The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1947-01-16

in the neighborhood of about 40
acres. Of that forty acres of land
that each would get only about
| fifteen acres is capable of grow
ing anything. So we see that our
entire future rests on the care that
is taken of that fifteen acres; for
man is a land animal and from the
land he sustains himself. He can
go into the air in a plane, out to
sea in ship, and he even bur-
rows under the land looking for
things but sooner or later he must
| return to the surface of land to
fill his fuel tanks and to get more
to eat. =E
| It's known fact that we here in
the United States are better off
on the average than any other
country of any size in the world
but that just didn't happen that
way. There is a definite reason and
as long as we know that reason
and keep that reason, we will con-
tinue to be the best off, but if we
lose sight, then we will be no bet
ter than the most destitute coun-
try there is.
| AS I said before the world
! around average is for every one
to have Is acres of productive land
to support him, to give him food,
clothes, and the necessities of life.
However in China where there is
only about an acre to each person
you can see that the standard of
living is very low and they get
along on much less than we think
now that we could possibly do.
In the Nile Valley there is only
about four fifthS of an acre to the
individual and there too, you can
see that they are even worse off
than the Chinese. - =
It isn't because there never was
any productive land in China or
the Nile because at one time in
this worlds history they were CEN
tiers of culture and civilization, and
it is no coincidence that at the
same time they controlled more
of the producing land and had
enough to 60 around. However,
they lost sight of the reason they
were powerful, or they never knew
but, at any rate, they let their
the rivers, blow out into the o.
ceans, and good land be laid waste
by wrong methods, and the first
thing they knew their civilization
was on the decline until some
cases where it even became ex-
tinct.
Archeologists digging in the
sands OF the dessert of Africa find
evidences of huge vineyards and
orchards that once thrived and
now there isn't water for hun
dreds of miles. So those people
that were once supported by those
fertile acres laid waste, had to Ell
Their move in and crowd their
neighbors little more or perish
from the lack of support. That
kept happening until there was
just little piece for each man
and as the pieces got hitler their
standard of living got lower until
IN some cases it is what it is today.
Our top soil is very thin and if
it were to be represented on. a
globe "a" in circumference it
would be q film about one mill.
ionth of an inch thick and it takes
nature on the average of about 100
years to add one inch Of top soil
to this country. So any thing that
comes that slow cannot afford to
be wasted.
So let's take care of our farm
lands. Let's cover crop and keep
the wind from blowing the top
soil away, Control our water and
keep the good part of our land
from moving down the Columbia,
and we here in the US will con-
tinue to be as well off as the next
one but if we don't our future has
already been settled by what has
happened to other nations.