The Washington herald., 1919-02-05
ALLIES TO USE
WHEAT SURPLUS
Hoover Finds Out u. S.
Crop Will Be Sold,
Says Holland.

q ity for the statement that he has dis
:. covered since he has been in Europe
that every bushel of our wheat sur
plus will be taken by our allies during
the present year. But that is not all.
They will need many million bushels
OF oats, so that it will be essential
for the United States still to conserve
our supply of wheat and other cereals.
in fact. Mr. Hoover is quoted as hav-
ing sent word to this city that the
European bread cereal demand will be
continued until July l.
At that time it will be possible to
estimate in a general way the amount
that is to be harvested next summer
and early next fall
The prediction which will be made
in the early summer of our wheat
harvest and later our "Orn harvest
viii be Of interest not CEly to Mr..
Hoover and others who are to con-
tiHue the work of supplying Europe
with the needed food, but also to
hose who are looking forward to M
provement in the securities market
situation and. i'm fact, in general bEsi-
ness conditions.
For il is assumed that If the prom
iSC Of the harvest is excellent and if
Teadjustmeut conditions are favora ole,
the prOpa bilitICs are strong that Il
great increase in security market
transactions will begin early in July
Has Abundant Facilities.
Again the American farmers are to
he relied upon for providing cereal
food and probably some kinds Of
meat, especially pork. in sufficient
quantities to meet the needs of Eu-
rope. Fortunately the farmer has
abundant facilities now for increas-
ing the food supply. He has devel-
oped traction pIowinE TO an extent
not realized by any excepting those
who have witnessed the recent
greater agricultural cultivation, espe-
Cially in the Far West.
He is using the new harrow to
great advantage and also various
other farming implements, some of
which are of recent invention. Petrol
farm tractors have been 50 perfected
that they are now capable of driving
all the implements as well as the
various types of plOwS.
1t was recently said by one of high
authority that the wonderful prog
ress IN land tiuLge that has been
made in the past three or four years
is due in part to the necessities of
the war. and can be traced direc,:y
10 the petrol tractor. which appears
To be destined to lead to most i'm
pOrtant agricultural development in
the United States 1t is in. fact.
forerunnCr OF another advance in civ
fIizatiCn."
story of the Farms.
Able men who learned by personal
observation and experience what the
capacity for agriculture is. not only
in the Far West. but in other parts
OF the country. asserted some years
ago that the farm crops in the United
States ought to be producing harvests
which would bring new wealth. each
year into the country OF approximate
Iy Sl5.o0C. ..0l.UO0.
Thee statements were made by
James ]. Hill. Howard Elliott, anf
others some ten years ago. They
Were statements based upon what was
assumed to be normal prices for
farm products. Of course since the
war began high prices have prevailed
and that, in addition to increased pro-
ductiOn. has made u possible for the
Washington authorities 10 report that
crops in the year IoIS was E5u0. O.OH
greater than the money value of ear.
lier crops. The total figure il placed
at S14.SOO. OCO. OO0. round numbers.
This is approximately the money
value of the crops which Mr.. Hill and
Mr.. Elliott said some years ago should
be obtained each year by the Amcri-
can farmers. How rapidly the money
value has grown is demonstrated by
the fact that the value in money of
the crop harvested in 1918 was double
the average value for each year be-
tween 1912 and 1916
Third of All Labor.
\ day or two after his return from
Washington recently. a business man
who was formerly very active in
the securities market said to his
friends that he learned while in
Washington that farm labor. in
Guiding the employers constituted
about onc-third Of the aggregate
labor in the United States.
That is to say, approximately
35.OOO.OOO of our population, now es-
timatcd at 10000. 900. are occupied
directly and actively for at least six
months Of the year in Cultivating
til" soil and raising crops. This
number is likely to be increased.
Farmers in the Far West are now
seeking skilled farm hands, and
whatever may be the case in other
Industries there will be no lack OF
employment on the farms of the
United states during the spring,
summer and autumn of this year.
Agricultural prosperity is not con-
fined to any one section of the Unit
ed States. Official reports from all
over the country prove the truth of
this assertion; as for instance
while Illinois stood first in the value
of all the crops produced. on the
other hand Iowa, Illinois neighbor.
and Texas and Georgia. which are
remote from Illinois. were second.
third. and fourth.
Stands with Ohio.
Not many years ago Minnesota was
We'll down in the list. In 1915 the
value Of her crops placed her in the
NTH rank. and so great was the in
crease that whereas she was ninth i'm
1911 she now stands almost exactly
upon a par with Ohio. On the other
hand. North Carolina stands second
To Ohio and only a little below Mime
sofa Pennsylvania. where formerly
ETeat haTvests of wheat were secured,
row ranks far below several of the
southern States, as well as much be-
low her neighbOr State. Ohio
There appear to have been some
vicissitudes in several of the States i'm
1918. due. probably. to climatic condi-