American Agriculturist, July 21,1923 
37 
Greatest Opportunity Lies in the East 
A Radio Talk Broadcast From WEAF on June 18 at 6.50 p.m. y Standard Time 
M UCH has been written and spoken 
within the past few years in re¬ 
gard to the disparaging circum¬ 
stances under which our farmers 
And themselves operating to-day. In some 
few' instances, the picture may have been 
overdrawn, but in the greater number the 
true facts were adhered to and the speakers 
have been actuated by sincere motives in try¬ 
ing to find a solution to a very discouraging 
situation, which had its birth in the post¬ 
war period and which seems to have ac¬ 
cepted the farmer as a bosom companion. 
Out of the maze of remedies and panaceas 
which have been offered there are bound to 
arise two or three general ideas of sound 
character which can be broadly applied to 
restore agriculture to its proper balance 
among the industries. 
It is certain that these remedies, to be as¬ 
sured of lasting success, will have to be 
predicated upon the operation of natural 
laws. Artificial schemes of adjustment, at 
the most, can only supply temporary relief 
and may in the end serve only to further 
disrupt the natural order of things and post¬ 
pone complete restoration. 
Our National Government has tried to 
bring some measure of relief to the farmer 
through legislation designed to increase his 
credit facilities. State governments have 
also legislated in his behalf, and the farmer 
himself has taken another hold and is at¬ 
tempting to better his position through coop¬ 
eration and joint marketing of farm produce. 
All of these agencies, and more, are hav¬ 
ing a good effect upon the situation and 
eventually, if they are based on sound eco¬ 
nomic principles, the operation of these in¬ 
fluences in our farm life will gradually 
bring the farmer into his own 
once more. 
In Pennsylvania, the last ses¬ 
sion of the General Assembly 
authorized the appointment of a 
Farm Commission to make a 
study of all phases of the Com¬ 
monwealths’ agricultural activ¬ 
ity, with a view to offering rec¬ 
ommendations for such legisla¬ 
tion as will most quickly allevi¬ 
ate the present depression. The 
farm labor scarcity, high wages 
required to get labor in competi¬ 
tion with nearby industries, the 
abandonment of large acreages 
and entire farms, the cheap 
price of farm products, heavy 
taxes on farm lands,, and other 
factors that hurt the farmer’s 
business and throw farming out 
of plumb with the other in¬ 
terests of the State, will be 
the subject of inquiry of this 
Commission. 
Other States also are becom¬ 
ing more interested in the farm¬ 
er’s business and are doing what 
they think will have the great¬ 
est stabilizing influence upon 
this basic industry arid assure 
the farmer of a reasonable 
profit on his products. 
While all these agencies are 
at work in behalf of the farmer, 
it might be well to look ahead 
■and take a glimpse at future 
prospects in our eastern agri¬ 
culture. Farmers in the East do 
not feel so keenly the slump in 
agricultural values as do those 
in the western country where 
an excessive inflation has in¬ 
creased the oppressiveness of a 
decrease in farm product prices. 
By FRANK P. WILLITS 
Secretary of the Pennsylvania State Department 
of Agriculture 
In the latter part of the nineteenth century, 
land values in the eastern section of the coun¬ 
try were almost twice as great, and in some 
cases even more, than the land values of our 
heavy producing middle western States. In 
1920, the tables were reversed, and in spite 
of the fact that there has been heavy de¬ 
flation since, in 1923, these same middle 
western States are still burdened with land 
valuations that are considerably higher, and 
in some cases, more than twice as high as 
those prevailing in Pennsylvania, New York 
and other eastern States. 
Farm land values in the East have risen, 
to be sure, and they have fallen since 1920, 
but the rise and fall has been normal and 
reasonably to be expected. Unlike the west¬ 
ern farmer, we are not faced with the added 
discouragements of heavy deflation, and we 
are not unduly burdened with an abnormally 
expanded land valuation, which takes a 
heavier toll from the farmer’s income. This 
augurs well for the future opportunities that 
exist in eastern farming. 
