Show IDAHO POTATOES AND AGUE OF NATIONS the new york world of 0 april 1 carried a news story under the heading west is veering rapidly to league the opening paragraphs of the story state that hamilton holt and dr henry A atkinson executive secretary of the church peace union had bad just returned to now new york after making 36 speeches each in california colorado utah wyoming and other western states and they po P ported that that section 0 of tho the county country is in favor of 0 the united states getting into european affairs and eventually into the league of nations as a full participating member dr atkinson gave out an interview which the world quoted at some length from the worlds article wo we quote the following in idaho dr atkinson said he found an economics condition which might well have something to do with the change in senator boraas attitude regarding international affairs owing to the unsettled condition of european affairs he h C said the idaho farmers can find no foreign market for their potatoes one man told me that he has bags of potatoes in storage which j he cannot sell at a price that would rover the cost of handling the western farmers realize tl their cir prosperity depends on opening tho the markets of europe and they are ready to accept the league or any other international arrangements that will stabilize foreign conditions and improve their foreign trade the question now arises whether the idaho farmer was spoofing spooning fing dr atkinson or whether dr atkinson is ladling out taffy for simpletons simple tons one through the columns of the new york world in the course of his propaganda tor for the league of nations dr atkinson insists that the unsettled conditions of european af lairs has deprived the idaho farmers of a foreign market for their potatoes european affairs were pretty well settled in the five year period prior to the outbreak of the european war even dr atkinson would woul d have to admit that therefore it is fair to assume that during that period our exports of potatoes to europe were normal assuming this it is very interesting to note the tremendous market there was in europe for american potatoes in 1910 we exported 37 bushels of potatoes to europe belgium got 9 of these italy took 3 and the united kingdom took 25 we did a little better in 1911 our foreign potato business picked up that year we shipped to europe bushels some hungry family in the united kingdom took all but 3 bushels of them and those 3 went to the netherlands A bag of idaho I 1 potatoes contains about bushels so that our total exports of potatoes in 1911 would havo have taken nearly all the crop of the one idaho man mentioned by dr atkinson tk inson probably this great shipment of potatoes in 1911 got europe all fed up on american potatoes our bustness business slumped in 1912 to only 5 bushels england took all 6 5 of them although what in the world anybody could do with only 5 bushels of potatoes is more or less of a mystery however in 1913 we increased our potato business in europe per cent which was some increase as even dr atkinson will admit As a result of this increase we shipped 12 bushels of potatoes and again england gobbled all 12 of the bush 1015 up and did not leave a single prattle to the rest of hungry europe the outbreak of the european war irk in 1914 undoubtedly greatly handicapped our european potato market for that year we only exported 2 bushels buchol 3 of potatoes to europe somehow or other both of them managed to get into belgium whether this was before or after the german invasion a Is not clear the records of 0 tho the department of commerce do not state probably that is a matter which will always remain in doubt |