The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1905-02-11
FUTURE FOOD OF AMERICA.
Our Vast Resources Make Possible the
Highest Form Of Civ
ilization.

Writing of @7Tl1e Economic Internre-
tation of History in the bimonthly an
nails of the American Academy of Polit-
Patten, of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, says this of an American future
based on food supplies:
Not only has America a better food
supply than Europe, but the barriers to
commerce have been 50 far broken down
as to make the food supply of the whole
world available at our great eenters.
"A new civilization is now possible
to which those of the past can offer few
analogies Individual struggle has
practically ceased A suff1eiency Of
food comes to the unskilled labores.
and the increase of population even
when augmented by a million immi-
grants a year does not increase the pres
sure. We have higher standards to-day
with 100000 people than we had two
generations ago with 100000 people,
and we could support 800, 100000 with as
great ease and with as little individual
struggle.
1.-THE great central plain of North
America is a vast storehouse of food. We
have the wheat that Europe has, but We
have it more abundantly. We have
more extensive grazing regions, ana
with corn for fodder have superior Ia
cilities for raising cattle. Pork never
took its proper place in the diet OF the
world until the great eornfields OF the
west came into existence.
'sTo think of the changes in diet that
the cheapening of sugar has made is to
realize in a measure what an increase
of population will follow the full utiliza-
ton of available root crops. We have
combined the resources on which the
civilization of north Europe depends and
those which made the ancient clv1llza-
lions of the south. The immigrants
from south Europe find here a possible
diet like that of their home countries.
and in its use they evoke qualities n
our soil that lay dormant as long as the
northern races were fed from it.
In addition to these home possible
ties the nearness and accessibility Of
the semi-tropical regions Of the West
Indies and Central America made many
new foodstuffs available and in Quanti-
ties practically unlimited. Measured in
food, these regions can support as great
population as can the United States,
| and cost is less than that of the homo
supply We need only a fruit and a veg
etable loving population to utilize these
new food materials, and it is at hand in
| the immigrants from southern and CEN
| trail Europe.
s'This food supply could not be made
| available nor could the absorption and
assimilation of southern races take place
| without the recent eheapening OF the
cost of transportation.
.Coincident with this Improvement
in food and transportation have come
social betterments that have length
| ened life and made people more healthy
Great scourges like the medieval
plaques are no longer possible, and feVers
are so well under control that they have
ceased to be. grievous Affections
sTo attain all these advantages 9
rapid increase of capital is necessary
and fortunately the growth Of the saw
ing instinct has kept pace with other
Improvements. A slight change in the
rate Of interest calls forth capita.
enough for our great enterprises.
Food, health, capital and mobility o.
men and goods are the four essentials tt
progress. All of them are now abundant
ly supplied and capable of indefinite
| increase Must not this be the basis o.
a great social transformation changing
our institutions, habits and traditions
until they establish a social adjust
ment as complete as the present eco
nomic situation permits? If there wa:
| a break in traditions, institutions ant
| ideas when civilization moved from
southern to northern Europe, a stsl
greater crisis is before us when Amer
lean civilization matches American pos
sibilities.