The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-27


ers. He then told of his first trip through
the valley thirty years ago when there
were only three houses In the Red River
valley between Fort Abercrombie and
Pembina, recalled how the land was re-
garded as unfit for cultivation and COM
pared the present conditions Of unequaled
fertility and the magnificent evidences of
prosperity everywhere. The necessity Of
raising hogs and cattle to rest and inn
prove the land and to diversity the crops.
the advantage of pure bred stock and
other points were briefly touched upon.
Mr.. Hill stated that the Great Northern
had carried fifty thousand more cattle
from Minot to st. Paul than from the
whole stretch of country from Minot to
the Pacific coast. The number of hogs
hauled by his line through this state had
trebled In five years. MANY similar facts
where brought out to show the rapid
progress of this section of the Northwest.
The Red river valley, Mr.. Hill predicted.
would remain the wheat granary Of the
world. The land was increasing annually
in value, and immigration was attra cted
from the states south and east, and prices
were advancing.
Mr.. Hill then took up his theory of
markets. The value of the commodities
raised here was, he asserted, dependent
on the price obtained. The population was
doubling itself every thirty years. All the
people could not be professional men The
agricultural population was equal to all
the rest. When the country needed them
they always responded, and he hoped
there would never be a time when the
country was not broad in the intelligence
OF its agricultural population The coun-
try, as whole, was better off when the
agricultural classes We're prospering AS
the population was Increasing more lands
must be cultivated and increased returns
would result. What would become of the
commodity and where would a market
be found for it? Great Britain raises only
enough wheat to supply the country one
fourth of the time, and buys from go to
70 per cent of wheat this country has to
sell, and is the only country where there
IS no tariff on our breadstuffs Other
countries had hostile legislation, leaving
only one good customer. More were need
ed.
WORLDS WHEAT.
The wheat product of the world is about
25, ,000, 600 bushels, said Mr. HILL de-
yveloping his argument. About one-third
the population of the world eats wheat
bread. About a thousand million people
never eat any wheat. In small way the
people of China and Japan have begun
to buy our floor, enough being sold in the
two countries to equal 100000 bushels of
wheat, but there had been trouble to get
vessels to carry one-fourth of the amount
the Northwestern millers had orders for.
The people of the Orient could only obtain
enough flour for pastry, and had not
enough to supply the demand, leaving no
opportunity to work up increased trade.
If each Chinaman would only take one
bushel Of wheat in year that would
create a market for 400, ,Go0, 600 bushels He
had been asked how the Cinnamon, liy-
ing so cheaply, could afford to pay for
our flour. If each Chinaman would spend
only a cent day it would take s400, 600, ,0OC
to pay the bill, or nearly s1,5O0,0 900 q
year. There was a market capable of ex-
pansion; the world was growing; the peo-
pie We're improving, and Americans must
keep up with the procession. There was
nothing necessary to give the Northwest
the benefit of this Eastern market except
to procure means, to transport the pro-
ducts at a fair price. Last year American
ships did not carry quite l per cent of
that trade.
The farmer in this country has 10 send
his breadstuffs out into the markets of
the world in competition with the grain
goowers Of Australia and Russia. The
export surplus made the price, always
had and always would. II the grain could
be shipped from North Dakota to Liver
pool absolutely free, in less than twelve
months the Liverpool price would be what
1t is in North Dakota. The buyers would
get the wheat cheaper and the farmer
would get no increased price. Other
means must be taken to raise the price
of grain. We must make it scarce, must
| make other people anxious to buy 1t and
| eat it, and that will advance the price. In
1897 100000 600 .bushel shortage raised the
price 20 cents per bushel now
that there was an excess of 10, ,000, ,O00 BUSH
els the buyer knew there was enough, and
the price was kept down.
WIDER MARKETS.
Two years ago, Mr.sHll stated, he had
begun to investigate the question of what
had been done to improve and expand
the markets for the Northwestern farm