536 APPENDIX 



able, by economics in administration, operation and cost of 

 distribution, to keep their prices down substantially to the 

 level of ten years ago. 



"Furthermore, by these same economics, these concerns 

 are year by year increasing their sales in foreign lands, off- 

 setting in great measure the loss in our exports of food- 

 stuffs, which are rapidly diminishing to the vanishing point. 



"No more accurate measure of fundamental prosperity 

 can be found than that an individual or a nation produces 

 and sells more than he or it buys that the aggregate of all 

 transactions results in bringing money in, rather than paying 

 money out; and here occurs another sharp and significant 

 contrast between the products of agriculture and those of 

 mining and manufacture. 



"In 1899 we produced more than three and one half 

 billion bushels of corn, wheat, rye, oats and barley, and, in- 

 cluding flour and cornmeal, we exported something more 

 than four hundred and seventy millions bushel. 



"In 1909 we produced more than four and one half billion 

 bushels of these cereals, but our exports had dropped to less 

 than one hundred and thirty-four million bushels. 



" In other words, our exports of these products of the farm 

 in 1899 exceeded those of 1909 by 251 per cent. 



"Our exports of beef and its products for 1899 exceeded 

 those of 1909 by 72 per cent., and the exports of the products 

 of pork in 1899 exceeded those of 1909 by 89 per cent. 



"Coincident with this falling off in our agricultural ex- 

 ports we imported in 1909 no less than 8,384,000 bushels 

 of potatoes, 3,355,000 bushels of beans and dried peas, and 

 6,667,000 bushels of oats; and during the latter part of 

 January of this year, notwithstanding a duty of 25 cents a 

 bushel, we came within one half of 1 cent per bushel of im- 

 porting wheat from England. 



"The increase in corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, potatoes, 

 hay, buckwheat, flaxseed, rice, and cotton for 1909, over 

 1899, is as follows: 



Acreage 23 per cent. 



Production 36 per cent. 



Consumption 60 per cent. 



"In this economic evolution we are not following an un- 

 trodden path. Other nations have been confronted with 

 the same great question, 'How shall we be fed and where- 



