I* Before people can write books or make shoes
or build houses or teach school, they have to eat.
In 1780 it took 10 Americans on farms to raise
enough food to feed themselves and 1 other. Con
i' sequently only 1 American in 11 was able to quit
| farming and specialize full time in some other
I useful occupation.
2* Today, 10 American farmers can raise enough
to feedr themselves and 40 others. So 4 people in 5
are free to specialize in other useful occupations
that raise the whole nation’s standard of living
and productivity. The secret is mechanized farm
ing—with gasoline and Diesel-powered equipment.
3* For example, one of Union Oil’s customers
in Creston, Washington—Mr. J. L. Thayer—has
been raising wheat in that area since 1925. 25
W years ag0 ft to°k 26 horses and 4 men to operate
his acreage. Today he does the job with mecha
nized equipment and 2 men. Petroleum-powered
j equipment has doubled his productivity.
% OF PEOPLE '
NEEDED ON
FARMS TO FEED*
POPULATION
United States.. 1 in 5 WW0
Europe .......2in5 MOOd
China.. . v.t„4 in 5 KUO
World average.. 3 in 5 KtW
4* Ef mechanized farming in a country and
the development of its oil industry are directly
related —as the figures above would seem to in
dkate—bow do we account for America’s amaz
ing progress in oil? People used to think we were
peeub'arly blessed by nature with petroleum de
posits. But. geologists now know that less than
J.'N of the world’s areas favorable in oil-bearing
£&od>: lie within the borders of the U. S.
5* The truth is, we have found and developed
more of the oil nature gave us. Under our free,
competitive economy, 8,267 individual oil com
panies in this country have had the incentive
and the opportunity to find and develop it. This
hasn’t been true in the rest of the world where
the oil industries, for the most part, have oper
ated under what amounts to government or pri
vate monopolies.
6« Because so many companies are competing
for the farmer’s business, we at Union Oil have
been breaking our necks for years to bring him
more and better products at lower cost. And
every other company in the country has boon
doing the same. As a result, American agricul
ture has become mechanized at a pace that far
surpasses the rest of the world, and our standard
of living has risen right along with it.
VVIOV OIK COMPM¥
or t*IIIOBHU
INCORPORATED DN CALIFORNIA, OCTOBER 17, U090
This series, sponsored by the people of Union Oil Company, is dedicated to a
discussion of how and why American business functions. We hope you’ll feel
Jree to send in any suggestions or criticisms you have to offer. Write: The
President, Union Oil Company, Union Oil Building, Los Angeles 17, California.