WHAT SHOULD THE NATION PRODUCE? 73 



in our commerce and industry, as for example the raw material 

 for making binder twine, the probability of having the supply 

 cut off in times of war should be carefully considered, and, if 

 the case be serious enough to justify the action, the production 

 of substitutes should be stimulated, or great quantities held in 

 storage with which to meet emergencies. 



2. Other agricultural products which are now largely im- 

 ported could be produced in the United States in great abun- 

 dance, but the natural conditions for their production are rela- 

 tively less favorable than in foreign countries. Hemp, jute, 

 and lemons may be given as examples. If world peace can be 

 assured as a condition of a world economy, articles of this class 

 may well be brought from abroad ; but if peace is very uncertain, 

 the necessities in this class may better be produced at home at 

 a greater cost. 



3. Some of our agricultural imports could be produced in 

 the United States in quantities sufficient to take the place of 

 the imported supply, and the natural conditions are as favorable 

 for their growth in this country as in foreign countries, and yet 

 it is profitable in times of world peace to import them from 

 abroad rather than produce the whole supply at home. This 

 may be true (a) because the land which is well suited for the 

 production of a given imported crop can be used more profitably 

 in the production of some other crop which does not thrive in 

 the foreign country from which we import. (6) Again, this 

 may be true because labor and capital are more abundant and 

 wages and interest are lower in the foreign competing country. 

 The sugar beet may be taken as an example of a crop which 

 thrives as well in parts of the United States as in Europe and 

 which cannot be produced with profit in the United States 

 without a bounty or a protective tariff. Both of the above 

 conditions are operative in making beets unprofitable in parts 

 of the United States. There are large areas with suitable soil 

 and climate for the production of beets where corn or tobacco 

 are competing crops. These crops do not compete in the beet 

 regions of northwestern Europe. Hence, under free competitive 

 conditions, it pays better to import sugar than to produce it 



