The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1911-09-27

section harrow he could do more soil
robbing in five years than his grand
father could in whole lifetime.
I'VE are now nearing point where
we will need practically all four grains
to provide for the wants of our own
population. Our export of corn is
merely dribble; in our last census
year, 100 million bushels less than the
average ten years before. Our ex-
ports of meats and dairy products
have shrunk in ten years over Is per
cent. We sent abroad last year only
about one-third the number of cattle
we sent ten years ago. There is not
the slightest indication that this de-
cline will be checked. If checked at
all, it will be but temporarily, due to
an industrial crisis. Were it not for
the over 500 million dollars worth of
cotton that we send abroad each year,
the country would be drained of it's
precious metals to settle our foreign
obligations, and we would be on the
verge of national bankruptcy. Lands
in England that have been farmed for
more than a thousand years produce
more than twice as much wheat per
acre on the average as we do in the
naturally better lands of the Missis
sippi Valley, This demonstrates the
difference between farming and mere
ly mining the soil fertility.
This condition has been greatly
FASTENED by statesmen. The gift of
an entire land to railroads to enable
them to furnish speedy and cheap
transportation for vast continent,
/ together with the homestead law, so
excessively stimulated agricultural
production that the farmer was often,
and in fact generally until about
/ twelve years ago, forced to sell his
products at and often under the cost
of production. This gave the world
cheaper food than it will ever see
again, and made possible the wonder
full growth of great cities the world
over.
"The anxiety of the farmer to find
a home market instead of having his
prices fixed in foreign market under
competition led to the continuance OF
the system of high tariffs long after
4 g. IA Iol oooeo1 10 ayict
thus wonderfully stimulating the
growth of the cities of our own land,
cities which with all our boosted abil-
ity we have never been able to gov
ern decently. When this undue slim
illus is removed, as it was and must
be sooner or later, our manufacturers
will have to take the same medicine
which sickened the farmers in the
7O's, SOS and early COS.
'Inasmuch as there are no more
Mississippi Valleys to be opened VI
we are now near the turning of the
lane. We must from hencefortf
learn how to farm. We cannot great
" increase our acreage; will in fac
be compelled by the return of nor
NAL climatic conditions over our west
ern territory to reduce it. The onl!
thing left to do Is to grow more grail
per acre, better stock in greater mum
bers per quarter section. Only in thi
way can we reduce the cost Of living
"Our great problem, as I said to thi
Congress a year ago, is how to pre-
duce food for our own people at price
which they can afford to pay. Blu
how? Partly by putting more brain
into our farming. Many farmer
have more faith in moon signs tha
in agricultural colleges and exper
ment stations; more faith in Ordinar
politicians than in college professor
and scientists more faith in yelloN
journals than in the best agriculture
papers,
The farmer complains that he car
not employ the labor necessary t
grow full crops on his land. Their
is Just ground for this complaint. III
factory, the store the railroad, tn
trolley line outbid him for the labo
even that which is farm born and FAR
bred. Therefore the very root an
kernel of our modern farm problem
how to retain on the farm all the DO!
and girls born there, who are fit to
farmers or farmers wives, This CO
be done only by making farm Ii
worth living.
"All over the country there is Il
beginning of a great social and indr
trial awakening. The farmer is
ginning to magnify his Office, to c
loose from partisan bias to do his OF
thinking and act for himself. He
paving better salaries to his schC