Land Tenure in Oregon. 51 TABLE 8. PERCENTAGE OP FARMS OPERATED BY OWNERS, CASH TENANTS, AND SHARE TENANTS, IN THE UNITED STATES, WESTERN DIVISION, CALIFORNIA, WASHINGTON, AND OREGON, BY DECADES FROM 1880 TO 1900. (*) United States — Year. Owners. Cash Tenants. Share Tenants. 1880 74.5 08.0 17.5 1890.... 71.6 10.0 18.4 1900.... 64.7 13.1 22.2 Western Division — 1880.... 86.0 05.5 08.5 1890. . . . 87.9 05.0 07.1 1900. . . . 83.4 07.7 08.9 California — 1880.... 80.2 08.9 10.9 1890. . . . 82.2 08.7 09.1 1900 .... 76.9 12.5 10.6 Washington — 1880.... 92.8 03.2 04.0 1890.... 91.5 03.0 05.5 1900.... 85.6 07.1 07.3 Oregon — 1880.... 85.9 04.6 09.5 1890.... 87.5 04.2 08.3 1900. . . . 82.2 07.4 10.4 The percentage of tenant farming did not increase so fast in Oregon from 1880 to 1900 as in the United States, but cash tenancy increased more than share tenancy. The Western Division, CaHfornia, and Washington, all show much the same tendency as Oregon. The comparatively slow increase in tenant farming in the Western states up till 1900, was due, unquestionably, to the open public domain, which granted choice land to the settler merely for the asking, and required a very small amount of capital for the farmer to secure a place of his own. It is to be noted that cash tenancy increased much faster in the western states and in Oregon than share tenancy ; but it is difficult to say for certain why this is true.
- U. S. Census Reports for 1900, Twelfth Census, Vol. V, pp. 688-689.
