Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-06-03
Board to Guide
Men to Land Open
to Settlement

Washington. June sf--As direc'
outgrowth OF the reorganization OF inc
Office OF farm management OF the
United States department of agricul-
ture, new work involving compre-
bsnsive study OF land economics has
been begun. This project, which VIII
he known ms the division OF land eco
Monies. was recommended az a recent
meeting in Washington Of leading stu
dents Of agricultural development anu
representatives OF various agricultural
interests.
DR.. l.. &. Gray, formerly professor
of rural economies In George Peabody
College for teachers. has been APP
pointed as ecVLomist la charge CT we
division of laad economics. DR.. Gray
- regarded as eminent,y qualified by
training and experience 10 direct the
new division. He was born IN Nils
souri, in 1851. He has received degrees
from william Jewell College and the
University of Wisconsin. Or. Gray ue-
voted his attention for many years 10
agricultural economics and particular
L. TO the subject OF and problems ana
is author of A number of articles on
various aspects of this subject. Dur
ing the last eight years he has been
teacher OF economics at the Universe
~ OF Wisconsin, the University OF
Saskatchewan and George Peabody
College for teachers. He is member
of a number OF scientific organiza-
tions. including the American Econo-
mic Association, the American Farm
Economic Association, and the Amer!-
can Association for Agricultural Leg
islation,
Problems to Be Dealt With. =.
The division of land economies VIII
deal with such problems as land re-
sources. land utilization, land values,
land settlement and tenancy, and land
policies. Various bureaus of the Unit
ed States department Of agriculture
and other government agencies have
investigated certain phases of land eco
Monies. but 1ata gathered by them
have never been assembled, correlated
and appraised from the standpoint OF
economic utilization OF che land. Tina
classification OF this material will con-
stitute one OF the activities OF the new
section. This information, when sup
plemented by intelligent surveys, will
be of immediate and practical value in
many ways. sail the recommendations
OF the committee. II vii! guide land
settlement. determine the economically
efficient size o. farms In different To-
Calities. and direct wisely the agricul-
tural energies of the country in the
production of foodstutfs and raw ma
terials. Such work will naturally In
volve study of land Classification not
only in this country but also abroad,
which will be of particular value TO the
agricultural world at large, and to
American interests in particular.
The field If land economics from
an investigational standpoint, is both
complex and varied. For example, II
will be of great value TO ascertain the
economic causes that prevent areas OF
land suitable for agriculture from be-
ing used. Furthermore, considerable
areas of land n this and other coun-
tries are withheld from use for vari-
Gus reasons, such as aggregation OF
large holdings, Inadequate capital for
Improvement insufficient facilities for
| transporting au1 marketing agricul-
tural products, inertia OF population
and speculation. Similarly. there are
ether large areas where the use OF
lands for farming IS wholly inadequate
and wastefUl because of the size OF
! farms and land holdings, absenteeism
and forms OF tenancy which provide
insufficient motives for careful farm
ing, and lack Of provision for suitable
Improvements and conservation of soil
From another standpoint the rapid
increase Of tenancy in certain regions
of the United States has created great
interest in the cause Of this move
ment and it's ultimate significance.
Altho many couses have been suggest
ed. comparatively little is known as to
their relative Importance. Careful in
vestigations are contemplated with A
view of assessing these causes at their
relative weight. Similarly, it is OF
vital importance that the question of
the good and evil OF tenancy as a