Herbert Hoover to Joseph P. Tumulty
Title
Herbert Hoover to Joseph P. Tumulty
Creator
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964
Identifier
WWP19401
Date
1918 April 13
Description
Regarding producing food on government land, Herbert Hoover defers to the Department of Agriculture.
Source
Hoover-Wilson Correspondence, Hoover Institution, Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford, California
Publisher
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum
Subject
Food production and natural resources
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964--Correspondence
Language
English
Text
My dear Tumulty
With respect to the letter from Mr. Thomas D. Campbell, enclosed with your note of the 10th, while naturally, the Food Administration is in favor of any measures which will increase the total food supply, it seems to me that this particular case, which is one of productiononGovernmentland, is primarily a matter for the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior.
The expenditure of Government funds in the actual tilling of hitherto wild land, which may not reach its maximu productivity before the second or possibly third season, when so much other ladnd already adaptable for cultivation or actually farmed is not producing its maximum because of little or no finance, would hardly seem reasonable.
I do not mean to discourage Mr. Campbell’s plans for opening up this territory on his own account; in fact, any plan for the development of new agricultural areas by private enterprise should be given every possible encouragement, but I do not think that the President is called upon to set the precedent of expending Government funds for this purpose, unless the Department of Agriculture or the Department of Interior have decided to make actual farming on a commercial scale a part of their operations.
Faithfully yours,
[Herbert Hoover]
With respect to the letter from Mr. Thomas D. Campbell, enclosed with your note of the 10th, while naturally, the Food Administration is in favor of any measures which will increase the total food supply, it seems to me that this particular case, which is one of productiononGovernmentland, is primarily a matter for the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior.
The expenditure of Government funds in the actual tilling of hitherto wild land, which may not reach its maximu productivity before the second or possibly third season, when so much other ladnd already adaptable for cultivation or actually farmed is not producing its maximum because of little or no finance, would hardly seem reasonable.
I do not mean to discourage Mr. Campbell’s plans for opening up this territory on his own account; in fact, any plan for the development of new agricultural areas by private enterprise should be given every possible encouragement, but I do not think that the President is called upon to set the precedent of expending Government funds for this purpose, unless the Department of Agriculture or the Department of Interior have decided to make actual farming on a commercial scale a part of their operations.
Faithfully yours,
[Herbert Hoover]
Original Format
Letter
To
Tumulty, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), 1879-1954
Files
Citation
Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964, “Herbert Hoover to Joseph P. Tumulty,” 1918 April 13, WWP19401, Hoover Institute at Stanford University Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.