The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1917-01-12
PROBLEM OF PRODUCTION.
(Greenville NewS).

IL lS ODNlOuS InaC one OF the nam
reasons for the rising cost of food
products is the fact that our agricul-
turai production has not kept pace
with the increase in population This,
in turn, is due to the fact that larg-
er proportion of our people are be-
coming consumers, while a constantly
smaller proportion are becoming pro
ducerS.
Joseph Chapman, Jr., chairman of
the committee of northwestern State
agricultural colleges, said not long
ago before the senate committee on
agriculture that one-third of the pop
ulation of Minnesota lives in three
cities; that the boys and girls flock
from the farms to the cities; that
in the cheap and unhealthy lodging
houses of Chicago there were found
10000 young men under 25 from
the farms who were looking out for
jobs in that city; that the conclusion
was reached that the problem of this
rural drift to the urban centres was
an educational one; that in Minnesota
it was learned that there were 435,-
600 children in the schools at an ex-
pense Of $14,00O,0O0 to the State,
yet but 1882 Of these pupils were in
agricultural schools and colleges, or
that the State was educating 99.6 per
cent Of them to be consumers and
but four-tenths of 1 per cent to be
producers; that this condition, in
greater or less degree, exists in every
State. To remedy this problem, Mime
sofa has established 80 high schools
for teaching agriculture, vocationa!
training and domestic science.
The great need for agricultural
education is attested by a comparison
of our country with Germany, making
it clear that we do not get anywhere
as much production from our farms
as we should. For thirty-year pc
riod. Germany increased her produc-
ton of rye 81 per cent, the United
States only 10 per cent; Germany
increased her production of wheat 5S
per cent, the United States only IA
per cent; Germany increased her pro-
duction of barley 60 per cent, the
United States only 1 per cent. Ger
many increased her production of
oats 85 per cent, the United States
only per cent; Germany increased
her production of potatoes 80 per
cent, the United States only per
cent.
In 1913, Germany, with an area
equal to Minnesota, Iowa and Mis-
souri,, produced more barley, almost
IL times as much rye, three fourths
as much oats, and more than six
times as many potatoes, as we do in
the whole United States.
In 1913 Germany had 44,213.OOO
acres sowed to wheat, barley, rye.
oats and potatoes and harvested
therefrom 3,498,775, 900 bushels, while
from 102,307,O00 acres sowed to the
same crops in the United States, our
farmers harvested only 2,346,2 ,243 900
bushels. From considerably less than
one-half of our area. German farmers
harvested more than 100000 600
more bushels.
Obviously what the United States
needs to meet the problem of the
high cost of living is more and more
farmers and more progressive farm
ers at that. Vocational education in
agriculture is indispensable. This is
the solution that the federal govern
ment and the States propose to APP
ply, and, because it has produced
wonderful results in other countries,
we can reasonably expect similar de-
velopment in the United States. What
ever we may feel about Germany as
a belligerent, the fact remains that
there are many things that we could
learn from Germany with tremen-
dous profit to this nation.