Business Problems of the War (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917. Excerpt: ... BUSINESS PROBLEMS OF THE WAR DIVERSIFY, FERTILIZE, MOTORIZE, I HE nation awaits the solution of the food prob lem. That there is a problem is evidenced by the existence of a most unusual condition wherein, with the world clamoring for a larger food supply and paying record high prices, the producers hesitate to increase their yield greatly, through fear that increased production will penalize and maybe ruin the producers. They have visions of glutted markets. The Government's food-control commission, headed by Herbert C. Hoover, is the center of attention, and the public apparently expects it to come forth with a brief announcement or decision that will assure food in plenty and at low prices. In my opinion there will be nothing sensational or especially radical in the program that the commission will finally adopt. The seat of the trouble is neither at the producing nor the consuming end of the matter, but with the distribution thereof. A common-sense readjustment of the nation's distributing system is needed in order to assure a market, at a profit, for everything perishable that the farmers can raise. The producers must be assured against continuation of a condition wherein every year sees thousands of SPECIALIZE From The Saturday Evening Post bushels of apples rot under the trees and thousands of bushels of potatoes decay in the pits--because there is neither a ready market for them of which the producers are aware, nor adequate means of storing them up for some future use. It is necessary that we bring order out of the chaos which now rules the business of growing and distributing perishable food. This chaos is chiefly apparent in the lack of knowledge accompanying the planting and the distributing of crops. There is need that the farmers of the nati...