Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-02-18
rm WEALTH OF An Aon1cu1ruaAn STATE.

| ZEE WEALTH U An AGRICULTURAL bIAIE
| Kansas is an agricultural state. It has nc
gold or silver, no iron, and Just coal enough
to furnish fuel Il is tire farmers and
stockmen's state. Its development simply
shows what good old Mother Earth, when in
says Cotton, sis the most certain source OF
strength, wealth and independence; COM
/ merce, in all emergencies, looks to agricul-
ture both for defense and for supply" The
growth and prosperity of Kansas afford
striking illustration of what intelligent
farmers, with a productive soil and genial
climate for their workshop, can accomplish
what wealth they can create, what enter
prise they can stimulate.
1t is difficult, however, to comprehend
what the figures ! have given, showing the
amounts and values of Kansas products,
really represent. When We read that Kan
sas produced, last year, 194, 900 bushels
OF corn, the nine figures set down do not
convey any adequate idea Of the bulk and
that the corn crop of Kansas for 1885 would
fill 4s5, 900 freight cars, and load train
2,847 miles long-reaching from Ogden,
Utah, to Boston-we begin to comprehend
what the figures stand for.
The wheat crop of the state last year, was
called failure. It was, for Kansas. And
yet it would fill 81 $50 grain cars and load
train lS9miles in length. The oats crop of
the state, for the same year, would fill H.
go cars, and load train EGO miles long;
while the hay crop would load 76S,54 cars,
making train 4,5l0 miles long.
These four crops of Kansas, for 1885, would
fill ,329, SOS grain cars, and load q train
1904 miles in length: In other words, the
corn, wheat, oats and hay produced in Kansas
last year would load train reaching from
Boston to San Francisco by the Union Pacific
route, and back again from San Francisco
to Boston by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe route.
COMPARATIVE VALUES.
In speaking of the value of the farm crops
and farm products of Kansas, l can present
O clearer idea of the wealth our farmers have
dug out of the earth by some comparisons
In 1881 the products of all the gold and sill
yer mines of the United States aggregated
only 81, 1OO,OO for 1882 they aggregated
SIS, 800 600; for 1883 Sc, 200 600; and for 1884
I9,6OO,OO-making total, for those four
years, of $312, SOO, 900. The value of the
field crops of Kansas for the same wears.
aggregated S411 ,092, 49s; and the farm prod
ucts OF the state for the same period, aggre-
gated in value 1885,, 039, S94-or very nearly
double the aggregate of all the gold and
silver products of all the mines of the
country.
The gold and silver products of the world
average about sos, COO 600 per annum. The
farm products of Kansas for 1885 aggregated
:lf5,5U, OlS, or nearly three fourths the
value of the gold and silver products of the
world.
For the PAST four years the farm products
OF Kansas have aggregated in valuo each
year more than double the annual yield of
III the gold and silver mines of the United
States.
The gold and silver products of Colorado,
for 1883, aggregated only $40, 25O, 900; those
OF California, Sl6,GOO.OOo; of Nevada, So
100000: of Montana, $9,I7O,OOO; of Utah,
S6,920, 900; of Arizona, SIS, $50, 600: and of
New Mexico, s., 800 900. The corn crop of
Kansas for the same year was alone worth
moro money than the combined gold and
silver products of Colorado, California and
Nevada; the oat crop of Kansas was worth
$4,000 more than the gold and silver pro-
of Kansas was worth more than the gold and
silver product of New Mexico.
PROPERTY VALUATIONS.
The property valuations of Kansas have
increased In steady proportion with the
growth of the state in population and pro
auctions. In lSG0 the true valuation of all
the property in the state was estimated at
SIS, 327 ,S91; in 1865 it was estimated at S72.-
252, $50: in 1870 it had increased to S188, 892,
OLA; In 1875 to $42, 555, S62; in 1880 to $321,-
7o3,33S and for 1885 the true valuation, at Il
very moderate estimate, was $3.50, 100000.
The following table presents the assessed
the years mentioned, and also the assessed
of all the real, personal and rail-
road property. 1t will be seen that the in
crease in the total assessed values from 1865
10 1875 was $S5, 4334, 344, while from 1875 to
1885 it was $127, 3OO,92s.