The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1917-12-06
MOUNTAIN AGRICULTURE
Spence Farm Demonstration and Special
Investigator


require at the rate Of 10000 bales to
the ship more than 900 ship cargoes.
The wheat consisted Of 9i,602, 81 !
bushels. As to these two main pro-
ducts and to other farm products, not
tospeak If manufactured products,
their commercial value depends
upon the foreign market. Without
/ y foreign market for cotton. for in
stance, even this year with a pro-
/ bablc crop Of only IL million bales
we have for export something like
| five million bales above the Ameri-
can consumption Of approximately
seven million bales. IT we could not
export cotton. therefore, we would
have u surplus Of five million bales
and that surplus would cause cot
ton to decline from the present high
price Of 26 to - cents a pound TO a.
pric" far below the cost Of produc-
| ton. As illustrative of this point
il is necessary only to recall the con-
ditiOns in 1914 when at the beginning
of the war shipping was uncertain
and as consequence cotton sold at
six or seven cents a pound. Even
with the short wheat crop this year
We have something like 100 million
bushels more than we need for con-
sumption in the United States. II
happens that Europe needs not only
that 100 millions but very much
more. but if we had accepted Ger
many's dictation and were to send
only one ship a week to Europe, that
100 million bushels above our own
needs would be surplus which
would carry the price Of wheat be-
low the cost of production.
The right to use the seas is the
right to buy and sell in the markets
Of the world. To be denied that
right is to be compelled to live upon
our own resources. OF course we
can do that in this wonderful coun-
try but we can prosper as a nation
and as individuals only by trading
our surplus Of products for the sur
plus of products that other people !
have 10 sell. IT, for instance. our !
farmers could sell no more cotton
or wheat than is needed in this
country many farmers would be
compelled to quit raising cotton and |
wheat and would use their lands for
other farm products and hereby they
would cause surplus production I
in all farm products. To have ac-
copied Germany's dictatiOn, there
fore. would have been to put our
agriculture in a state Of complete
suffocation by taking from every
farmer the value of what he pro-
duced above what he needed for his ,
own consumption.
The same power that would for
hid our exports would also in self
interest forbid our imports except !
in the interest of that power. There !
fore to have yielded to Germany's ,
hictation would have restricted us |
to imports from Germany alone and
would have made us pay tribute for
oil time to her industries.
If we had acquiesced in the limita- !
ton of one ship a week we would
lave conceded the right Of Germany I,
10 regulate our exports and imports |
as she might see lit now or here |
after. We had the choice Of sub
to that dictation or Of fight +,
ing to maintain our right to sell and !
to buy wherever we might sell or
buy to advantage. II is inconceiv-
able that an American citizen, re-
gardless Of his material interest,
could yield to such dictation by 4
foreign power but on the low plane
Of material interest we had to fight
Germany or cease 10 be a nation OF
prosperous producers and become
nation of poems to Prussian autoc-
racy.