El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-11-17
lsHINGTON, D. G., Nov. IL
NJ The cost Of food is steadily


Z n rs Gust OF 1000 - steadily
going up. There is an un-
deniable' scarcity Of many things to
eat. But we-or, at all events, nearly
all Of us-get enough to fiji our stom-
achs. We ought TO be thankful, for
fae time is destined to arrive when
the entire human race will perish Of
literal starvation, when tho man with
million would gladly pay 800 for a
loaf of bread.
This is not a mere scare" a night
mare evolved by the imagination Of
scientists The prospect seems only
roo certain and inevitable. The race
ike the individual, must perish. and
The cause Of its final eXtin guishment
i'll be hunger
Why hunger The answer is. be-
cause OF lack Of water. The planet
on which we dwell is slowly but sure
ly drying up
Would you be Couvinced2 Take q
glance at a geographical globe and
see how the deserts are spreading
over the continents. Today nearly all
of the northern half of Africa is des-
ert- The Sahara extends from the At
Iautic coast TO the Nile valley. beyond
which to the east are the Libyan des-
ert and the NubIau desert Across the
Red Sea is Arabia the whole interior
OF which is almost waterless-
Now. what is q desert2 It is Or
6inarily an area well suited for the
production Of crops, barring the fact
that il lacks water. Owing TO this
lack il cannot support a population.
No water. no crops: no p crops, no
people. All vital processes are mani
festauons OF the presence Of water.
Half OF L. 5. UHWatered.
We are accustomed to think OF the
United States as q fertile country.
richly agricultural Nevertheless.
half Of il is under-Watered. and much
of that half so much so as to be praC-
tically uninhabitabIe- Taking our en-
tire area, We have an average rain
falI Of 80 inches per annum. For full
productivity so inches are required.
II the United States were half as
big. with the present total OF rainfall
properly distributed. the country
could produce as much food and sup
port as many people as IL can now
produce and maintain This country
can. and will some day, feed and sup
port 1000, 100000 people, but il could
provide for twice that number II it
had an adequate water supply
Between the Rocky mountains and
the Sierra Nevada lies a vast region
Of hopeless desert Adequately wa
tered. IL would support a population
greater than that Of the whole United
States today It has become what Il
now is through a gradual process OF
drying up. A million years sEO-nOt
so very long a time as biologists
reckon the history OF the planet-it
was a well-watered area rich in plant
and animal life Practically the whole
of it constituted the watersheds OF
two great lakes
Once Had Big Lakes.
One Of these lakes. in western
Utah and extending over into Neva-
da. was go miles long from north 10
south, and rs miles wide It covered
an area Of 1880 square miles. and
its greatest depth was 1000 feet The
Great salt Lake is 8 remnant Of it, in
the northeast part Of the sink ii
formerly occupied Another remnant
cat the south eud) IS Lake Sewer
The other lake was further west.
along the eastern base Of the Sierra
Nevada range or very irregular
shape. II covered 1922 square miles, .
and its greatest depth Cwhe-e Pyra- .
mid lake may now be found on the
mspl was SOS feet
These data can be determined with 1