Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1897-10-09

Being unable to deny that prosperity
has come again upon the country, the
Popocrat statesmen and organs with
one accord are loudly proclabming that
1t Is all due to the failure Of the foreign
wheat crop. The growers of wheat,
they say, are prospecting, but other
wealth producers are getting no bene-
Ats There Is a great deal of difference,
however, between mere assertion and
we'll authenticated fact. There is
abundant evidence on every hand that
all classes Of the people, including
wealth producers of every description,
are sharing in the new prosperity. The
failure of the foreign wheat crop could
not start hundreds of idle shops and
factories to operating and give employ
ment to hundreds of thousands of idle
workIngmen. The failure of the foreign
wheat crop would not suffice to stimu-
late all lines of business and produce
a feeling of confidence and security
among investors and merchants
throughout the country.
The failure of the foreign wheat crop
would not quicken the domestic wool
trade. the leather trade, the trade in
print cloths and sheetings, the tin, cop
per and iron trade, the beef, pork and
lard trade, the trade in petroleum,
glass, lead, cottonseed oil, lumber, pa
per, brick, coal, salt, hay, hemp, pota-
toes, corn, barley, rye. butter, eggs and
fruit. According to Bradstreet's, which
has kept a record of the business done
in all lines for the last four years, the
trade in all these commodities and
scores of others has rapidly increased
since July-the month in which the Re
publican tariff was enacted.
Regarding the stories of Western
farmers paying off their mortgages in
such enormous amounts, the Orange
Judd Farmer has made careful inQui-
ries and says that while it finds the
newspaper statements somewhat eX-
aggerated, there is unquestionably an
immense amount of liquidation going
on. During the past few years the
farmers have practiced such economy
that the marked improvement in wheat
and other prices has wonderfully i'm
proved their financial condition. One
great incentive to pay off old mort
cages is the lower interest rates at
which new loans can be obtained.
Causes Of Good Times.
Advocates Of the theory that the revival
OF business throughout the country In due
to the wheat crop instead of the tariff
found something to ponder over In tho
trade reports of Dun and Bradstreot's
for last week. From these 1t appears tina t
the farmers have not yet marketed one
tenth of their wheat, but are holding 1t for
the higher price which the foreign demand
implies. Hence 30 per cent Of the cash
returns already credited to them In Dem
ocratic estimates has not yet gone into
American circulation, and cannot posi-
bly, have caused or influenced the general
reopening of iron, steel, rubber and tex
tile Industries and the increase in the pro-
fits of all private business which have
been in evidence since July. The special
points of interest aside from this In the
trade reports are: An increase since one
year ago Of "a per cent in the employ
ment of members of trade unions; a gain
OF II per cent in one month in the output
of pig iron, implying an increased con-
sumption of 100, 900 tons; a rise of 5 cents
in the price OF wheat: an advance for Au-
gust in prices Of more than 100 staple
farm and manufactured articles Of 3.4
per cent, following a 81 per cent advance
in July, and a marked decrease in failures.
both in number and the average amount
of liabilities In this chapter the tariff
plays a leading partisan Francisco
Chronicle.
No Time for Cracking.
The propensity Of the calamity bowler
to emphasize the dark side of life, will find
little encouragement by contrasting the
present condition and prospects of the
American people with those Of the rest of
the world. For such a comparison will re-
veal the fact that we are vastly better off