Evening star., 1923-01-03
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

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| that the Department of Agriculture
considered was increasing the acreage
and yield. Today there arc nlany
farmers who advocate cutting down
their acreage, purposely, and limiting
their yields. and holding back their
products from market. as they claim.
that they get more net profits from
reduced crops than from "bumper
crops"
Perhaps Mr.. Fall will answer that
that Is only from the selfish stand
point or the farmers, and not from
| the standpoint of the general well
rare OF the nation" but the advocates
OF crop control are ready with their
answer that farm prosperity today Is
SO essential to maintaining food pro
duction that 1t is the one vital con-
sideratlon for the material welfare
or the nation" and cannot be sepR-
rated from general material wei
rare. OF course, that argument
brings us right back TO the policy Of
initiating land supply just when farms
are already being abandDned for lack
| Of profitableness. The Department OF
Agriculture no longer stresses great
| er yield more than il does net profit
on what is produced, for it is now
known that farming, like any other
! line of manufacturing, is subject to
exactly the same economic laws as
high finance and steel production
values, and in this critical condition
of farm prosperity II is more i'm
portant to find way to make present
farm values stable than TO undermine
their stability and substitute a deser
with ditch for a farm with market
at hand. Still there arc land ex
plofters who do not agree with tina
conservative doctrine.
* 4 x
! In a bulletin just issued by the be
! partment of Agriculture it is stated
The era of free first-class land II
the United States is passed. Nearly
half the area of continental United
States is not in farms. OF this area
4o,ooo,ooo acres are absolutely desert
or too rugged to cultivate; 10000, 900
acres are occupied by forests and cut
over land, and COZ, 900, 600 acres are in
| the semi-arid west and suitable only
| for grazing
The above does not mean that the
| Department of Agriculture condemns
| all irrigation land as suitable only
| for grazing but it states that
| farmers will no longer be subjected
| to increasing competition of free
| homestead land. like the rich prairies
of the middle west opened TO settle
| ment a few years ago. New land now
| opened requires vast expense in irri-
| cation before it can be converted into
| productivity.
| x X x
Thousands of farms are being
| equipped with radios and the farmers
receive crop news, market reports
1 nd tn rf oil L ~
wireless. Arrangements are now be-
| ing made by the Department of Agri-
culture to exchange radio crop news
with Egypt and ali such data will be
| broadcasted promptly all over CONT
mental America for the benefit of the
farmers who listen-in. Every farmer
thus equipped al a cost OF from So
10 $3.50 will have the equivalent OF
a terminal of the Atlantic cable In
his home. Verify. farming is not
what it used to be.
= x :.
The United States Post Office subsidy
for 1921 was $751;. ST. 900: for 1922 the
subsidy was only s60,S15.o00 and for the
current year Postmaster General Work
thinks he can get along with a subsidy
of only about ss1 80. 900. Once upon
time mar came along who offered to
take the whole mail service in hand a
a private enterprise, and said he woulG
make a profit out of it. He was bluff
ing, probably.
x !; ::
Secretary of Labor Davis says: ''one
thing is clear as result of our expe
rience last year. The American people
are tired Of strikes. Public opinion will
not countenance any general suspension
Of work in any of the basic industries.
upon which all the people of the nation
are dependent in their daily life" What
are you going to do about it?
| Sh-h-h, Does he not know-has he
not heard-does he not comprehend that
there will be another coal strike April
/, 1923, unless-well. unless. 1t is open
ly threatened. Why. the world war
armistice is four years old and the ma
tions are still amending it, What can
we expect of the coal armistice less
than one year old? Now is the time to
| begin thinking of our coal bins for
1923-24. This summer temperature is
not guaranteed for next winter. oh, We
shorn lambs.