Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1911-08-25
MS EZNST CP01 ar
E0ZNZGES ~

- aAU
not from the lack of onnortupit,as 49, 49, a..u
nation ano injustice apparently incident to our
rleSent INDUSTRIAL system. While the nrobIem NJ
n poor has always been. and doubtless will al.
oooan = . w u.s. tnat is no reason why we should
"0oePt with complacency conditions which ~
not capable of being comnIetelv reformad ~
~ IeasI, capable of considerable correction.
~ increase In the cost of living in recent
years mas given a new interest to attempted ex.
pIanalnns OF existing conditions, and various the.
ories are onered. We are told that the increase
IN tne amount OF gold production, or rather the
Increase In the cost of gold production. has low.
ereu ls Value, and, therefore, enlarged our meas.
ure OF value, with a consequent increase in tha
coss OF necessities as well as the Injuries of life
without a corresponding increase In wages ana
salaries; that combinations and trus@. hova ~
creased the price OF their products by arbitrarily
nxlng the price of the raw material to the pro.
oucer and the price Of the finished product to the
consumer; that labor unions have increased the
eost OF tne necessaries of life by the increase
lnaL tney nave brought about in wages. and
nnally' the explanation Is offered that suppiy has
not Kept pace with demand; that consumption has
increased more rapidly than has production.
IL is unusual that a general condition is to be
attributed to any one cause. That all of tbese
annuehces are more or less responsible for the
present conditions is probably true. That a ner.
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.
ing out OF proportion to the available supply is
sumclent In and OF Itself to cause an increase In
prices. And any correction of the other conditions
winch may have helped to bring about the in.
crease In the cost Of living must necessarily fan
unless tnere 10 maintained a proper relation be.
tWeen and production. The fact that
IN l909 the value of our exports of food.stuYs do.
as compared with 1908. eighty.seven mil.
lions OF dollars, while the value of the food.stuns
into the country increased thirty-seven
millions of dollars, making a. charge of one hun.
aFed and twentyfour millions of dollars upon the
wrong side OF our Dational ledger, shows that the
of that which we produce has hean
more than has the production.
10 bring about a correction of these conditions
I Is apparent at once that there must be an in.
;rease In production, and the question is how is
ms 70 be accomplished. We must either use to
letter advantage the soil that Is already in cuIti.
alton, or cultivate that which la now uncrlt,vated
me truth is. we must do both. Production in
MS country. as compared with other countries.
Nnows that we are not using to the best advan.
age the great resources with which nature has
us. The average production of wheat
the Netherlands is "a bushels to the acre. a
England. 81; In Germany. %: In France, 20, while
D the United States 1t is only IA. The same dis
arity is found In fields of corn properly cultivated
with those not properly cultivated.
In a recent report /. was stated that an.
roximately 40 per cent. of the soil that was cuI.
"'ou IA ouCh d way as TO decrease,
timer than Increase, its productivity. The cor
sctlon OF this condition of Inadequate production
le, to lack of scientific methods of cultivation
ut come from The agricultural department of
e United States and the agricultural colleges of .
lie different states. From these sources the farm. ,
s must get the scientific information which will
laple them to adopt not only effective methods
agriculture, but effective methods for consery.
g the productivity OF the soil. The other cor. :
.ction must be accomplished by inducing a !.
rger portion of our population to engage In the +.
of the soil /.
We can all agree as to the advisabiIity of the !
'ack to the Soil" movement. But how to make n
effective and successful is another and far more /
fhcult problem. Some time ago George AIDE. the n