Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-02-22
MARKETING WORLDS
GREATEST PROBLEM
WE ARE LONG ON PRODUCTION,
SHORT ON DISTRIBUTION.
sy Peter Radford
Lecturer National Farmers' Union

Lecturer National Farmers Union.
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-
ton as a 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 measure, COM
pensate US for or 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
netion's garbage can for want OF Il
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
I ity has felt the pinch Of want, while
another surfeited but the world as
whole has ever been land of plenty
We now have less than one-tenth Of
the tillable land of the earths 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's
population could at the present time
knock their living out Of the trees
Of the forest, gather it from wild
vines and draw 1t 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 statej
and nations and the farmer has been
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 16,O92, 100000 idle acres of TIL.
able land where they can make a
living by tickling the earth with a
Iorked stick but we do not need them
50 far as increasing production is con.
cerned; we now have all the ,ducers
We can use. The city man has very
erroneous ideas oJ agricultural con1i.
ions, The commonly accepted theory
hat we are short on production is all
wrong. Our annual increase in pro
ductlon far exceeds that OF our in.
crease in population.
The World as a Farm.
Taking the world as one big farm.
We find two billion acres of land in
cultivation. OF this amount there is
approximately 75O,OOO,OOO acres on the
western and 1890 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.fve million tons Of meat
The kvO age annual world crop for
the past II e years, compared with the
previous I've years, is as follows;
Pat Half Previous Halt
Crops-s Decade. Decade.
Corn (Br) 3,934,174,OOO 3,4OS, ,655, 900
Wheat(Bp) 9,522769,OOO S,257,526,OOO
Oats (Bp) 4,l2OO1IOOO 3,5OS,3i5,OOO
Cotton Cpqles) 19,S63,sOO 1854 200
The world shows an average in.
crease in cereal production OF 10 per
cent during the past decade, compared
with the previous Ave 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
b Il is safe TO estimate that the farmer
can easily increase production 25 per
cent " q remuneratlve market can be
found for the products In textile
fbres the world shows an increase
during the past half decade IN produc
tion Of 15 per cent against a popula
ton increase Of three per cent.
The people Of this nation should
address themselves to the subject oil
improved facilities for distribution.