Montgomery County sentinel., 1918-01-25
Secretary Houston Talks On Agri.
culture After The War.

culture After The War.
In late interview on the subject he
says:
And want to emphasize another thing
that is not always understood. You hear
1t said that the European farmer, partcu-
larly the Swiss. produces two or three
times more to the acre than the American
farmer. True. but the acreage of the United
States Is many times as large as any Of
those countries, and 1t would be bad econ
omy for our farmers to try to produce as
much to the acre when our acreage is SO
abundant. What must be kept in mind is
the amount Of production of each man,
and our farmers produce from one and a
half to three or four times as much TO the
unit Of labor and capital as any country in
Europe"
"And what about the futureH Suppose
peace comes in the next year; has the
farmer any reason to hesitate in his plant
ing 2" inquired
The Secretary welcomed the question.
He had been thinking about it for long
time, he said. He had talked it over with
well-informed men who were familiar with
agricultural conditions in Europe.
There will be a continuing demand, " he
explained. after the war is brought to
close. The farmer should not hesitate. |
say this, first, because it is difficult for
production, anyway. to keep up with the
population Of the United States. We for
get that we gain in decade population
equal in number and superior in purchas-
ing and consuming power to that of the
majority Of nations. Since 1900 we have
gained more than 25.0O0,000 people, or
three-fifths the population of France. Cou-
pie, then, with that fact the knowledge
that by and large the number of cattle for
the same period has remained stationary,
hogs haven't increased. sheep have de-
creased-why, il we had nothing to con-
slider but our own needs the farmer would
be justified in producing large quantities
not only Of staple cereals, but meats. But
we have this added picture of rapidly di-
minishins herds Of livestock abroad. The
destruction Of draft animals in the war is
enormous. The lack of feedstuffs alone
leads to their destruction. People in the
war zone, too. are suffering"
Again, we know that the European
powers have lost vast numbers of men
seven and half million have been killed
many million taken prisoners, hundreds of
thousands are in the hospitals and many
hundreds of thousands are permanently
incapacitated. They have lost many skilled
workmen and agricultural leaders. Their
farm machinery has deteriorated. They
will suffer from a scarcity of fertilizer as
well as q wholesale decentralization of their
entire agricultural organization. They can't
come back quickly, The South didn't Oct
back where she had been in 1880 until
1890. OF course. Europe can recuperate
faster than that. but certainly not for some
years.
Il look to see the farmers Of this coun-
try called upon to supply foodstuffs, espe-
cially meats and animals. for a consider
able time to come, just as expect the
manufacturers Of farm implements to be
called upon to satisfy Europes extraordi-
nary demands.
There is great work to be done. Ur-
ban people have begun to see their rela-
tion to agriculture. The Importance of the
farmer and producer has become impressed
on the mind Of the nation as never before
II will serve to make easier in the future
the consideration Of those things about
which heretofore 1t was difficult even to
enlist public attention. The war really
has made us think economically about food.
We've nearly always had an abundance.
exported more or less, but still have had an
abundance for our people That's why we
have been more wasteful and less con-
serving than other nations. When the war
broke out estimated that we wasted in
the household approximately $700.00O,-
900 worth Of food but that was low esti-
mate"
"And we are supplying our own demands
now, conserving our food supply and help
ing to feed the world p
"Yes-and all honor to the American
farmer for his patriotic response" /"
"Then how would you describe the out
look for the year 1887"
"Tell the what the weather will be" he
smiled. land will make definite predic-
tion. We know now what the farmer can
do and what can be accomplished by every
agency in America under human control
more production to the unit Of capital and
labor than any other agricultural people in
the world. The rest is with the elements