The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-11-25
MARKETING WORLDS
GREATEST PROBLEM
WE ARE LONG ON PRODUCTION,
SHORT ON DISTRIBUTION.
By Peter Radford


The economic distribution OF farm
products is today the worlds greatest
problem and the war, while it has
brought its hardships, has clearly EN-
phasized the Importance OF dlstrlDu-
ton as a factor in American agricui-
ture and promises to give the larm-
ers the cooperation of the govern
ment and the business men the
solution of their marketing problem
This result will, in measure, com
pensate us for our war losses, for the
business interests and government
have been in the main assisting al
most exclusively on the production
side of agriculture. While the depart
ment of agriculture has been dumping
tons of literature on the farmer telling
him how to produce, the farmer has
been dumping tons of products IN the
nations garbage can for want oi
market.
The World VIII Never Starve.
At no time since Adam and Eve
were driven from the Garden OF Eden
have the inhabitants of this Worlu
suffered from lack of production, but
some people have gone hungry from
the day of creation to this good hour
for the lack of proper distriDutloh'
Slight variations in production nave
forced a change in diet and one local.
itv has felt the pinch of want, whlle
Iut world
whole has ever been land OF plenty.
We now have less than one-tenth or
the tillabe land of the earth s surface
under cultivation, and we not only
have this surplus area to draw on but
| II is safe to estimate that in case or
dire necessity one-half the earth
| population could at the present time
| knock their living out of the trees
of the forest, gather it from WHO
vines and draw it from streams. NO
one should become alarmed; the
world will never starve.
The consumer has always feared
that the producer would not supply
him and his fright has found express
! sion on the statute books of our states
and nations and the farmer has beeh
urged to produce recklessly and with
out reference to market, and regard
less of the demands of the consumer
Back to the Soil.
The city people have been urging
each other to move back to the farm,
but very few of them have moved.
|
the soil and this earth's surface cor
tains 16,092,160,000 idle acres OF TILL
able land where they can make
living by tickling the earth with
forked stick, but we do not need them
so far as increasing production Is con
cerned; we now have all the producers
we can use. The city man has very
erroneous ideas of agricultural condl-
tions. The commonly accepted theory
that we are short on production Is all
wrong Our annual increase in pro-
ductian far exceeds that of our IN
crease in population.
The World as Farm.
Taking the world as one big farm
we find two billion acres OF land III
cultivation. OF this amount there IS
approximately 75O,OOO,OOO acres on the
western and 1,26O,OO0,0O0 acres on the
eastern hemisphere, in cultivation
This estimate, of course, does not IN
clude grazing lands, forests etc.
where large quantities of meat are
produced.
| ~, -,l, annual cron aDDrOXi-
mates fifteen billion bushels OF ce
reals. thirteen billion pounds of hbre
and sixty.iive million tons of meat.
Sha average annual world crop for
the past FIVE years. compared with the
previous five years, is as follows:
Past Half Previous Halt
Crops Decade. DecaGe'
Corn CBuO 1884 $4,000 34O3,655Oou
WheatCBul S.522, 100, 600 3,257 $4,000
Oats CRuO 4,12OO17.OOO 3,5OS,Sl5O0C
Cotton CBales) 1868, 500 1871, ,2OC
The world shows an average IN
crease in cereal production OF IL pei
, cent during the past decade, compared
: with the previous five years, while the
). worlds population shows an increase
S of only three per cent.
; The gain in production far exceed!
q that of our increase in population. ant
r. Il IS safe to estimate that the farmer
|. can easily increase production % pc
!. cent il a remunerative market can b'
found for the products. In textile
fibres the world shows an increas
during the past half decade in prouuc