The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 9, 1920, Page 8

1 i i i v 8 if Can Landlord and Tenant Be Partners. 5 Doctor Wendt Explains His *“ Partnership Contract” to Put Relations of Farm Tenancy on a Better Basis * s| RACTICALLY without exception every i| one who has studied farm conditions in America will agree with these con- clusions: That farm tenancy is a bad thing, from the standpoint of the < landowner, from the standpoint of the’ tenant and from the standpoint of the nation, and that the best plan is to have farms operated by the owner and owned by the operator. But as former President Cleveland once said, we - are facing conditions; not theories. The correct the- ory is that every farmer ought to own the farm he operates. It is impossible to bring this about at once. In fact, farm tenancy is increasing at an alarming rate and the terms~are daily growing worse. Since the ideal conditions can not be brought about at once, what can be done, in the ' meantime, to improve the conditions that now exist between the landlord and the tenant? One answer is to put tenancy on the partnership basis. This plan was : thing that was wrong was the lease for one year only. Then there was a lot of fine print in every -lease, requirements demanded of,the tenant that he could not be expected to perform and did not. There was the wrong mental atmosphere. Every tenant knew that if he did well and made a profit his rent would be raised, first from- one-fourth to one-third, then to two-fifths, then to one-half the crop or more. The landlord knew that with this ~mental condition existing it was quite likely that as soon as his back was turned the tenant’s stock would be fed out of the seed that the landlord had bought, instead of out of the feed bought by the tenant. He knew that it was quite likely that after the corn crop had been divided, half to the tenant and half to the landlord, it would be quite possible that the tenant’s livestock would break through a fence and eat up half of the landlord’s part. “It was a wrong condition of things when one man should be landlord—lord of the land—and the lic notice in the West by Doctor C. L. Wendt, a physician of Canton, S. D. Doc- first brought to pub- | SURE TO GET A HIT NOW tor Wendt, located in a section in which farm tenancy is the rule and not the ex- ception, and owning a number of farms which he could not operate personally because his work as a physician tock all his time, gdt to thinking over mat- ters. * HOW WENDT’S STUDY BEGAN “I used to watch the renters driving past the first of each March,” said Doctor Wendt, in explaining how . his' attention happened to be di- rected to the farm tenancy problem. “It might be 20 degrees below zero, it fre- quently was, yet the farmer, his wife and children and the old people of the family would have to move all their possessions down the road in the old hayrack. They would move into a cold house with few conveniences and no one there to get it ready for. them. There would be no one there because the owner would be afraid that- if he showed up the ten- ant would demand a lot of improvements that he could not af- ford to make. I Inew that moving under these condi- tions every year meant a lot of sick- . ness and deaths from exposure and cold, especially among the children and old” people. “As I watched the changing conditions of farm tenancy I came to see that things were wrong all around. The first Strikes heretofore have been regarded as the only means b UL LT '\m‘“ LT PITT TICAL ACTION = —_ POLITI —Drawn expressly for the Leader by W. C. Morris. y which workingmen could compel fair treatment, Sometimes they have won, sometimes they have lost, always there has been a heavy loss to the workers, to in- dustry and fo the general public. 'The organized farmers have'discovered a better way through organized polit- ical action. Throughgut the League states organized labor is coming to accept the farmers’ plan more and more., PAGE EIGH1 other only working from year to year. I used to get letters from one of my own tenants signed ‘Your obedient servant.” It wasn’t right. No American citizen ought to feel that he should sign . a letter that way. ““] got to thinking things over. Finally I had occasion to make a deal with a young man who had $75, a horse, a cow, a wife and the asthma.. I said to him: ‘Let’s be partners, .instead of landlord and tenant. You put in the labor; I will put in the land. We will divide expenses and profits evenly and let the arrangement go on as long as both of us are satisfied.” That was nine years ago. That man is still operating my farm on that basis, although he has a farm of his own now, which another man is operat- ing with him on the same kind of an arrangement. From that original experiment was developed the plan of operation that is in effect today between me and all my partners and that is being adopted generally through our section of the country.” The form of con- tract developed by Doctor Wendt, in brief, contains these provisions: is designated as the party of the first part; the farm own- er as the party of the second part. ' PARTNERSHIP LIMITED ONE _ The two men agree to form a partner- — il ship limited to their: farming operations, to begin March 1 and to continue as long as it is agreeable to both parties. Either party may terminate it upon giving notice of a certain number of onths, as may ke agreed upon#when the contract is sign- ed. The party of the first part furnishes all labor and horse power for all crops, so long as they are in the field. The party of the second part furnishes the farm and makes any necessavy improve- ments. All other expenses, such as purchase of stock other than work stock, threshing bills, twine ‘bills, feed and seed, are to be divided evenly, and.profits similarly are to be divided evenly. Upon the cancellation . of the contract grain, live- stock, ete.,, can be divided between the . partners, but during the life of the .con- tract no such divi- sion is contemplat- ed, each partner owning an undivided half, instead of sepa- rating the animals, TRY THIS ONCE \T HAS NEVER FAILED ME YET! and one for the other. " The party of the first part, under the contract that Doctor Wendt has standard- ~ (Cont. on page 21) The farm ‘worker one for one owner -