The Glenwood post., 1911-08-19
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not from the lack Of opportunities or the discrm-
NATION and injustice apparently incident
present industrial system. While the problem of
tne poor has always been and doubtless will al
ways be, with us, that is no reason why we should
accept with complacency conditions which, If
not capable of being completely reformed are.
at least, capable of considerable correction.
The increase in the cost of living in recent
years has given new interest to attempted
plantations of existing conditions and various the
ories offered We are told that the increase
In the amount of gold production. rather the
decrease in the cost of gold production has low
cred its value, and, therefore, enlarged
ure of value with consequent increase in the
cost of necessities well the uxures of life
without corresponding increase in wages and
salaries; that combinations and trusts have in
creased the price Of their products by arbitrarily
fixing the price of the material to the pro-
ducer and the price of the finished product to the
consumer; that labor unions have increased the
cost of the necessaries of life by the increase
that they have brought about in wages and
finally, the explanation is offered that supply has
not kept pace with demand that consumption has
Increased more rapidly than has production
1t is unusual that general condition is to be
attributed to any one cause. That all Of these
influences are more or less responsible for the
present conditions Is probably true. That per-
manent correction of the tendency of the price Of
the necessities of life to increase must be based
upon proper relation between supply and de-
mand, ia at once apparent. demand increas
ing out of proportion to the available supply is
sufficient in and of itself to increase in
prices. And any correction of the other conditions
which may have helped to bring about the in
crease In the cost of living must necessarily fail
unless there is maintained proper relation be-
tween consumption and production. The fact that
In 1909 the value Of our exports of food-stufs de-
creased, as compared with 1908, eighty-seven mil
lions Of dollars. while the value Of the foodsturs
imported into the country increased thirty-seven
millions of dollars making charge of one hun
dred and twenty-four millions of dollars upon the
wrong side of our national ledger, shows that the
consumption of that which produce has been
increasing more than has the production.
To bring about correction of these conditions
it is apparent at once that there must be an in
crease in production and the question is how is
this to be accomplished We must either use to
better advantage the soil that is already in cult
vation, or cultivate that which is uncultvated
The truth is, we must do both. Production in
this country, compared with other countries
shows that not using to the best advan-
tage the great resources with which nature has
endowed The average production of wheat
in the Netherlands is "a bushels to the acre; in
England, 32; in Germany 2S in France, 20, while
in the United States it is only IA, The dis
parity is found in fields of properly cultivated
compared with those not properly cultivated.
In recent report it stated that ap.
proxinately 40 per cent. of the soil that cul-
tvated used in such way as to decrease,
rather than increase It's productivity. The
rection of this condition of inadequate production
due to lack of scientific methods of, cultivation,
must come from the agricultural department Of
the United States and the agricultural colleges Of
the different states. From these the farm
must get the scientific information which will
enable them to adopt not only effective methods
of agriculture, but effective methods for conserv-
ing the productivity of the soil. The other
rect{on must be accomplished by inducing a
larger portion of our population to engage in the
cultivation of the soil
We can all agree the advisability of the
Back to the Soil" movement. But how to make
1t effective and successful is another and far
difncut problem. Some time ago George Ade the