Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1899-05-19
THE FARMERS HOME, MAR.
KET.

the mast three years has been remarkable. All
with whom I speak express establishment at the
great change which has taken place. In 1895
money in the West could not b. borrowed at
any price, and in the preceding years loans to
farmers for short periods frequently were made
at 1 per cent. per month, while for fixed periods
the rate was usually from 8 to 10 per cent. Now
any one with security can borrow at less than
8 per cent, while loans for fixed periods secured
on real estate are advertised at " per cent.
As an indication of the change which has oc-
curred,tI may mention that for many years a
certain state lent its school funds to the
authorities of tho various counties at 8 per
cent, and the counties made considerable pro-
fits by relending the money to individuals at
from 8 to 10 per cent. But the county authori-
ties cannot now use the money at 8 per cent,
and have decided to repay their loans.
. By almost every mail lenders receive notices
Of repayment of maturing loans; sometimes
even the loans are repaid in advance with inter-
est.
And the American Economist
says we recognize and are quite
ready to admit that the most re-
markable prosperity which Is now
being enjoyed by the farmers of
the country is due in part to their
large crops-that is to say, if they
had not had large crops they
would not have had laSge sales
and, therefore, would not have
taken in so much money. At the
same time we wish to call atten-
ton to the fact that large crops do
not, per Sc, mean such remarkable
prosperity as that whichis pictured
and accurately pictured, by this
Englishman, who is studying
financial and industrial conditions
in this country. Large crops do
not of necessity nor, as a rule,
mean good. prices. There have
been years Of large crops when it
has been more profitable to burn
corn for fuel than to sell it at pre-
vailing prices, and when the farm
ers Of the West have actually put
their corn to such use.
In seeking the reason for the
remarkable prosperity Of the pres
ent time we must look further
than the large crops. The most
remarkable feature of the whole
agricultural situation is that with
phenomenally large crops prices
have been good, high even, and
have yielded large returns to the
farmers both on capital invested
and on labor expended.
That this has been SO is due to
the Industrial prosperity which
the whole country is enjoying.
The farmers must have markets as
well as crops. The home market
is to an incalculable degree the
farmers best market, as it is that
of every other American producer.
With factories closed, with labor
ers idle. with business dull, the
demand for agricultural products
ia at the lowest ebb. It is true
that people must. eat, but there are
innumerable ways in which they
can economize; and the actua
facts show that in times Of indus
trial depression, such as are the
inevitable result of free-trade o.
of any approach to it, the people
do economic greatly, even in re
gard to articles offood. Prosperit,
would have been an impossibilit,
to the farmer had there not been
phenomenal industrial reviva
under the stimulating effects of
restored protective tariff. TIL
farmef:s large crops would hav
been but a source of annoyanc
and tantalization to him had thel
not been an army of consumer
among industrial workers able an
eager to buy those products.
protective tariff secures to Amer
can farmers the great America
market for the sale of their foe
products just as surely as it s
cures it to American manufactu
ers for the products Of their facto
les. The methods by which tn
is accomplished differ, but Il