74 THE LAND AND ITS PROBLEMS 



and that the farmer should be guaranteed against any loss 

 he might incur in meeting the nation's need. 



For the first time in our history it was officially recog- 

 nized that the agricultural producer could not be expected 

 to produce needed food at a loss ; and as a corollary, 

 that if, in the interests of national defence, it was necessary 

 to secure the production of certain crops at home, special 

 arrangements would have to be made with the farmer. 

 Otherwise, on business principles, lie would produce 

 the crops which paid him best, without regard to the 

 national point of view. 



This in no way implies want of patriotism on the part 

 of the farmer. During the war the farming class was 

 as patriotic as any other, and certainly never profiteered 

 in the way that other sections of the community did. 

 In fact the farmer had little chance of doing so ; for 

 there is no doubt that Government control affected 

 him more adversely than it did most producers. And 

 more than once it debarred him from receiving the 

 current world price for his commodities. Yet over and 

 over again the profiteering of the distributor has 

 been charged against the producer — another result 

 of the ignorance of the urban consumer ! 



Under the Asquithian regime it was quite impossible 

 to induce the Government to consider seriously the 

 augmentation of home supplies, even though it was 

 abundantly clear that our dependence on sea-borne 

 food was an ever-increasing danger ; so that all credit 

 should be given to the Coalition, under Mr. Lloyd George, 

 for being the first English Government which has given 

 time and serious consideration to the question of how 

 best to increase the production of our land. Although 

 the war is over, and the danger of being starved out by the 

 enemy is removed for the present, increased production 



