The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-11-30
MUST UNITE TO CREATE NATIONAL
PROSPERITY SAYS JAMES ]. HILL

large supply OF raw material Of high
qualify. Following this plain rule Il
rs not difficult 10 see where to look
sfpr the future commercial strength Of
the United States
In food products we are already
falling out OF line! Our increasing
population drawing upon a sou af.
ready mnch impoverished turns food
oduction from resource into a
problem. The rapid decline Of our
position as producer of breadstuffsI
has been checked q little by the ire.
1nendous efforts made TO induce a
better agriculture and a more intel
|ilgert care Of the soil, Federal and
state governments. stirred BY the
Fearnestness of ind yiduais, and BY the
practical example OF great railroad
companies, are helping to make bet.
ter farmers and 10 save and restore
the land Our export trade already
feels some benefit from this attempt,
IEpitiflllyl small although the results
Oft seem to a man who goes through
the country and sees how the aver.
age farm isl handled.
But nothing can prevent the practi:
alSextinction,s ultimately, OF our grain
exports while cattle and dairy pro:
dutcs are being Imported Our farm
processes are still almost incredibly
antique and sunprodnctiy According
ito IA careful study by ID! Karl Hell:
I ffericht OF Berlin, The yield per acre
t;of wheat In Germany in 1919 was
more than double that Of the United
States; that of rye neariy so per cent
great c:s OF barley over 80 per cent,
floats nearly 80 per cent, and of Spo.
tatoes only IA little short OF 100 per
cent. Such returns from a soil cult.
waited long before Tacitus wrote, 1 In "a
climate inferior To ours for grain pro.
Fduction, tell the whole story of Amer.
lean farm methods. 4 And even Il we
doubled our acres product which could
easily be- done, the chances are that
before the farmers could be educated
to the point of doing It our population
would double also. .fs \. & { 4
IT follows that on our other great
natural resources our foreign trade
must continue to- be based But we
cannot expect TO retain a practical
monopoly of the production Of cotton
which we once enjoyed. In tile pro;
auction of copper, pet oleum, pig iron
and steel we are far ahead of other
countries, not alone because Of skill
or success In manufacturing, but be;
cause nature gave us raw material in
abundance elsewhere unknown. But
here also Sc We measure our progress
bysthat. of Germany we shall feel less
like self :cong atulations In iron pro-
duction, for example; Dr. Helfferichi
finds that the percentage OF increase
between q SS7S and S19 Oil Yin the United
States was 26S.5i and in Germany 2s7.i
In steel our percentage of increase
from 1856 to 4 $40 was 8 0.3E as against
1886 for Germany. Z!
IT Isl clear that II we are to hold
our own we must meet this competi3
ton in product ion which is translated
Instantly into competit ion in foreign
trade. Losing gradually the adyant.
ages that our position and resources
have given us up to date, nothing but
aSdeepers wisdo ms and a Jkeenerl sense
Of Justice toward all the. factors that
must unite to create nat ional prosper.
fly can keep Jus at the front, in the
race with other nations. Sli11 q /,