Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-01-16

portance In connection with Industrial
conflict. The struggles and conflicts
Of nations were once wholly by force OF
arms Now such conflicts are becoming
less and less frequent. A quiet but no
less intense conflict OF peace. but for
that reason no less far reaching IN re-
suits. All the nations at the present
time are engaged IN one tremendous
struggle for industrial supremacy, Here,
as In the conflict u arms the horse plays
a most important part.
The average horse Is able 10 perform
six times the muscular work OF an aver
age man. A man and horse can per-
form the work Of seven men without
horse. One person with two horses can
successfully compete, other things being
the same, with thirteen men with no
domestic animals to aid them.
The last sentence describes the power
of competition OF the farms OF the
United States with those Of China.
That country Is land with few horses
used In agriculture. The men depend
almost wholly upon their own muscles.
In the United States every farm work.
er on an average has two horses
to assist him. The American farmer
with his horses can produce food at but
fraction Of the labor cost OF the Chi
nese The wheat raised I'm California
or Minnesota can even now be laid
down in China with profit as compared
with Chinese rice The wOrkmen IN
Hongkong or Canton or even Pekln,
can live more cheaply on American
grown wheat than on Chinese grown
rice. The horse Is the factor which en-
ables the American farmer under the
most adverse conditions to dominate an
naNs Vsn nInIH
transportation service this advantage
will grow. aud the dream Of Mr.. }. j.
Hin. president OF the Great Northern
Railway, win be realized. OF opening up
a market in China for American wheat
that win consume more Of our bread
stuhs than we are now able TO sell in
Europe. II this Is done the price Of
agricultural staples will enormously in.
crease and the value OF farm lands viii
double In a short time. The horse Is
here the power that gives the American
farmer the advantage; 4 enables us to
outbid the English and German farmer
in his own markets In spite Of the bar
riers OF tariffs and bountes which Ger
many has raised against this country
The average farm worker Of this
country has two horses; I'm Germany
the relative number Is reversed and
there are two farm workers TO every
horse. As a result the average farm
worker In the United States finds his
work In general three times
as effective as the correspond
ing workman competing with
him In Germany. This fact enables the
United States 10 ship our fruits from
California or Utah our cattle from the
great plains Of the West and our
wheat from Minnesota, and 20 hX the
price OF all the farm products sold
The average man in speaking OF the
power Of competition and the result Of
what is spoken Of as the mOderp indus
trial revolution ordinarily refere TO
the power Of the machine" but such
reference Is In a measure defective.
The machine itself with rare eXcep-
tons, gives no advantage. The adyan-
tage comes along from the power that
drives the machine. In the iactJr
is not the spinning machine, or power
loom. OF the power prcss--it Is tho
steam engine or the water wheel that
makes the worker 30 much more effect
I've than the man with the Old hand
power. So IL Is on the farm. The ma
chmlne is inert without some prOpeling
force. Farmers with reapers and now
ers, with no power % prOpel them out
side their own muscles, can cut no more
grass than their fathers with rickles
and scythes The reapers and mowers
give their users an advantage only
when the horse or 'he mule is utilized
10 take the place OF the men doing the
work on the farm.
In this connection / wish 10 set forth
the advantages which our enormous
stock of horses and mules gives 10
900 a
great that II is difficult to grasp at
once. We must approach the subject
from a number OF points Of view, TO
comprehend fully It's economic import
ance. Let us consider the subject from
the point OF view OF the population en-
gagged in providing rOodstuffs and
the material for clothing. The
farming population is composed
OF the families whose heads and chief |
members work al some agricultural
calling or pursuit II numbers at the /
present time In the United States not /
far from 90 600 00 In this number /
relatively fewer women and children |
are now al work than In any similar /
population on the globe. And yet our |
S00000oO farm population with their /
horses can produce as much material /
for food and clothing as the 4OO00O000 !
people OF China. They can perform as /
much effective labor as any 100 GOO 0J0 /
farm population OF western and south /
ern Europe. Our horses and mules |
enable this country with its 15OOO0oO |
people 10 be more than match In the /
field Of agriculture FOR all the nations
OF Europe. outside of Russia. Here
then we have one phase OF the subject
Let us see II We can md another that
will aid us TO grasp the Importance
Of our American horse and mule sup
ply.
The effective power Of the average |
farm horse is about four-ffths that OF a
steam engine rated as one-horse power
Our IL. 0O0, 600 horses and mules on the
farms and In the cities and towns are
then the equivalent Of steam engines or
water wheels OF a rated horse power
Of Sl5,000,000. This statement, so long as
Il rests In abstract figures does not i'm
press a single one OF those before me
with its tremendous significance. You
think Of the single horses which you
ride or drive and cannot grasp the
power 0f that animal when
multiplied by 1900 600. You
have visited great factories
and have seen the vast aggregate OF
machinery driven by an engine Of 10000
horse power After seeing that tremen-
dous engine your horse seems 20 you
small and insignificant IN comparison.
You think the farmhouse power very
insignificant compared with the power
OF the factory. Here however. Is where
you are mistaken. The power OF the
American horse and mule-thelr contrl-
button to our Industrial supremacy-Is
greater than the power at present en-
ployed In the factories In the shape OF
steam engines and water wheels. Yes
the power OF these useful animals IN the
United States Is greater than that OF
the steam engines and water wheels in
all the factories OF Europe.
The horse Is. therefore. not a played
out force In the Industrial world IL Is
not az yet "a back number" IL must
be reckoned with on every battlefield
and IN an calculations OF modern war
fare. and In all considerations ~ the in
dustrlal competition OF nations, The
American horse and mule are masters ]