Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-01-01
IOWA CAI1[E and CORN
Prediction That Corn Will Be
Fifty Cents a Bushel In
Short Time
WHILE LIVESTOCK DECLINES
The Statement of Such Conditions in
the Vicinity of Jewell Junction Does
Not Coincide With Conditions in
Other Parts of Iowa-eeorse F.
Thaycr's Rural Letter.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Grinnell, Jan. 1.-The writer was on
a c. n. w. train few days ago bound
for Sioux City, and during the day
heard many discussions in regard TO
prices of cattle, hogs and corn. which
varied in different portions of the state.
And one learns on such trip that
the state of Iowa is big place and
that the conditions which surround
person locally, may be entirely differ
Iowa. To credit the statement of
man who got on the train a Jewell
Junction, corn will be 80 cents a BUSH
ell in a very short time and that hogs
and cattle will grow lower and lower.
he backs his statement up as follows:
There are in this locality hundreds OF
hogs and cattle with nothing to feed
them and there will be such a demand
for corn that 1t will go to SO cents very
soon. and then hogs and cattle will
flood the market to such an extent that
hat, for, he said farmers won't pay 80
cents for corn TO feed
AT Odebolt farmer got on the train
He said there were about the same
number OF cattle being fed by men who
make 1t business. but that the one
and two carload feeders .asss entirely
out of the business. He said that the
Cook ranch was feeding 1000 head.
about the same as usual: that corn
was selling for 80 TO 40 cents without
any scarcity. AT Grlnnell today was
talking with r. Fritz, who lives ten
miles southwest, and he said that he
never saw so few cattle on feed. He
had twenty-eight in the yard, but did
not know of another bunch within
fifteen miles. He drove to Oskaloosa,
all of twenty miles, and did not see
Il single car in the feed lot all the way,
That corn was plenty and could be had
Al a reasonable price. Take 1t north
from Grinnell in Sheridan township,
where corn is always 10 cents higher
than in any other part of the county,
they We're hauling ii from seven to
fourteen miles to take 40 cents. While
driving in Sheridan township. met
three men at different places trying to
dispose OF their corn. All one place a
farmer offered TO deliver 1000 bushels
at 80 cts. when 1t was wanted, but the
prospective buyer had enough to run
him to March !. when he thought he
could buy what he wanted for 80
cents and the corn would be in bet
ter conditions than at present. Al
Il sale one piece ofeorn brought A cts,
simply case of bluffing, as they could
buy in the open market for less. In
the territory in which travel Their,
is big corn crop. cribs are full, and
thousands of bushels are piled on the
ground until 1t looks like haystacks;
the yards are not full of cattle or
hogs.
never saw as few cattle being fed
and 1t looks to me. Judging from only
small portion of the state), that hogs
and cattle are at the bottom price and
that corn will not see so cents, except
in very few localities. These observ-
ations are based on Iowa, Hardin,
Grundy. Poweshiek and Marshall |
counties, over which l have had to |
drive with a team since October /. |
The cattle are In the country and II |
prices should show marked advance
and corn remain stationary, there will |
he a good many put on feed later and |
finished on grass. l have found sew
eral feeders with from 100 to 200 head |
on hand, but roughing them thru.
sss
There seems to be general feeling |
anon the farmers that the packing |
companies are standing so close to-
gether that prices cannot advance. but |
be that as IT may. when farmer gets |
40 cents for corn and 4 " cents for
hogs, he can make money in spite of |
the trusts. There are but few farm |
ers who can tell the actual cost of fat
tening his cattle. He usually goes
ahead and feeds them out and puts his
balance in the bank, If there is any.
A prominent and successful farmer
told me n few days ago that ii cost him |
s1.75 per hundred TO fatten cattle on
40 cent corn, while a good many put |
1t at only 81, but this man keeps books
and can show figures TO prove his
statements.
There appeared In the T.-R. of a re-
cent date an articles which showed |
the banks with big surplus and also
said the lportgage-free Iowa farmer |
could not borrow money. Was the |
writer posted on how many farms are
free from mortgages? l WAS told by a
resident of Chester that there We're not
six farms in the township which We're
not mortgaged, as he had looked ii up. |
Upon questioning him l found that |
while only small number was free
from mortgage that In Il great many |
cases it was an additional eighty or
100 recently bought which carried the |
mortgage, but made his statement true
nevertheless. He called attention to
one in particular, which was worth |
that ii was now carrying
IL mortgage of more than the original
cost of the land, that rs Land went
higher. the mortgage grew larger
GEORGE Il. TuAYER.
PREACHER ABANDoNs WIFE.