Durango semi-weekly herald., 1903-04-27
PROSPERITY IN THE WEST.

The west is getting some fine trib-
utes in a business way from many
quarters recently. Says George j.
Gould, who has just returned to New
York from long tour on the Mias!s-
sippis sunset side: Il heard no talk
of money shortage while in the west
The banks are holding the ir money in
their vaults and they won't have to
draw on New York when they want
to move the crops. The western
bankers have their own money to lend
to their own people, unless money
should get so high in Wall street as to
make it profitable to send it east.
From all the indications, a full year
of prosperity is ahead for the west"
AS corroboration of these words, the
report Just issued by the Kansas state
bank commissioner is timely. That
official shows that the bank deposits
Of Kansas now amount to more than
So 900 900 in excess of the highest pre-
vious mark in the history of that state.
They reach at the present time a little
over $90.00O,000. This, it is said, is a
surprise to the financiers of that state,
but it makes them feel buoyant. A
like feeling is present in most of the
rest of the states of the Mississippi
valley, as well as on the Pacific slope.
OF course. the crops of the west
make an especially large contribution
to the sum of its activities. When
they are large the west is generally
flush with money and there is good
times all around. When the crops
fail the west is usually hit hard. This
year promises to be an excellent velr
in an agricultural way. The figures just
given out by the department o. agri-
culture at Washington indicate yield
of about $50, 900, 900 bushels of winter
wheat for this year. This is the trans
alton OF the departments report
which has been made by the expert OF
he New York produce exchange. The
department reports on acreage and
condition, and the resultant, as given
in bushels, stands for this big figure
Last year the high water mark of the
winter wheat product along to that
J time was reached, and this was
III ,000. 900 bushels, but the 500 900, ,00C
| bushels which are promised for 1903
make big gain over that record yield
The acreage this year is 1000 ,0OC
more than in 1902, and the condition
| at the beginning of April, 1908, was
97.3, as compared with 1871 year ago
Here are some of the reasons why
I experts are predicting good times fol
I the west for 1903. 1t is noticed thai
| all the great interests of the west are
i ;,lI Thf
| clearings of most of the VESTS cities
| great and small, are above the mari
| OF a year ago Railroads in this sec
| ton are having more work than they
can do. The freight car famine il
pretty well relieved but there arr
| prospects of its returning when tn,
wheat crop begins TO be harvested. Al
I a consequence the prices of lands
throughout the west are rapidly ad
vancing. There is more immigration
| into this part of the country at thi
moment than has ever been know
since the boom days of railroad build
ing of fifteen or twenty years ago
Property of all sorts is going up II
price The factories in most of th
interests of the great west are rushe'
with orders. Building of all sorts i
at larger volume than has ever beel
known before. Republican prosperit
is asserting itself throughout the ives
in an especially active way. TIL
prosperity is rendered particularly pre-
nounced by the fact that 1t is likel
| to last many years, for the tenure of tn
party which is chiefly responsible 70
1t is in no immediate danger of intel
ruption. In 1903. as in many season
In the past. the great west is the II
vored section OF the country.