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


is worth. In South Africa ana IN gem
eral In modern warfare three unmount-
ed ones. In war. therefore, the nation
that has an unlimited supply OF horses
IL thrice prepared for the conflict. other
things being the same. This describes
the situation In the United States from
a military standpoint. Our enormous
stock OF horses and mules Is a means
OF national defense that must be ranked
In effectiveness along with the trained
army Of good soldiers, and a supply Of
the best modern guns
The American horse and mule are to
be considered not only In this possible
relation TO conflict on the field Of car
mage; they have a far more vital i'm
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 Tar 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 a horse can per-
form the work Of seven men without a
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 atland 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
20 assist him The American farmer
with his horses can produce food at but
a fraction OF the labor cost OF the Chi
nese. The wheat raised In 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 Pekin,
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
Oriental market. With well organized
transportation service this advantage
viii grow, and the dream Of Mr.. j. j.
Hill president OF the Great Northern
Railway. viii be realized, Of opening up
a market In China Tor American wheat
that will consume more OF our bread
stuns 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 short time. The horse Is
here the power that gives the American
farmer the advantage. N enables us to
uutbid the English and German farmer
in his own markets I'm spite OF the bar
riers Of tariffs and b0unties which Ger
many has raised against this country.
The average farm worker OF this
country has two horses IN Germany
The relative number is reversed. and
there are two farm workers 10 every
horse AS a result. the average farm
worker I'm 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 20 ship our fruits from
California or Utah; our cattle from the
great plains Of the West, and our
wheat from Minnesota. and 90 liN 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 retere 10
the power Of the machine" but such
reference Is in a measure defective.
The machine Itself, with rare excep-
lions. gives no advantage. The adyan-
tage comes along from the power that
drives the machine. In the iact1.
is not the spinning machine, or power
loom, or the power press-it Is tina
steam engine or the water wheel that
makes the worker 80 much more effect
i've than the man with the old hand
power. So Il Is on the farm. The ma
chmine Is inert without some propelling
force. Farmers with reapers and now
ers, with no power 10 prupel them out
side their own muscles can cut no more
grass than their fathers with sickles
and scythes. The reapers and mowers
give their users an advantage only
when the horse or the mule is utilized
To 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 TO
our farmers That advantage is so
great that IL Is difficult 20 grasp at
once. We must approach the subject
from a number OF points Of view, %
comprehend fully its economic import
ance Let us consider the subject from
the point OF view Of the population en-
gagged in providing foodstuifs and
the material for clothing The
farming population is composed
OF the families whose heads and chief
members work at some agricultural
calling or pursuit. il numbers at the
present time In the United States not
far from 100000 oO In this number
relatively fewer women and children
are now at work than In any similar
population on the globe. And yet our
100000 farm population with their
horses can produce as much material
for food and clothing as the 4oO0OO000
people Of China. They can perform as
much effective labor as any lO0,0000O0
farm population Of western and south
ern Europe. Our horses and mules
enable this country with It's 100000
people 70 be more than a 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 20 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 100000 horses and mules on the
farms and In the cities aud towns are
then the equivalent Of steam engines or
water wheels Of rated horse power
Of SIS 600. 900. This statement so long as
II 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 OF that animal when
multiplied by 100000. You
have visited great factories
and have seen the vast aggregate Of
driven by an engine Of 10 600
horse power. After seeing that tremen-
dous engine your horse seems 10 you
small and Insignificant IN comparison.
You think the farmhouse power very
compared with the power
OF the factory Here. however. Is where |