THE PRICE OF FOOD.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10023, 20 April 1910, Page 4

THE PRICE OF FOOD.

—' "A generally-accepted explanation," says the National Review, "is that the demand exceeds the supply, and that production has nnt kept pace with consumption. Until recently the United States was able to claim that its people were fed cheaper than those of any other peopl in the wo.ld. That is no longer true, and unless something is done to restore the balance one of two things must happen. Either the United States will no longer possess the advantage that it once had, cheap and abundant food, or else there must be a readjustment ofjthe American [standard of living. The American working man will no longer be able to have meat on his table three times a day, butter will be a luxary, and he will have to live principally on bread and vegetables. There is a remedy, however, which wili doubtless be applied under the stress of necessity. The American farmer is the most wasteful, the most thriftless, the most unscientific tiller of the soil to be found anywhere in the world. He plays with his farm instead of working it; he merely scratches the soil instead of going deep into the earth. He is content with a yield half that produced by j an English farm. Nowhere can be I found finer agricultural machinery than on an American farm, but the American farmer doesn't know how to use it to the best advantage. The good times of the last few years and ! the high price of meats, cereals, eggs, and vegetables have done incalculable harm to the farmer* and the country; the damage has been greater than years of drought and, bad harvests. Money has come too easy to tne farmer, and the richer he became the lazier he grew; the more money the farmer made the greater his desire for automobiles and city life. President Taft, Secretary Wilson, and other authorities have told us that the increase of farm acreage has not kept pace with the increase of population, which easily explains high prices. The farm lands , of the United States are not exhaus- i ted; there aie millions of acres wait- ' ing to be brought under cultivation, j but so long as the farmer can make a , handsome living under present con- ] ditions he sees no reason why he j s should increase his responsibilities ' J or add to his labours." ),