Evening star., 1921-02-27
Peril of Famine May Hang
Over the American People
of Agriculture Meredith as He Retires From
Office, Warns of Dangers Which Lurk Ahead.
Farmers Discouraged and Resentful

required of other industries. It is
the disparity between what he gets
for what he has to sell and what
he pays for what he has to buy
that makes the farmer blue and
grouchy and in mood to tell the
city dwellers go hang.
x y x x
And you can't blame him a lot.
after examination of the figures.
Official statistics show that at the
beginning Of January, being the
latest figures available, the prices
of all commodities were about S5
per cent higher than they were in
January. 1913, whereas the price of
farm products was only "A per
cent higher. This disparity is bad
enough, but it hits the farmer a
good deal harder than that. Farm
products being included in the to-
tai of commodities which stood at
S5 per cent above the 1913 level.
and farm products being only A
per cent above, naturally the level
of other commodities-the things
the farmer has to buy as against
those he has for sale-is much
higher yet. In fact, it is 126 per
cent.
So the situation the farmer faces
today is this: While he is getting
less than so per cent more for his
ha
it is costing him over a hundred
per cent more to grow them. In
1913 and years prior thereto the
farmer did not make large profits.
In fact, he made lower wage for
himself than the average city
workman and got much smaller
return on his investment than
would have satisfied a city mer-
chant. Now, with so per Cent
differential between cost Of pro-
duction and selling price, he
doesn't for the life of him see how
even his modest pre-war profits
are to be wrung from the soil.
< X < X
question of a comprehensive and
permanent agricultural policy, ad-
vocated by Secretary Meredith
and others who have made an in
telligent study of the problem.
Primarily, the purpose of such
policy would be to reduce the
hazards Of agriculture-not nee
essarily to increase the farmers
profits. but to make it less a
matter of chance whether he have
any profits at all. Nor would ben
efits to the farmer be the chief
aim of such policy. 1t is the
city dweller, much more than the
farmer, who has reason to be con-
cerned at the prospect of dimin-
ished food production. There isn't
any danger that those who remain
ION the farms will go hungry. They
always will grow an abundance
for their own tables. The ques-
tion is, will they continue to grow
enough to feed the constantly in
creasing number of industrial
workers and other urban dwell
ers?
The big, vital fact in the whole
situation is that America sees to-
day for the first time a condition
approaching that which has kept
Europe in agony for a century
thespressure of population on food
supplies.
1t is true that as yet We are
hardly conscious of the pain and
still less do we realize what causes
it. but it has started gnawing at
our vitals and, in the absence of
a remedy, it will spread rapidly.
1t proba bly, will startle a good
many Americans to learn that al
ready our imports Of foodstuffs
exceed in value the foodstuffs
we export. The line was crossed
about the time the war began, but
the stimulation of agriculture re-
sulting from the necessity of feed
ing Europe kept the disparity
from growing to size to attract
popular attention. But, now that
American agriculture is withou.
the stimulant of war. the excess
of imports over exports is grow
ing again.
AS vet the bulk of imports is
largely of things we dc, not pro-
duce at all or not in sufficient
quantities, such as coffee, tea and
spices, tropical fruits and sugar.
But we are importing constantly
increasing volume of staple prod
ucts; our population is growing
and our production of staples is
not keeping pace with increase in
population. Nor is it to be in
creased materially by the bringing
of new lands under cultivation.
There are no more great stretches
of rich prairie land awaiting the
plow. Usable land not now in use
is in small tracts and calls for
irrigation or drainage or other ex-
pensive preparation for the grow
ing of crops. Much of this land
cannot profitably be brought under
cultivation unless agriculture, as
a whole, is made much more
profitable than it is today.
X X X X
Fifteen years is the period of
grace given us, unless conditions
change materially, before We will
become dependent upon overseas
imports of bread and meat and