The sun., 1919-10-14
BY CHARLES c. NIXON,

Editor and General Manager Canada Farm
ers Publishing Syndicate, Toronto.
written especially for the Canadian
Section Of THE SUN.
Population has been gaining on food
supply.
Everywhere tire howl has been 60
ing up. and Is going up, against the cost
OF food-against the high cost of liy-
ing; and this does not mean what the
late James ]. Hill had in mind with his
now famous aphorism, "the cost of high
living"
1t has become a terrible thing for the
ordinary man and his wife and family
on salary to live.
What Is the outcome to be-?
What can We expect of the farms by
way of greater production to feed a hun
cry Notwithstanding many half stary-
Ing millions who have not the price
with which to buy the food-the good,
wholesome. nourishing food plenty
which they and their children need? ;
What can We expect of Canada-of
the Canadian farmer-in the matter of
helping TO solve this great and vexed
present day problem OF properly feeding
the people?
What place will the Canadian farmer
take in helping to solve this problem?
men do-what are they doing, and what
are they likely to do-in working with
and helping the farmens to work out
their own and Canada's and interna-
tional salvation in the cause of food
supply and sufficient reward to the pro-
ducers OF the food?
Back TO the Land" Dream.
Unaided. and with economic conditions
| stacked against him. 1t will take the
Canadian farmer long. long while to
| make any change in the situation.
The city and town man curses the
| farmer as a profiteer; he curses him in
! ignorance. Farmers welcome and invite
| Investigation into their costs of produc-
ton and into the fact that they have
| little II any voice-practically absolutely
no voice-in the setting of the prices on
| their produce.
The tendency everywhere is to ge,
| away from the land. away from the
Harm.
Back to the land" is only a city
| mans ''hazy dream"
The figures Of rural depopulation over
| the past fifteen years. and during recent
war years. are well known to every In
formed person who reads at all. Nc
Personally, am not one of those
who whine about and deplore the rural
depopulation. These people moved of
tho farms In order to better their condi-
ton; at least. they thought they were
lettering their condition by moving OF
their farms And surely It Is a good
thing for people to better their condition
A farmer on the North Toronto mar
ket Saturday, September 6, ventured the
extravagant opinion that in twenty-five
years the rural population of this rich
old banner province of Ontario would
be decreased to half of what II Is to-day
ontario's rural population has already
suffered q decrease In the past twenty
five years Of i6s.s4s. or In relative
| figures. more to be appreciated where
| small populations are concerned. de-
crease of more than 10 per cent
And yet. under right economic condi-
| lions, In spite of this drift--"drift," you
might almost term II "drive"-away
from the farm there Is hopo.
For who would mot believe In the ef-
fciency and the efficacy of one man pro-
ducing, with labor saving machinery and
power farm enough to feed 500 OF
5000 persons instead of. a. In the old
days. each man producing say for ten or
City individualse
Labor savers At Every Turn.
Take Il In the case of my own homs
farms, which are neag 81. George. Ont
(Brant county,. Fifteen TO twenty
years ago on those two farms. OF lao
and ia5 acres respectively. We had en-
ployed as many as ten men (or neal
men) through the busy sessions. and
the women helped with the milking To-
day my brother Harry and one good
hired man. along with my father (sup.
posed to be retired at 81 years OF age)
work those farms; and my brother has
time, and SO has The man and my father
10 live and visit and travel sbit as we
never dreamed of in those old days
when there was so much more hard work
to do My brother even has the time
TO allow himself to be persuaded to en-.
ter politics as u. II. o. UNITED Farm.
ers OF ontario) candidate for the On
tario Legislature at the forthcoming cleo
ton.
How is II possible7
Labor savers at every turn-so far
as practically possible: a milking ma.
chine Zone man does the milking. which
formerly occupied four or Eve individ'
/ uais); a tractor (which PUSHES the slow
drudssry Of ploughing and preparing