The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-08-08
From National News Bureau, Washington.

From National News Bureau, Washington.
Mr.. George K. Holmes, Chief
of the Division of Foreign Mar
kets in the Department of Agri-
culture, has made an interesting
report on Causes Affecting Farm
Values in which he gives some
highly interesting figures as to
increases in values in the past
five years in various parts of the
country and in various classes
of farm lands. Though it might
have been expected that the
greatest percentage of increase
had been in the new sections Of
the West, the figures collected
by Mr.. Holmes shows that this
is not true but that the greatest
increase in the value of farms
has been in the South Central
group of States where this in
crease has amounted to 40.3 per
cent. This is accounted D for
largely by the increase in the
value of cotton during the past
few years. The rate of Increase
for cotton lands was 1872 per
cent. Second in order are the
hay and grain farms, with an in
crease Of IS per cent; live stock
farms increased 34.3 per cent;
sugar plantations. 35.2 per cent;
rice farms 1922 per cent, and to-
bacco farms, 52.1 per cent. Mr..
Holmes estimates that the abso-
lutte gain in the value of farms in
the Central Southern States dur
ing the FIVE years has amounted
to the enormous sum Of 81, POI,
100000.
W. J. Oliver, of Chattanooga.
Tenn, who is the largest general
railroad contractor in the United
States is now in Washington and
is enthusiastic about the present
prosperity of the South and the
prospects for the future. In an
interview he said:
Because of the great demand
for the raw material which the
South produces, it has more bus.
mess than attend to. Cotton, coal
and iron are commanding high
prices, and as a result, the plant
ers, miners, and all classes are
prosperous. In order to take
care of all this business, old es-
tablished railroads are construct
ing new branches, and new lines
are being built
Mr.. Oliver went on to enumer-
ate Improvements being made
by the railroads in nearly every
section Of the South. All these
Improvements and extensions
mean the expenditure of many
millions of dollars for Southern
labor and Southern supplies of
of all kinds, and the result will
be to greatly increase the facili-
ties of the roads for handling
the constantly expanding COM
merce Of the Southern States.
While the Hepburn railroad
rate law was before Congress
there was some uneasiness lest
it should be so framed as to give
to the Interstate Commerce Com
mission authority to prescribe
differentials and to fix the rela.
tionof rates affecting rival COM
munities, an authority that
would almost certainly have
been used to the disadvantage OF
the South on account Of the gen
eral practice of the Southern
roads under, which rates to com.
petitiye markets, are made so as
to place Southern products on an
equal footing with those from
other localities. AS it is con-
strued by Interstate Commerce
Commissioner Prouty the new
law does not give this power and
if this construction is concurred
in by a majority of the Commls.
sion and by the courts there will
be nothing to prevent the South
ern roads from continuing this
policy which has contributed so
much to building no the South.