Technological innovations such as the one portrayed here greatly increased the efficiency of the Bell Island operation. But in the turbulent world market place in which Bell Islanders had to sell their product, greater efficiency did not necessarily mean greater success. Thus the Depression of the 1930's dealt another blow to the Island economy. In 1931, as the economic situation facing the mines worsened, the Company leased some of its lands to its employees for agricultural purposes. By 1933 Bell Islanders were lining up for seed potatoes being distributed by the Company and by 1934 only one mine was operating on the Island. The beginning of rearmament in the later 1930's saw the return of prosperity once more and this was sustained by the Second World War.
