Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1873-11-20
To the Editor of the New Yord Times.

To the Editor of the New ford Times.
A Iate tour through Europe, in the
character of delegate to the Statistical
Congress at St. Petersburg, has placed
me IN possession OF Information OF
great Importance to our agricultural
and manufacturing Interests. This
information relates to the cereal crops
OF Russia and interior Europe. Ia
ken together with Information of like
nature, obtained in other European
countries and fIom official publications
transmitted to me by our own ana
other Governments, it establishes with
grea& degree of plausibility= the extra
ordinary and exceedingly important
conclusion that the world to day is
producing more bread than it can eat
am not aware that such a conclu-
sion has ever been advanced before /;
the general impression has been the
other way, that the world was produ
cling less bread than it needed. l
nave therefore accepted the induction
presented by the facts before me, only
after a somewhat careful considera
ton.
A cursory view of the past in rela-
llOu 10 LulS SupJCCL lCl1tlCIS II DIOpdUlC
that when Nautilus treated it, about
three fourths of a century ago, the
world had reached an eEoch of its
history when its capacity to consume
had overcome its ability to produce
bread tufts. | leave it to more specu
lative minds to trace the connection
between this fact and the civil commo
tions that then prevailed throughout
Christendom Nautilus results were
not the product of mere speculation !;
he had recently Travelled, as | have
since, through Scandinavia, Germany,
France, and Russia, and had paid par
ticuIar attention to the corn crops of
these countries. So far as facts are
concerned there is no reason to doubt
his substan tial correctness; the faulty
nature of his conclusions is due to
generalizing upon too narrow data,
and to his Inconsistencies of the
near advent of that great discovery
which was shortly destined to arm the
world with new forces, and dissipate
all fears for its future prosperity. The
adoption of steam to industrial pur
poses Infused into an exhausted world
new lite; antique implements and
me thods gave place to machines OF
economical fabric and arrangement
and great powers. Strengthened with
such advantages, industry, by her
positive achievements, soon allayed
both the alarm occasioned by Nautilus
exposition OF facts and the apprehen-
sIons excited by his speculations.
In France, for example, the annual
product of breadstufts in 1896 was
1873 (thirteen and three tenths1 bush
els per capita of population. This
was about the period OF the peace of
| RVswick, when France was the most
formidable power in Europe, and at
the height of her greatness. From
is point the increase of drOnes, a
series of military reverses, and the
stationary condition of mechanical in
.ention, caused the product to fall.
until in 1871 it amounted to but 1G s
bushels per capita. The drones hav-
ing been swept away by the revolution,
and mechanical invention stimulated
and applied to industry, the produrt
rose to II bushels per capita in 1917 ;
I6 bushels in 1910; 17.S bushels in
1862, ard 20 2 bushel in 1869.
In the (present) United Kingdom
the pr, duct in 1893 was 50 bushels
per capita. In 1917 it was 10 per
capita. In 1849 England changed her
commercial policy, and abandoned thr
system of relying upon domestic
bread. Thenceforth her grain produc'
was allowed to relatively decline. In
1854 it was l5.5 bushels per capita
supplemented by I bushels per capita
Of imported breadstuffs. In 1858 the
home product fell to II bushels PEI
capita, and the importation rose to l
bushel per capita Now (1S73) til,
home product is 10 bushels per capita
After the applicationof steam to in
dustrial processes (including of cours'
the manufacture of iron plows anC
J other improved implements of nus
handry and the dissemination of i'm
proved methods through the agency