The New York herald., 1921-06-19


mherst, Mass, June 10. 1921.
years prior to the great war. Follow
ing 1914. when almost half the ciY.-
lized world was drawn into mortal
conflict, 1t was natural that the with
drawal of millions Of men from pro-
ductive efforts should result in in
creased demands for the products Of
our own farms. With the end of
hostilities we entered reconstruction
period, and now We are in the grip
OF an agricultural depression and low
prices for farm crops due in part to
overstimulation of production to meet
wars demands and in part to the
breaking down Of our foreign market.
upon which we have depended to con-
sumo our surplus. When we have
worked our way through this trying
period and the world gets back once
more to fairly normal conditions we
shall find ourselves confronted with
problems Of new sort, difficult prob
lens, which will challenge the abIest
minds and which will especially chal-
lenge the best efforts of the agricuI-
tural colleges. experiment stations
and all other institutions charged with
the duty Of promoting the food sup
ply Of the nation.
Fifty years ago there was land in
abundance for all who cared to farm.
1t could be had for the mere living on
1t or for two or three dollars an acre.
To-day that land Is selling at from
one hundred to three hundred dollars
an acre. Fifty years ago the young
farmer who had the will to work,
who had a good wife and who had
saved enough money to buy a team
and few simple implements could
move into the great West with the
almost certain assurance that after a
time he would own his own farm and
home. To-day a capital equal to from
twenty to fifty thousand dollars II re-
quired to carry on farming in the
great surplus producing States. The
matter of financial credit, therefore,
has become one OF our most pressing
problems.
The severe competition which our
own manufacturers must meet, due to
the efforts Of the countries of Europe
to pay back to US in goods the vast
sums we have loaned to them, will
make it necessary for our people to
reduce their manufacturing costs as
far as possible. and they will expect
our farmers to help them In this by
furnishing an abundance of cheap
food.
Such conditions as I have men
toned, together with nun,ber OF
others OF almost equal Importance,
present to US some Of the larger prob
lens with which the agriculture of the
nation must deal during the lifetime
CT the present generation. Looking
back we can see now that IL or agri-
cultural colleges have failed to meas
ure up to their greater opportunities
o: service that failure is due to confn-
ing practically all Of their effort tc
the promotion Of greater production
and giving so little attention to the no
less important matter OF agricultural
economics.
During the last five years we have
been keenly aware OF our dist .essing
lack of knowledge Of these great eco
nomic forces which exercise ch me: :
ciless power over those VINO ignore
them or fail to understand them, Hal
we spent even one-Quarter as much
time and energy in the study of eco
nCmics applied to agriculture as we
have spent in the study of production
1t Is not going too far to say that we
might have avoided many of :he trou-
bles which now beset us.
AS we plan for the future II seems
clear to me that without abo ting In
any way our efforts in the field of
scientific research, without stacking
in our search for better and cheaper
methods Of production, II Is the duty
OF the agricultural colleges Of the
country to give more and more atten-
ton to study and instruction in the
field Of agricultuI al economics.
The mission os our agricultural Co.
leges is not to promote agriculture at
the expense Of Industry or commerce
or to give the farmer the sort Of
education that will place him in a
position Of unfair advantage over
other classes, but rather through
more scientific methods OF production
and less wastefui methods of d'stribu-
ton enable him to better serve the
nation. The obligation to geY food to
the consumT with the least waste is
Just as binding as the oblly ,tion to
produce that food in the frs. place
The farmer neeis all OF the training
in production that the colleges can
give him. but the most urg ut need
now is the development Of an entirely
new realm of organized knowledge Of
the economic factors which will enable
him to cheaper his produc'bn and
improve his distribution.