The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-22
The Doom of Nautilus and the Dreadnaught

has been vastly lessened by improve
ments in communication and transporta.
| ton. In all probability population is
| increasing faster now than ever before.
| Practically all of the desirable lands
of the North American continent are
occupied There is still o~"ortunity for
some migration TO productive lands
few years viii see this opportunity
closed, and even now, turn where you
may, You find very little free land
worth the trouble of taking. Practi-
cally all the arabic land in the United
states rs now privately owned. The
wheat lands of Canada are rapidly pass.
ing into private ownership. We no
longer have continents 10 explore and
develop. All the new land remaining
is measured 10 the acre, and within the
next ten years. and in all probability
within five years, il will all be occu-
pied
In the eastern hemisphere there re-
main for development some desirable
lands in Asia and some in Africa.
The Asian lands are controlled largely
by Russia. The African lands, at least
all that give promise Of food and abode
for white men, are owned or controlled
10y England
But. considered from any standpoint,
the amount of new land remaining to
be brought under cultivation is COM
paratively insignificant as compared
with the rising demand for lands and
their products. The growing demand
for food is fast overtaking the supply
What happens when demand exceeds
supply? Prices rise. Those of slender
means must lower their plane of living.
People must economiZe. if demand far
exceeds supply there is suffering and
want. II the land does not produce and
sufficient food does not exist there is
famine.
Heretofore every country has been
relieved of its surplus population and
shortage of food by emigration and de-
velopment Of new land. The emigrants
who develop new lands are not the poor
The poor have not the means TO pay the
costs of this migration and TO develop
lands at the end of the journey The
pioneer emigrants are the strong and
active. The poor and weak, in very
small measure, follow after the new
lands have been developed This is
true of every migration, both general
and local We see this fact exemplified
around US today First comes the
strong father or son, who obtains "a
parcel Of land and prepares it for cul-
tlyation and abode. Later he brings
his dependents. From these facts it
is apparent that emigration and the de-
velopment of new lands do not in any
| appreciable degree relieve any nation
or community of its poor and helpless.
! The benefits are indirect. Tho new
lands produce food which is exchanged
! for the manufactured products of more
populous communities. and thus the
food supply of the world is maintained.
The circle IN which the economic forces
Of human activity have heretofore
| moved is this: Pressure of population
upon its food supply; migration Of part
Of the population with proper capital
and means: development of new lands
return Of surplus products of the new
lands TO the populous centers in ex.
change for manufactured products
temporary relief Of pressure upon food
supply, recurrence of pressure, repeti-
tion Of the process. This process has
gone on and on since the beginning of
history and it is going on today, but we
see, not far ahead, the day when il
must cease for lack of new lands to de
velop, What then?
Harvests Must Yield More.
The fertility Of land must be in.
creased, the yield Of land must be in.
creased. the plans of living must be
lowered, and tho intelligence Of hu
manlty must be devoted TO the solution
or the problems then presented. What
VIII be the attitude OF the state and OF
mankind towards the poor and helpless
and the criminal and drones Of that
time IS matter for speculation. In al
probability, the necessities of the en-
yironment during the transition period
VIII require artificial limitations upon
marriage, and the speedy but human,
determination Of criminals and degen
crates who are a useless burden to the
SOCIAL organism, In this way popula
tion will maintain n forced eduilibrim
with its food supply. When the quan
tlty OF mankind that is population, suf
iicicnt to people the whole Of the habi
table world has arrived, all further evo
luton will tend in the direction of i'm
provement in quality. At that time
mankind shall have Inherited tbe coriE
both literally and figuratively. SO fan
as numbers are concerned humanity