Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-08-10
How Large Population Can We
Support?

prooucts OF our own soil feed, clothe |
and shelter? Second, how large
population could we maintain BY i'm
porting products OF the soil from the
outside, manufacturing and selling
the finished products to other peoples |
and living on the profits Of the trans
action? The second question depends
on markets and the kind OF competition
that we have to meet in international
trade. There are so many unknown
and unknowable factors in the prob
lem that it is hardly possible to answer
the question even roughly. There are
also many uncertain factors in the
hrst problem, but to that one we can
find a rough answer.
There is so much building material
in the form Of stone, clay for the
manufacture of bricks, metals and
timber growing on wasteland as to
make it possible to house an indefinite
number OF people-vastly more than
we can ever feed or clothe. AS to
Clothing, the American cotton fields
produce the greater part of the cotton
for the entire world. They could
certainly produce enough to clothe any
conceivable population that could grow
up within our own boundaries III we
are willing to increase our consumption
OF mutton, we can also produce wool
enough as a by-product Of mutton to
meet all possible demands. We can
therefore clothe an indefinite number
OF people. Food, then, becomes the
limiting factor; in other words, the
question is, How many people can we
feed from our own soil?
Something depends on how we'll the
population is to be fed, how much
land we can bring under cultivation
and how much we can make it produce
to the acre. A standard soldiers
ration for the United States Armv is
regarded as liberal, for il is abundant,
nouurishing, well balanced and appetiz-
ing when properly prepared Close
calculation shows that under present
conditions Of cultivation in this
country it takes between FIVE and SIP
acres to produce a soldiers ration for
year; but il our cultivated land were
as we'll titled and yielded as much TO
the acre as the land of England,
Belgium or Denmark, it would take
only about three acres TO produce
soldiers rations, and it is not too much
to hope that eventually our land will
yield as much as the land of those
highly cultivated countries. In 1920
there were about 5O7,OOO,O0O acres
OF improved land in the United States.
~ we were merely to divide that
number by three, we should reach the
conclusion that it would be possible
to produce the rations for 1O7, 900, 600
soldiers on the land; but we must
make some allowances for the horse
feed necessary to supply power for
cultlvating the land and for that por
ton of the cultivated land which is
producing materials for clothing. Some
allowance must be made for that.
even though food is produced, both
directly and indirectly, from the
cotton seed and by the sheep that
grow the wool. Those considerations
would reduce considerably the number
of soldiers rations that could be pro-
duced. To Offset them, however. we
have the facts that the soldiers ration
is liberal and contains more NEAR
than the ordinary person in the United
States consumes at the present time
and that much of the meat is grown
on unlmprovcd land-that is, on the
western ranges and the rough pastures
OF the East-and on such bv-products
as cornsta!ks, straw, bran. cottonseed
meal, tankaGc, and so forth. although
much of it is produced and most of il
Is fattened on the grain and forage
that are grown on improved land.
Again, No one knows as vet how much
more land can be under cultivation
ny drainage. irrigation and other
methods.
Taking everything into considera-
tion' it Is not unreasonable to suppose
that the country can eventually feed
from its own soil froml7O,OOO.ONO to
2OO,OO0,000 people besides producing
sufficient building and clothing mate
rial. If, however, our people should
consent TO live at a lower standard.
and should consume less wheat and
beef, which yield small quantities af
food 70 tb ocrc al ,i,a,.,J