Mountain advocate., 1914-12-04
MARKETING WORLDS
GREATEST PROBLEM
We ARE LONG ON PRODUCTION,
sHcRT en- DISTRIBUTION.
BY Peter Radford
,,urer National Farm.rs' Union.

The economic distributlon OF rarn
products Is today the worlds creates
problem and the war, while II hal
brought its hardshlps, has clearly en-
phasized the importance OF distribu
tion as a factor In American agricul
ture AMI promises to give the farm
ers the cooperation Of the govern
ment ard the business men the
solution Of their marketing problem
This result will. In . measure, CON
pensate US for our war losses, for the
business interests and government
have bseu 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 OF q
market.
The World VIII Never stsrve.
At No time since Adam and Eve
were driven from the Garden Of Eden
have the inhabitants Of this world
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 distribution.
Slight variations in production have
forced a change in diet and one local.
ity has felt the pinch Of want. while
another surfeited, but the world as o
whole has ever been Q land Of plenty.
We now have less than one-tenth of
the tillable land Of the sarth's surface
under cultivation, and we not only
have this surplus area to draw on but
II 10 safe to estimate that In case Of
dire necessity one-half the earth's
population could at the present time
knock their living out OF the trees
Of tho forest, gather It from wild
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 been
urged to produce recklessly and with
out reference to a market, and regard
ess 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.
We welcome our city cousins back to
he soil and this earth's surface con-
aims 1902. 100000 idle acres Of till.
able land where they can make
living by tickling the earth with
orked stick, but We do not need them
10 far as increasing production Ia con-
'erned; we now have all the producers
We can use. The city man has very
erroneous ideas of agricultural cOndi.
Ions. The commonly accepted theory
hat we are short on production is all
wrong. Our annual increase In pro-
luction far exceeds that Of our IN
rease in population.
The World as . Farm.
Taking the world as one big farm,
We find two billion acres of land IN |
Utilization. or this amount there IL
pproximstely 100000 acres on the !
western and 1890 100000 acres on the
astern hemisphere, In cultivation. J
his estimate, of course. does not in.
Jude srazing lands, forests. etc,
here large quantities OF meat are
reduced.
The world's annual crop approx
hates fifteen billion bushels OF CO.
calls, thirteen billion pounds Of fibre
nd stxty-tive million tons Of meat.
The average annual world crop for
40 past five years, compared with the
revious Ave years. 10 40 follows:
Past Half Previous Half
Crops Decade. Decade.
orn (Bu.) S.934.174,0Oo 3,403, SIS, 900
heat BuJ $685., 1853. 900 3.257, see, 900
ats Bu) 4.i2o,ol7.00o 3.60s, 315 900
Otton jsales) l9.s63,s00 17,641,200
Tina world shows an average In
'ease In cereal production OF IS per
mt during the past decade, compared :
It'll the previous ave years, while the
orld's population shows an increase
only three per cent.
The gain In production far exceeds
at OF our increase in population. and
is safe to estimate that the farmer
N easily increase production rs per ,
mt II a remunerativs market can be ,
und for the products. In textile
'res the world shows an Increase ,
ring the past half decade in produc-
IN OF lb per cent against q populs- ,
IN increase OF three per cent.
The people OF this nation should ,
dress themselves to the subject OF
proved facilities for distribution. ,
over-production and crop mortgage 9
rec the farmers into ruinous com. q
tition with each other. The remedy Q