The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-04-10

IT.
s.But last year and the year before have
been the exceptions. Mr.. Secretary. The
crops have been much better than ever be-
'.That is true 10 a minor extent" replied
Secretary Wilson. But for years the
farmer has been bringing over foreign gold
from Europe. Australia and Asia TO even
up our losses in other branches of trade.
In the last thirteen years our average eX-
cess of exports over imports amounted 10
about S2350C0.0O per year. and during that
time the annual balance of such trade in
favor of the farmer was $337,OO0OOO; that is,
the farmer had not only TO give the -alance
of trade in our favor, but he had to pay
S62 10000 in the shape of an adverse bal
ance TO other imports. In the last fourteen
years the farmers balance of trade
amounted TO almost S5.00O.O0OOOO. 1t was
enough to pay all the losses of our other
foreign business and to put $4,000. 100000 in
round numbers, TO the credit of the Nation.
Those figures give you some idea where this
wonderful wave of prosperity which has
been sweeping over the country comes
from"
FARMING AS A BUSINESS.
Then 1 suppose that farming as a bust
ness. has begun to pay?'
ut has always paid" replied Secretary
Wilson. when managed in a business-like
manner. But the day has passed when you
! can take it up as a makeshift. The man
who would make money in farming to-day
must know his farm and how to farm it.
fertilizers. He must understand the mar
kets and bring the same business judg
ment TO bear that is necessary to the sue
cess of other businesses. Above all, the
| farmer must keep up to the times and
| farm scientifically, for 1t is only in that
way that he can get the most out Of his
| land"
! 'Will we ever have a great farmers
trust, which will corner the market. raise
prices and fight the other combinations OF
| capital?"
| Il don't think such a thing possible" re-
piled Secretary Wilson. This is a big coun-
try and farming is a big business. All the
world is more or less engaged in it and you
| can't control elements like that. Besides,
| each farmer Is independent of the other
| and while all have to large extent COM
| mon interests they are somewhat antago-
l'nstic to one another. / think the farmers
might be united in opposition to anything
| vitality against the interests of ALL but that
matter settled they would as before act
| as individuals
"But. Mr.. Secretary. how about labor
! matters? i should think you would have
trouble TO get men 10 work on the farms.
| understand that most of the farm boys are
going 70 the cities
That was so for time but more now
remain upon the farms. We have had a
great immigration of farm laborers and we
have been steadily making inventions in
| farm tools SO that the average hand can do
more now than the man of the past. Take
| the rice lands about the Gulf of Mexico. One
| American farm hand with our machinery
| can raise as much rice there in one year
| as four hundred Chinese laborers can raise
| Chinese machinery. The condition to
| other crops are somewhat similar. Indeed,
| the farm machines enable TO dispense
| with a large number of hands,
us farm labor organized. Mr. Secretary
! Do the farm hands have trades unions %
| Not that | know of. The men are so
scattered that il would be difficult to or
ganize them. They are not employed at
| steady work all the year round and be-
sides the farm hand of to-day expects to
own farm of his own few years from
| DO that that he has no time to worry over
| hours and wages
| How about wages. Mr.. Secretary? Is
| the farm laborer well paid?'
Il think he is" replied the secretary of
agriculture Good men get good wages,
varying with the locality. In the North.
| west, where, perhaps, the most skilled of
our farmers are found. hired men get S25
| a month and more. That is equal to $40 a
month without board, which is good pay.
Such a hand will understand how to use
farm machinery. He will know all about
crops, and he can, if necessary, take the
farm and manage il for himself In some
other parts of the country the wages are
Il less"
WHERE OUR MONEY COMES FROM.
"Are we farming any better now than we
did in the past, Mr.. Secretary?'
Very much so,'' replied Secretary Will
SON. 'And we shall farm better in the
future than we are doing now. We are
learning every day and are steadily adding
to the aggregate. of crops. What we
produce now is beyond conception. Our
wheat crop amounts to GOO 100000 bushels
every year. and ii is worth in the neigh
borhood of s4oO.OoO.OOO.
THE value of the gold and silver mined
| in the United states is not half that, and
all the gold mines of all the world did not
| nc rI0h nv in he
corn crop is worth more than twice as
much as the wheat crop 1t is now bring
ing in $l.Oo0,0000o0 a year, and for our oats
alone we raise enough to equal value of
Sl,C9O,O00 for every working day. The
crop amounts TO a billion bushels. with a
value or s3o0.000,00o Our hay crop in many
years is worth more than the total product
OF all the gold and silver mines of the
world. and the cotton crop last year sold
enormous. There Is nothing like them any,
where and we have not begun TO approx
mate the maximum of our farming posi-
bities.
NO" said the secretary. refiectively. eve
do not know what we have nor how rich
we are. We are discovering some new thing
every day which adds enormously TO our
national wealth. The Agricultural Depart
ment has become one of investigation and
| research. We have men travelling over the
world looking for new plants and seeds
Some time ago il seemed impossible that we
could raise figs. We planted the trees. but
could not get results. AT last, on the
advice of our specialists we imported a
little insect from Smyrna to fertilize the
trees; that is, TO carry the pollen from one
place to another. That little bug did the
| business, and we are now raising excellent
figs on the dry highlands Of the West. We
| produced more than 100000 pounds last
| year and we are just beginning.
| do you see that macaroni?" the secre-
tary went on. he picked up a paper &c
| which some pipe stems of white macaron
| were sewn. THAT macaroni was made in
| America from American wheat, which
grows ON land that will raise no other
grain. We studied the wheat and the soils
which produced il. and this is the result
We raised 100000 bushels of macaron
wheat last year. and the day will come
when we will be shipping it TO Italy.
NEW COTTON FOR THE SOUTH.
There OH the mantel." the secretary
continued. you may see a frame contain
ing samples of cotton. The cotton at the
right has short staple That is the com
mon cotton raised on the uplands all over
the South Those long silky fibers on the
left are from the famous sea island cotton
the highest priced and the best known to the
world. That cotton will grow only on the
Islands off the coasts of Georgia and South
Carolina. We have planted its seeds on tn,
uplands, but could get no results. Their
We took the upland plants and married
them TO the sea island plants and the re-
suit is we have produced the cotton which
Ia rvT-.a IN