The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-19
BUSINESS MEN
ARE URGED TO
AID FARMERS
Cooperation Needed
Declares Vivian

10 zee that the farmer gets an ade-
quate income" Alfred Vivian, head of
the college of agriculture department
of Ohio State university, told mem
bers of the Kwanis club and their
guests Thursday. Many farmers were
guests of the club. THE farmer must
be furnished an adequate income TO
carry on the close relationship OF
city and farm man in industry, which
Is So essential" Mr.. Vivian said.
Mr.. Vivian referred to a saying of
Daniel Webste Is: "Agricultude feeds
have no manufactures and no CONF
merce."
Farm Life Important
whether we will have factories,
and whether the city grows, and
whether this republic itself shall be
perpetuated, depends on organized ag-
riculture today" Mr.. Vivian said.
The speaker referred to a recent
meeting in Ohio. Those present re-
ferred to the problem of how I Inn
prove agriculture around SprtL field
"Those people felt that II there was
not more raised In the community
than there had been, the factories
would soon move away to better
district, where food was cheaper, Mr..
Vivian said.
shoe factories leave the coast and
move out into the middle west of the
country. We in this section are for
tunate in regard to our location If we
desire to derive the benefits of being
In the direct course of this prosperity.
In Fortunate Belt.
Ten states in this section of the
United States occupy four-fifths OF the
corn raising belt. This section raises
three-fifths of the hay of the country.
In fact, two-thirds of all human food
Is raised in this section, for all of the
United States. Fourteen states of the
middle section produce Is percent of
all food in the United States. There
is no other better region for produc-
ing corn than this section.
There is a marvellous development,
industrially, in the central west Food
and factories go together. Factories
locate where they can get food the
cheapest.
1--WE have raised food in the past,
more than enough to feed our own and
have exported to other countries. II
the population increases as II has, II
will oEertake food production in 10
years and we will be forced to import
food. If we do not increase production
of food at the present time.
Must Produce Food
Russia had been exporting food reg
ularly before the war and had been the
foremost nation in doing so. Russia
had her population growth to consider
also. The United States was the only
other nation where the population was
growing.
"If the imports increase in this coun-
~ -
coast, where food is the cheapest. Our
factories would even move to the for.
eign countries, from which the expor-
tation of food is being made, all be-
cause of the cheapness of food
Population will cease to increase
when importing of food increases
stated Mr.. Vivian. Il am not saying
that we can not produce food but the
question is, Will we?"
"We can feed 333.000,000 people
with the production of food in the
United States. The question is; Will
we?
Food Cheaper Here
Food is cheaper in proportion to
wages here than at other places.
Cheap food In the past was due to
cheap labor. land and machinery.
Farm people flocked to the city in
the past and economists were greatly
alarmed. It has been difficult for the
farmer to make a living on the farm
with high wages for hands, machinery
costing so much, and land costing
from $500 to S40O per acre. The land
which has the most farmers in pro-
portion to population is where starva-
tion is found. Where there are less
farmers is where less starvation takes
place
America has fewer farmers in pro-
portion to population than any other
nation in the world. and they are fed
better
Belgium was producing more per
aHre before the war than any other
nation. There was a man TO every
five acres of land in Belgium before
the war You can't find one man to
% acres to keep things going in the
United States.
Ut would be better for more to go
TO the city and leave less farmers on
the farms.
Wrong Conception.
I'VE have the wrong conception
about the west We think that the
government can irrigate most any sec
ton for the production of food. lrri-
CATION is almost impossible in most
districts Only three percent of the
land of the United States can be
drained Therefore. we must look to
some other way for increasing our
Yield
Turning to the labor situation in the
United States. Mr.. Vivian said: 1T
was suggested Mr.. Husband, director
of immigration into the United States.
that the government reclaim some of
the ground in the west and put some
immigrants. who had a knowledge of
farming, out on this land. In this man
ner he thought that they would be
kept out of the cities. where they would
be of no use. This would be the most
dangerous thing which could happen.
do you know that if we did put for
eigners on land, that if We were to
put Chinese on the farms for instance,
within four generations our cities
woud be Chinese. Well, someone says,
What do | care what is here in four
generations to Gomez
81 tell you, l care what happens to
this country in four generations to
come and it IS gthe most important