The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-16
49, m 5Tsns. EXPOSITION.
[ z(x41>J Prosperity the West How Be
SzySC a Omah Next
Trans
Mississippi

copyrighted, 1898, by Frank G. Carpenter.)
IS OMAHA, Jan. 13.-The trans Missis-
sippi exposition which is to open here
in June will show a development of our
Western country which will be a sur
prise to the rest of the United States.
During the last two months l have
visited all the big cities between Bos-
ton and Denver and I find more money
and push in the West than ever be-
fore There is undoubtedly revival of
business. The hotels are full every
where ! find it hard to get good &C
commodations on the sleeping cars,
and the army of commercial travellers
is greater than ever before. L was told
in St Paul that the jobbers there had
never done so much business as they
are now doing. The Chicago merchants
are expecting a heavy spring trade,
and at Omaha, Denver and Kansas
City 1 have found the people alive and
most of them making money. The ba-
sis of the prosperity has been the big
crops Here in Nebraska Senator
Charles F. Henderson tells me 50, 100000
bushels of wheat were produced last
year, and the corn crop now on hand
bushels Senator Henderson says that
the agricultural products of this state
last year will foot up something like
$500 goo, 600, or capital value of about
$500 per family. In this he includes
the packing products, of which there
is an enormous amount in Nebraska.
He tells me that the farmers are learn
ing how to use their crops. They do
not sell their corn, as they did in the
past, but manufacture it into pork by
feeding it. so that they get big price
per bushel for it. I was told in Denver
that the banks had more money than
they knew what to do with. Senator
Henderson says that the bank deposits
here in Omaha will approximate $780,
600 600, and l learn that a similar con-
dition exists in Minneapolis and st.
Paul.
Until within a few years the West
has relied on its con, wheat and meat
to pay the greater part Of its expenses.
Now the farmers ere diversifying their
crops An immense amount of money
is going into sugar beets in Nebraska,
Utah and Colorado. There is a sugar
factory at Grand Island and another
at Norfolk, in this state, which are
producing thousands of tons of sugar
every year. Claus Spreckles has estab-
lished immense ia ctorles in California,
and the sugar makers believe that the
day will soon come when we will make
out of beets the 500, 900, 600 worth of
sugar which we now import from other
countries. l am told that we have bet
ter land for raising such sugar than
can be found in Europe, and that fac
tories will soon be esta blished in MANY
parts of the United States. The beet
sugar industry will be shown at the
exposition. Another industry which
promises to be worth much to Kansas
and Nebraska is the utilization of the
pith of the corn stalk for various man
ufacturing purposes. They are now
making pasteboard something like
lroleum out of this pith. 1t is used
for other things, and there are factories
which make from it packing to be
placed between the outer and inner
walls of our war vessels. This corn
stalk pith sucks up water like a sponge.
1t swells the moment the water touches
It, and Il hole made by a cannon bali
VIII be soon calked up by the swelling
produced by the water flowing in.
THE GREAT WEST.
l found Senator Henderson at the
general offices of the Burlington rail-
road. He is, you know in counsel for
this system west of the Missouri river
and he has [ do not know how MANY
thousands of miles of road under him
including connections with all great