Omaha daily bee., 1910-11-20
Decrease is to Follow the Raise, Going
Below Present Minimum.
REL TROUBLE oF THE COUNTRY
Farmers Living Too Fast and Toe
Many Automobiles.
PATCHES ARE NOW UNKNOWN
Not TslkinE Politics, but the VeRer-
abIe official Givos HIs Opinion
COncerninE the Recent
Election.

CHICAGO, Nov. 1g-tspeciaI TelcayraIn.)--
James Wilson, secretary Of agriculture ar
rived in Chicago today from Washington
10 open the United states land show at the
coliseum this evening and gave out an
Interview bristung with epigrams upon
every subject from the cost OF living to
the future OF the country.
The secretary delivered the principal ad-
dress or the afternoon.
Secretary Wilson believes the cost OF liv-
ing will Increase within a short time, but
that the increase will be preliminary to q
general decrease, even greater than the de-
crease OF the last few days But mean
time he isn't wasting sympathy uUon the
farmers nor the dwelers in the city. The
farmer Is all right" ne said You cant
drive a horse into the country any more
without a farmers automobile coming
along and soaring him. You know how II
used to be-
No Patches These Days.
I'VE are an exceedingly expensive ana
an exceedingly extravagant nation. We
don't know how TO practice economy. Take
you young fellows I'll bet there isn't one
of YOU that's ever seen q patch. It's only
up old gray-haired fellows that know what
patches are.
Maybe the democrats will teach us
economy. / remember before Mckinley
was president, they did. We knew what
patches were then.
Il never discuss politics, though he
added. but a minute later declared
"rl tell you one thing-the democrats
didn't have anything to do with the re-
suit of the last election. There weren't
enough Of them. Quarrels among the re-
publicans did IT, All the democrats had
to do was TO sit back and vote their ticket.
The republicans elected their men.
Prices Bound Downward.
Prices. Secretary Wilson thinks, are
bound downward. f-They are bound TO go
slowly though" he said. "because we are
bringing 100000 people q year Into this
country that We have 70 feed and we arp
not making farmers out of them
In his address tonight Secretary Wilson
blamed the homesteader of the west IN
part for the present high cost Of living.
THE homesteader," he said, ''is reducing
the field of operations of the ranchman,
which is reducing the meat harvest Of the
west and becoming quite a factor in the
cost of nving.'
Other causes. he said, were the great
Immigration to this country and the move
ment TO the cities. The recent tumble In
prices OF meat he attributed to drouth In
the range country and to the big corn and
oats crops.
He declared that much remains to be
done In improving the oountry's farming
conditions in spite of great progress al
ready made In this direction. Expansion,
exploitation and soil robbery, he continued
have been too much the practices of the
past
sOT Too often Robbed.
The new lands opened up under the
homestead act Of half century ago, were
often exploited" he asserted, for tempo
rary profit by soil robbers who were eN-
parts of their kind" owing to such farm
management the yield of the acre in the
United states gradually decreased very
little intensive farming was done.
"But none OF our Soils" he added ARE
beyond redemption. The soils Of the coun
try are the greatest asset the nation has
progress IN all directions depends upon the
esndit,on OF the soil and there Is no ma
terlal inquiry OF such great value as thai
which pertains 60 our soils.
After speaking briefly of what already
has been done by the Department OF Ag
r,oulture In establishing experiment sta
lions ana agricultural colleges in various
states and sending experts into all parts
az the world TO discover new grains and
plAnts most suitable for cultivation undel
au weather ana soil conditions. he told o.
further needs.
..The day win come" he declared "whel
IRRIGATION will be applied, as . matter o.
national necessity. 70 the growing Of crop
IN the humid regions Of the country, some
thing that has been done for hundreds o
years IN European countries that have OvJ
forty inches OF rainfall We Will have t
begin At the sources OF our rivers, In tn
mountains where the rivulet forms IN
creeks and the creek eventually forms IN
river.
reservoirs viii be built At the head
Of our streams 20 be used In periods O
drought an countries OF which have an
knowledge have periods Of drought. som
OF our states have ninety inches OF rain
fan. ana yet they have periods OF drought
These dry times prevent the growing q
maximum crops.
Mere Cultivation Needed.
''But more is needed than irrigation
Those who grow crops by Irrigation depen
too much on the added water and too litt
upon oulyitadon Of the soil"
He cited the sugar beet industry. pointin
cut that whereas the average yield IN th
country is ten tons an acre, reasonabl
good yield would be twenty tons
when they reach that point" he col
tinued, we can produce within the col
tlnental United States all the sugar o.
people need We ara paying out In q
neighborhood OF slOO. 10000 a year for n
sugar that could be grown here provide
our farmers understood how 20 grow u
sugar beet. Efforts are being made BY Il
federal ana state governments TO help
these directions"
He spoke In glowing terms OF the VOL
being done in the southern states In q
way OF offering prizes 20 boys who won
produce bumper crops OF corn. potGtos
tobacco and other things
1T is only a question OF time" he sal
when the south will ship tat cattle a.
hogs 20 the great centers OF population a
contribute toward the food Of our peoD
IL has raised its maximum crops the Ia
two years"