The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-04
|cR0P Es7IMA7 Tor IS
TOASTED BY SUCCESS
MAGAZINE HIGHLY COMPLI-
MENTS MINNEAPOLIS EXPERT.
Story of H. v. Jones First Experience
as Judge Of Yieldpof Growing Grain
and His Rise to Fame Thereby Is
Graphically Told-Value Of His
Reports.

The March number Of Success
Magazine contains sketch of H. V.
Jones as a successful crop estimator.
After speaking Of the Importance to
the railroads, merchants, manufacture
ers and business men generally Of
fairly accurate knowledge of how the
crops are coming on before they are
harvested, the writer of the sketch
says:
During the last few seasons a private
estimator has sprung into prominence
because of the remarkable accuracy OF
his forecasts Of the wheat crops and
his opinions are now more highly val
ued by some Of the leading railway
men, bankers and capitalists of the
country than those Of the government,
with it's 100000 correspondents.
This man is Fl. V. Jones of Mime
apolis. Jones was the commercial ed
itor of The Minneapolis journal when,
riously damaged the prospects Of the
spring-wheat crop. A wild speculation
in Minneapolis and Chicago was the
result. The farmers, to recoup their
losses from the drought, made heavy
purchases Of wheat options in the mar
kets, and, from 66 cents In May, wheat
advanced "a cents a bushel, to 80 cents,
in June, and the spectators thought
it would sell away above a dollar. The
and the Dakotas-which had been l6O,-
100000 bushels the previous season,
was estimated, at first, at rlO0,00O,O00
bushels, then at 9O,O0O,00O bushels, and
in June the estimate had fallen to 3d.
100000 bushels.
How He Commenced.
The Journal sent Jones out thru
the three states to find whether or not
The crop reporter travelled up and down
Minnesota and thru the Dakotas, at
at times by train, but more often in
| a wagon or ~afoot. AS day after day
went by and he saw more and more OF
| the wheat country, the more he became
convinced that good deal more wheat
| would be harvested than the spectators
and the farmers dreamed Of. But near
~ every big wheat farmer he met told
drought. None believed in a crop OF
more than 1OO,00OOO0 bushels.
The young reporter knew that ne
would be ridiculed by the grain trade
if he ventured to make a higher esti-
mate of the crop. He almost lost heart.
One day, at little railway sta ton, he
met wheat-groWer who took him aside
to ask his opinion of the crop. |
find more; wheat than the rest Of them, -
wrong * Young man.: said the
i: farmer, patting him on the back, "stick
to it. There's more wheat in this crop
than any Of them believes.' The crop
reporter felt that, if one man agreed
with him, he must be- right and he
went back to Minneapolis and put out
his estimate Of a crop of l35,0O0,0oC
| bushels. .s .",S
Punctured Bubble. -. Is
This estimate pricked the specula;
| tive bubble. Rain fell in the fields anc
farmers began to discover some wheat
and the spectators rushed in to dump
their lines into the pit. Wheat tum
bled from 80 cents to rs cents a bushe
When the crop had been harvested ane
marketed and the millers and elevator
people had counted all the wheat thai
had come from the farms, the yield wa!
found to measure 140,000,O00 bushels
The government s report Of but 81, 900,
900 bushels was made ridiculous by thu
reports OF receipts at Minneapolis, ant
Duluth The remarkable accuracy Q
the Jones forecast gave the young cro,]
which, in succeeding seasons, becam
stronger, and now his crop estimate
are more highly valued by many grail
men than the government s..
Mr.. Jones has also undertaken t.
estimate the corn crop. In gathering
the information on which he predict
, his conclusions he travels more thai
10000 miles every year, covering tn
Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska
Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas
Illinois Indiana and Ohio.