The East is further favored in its near¬ 
ness to the large consuming markets—mar¬ 
kets which offer a convenient outlet for the 
greater part of our farm produce and which 
will absorb all farm products that measure 
up to requirements. The comparatively 
short haul to these thickly-populated centers, 
and the quick transportation facilities avail¬ 
able, gives the East an advantage over those 
States which once offered considerable com¬ 
petition because of cheap land valuations. 
The reversal in the value of land in the 
respective sections of the country will also 
have a marked influence on our vacant farm 
situation in the East. With a gradual eco¬ 
nomic readjustment of the entire agricul¬ 
tural situation, many of these farms will, 
again be brought into our farming opera¬ 
tions and productivity increased. 
There are many difficulties in the way of 
the eastern farmer, which are much the same 
for him as for the farm producer in any 
other section of the country. But as soon as 
an adjustment has been made and the farmer 
has been assured of an adequate return on 
his investment, when agriculture returns to 
a normal position among the industries, the 
opportunities of eastern farming, with mar¬ 
kets close to the producing centers and with 
everything in his favor with respect to trans¬ 
portation requirements, should be well con¬ 
sidered by the farmer. 
First and foremost, the farmer is inter¬ 
ested in his financial income. Farming is 
not a matter of sentiment with him. It is. 
a business which requires all of his atten¬ 
tion, day in and day out. As a business it 
should be the object of as much study and 
foresighted planning as is the store, the 
factory or the mill. Keeping accurate ac¬ 
count of farm operations is no longer con¬ 
sidered as a fad of the few. It is essentially 
a part and parcel of present-day farming; 
just as much as the automobile has become 
an indispensable unit in the commercial ac¬ 
tivity of the day. 
This explains why cooperative marketing 
is gaining in prominence among producers,' 
particularly in the distribution of specific 
farm commodities. It represents the applica¬ 
tion of business practice to the sale of a 
product, a study of the market for that prod¬ 
uct and the shortest way to that 
market. The old hit-or-miss 
methods of disposing of farm 
produce, dumping on the market 
as soon as harvested, with no 
thought of meeting market de¬ 
mand as to grade and with no 
knowledge of the market con¬ 
ditions, must be relegated to the 
past to keep company with the 
ox-team, the tallow dip, the flail 
and all other symbols of the old 
order. 
Times and methods have 
changed and will continue to 
change. If our farmers in the 
East expect to take fullest ad¬ 
vantage of the opportunities 
presented to them, they must 
keep abreast of the times. He 
must see that his product is 
graded and standardized to -con¬ 
form to the demand of the buy¬ 
ing public. He will do well to 
find out in what way he ban 
cater to the peculiar demands of 
the market nearest his farm, for 
that means less transportation. 
He must arrange in some way, 
perhaps through cooperation 
with his neighbors, to send his 
product by the most direct route 
to the consumer, thus reducing 
the spread between the price he 
receives and the price paid by 
the consumer. Further, he 
should study his business with 
an eye to cutting down burden¬ 
some overhead and removing the 
causes of waste, energy and ex¬ 
pense. Thus, he can do his part 
in bringing farming back to its 
true position, and he will pre¬ 
pare himself for the opportuni¬ 
ties that are his for the asking. 
PROHIBITION BALLOT 
OF THE 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
Are You for the Strict Enforcement of the j 1 YES 
18th Amendment as It Now Stands ? NO 
Are You for a Modification of the 18th | j yes 
Amendment to Permit Light Wines_ 
and Beer ? I—i 
Designate your opinion by placing an X in the square opposite 'ies or 
No on each question. Sign your name and address. Your name will be 
kept strictly confidential. ( 
Name, 
Address, 
Why You Should Vote 
Do the American people want prohibition? The Wets emphatically say 
“No” and the Drys are even more emphatically for it. Both sides claim 
a majority. Which is right? What do farm people think about it? The 
opinions of farmers on any problem, if they will express them, go far in 
determining the outcome of a controversy. 
American Agriculturist is taking a vote of farm families on the ques¬ 
tion of prohibition. It is a vital issue and whether you are for it or 
against it, be sure to vote in the spaces above. Mail this ballot to the 
American Agriculturist, 461 Fourth Avenue, New \ork City. 
Get your friends to vote—Mere ballots furnished on application 
