YOU WANT 
a good, safe, seven per cent 
investment, secured by first 
mortgage on an improved 
farm worth three times amount loaned, write to 
Willis A. White. 239 First Ave. N., Minneapolis, Minn 
Ilf* II VC rt—Thoroughly competent young man 
W All I CU as partner in dairy and poultry busi¬ 
ness. Fortune in it. Box 425, 
House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 
W ORKING MANAGER-Man, 33 years old, ex¬ 
perienced. energetic and reliable will take 
charge of farm or work for share of crops. Charac¬ 
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owning good farms, who wish to be relieved of per¬ 
sonal attention, will find a competent man. 
Y. DAVIS, Vira, Mifflin County, Pa. 
ROYS! 
wishing to take a pi 
BOYS! 
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This is a practical work of 560 pages, by Professor 
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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
Corner Chambers and Pearl Streets, New York. 
