New-York tribune., 1920-03-13
Says Agricultural
Dept. Is Crippled
By yLack of Fund,
Secretary Meredith Tan.
Merchants Niggardly Pol,
icy Causes Loss Of M;l'
lions to the Farm.

Declaring that there were ahr..,
in the cellar" in the matter Of Cn.nksfs
pairing appropriation recommsnd.s:!sss
for his department. E. T. Mer.S,ssass' M,sas
Secretary OF Agriculture, speakins ,sa ns
terday before the Merchants' As...s:s .ss'
ton Of New York at luncheon p.,s- ~ q
Astor Hotel, urged business men s..H 10
where to study the Department Of y' at
culture and give assistance in n. s',' si,
ter of securing needed funds fo. -ass- -.
rying on the work Of stimulatin. ar ar
duction on the farms pro
He recounted the score or m...
different activities in which the d. VI
ment is engaged, showing that for rars- er.a.
thousand dollars "pruned" from ~
annual appropriations submitted r;n '
ions of dollars in production w.rs i,...' ias.
There are dozens of men in orr .,ss' -
fee in Washington" he said. "whn " W
giving their services at half or os.
third the amount they could cam sA =
private business, and ali they ask - !.
equipment with which to carry on ~ "
work of the country" Wv
He told Of the work being dons n !.
stroy the boil weevil, to combat wh...
rust, to further the cotton prodncs;s"
and fruit raising.
"Men in Congress-" he said. a,.u.
about economy in providing fund. g..
the Department Of Agriculture Tbor
think they are carrying out your n.
structions and your wishes. l want /,
say that vitality important actiyitis,
are to be cut down if the action tbs,
has been taken on our appropriate.
bill prevails. Even now am receivins
inquiries for men to go out and helm
combat tuberculosis in cattle. n.
answer invariably is: we cannot sena
men to get rid of tuberculosis in von-
cattle and horses because we haven,.
the money"
He said the same condition preya;le,
ir the matter of assisting the frp,,
growers and farmers generally. declsr.
ing that booklets on farming could no.
be sent out because of the lack q.
funds.
"This is not economy" he declar,d
"This is parsimony and Is unjust snd
unwise"
'Since 1880 there has been a grad
ual increase of 25 per cent in II.
yield per acre of the principal crops-
25 per cent for the whole country. not.
withstanding the fact that we hay.
placed under cultivation a great dasl
of new land, that we have taken des.
erts and made farms, there has beer
a gradual increase Of 25 per cent in
the average yield per acre. Corn, for
example, increased 10 per cent: oats
"a per cent, and potatoes. 33 per cent
The acre yields for other field crop,
have increased Is per cent. Better
methods, the introduction of improved
machinery, the development and plant.
ing Of larger producing varieties, the
elimination of plant diseases and IN.
sect pests, are some of the factors
giving this happy result. And yet
some ask whether the farmer is lying
down; whether he is doing his part!
Production also has kept up with
the increase in population. Fifty
years ago, or during the period from
1855 to 1874, the average production
per capita Of the six principal cereals
was thirty-eight bushels. From 1906
to 1914 it was fifty-two bushels, an
increase of fourteen bushels. The pro-
duction of corn increased from twenty.
three bushels to twenty-seven bushels
per capita. Wheat increased from six
and one-fifth to eight bushels; oats
from four and three-quarters to thir-
teen bushels; cotton from thirty-six
to sixty pounds per person, and milk
from eighty-four gallons in 1899 to
n!nety-six gallons in 1919.
Meats have shown a reduction 10
production per capita, but we have
larger variety of foods to-day than
we ever had before-more fruits, more
vegetables, more cereals-and our die;
is more varied"
Guy E. Trip, la ely assistant Chic.
of Ordnance of the Army, speaking on
the lack of production and the great
volume of demand throughout the
United States to-day. said be believed
normal conditions could most nearly
be reached under a system which per-
mitted capital to take the risk and ths
profits remaining after providing for ss
liberal wage as the production and
traffic of the nation would bear, and
which at the same time furnished an
opportunity for each individual
worker who had the ambition and tas
ability to profit thereby to improve
has status in the community and ae'
cumulate property of his own