The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-10-02
Good Times for Farmers.

S. 4. X. Prime, Of Dwight. H.. n close
student OF the cOuntry's agricultural in
t%erests, is stopping at the Imperial Hotel,
says yesterdays New York sun. lie was
visited yesterday by a reporter for the
Sun. and in answer TO the question, "Ntll
you give 10 the readers OF the Sun some
general idea OF the crop outcome OF the
present season and what you think its
present and future effect ugOn the coun-
try at large will be-" he said:
The country did not need big crops oil
corn. wheat. or pats this season. ana so
far they AVE not been gathered, and there
is no prospect that they Will be. The crop
year of 1897 started I'm with the largest
reserves OF corn ever known in our his
tory. This showed. in the lirst place.
that the farmers not driven 90 poverty 10y
the low prices. but had such faith IN tbeiT
work that they would hold oh until doOn,s-
day before they sold their produces at
such low prices as have prevailed icr the
last two years. on fhs other hand. TIE
reserves OF both winter and spring wheat
had been exhausted 10 just exactly the
opp0sit condition, namely. they were eX-
hausted. Millers all over the wlitcr
wheat belt had been driven to rgain
centrs for thier supplies from the q. Ing
of 1896 until the opening of the present
harvest. Consequently when the c'OD CT
wheat came on the market there was o
great demand for II.
But millers. like everybody else directly
or Indirectly II tc.eefed In the cO~l-umpt.In
and manufacture Of the crop. thought
they would get the new wheat AT ola
prices, and consequently never stocked
up with wheat at harvest and have not
10 this day. In the meantime prices ad-
vanced and another fact developed. That
was that tho world was short OF wheat
and the conclusion Is that the farmers
are now getting in nearly all the winte
wheat States and will get in the spring
wheat States as mach for one bushel Of
wheat iO-Gty a they got for 30 she's
a year ago. That Is what is making the
present prosperity I'm our country. giving
the railroads all they can do night ana
day and keeping our merchants busy;
simply a direct outcome OF the law or
supply and demand. and. thanks 10 no
man. no special legislation and no party.
AS to tho corn crop. il is coming out
lust exactly the way ] hoped 10 see II
about 120 days ago, n that was a crop
which would answer the local wants or
the community where IL was grown, give
them a small surplus to feed, and a still
smaller surplus 10 sell. We were en-
barrassed at the opening Of the corn
season with immense surpluses. Probably
there was more corn on hand on the lst
OF April. 1897. thar at any previous date
in the history or the country. and had
we made another crop as big az the crops
Of 1895 and 1896 the present crop would
have been hardly worth lprning.
9TH present corn crop will probably
mature by the 18th or the 10Th OF Septem-
Der. 7 am not much for figures. as l DO
not claim to be a statistician. but from
my past experience ! should say that we
would make this year " nfteen
hundred and seventeen hundred million
bushels Of corn. The country Will never
know one way or the other as 10 It's ERECT
upon the business interests whether we
make the larger hgure or the smaller.
six months ago the Sun published a
statement OF mine OF the excellent condi-
ton in which the farmers were at That
time. Time has proved the correctness
Of the assertion. for the figures have
shown that while our great trade centres
were complaining OF duh times, farmers
were exercising strict economy and paving
of their indebtedness; and do not hes
itate 10 say now that they have never
owed less or had more good stun on hand
10 buy not only what they need from
dav 10 day but also 20 invest In Injuries.
Furthermore. 7 do rot think that tHe
country at large or even It's great bust
ness interests have the slightest concep-
ton OF what this year Of average crops
with rood fair remuneratlve prices means
10 US I'm every legitimate avenue and walk
~ life"