The midland journal., 1914-12-11
MARKETING WORLDS
GREATEST PROBLEM
WE ARE LONG ON PRODUCTION,
SHORT ON DISTRIBUTION.
BY Peter Radford

Is
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 distribu-
tion as factor in American agricul-
ture and promises to give the farm
ers the cooperation of the govern
ment and, the business men the
solution Of their marketing problem.
This result will, in q 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 Of q
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 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 change In diet and one local
ity has felt the pinch Of want, while
another surfeited, but the world as q
whole has ever been a land Of plenty
We now have less than one-tenth OF
the tillable land Of the earth's surface
under cultivation, and we not only
have this surplus area to draw on but
it is safe to estimate that in case Of
dire necessity one-half the earth'a
population could at the present time
knock their, living out Of the treea
of the forest, gather it from wild
vihes and draw it from streams. Nc
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 expires
sion on the statute books Of our states
and nations and the farmer has beer
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
We welcome our city cousins back to
the soil and this earth's surface con
tains 1902, 100000 idle acres of till
able land where they can make
living by tickling the earth with
forked stick, but we do not need then
SO far as increasing production is con
cerned; we now have all the producer
we can use. The city man has very
erroneous ideas Of agricultural condi
tions. The commonly accepted theory
that we are short on production is al
wrong. Our annual increase in pro
duction far exceeds that Of our I'm
crease in population.
The World az a Farm.
Taking the world as one big farm
we find two billion acres of land IL
cultivation. OF this amount there is
approximately 100000 900 acres on the
western and 1850, 100000 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.
The worlds annual crop approx
mates fifteen billion bushels of ce
reals. thirteen billion pounds of fibre
and sixty-five million tons of meat.
The average annual world crop for
the past five years, compared with the
previous five years, is as follows:
Past Half Previous Half
Crops Decade. Decade.
Corn (Bu.) S.ss4. .174,OOO s,4Os. .s55, 900
Wheat (Bu.) S.522. 100000 3.257, ,526. 900
Oats (Bu.) 4.12O,O17,OOO S.5OS S,S15,OOO
Cotton (Bales) 1865. 800 1854, 200
The world shows an average in
crease In cereal production Of 13 per
cent during the past decade. compared
with the previous five years. while the
worlds population shows an increase
Of only three per cent.
The gain In production far exceeds
that of our increase In population. and
It is safe to estimate that the farmer
can easily increase. production rs per
cent II remunerative market can be-
found for the products. In textile
fibres the world shows an increase
during the past half decade In produc-
tion Of is per cent against a popula-
tion increase of three per cent.
The people of this nation should
address themselves to the subject Of