Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1922-04-06
FEARS
BASED On FACTS
Secretary of Agriculture Outlines
Dangers That Confront Y. S.
in Farm Situation
Believes National LEGISLATION Is
Needed and Help of Country
is Imperative
Bv Henry C. Wallace
By Henry C. Wallace


Editors Note-Henry C.. Wallace
secretary of agriculture, is in a po-
sition no other human being can oc-
cupy, the executive head of the gov
ernment's vast activities in and fer
the farming industry. He senses
the cause Of much Of our trouble and
offers a series of suggestions that
may help clear up an ever darkening
situation.
Most of the epoch-making machin-
cry, the pillow, the corn planter, the
two horse cultivator, the mower, the
reaper and the steam thresher were
invented prior to the Civil War, but
it was not until after 1860 that these
implements came into wide use. They
were especially adapted to the great
prairie country where the farmer
icould turn a furrow straight away for
a mile or more. With the wooden
pillow, the sickle, and the fail a weeks
labor Of one man was required to pro-
|
of land. With the improved imple-
ments the same amount Of wheat
could be produced on the same amount
| Of land IN one and one-half days. Bet
ter machinery and larger teams null
tiplied man labor by four.
The increase in the domestic and
| foreign demands for food was one of
! the most important factors in slim
ulating agricultural production. Our
urban population in 1860 stood at Is
per cent of the total; by 1906 it had
risen to 40 per cent of the total.
Cheap food and cheap transportation
greatly stimulated our industries and
also gave us access to foreign mar
kets, more especially the countries of
western Europe filled with large in
dustrial centers. The improvements
in transportation and the cheapness
Of our foodstuffs opened to US the
markets of the world
AS a result Of this extraordinary
combination of forces the production
of crops per capita Of agricultural
workers was increased by about So
per cent, and production per capita
Of total population increased about 80
per cent. We became the largest
surplus producing country in the
world
The Trouble Starts
Naturally such conditions made for
an extensive type of agriculture. The
richest large body of land in the
world was either free or very cheap
and the best farm machinery in the
world was to be had. Labor was not
plentiful, therefore, the tendency for
the individual to cultivate the maxi
mum acreage and lean toward a one
crop system which did not give the
greatest yields per acre but which
did result in the highest yield per
man.
Early in the twentieth century it
became evident the tide was turning
IN agricultural production as related
to domestic consumption. Our per
capita production was showing I'm
mistakable signs of decline. City
population was increasing far more
rapidly than rural population. In the
twenty years following 1900 urban
and village population increased by
26,6O0,OOO while rural population in
creased but 100000. In 1900 urban
and village population was AS per
cent Of the total in 1920 it was six
ty per cent. During the ten years
of the North had increased in popula-
ton by % per cent while the increase
in the open country in the same re-
gion was but Is per cent.
Rivals Appear
With the coming of peace and the
inevitable period of reconstruction,
the unusual foreign demand for our
agricultural products subsidized. The
seas were opened and South America
and Australia, which had been bot
tied up, were able to deliver their
accumulated surplus. For year and
a half American agriculture has been
undergoing a very serious depression
due to the production of more food
stuffs than we can use ourselves and
more than we can sell at fair price.
Farm crops have been selling for
very much less than the actual cost
of production and very much below
1.-THE prices which prevailed during the
five preceding war years; also they
have been selling for very much less
relatively than other basic commodi-
ties. That is but another way Of say
/ ing that the wages of farmers are
far lower now than the wages of any
other group. This has resulted in a
condition, which if continued, will
within a relatively short time, i'm
pose heavy burden upon domestic
consumers. The farmer cannot con-
tinue to produce at loss. Decreased