The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-11-05

In the Worlds Work for November
lanes J. Hill, of the Great Northern
galway. has the first of series of
articles on 'Highways of Progress"
This article deals with the wheat ques-
tion-"What We Must Do to Be Fed"
Mr. Hill pleads for better farming.
Following are extracts from the ar
ticle:
when the United States shall have
from $50, 100000 to 20O,0O0,OOO people,
they must be employed; they must
Darn living. How will their occupa-
tions and products stand in relation
+o one another? Will there be mu-
tual relation to one another? Will
there be mutual internal support, or
mutual destruction and decay? Who
will employ these millions?
while we are spending great sums
70 transform worthless lands into or
chards and gardens by the work of the
reclamation service, we will retain as
to other areas the land laws under
which for so many years the great her
itage of the people has been passing so
largely into unworthy hands.
For the sake of our national future,
for the sake of the coming millions
who will be helpless unless each can
be furnished with piece of tillable
land as a defense against misfortune,
we shall see that the speculative
abuses which these laws have fOstered
are brought to an end. 1t should not
be possible to obtain public land of
any kind anywhere in the United
States henceforth except after comply
ing with all the terms of the home
stead law.
IF | could have my way, l should
build a couple of warships year less.
Perhaps one would do. | would take
that 1000, 900 or $6,OOO,OOO a year and
start at least one thousand agriculture
al schools in the United States at
$4,000 a year each, in the shape of
model farms. This model farm would
be simply tract of land conforming
in size, soil treatment, crop selection
and rotation and methods of cultiva
ton to modern agricultural methods.
It's purpose would be to furnish to all
its neighborhood a working model for
common instruction.
The experiment would cost but
fraction of the amount sometimes CIV
en- freely for more questionable pur-
poses.
IT is as well assured as any future
event can be that the population of
the United States will be 200,0OO,0O0
by about the middle of the present
century, or in less than fifty years"
Mr. Hill then goes on to show that,
without a decline of the standard of
living, it will require, without export
ing any, a total annual production of
1900 900 bushels of wheat to feed
such multitude Then he asks:
Where in the whole world is there
surplus of 400,000,000 bushels? We
ourselves furnished the great surplus
in the past. Canada is now rapidly
approaching us, and so is Argentina.
But with the present rate of immigra-
ton into the Canadian Northwest, and
with a rapid increase of population
throughout the Dominion, it will not
be long before they need 100,000,00O
bushels for their own use. They may
be able to sell $50 100000 or even 200,
100000 bushels, and they are close to
our markets, but all they could give
would not furnish us the 400, 100000
bushels We must have. Manchuria will
eventually produce much wheat, but
Its development will probably no more
than supply, if it does not fall below,
the increasing demand of China and
Japan"
Home demand, he points out, has
grown so per cent. faster than supply.
DsgracefuI Farming Record.
have stated the national problem
IN terms of wheat for the sake of
clearness; its solution admits of sim
liar statement. The average wheat
Weld per acre in the United States in
lSV' was fourteen bushels. The aver
age for the last ten years is 1888.
mat Is, in 1907 it required 45,211 900
acres to produce the 634 0S7, 900 bush
els that we raised 1t is a disgrace
ful record.
About century ago this was the
average production per acre of Great
britain. After the appointment of a
ioHaI commission and a campaign for
oetIer methods of cultivation begun
over hundred years ago, the fields of
TIE united kingdom today, titled for
thousand years, in a climate whose
eAcesslVe moisture is unfavorable to
,Ne wheat grower, yield over thirty
Two bushels of wheat per acre. Sup
poSe That the United States produced
'"ehty-eight bushels, or double its
present showing, it would have added
O'+'Voo,OOO bushels to our product last
Year.
Here we perceive an answer to the
question that the future asks. Here
we see how the 2OO,OOO,OOO people of
%pout the year 1850 are to be fed.
mere We see where the money will
.olile from for our national support. 1t