Norwich bulletin., 1920-02-28

Nearly one third of the people of
 the United States, or more than thirty millions, live on farms. Near Iy twenty million more live in com
 nunities having population of less than 2.500. In other words, nearly one-half of the population of this country is to be found on farms or fn
 cuontry districts, according to conl-
 pilation of agricultural statistics
 contained in the booklet, Our Basic
 Industry = Americas Agricultural
 Prosperity" just issued by the Guar
 anty Trust Company Of New York.
 The publication, which deals with the
 ever increasing importance Of the
 business of farming from the stand
 point of the national welfare, con-
 Iinues in part, as follows:
 .grhe farmink interest. is noa com
 orised entirely, however, of those who
 actually live on the farms. SonnethinS
 like 40 per cent. of our farms are rented and a ggeat many of the own
 CTS live in cities and villages. This
 means that among the merchants, law CTS, doctors, real estate operators.
 bankers and insurance men of our cities, and especially the cities and
 and villages in agricultural sections
 there will be found owners of farms
 or men whose business is directly dependent on or connected With farm ing.
 "The amount of capital invested in farming is large and constantly in
 creasIng. In 1910 the value of all farm property was approximately $4l,000,- 000,000, or more than the capital of all the manufactu establishments
 railways, mines and quarries in the United States The value of farm property in 1919 is conservatively es- ! timated at more than $51 1,000, ,000, ,00o
 From 1860 to 1890 this value increased steadily, but during the decade begin ming with 1900 the increase = the value Of farm property was greater than the entire accumulation of farm property in all the preceding years of our history.
 Tt is apparent to all observers o1 the efforts now being made by the ma | tions of Europe to readjust their af- fairs to a peace basis that the United :. States must continue for some time to take a leading part in reconstrue- ton work. On every hand there are indications th9t it will be impossible for those nations to produce the fooC and provide the work to sustain theil l several populations without our aid. Beyond the question of mere suste- nance is the still greater one of get i ting their productive and distributivt | forces organized upon a basis which taking into consideration changed con- i dit-ons throughout the world. will Iii sure the revival and continuance ol their prosperity. The United States alone Of all the nations in the world l is in a position now to make an ap, preciable effort toward giving sucI i assurances to Europe. The United ! States is the only nation. from whicI ! Europe expects such assistance tC come. M Moreover, our own prosperity and the maintenance of the industria and financial strength to which oul i country attained during the war art i inextricably bound up with the reviv- al of prosperity in Europe. We nov
 ed along since past the point where we could even. consider the possibility i of economic self -suff: ciency.
 '9The extension of assistance to Eu rope depends primarily of course, up : on the ability to produce the thing;
 which Europe needs, and no one wht l knows anything of Americas resourc i es would doubt the capacity of he l farms and mines and factories to sup 1 ply raw mater als, machinery, fuel ant 1 finished goods in any quantity tha Europe might require. To what ex 1 tent and how long the productive en
 ergies of this country will function