American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1911-08-24
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oo' rom the lack of opportunities or the discrim.
".'o ano injustice apparently incident to our
mosont industrial system. While the problem OF
the poor has always been. and doubtless will al.
ways De, with us. that Is no reason why we should
aooep' win competency conditions which. II
"ot capable OF being completely reformed. are,
~ least. capable OF considerable correction.
me increase In the cost of living in recent
years mas given n new interest to ATTEMPTED OK.
p'nhations OF existing conditions. and various the
Dries are offered. We are told that the increase
In the amount Of gold production, or rather the
decrease In the cost OF gold production, has low.
cred Its value, and. therefore. enlarged our meas.
ue Of value. with a consequent Increase In the
coat OF necessities as well as the Injuries 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 raw material to the pro-
dncer 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.
II liz unusual that a general condition Ia 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 a per.
manent correction OF the tendency of the price OF
the necessities OF life to increase must be based
upon a proper relation between supply and de-
mand. is at once apparent. A demand increas-
ihe Vbt VI piOpOItIuu u II dVulIdDle SuDpy Is
sufficient In and Of Itself to cause an 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 a proper relation be-
tween consumption and production. The fact that
In 1903 the value OF our exports OF foodstuffs de-
creased. rs compared with 1908. eighty-seven mil
lions o: dollars. while the value of the food-sturs
imported into the country increased thirty-seven
millions OF dollars, making a charge OF one hun
urcd and tWcnfV-fOur millions nf JplInrc ,,urp the
wrong side Of our national ledger, shows that the
consumption OF that which We produce has been
increasing more than has the production.
TO bring about a correction of these conditions
II 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.
walton. or cultivate that which Is now uncultivated,
The truth is. we must do both. Production In
this country. as compared with other countries.
shows that We are not using to the best advan-
toge the great resources with which nature has
endowed u.s. The average production Of wheat
in the Netherlands is - bushels to the acre; in
England. 80: In Germany. IS; in France, 20, while
In the United States 1t is only IA. The same dis.
parity is found In fields OF corn properly cultivated
compared with those not properly cultivated.
In a recent report I. was stated that ap-
proxiniately 20 per cent OF the soil that was cul.
tlvatec was used In such a way as to decrease.
rather than increase. its productivity. The cor
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 sources the farm
ers 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 cor.
rection must be accomplished by inducing a
larger portion of our population to engage In the
Of the soil
mr. - Az 49,
Back to the Soil" movement. But how to make
II elective and successful ia anothe. and far more
dihhcuft problem. Some time ago George AIDE, the