The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1909-06-14

In 1904 the American price was "a
and the Canadian price rs cents, or
% cents bushel IN our faVoT' ~
october. 1905, the Pembia price was
10 cents and the Emerson price %
cents, or cents bushel In our Ia
vor: In 1905 the Pembina price was
as cents and the Emerson price os' u
& cents In favor Of the American
side; in october, 1907, the PemDina
price was sl.04 and the Emerson price
"a cents. or 10 cents in our favor; ana
In October, 1908, the Pembina price
was 9s cents and the Emerson price
81 cents. or IL cents a bushel In Ia
vor OF the american side.
Population Increasing Consumption
''Mr. President those are the con-
ditions when we are raising wheat for
export; but 1 want to show now tnat
1t will be impossible for the Amerl-
oan people to be exporting IN lszo'
Let us see whether can estapisn
that fact beyond any reasonable
doubt.
what win our population be In
1920, or eleven years from today
have made a careful estimate, ana
have taken the estimate made by
others who have given the subject
considerable attention, and the esti-
mate is that in 1920 our population
will be about 117,000,00O people, at the
present ratio OF increase, taking into
consideration a reasonable immigra-
tion from Europe.
"The average yearly consumption
Of wheat varies considerably, depend
ent upon industrial condition of the
country. Under normal condition we
use for seed and bread about seven
bushels per capita; under the condl-
tions that existed from 1893 to 1897
the consumption outside of seed was
only about half Of the usual consump-
ton.
with population Of 117,O00,0o0 we
will need, in 1920, to feed our own
people and for seel s19,O00,000 bush
els of wheat. Where are we going to
raise It? We must remember that,
While we have been increasing our
acreage very rapidly year by year, we
have nearly reached the limit of our
public land, and we are now having
to depend upon irrigation and other
pIOCSSSSHB anu pAODdbAy Ah hNS ySSNA .
all the public lands upon which we
can raise crops without irrigation will
be entirely in private ownership.
with growing population our old
lands cannot raise wheat year after
year; their acreage is demanded for
other purposes, and even If that were
not true the soil would be so soon
exhausted that we would be com
PEELED to raise other crops. 1t is fair
to say, then, that our present average
capacity is 65O,000,000 bushels. With
increasing population will necessarily
come an increased production, but not
in the same proportion, as / have
stated We grew 504, 4,1S5,470 bushels
of wheat in 1882, when our popula-
ton was little over 52,000,000 peo-
pie, and 634,0S7, 900 bushels in 1907.
Yield Slower Increasing.
"The wheat yield since 1882, during
the years when much OF the new
lands in the west were being brought
under the plow, advanced little over
25 per cent, while the population in
creased 33,0O0,00O in that time, or over
SO per cent So, Mr.. President, we
will observe that while the acreage
and the production may increase for
the next ten years at the rate of 10
or is per cent, the population will in
crease four or five times as much. SO
that, necessarily, we will not be d
wheat exporting country by 1s2O.'