Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-14
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

Throughout the whole world the
farm depression is acute. 1t is not
unique to America that farmers are
hoping their governments may in
some way find a profit for them in
the production of foodstuffs. The
whole situation is summed up by an
official of the Department of Agricul.
ture in the statement that during the
World War farming was suspended in
war.stricken countries. and to meet
the demand due to that suspension
new farm regions were developed, or
new energy put into crop production
in other regions, and after the war
the farmer-soldiers returned from
their battles and revived their own
crop productions with greater energy
than ever, while the newly developed
regions continued to produce, so that,
in short, the world is now producing
more than 1t Is consuming.
But the weakness of that explana-
ton appears in the cost of living,
the prices demanded for food, and
that is answered by the statement
that while industrialists are earning
such high wages, they are Indifferent
to the increased cost of food and pay
more attention to their own increa sed
demands for Injuries and comforts.
They demand more Service" from
the purveyor. For example, diaries
are now required to prepare butter
in Quarter-pound cartons, and fruit
erers must sell smaller lots of fruit
to meet the whims of housewives for
variety. The cost Of distribution
therefore, is increased. The farmers
in hiring labor must compete with
industrial wages, so, theoretically. it
costs more to produce than it did be-
fore the war, in the face of a proper
tionately decreased demand.
That last explanation must be modi.
fed, according to what crop is pro-
duced. 1t costs less to grow grain now
than ever, especially in the Winter
wheat regions of Kansas and adion-
ing States, because, within the last
three or four years, the Combine"
harvester has been introduced, where
it was unknown before. This machine
replaces some 20 farm hands. for.
operated with gasoline. it cuts a swath
IS to 20 feet wide. and threshes it in
the same operation, at the rate OF
more than 3 acres per hour. The
large machines average AIS acres a
day. No shocking of the wheat, no
hauling it to a thresher, no threshing
is needed after the combine" passes
through the field. Such a combine
machine was used in the Far West be.
fore the war but it was drawn by 20
horses and could not be used except
where the weather was assuredly dry
enough to permit all the grain to be-
come perfectly ripe before cutting.
The old story of the reduction of
hand labor from 4 hours per bushel
Of wheat down to 10 minutes per
bushel. within the last century, gets
another boost by this combine har.
vester-thresher.
X
But wheat is not the only bene-
ficiary of the improved methods of
agriculture--especia in America
through the use of machinery. A lee
turer Of the Department of Agricul.
ture, a few weeks ago. said that If we
assume that the 5000 years of known
agriculture were represented by
string so feet in length. l inch of that
string would represent the period
within which all machinery improve
ment has been introduced. That be.
ing the case. it would. perhaps, require
the expert of the Bureau of Standards.
who is able 10 dlVlde an men into MIL
lionths. if we get the measure of the
most important Improvement in cotton
production since the introduction of
that Yankee cotton GIN This later
Improvement consists in a machine
which picks cotton, replacing the hand
picking which was the only method up
to two or three years ago. This new
machine was made on a Southern
farm, and consists of box on wheels.
with long fingers" protruding ahead,
the slots between the fingers" mar
rowing as the head of the comb is
approached. The contemplating ma
chine is driven down the rows of cot
ton and the fingers strip off the rip
ened bolls. gathering also more or less
trash with the cotton, but the trash
is then winnowed out by machinery.
One such picker replaces scores of hu.
man pickers, and SO cotton raising is
on the brink of revolution.
X X X
In the wheat regions there is today
an oversupply of help for the harvest,
owing to the improved combine" har-
vester: in the cotton regions there
will be similar conditions as soon as