The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-12-10
The Importance
Of Agriculture

One of the most important articles
that has appeared in any American
publication for long time is that Ev
Jas. j. Hill in the November number
of Worlds Work, under the beading
"What We Must Do To Be Fed" 1t
deals with the true relation of the land
to the ntional life and emphasizes the
great Importance of more thorough
and less wSsteful methods of cultlVa-
tion of the soil in the United States
Beginning with the statement that
Gland without population is Will
derness. and population without land
is mob, 'Mr Hill points out the ur-
gent necessity of the wise conserva-
tion of our agricultural resources and
of putting an end to the speculative
abuses which our too prodigal land
laws have fostered. We quote few
of the many striking statements con-
tanned in the first section of his great
article, which has attracted most
thoughtful attention throughout the
United States:
IA prosperous agricultural inter
est is to nation what good digestion
is to a man. The farm is the basis of
all industry. The soil is the only
resource that lenews itself continual
ly after having produced value.
"It is strange that almost all coun
tries, including our own, should, un-
til taught by approaching misfor-
tune, fail to realize the primary and
indispensable place of agriculture in
souud national Development.
'The fertile fields of this country
are its real gold mines. from which it
will gather a richer yield than the
deposits of Alaska or South Afrl ca or
any other land can produce. These
are our true national Inheritance.
We must treasure what is left of them.
&C The greater the number of pros
porous farmers the greater will be the
prosperity of every business man.
cit takes more labor to earn the
same profit from a tract too large to
be titled thoroughly. y Ten far
mers instead of one increase the ag
gregate volume of trade with the mer-
chants of the community and add In
the same ratio to the general prosper
ity.
"Including Alaska this country has
about the same area as Europe. 1t
has a little more than one-fifth as
much population. With tritIe
m ore than five per cent of the popula-
tion of the world. we are producing 43
per Gel t of the worlds supply of wheat.
corn and oats. We raise more than
70 per cent of the worlds cotton.
"All political economy that is
not mere empty theory rests upon the
ratio of population to land area, the
abundance and value of the products
of the soil. and the proper balance and
inter-relation of different Industries.
"We have been busy as nation
helping the so called industrial in
terests of the country-in fact.
every body except the man on the
farm.
''The man on the farm must be
considered first in all our policies,
because he is the keystone of the nat
ional arch.
cit is made clear by every process
of logic and by the proof of historic
fact that the wealth of nation, the
character of it's people, the quality
and permaneDce of its institutions
are all dependent upon sound and
sufficient agricultural foundation.
"Our agricultural population will
compare favorabIy with any in the
world, but it must be taught to hon
or its occupation and make that oc
cupation worthy of honor.
''There can be no greater aid tow
ard the maintenance of prosperous,
free and enlightened nation than the
inculcation of the precept, "Keep the
children on the farm
''To raise the productivity of the
soil so per cent would be an increase
greater in value than the entire vol
ume of our foreign trade. These re-
suits can only be brought about by
general understanding and practice of
agriculture as modern science and
experiment work explain it..
Mt. Baker Lodge No. 81. Degree