Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 84.djvu/259

Rh the national population, the actual number of residents on farms is much less. In the rural population as reported by the census of 1910 is included the population of towns and villages having less than 2,500 inhabitants. The actual agricultural population is about one third of the national population. In 1910 35.3 per cent, of all persons reported as having gainful occupations were engaged in agriculture.

With one third of the national population engaged in agriculture, we have only to compare agricultural with other production to reach certain inevitable conclusions. Were a parity of wealth distribution maintained between city and county, evidently the income to agriculture should be about equal to one third of the total' social production. But is this the case, and if not what deductions may be drawn?

The census of 1910 gives the total value of manufactured articles for the United States for the year 1909 as (in round numbers) 21 billion dollars. The total agricultural production for the same year was 8 billion dollars. So far the division of social income seems to correspond fairly equitably with division of population. But there is more to be said. When the 21 billion dollars' worth of manufactured articles reaches the consumer the value has been augmented by transportation, advertising and sellers' charges by at least 50 per cent, above factory prices. Probably this estimate is absurdly low. But at the lowest estimate the 21 billion dollars has become 30 billion, as against the 8 billion of agricultural production. But wait, the 8 billion dollars' worth of agricultural products, on its way to the consumer, doubles in value, according to results of investigations of the United States Department of Agriculture. This means that while the farm receives 8 billion dollars the city occupations based upon agriculture obtain another 8 billion dollars. Adding this sum to the income of city occupations heretofore given and we have a grand total of 39 billion dollars income for the city as against 8 billion for the farm. The addition of professional incomes, local to the city, would increase the total by a very large amount. But at the lowest figures the city's share in the division of productional values is 82 per cent, to but 18 per cent, for the farm. Were population apportioned between agriculture and the city on this basis there should be over 75 million people in cities and less than 17 millions on farms. On this basis there are now millions more people in agricultural districts than agricultural, as compared with urban, income warrants.

Why this remarkable relatively large population on farms? Historical reasons might be cited, but perhaps there are two main causes—a phenomenally low standard of living in agricultural areas, and low per capita wealth production. It is evident that present agricultural income can maintain only a standard of living that is on the whole far below the average prevailing in cities. On the other hand, with a third of the national population producing less than 18 per cent, of the social