The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1906-12-19

umphant song in statistics, is the re-
mort of the secretary of agriculture
which tells the story of the Amerl-
ran farmers marvellous store OF
riches won from the soil in the total
of s6,794,000,000 This exceeds the
record-breaking product of last year
by sS24,000,000.
The value of the farm products
of the nation during the last twelve
months would duplicate the entire
railroad system of the United States,
rail for rail, tie for tie, car for car.
The American farm products of 1908
and 1906 would pay for every rail-
road in the world, including the en-
tire equipment.
Whatever else may be the cause
of the movement from the country
to the cities, it isn't the unproduc-
riyeness of the farms nor the I'M
profitableness of farming. probably
among no other class of citizens has
there been such an advance in the
material comforts and the general
prosperity as among the farmers,
Farms Worth $2S, 600, 100000.
The total value of the farm prop
critics of the United States is es-
timated by Secretary Wilson'S de-
partment at SIS, 100000. This
is an increase of $4,000, OOO,O0O
since 1900. 1t is more than twice
the Capitalization of all the railroads
of the United States, an four ana
half times their real value. Inc
earnings of the farms for the year
amounted to nearly three times the
net earnings of all the railroads.
Not only are the American farms
the foundation of the domestic plen-
ty that pervades the land, but they
are the source of the nations credit
abroad. The foreign balance due the
United States on agricultural prod
ucts for the fiscal year of 1906 is
$4,000, 900, while the balance on
all other classes of exports is only
SIS, 100000.
In the last seventeen years the
American farmer has piled up the
enormous credit of six billion OF dol
lars, while the pampered manufac-
iurer, with all the stimulus of pro
tective tariff and other government
favOrs, has a balance against him OF
S459,O00,000.
During the year 1906 the exports
of agricultural products touched the
highwater mark of $4,000, 900, or
s24.OOO,000 more than the exports
of the previous record year, which
was 1901.
Corn the Banner Crop.
Secretary Wilson notes the fact
that the chief increase in the value
of farm products during the year
was in horses and meat cattle. The
crops about balanced with the pre-
vious year. The greatest crop was
corn, as usual, it's value being ST.
100000 900. Next in line came cot
ton. with total of $640,000,00O,
while hay, much ignored by writer's
on national wealth, was produced to
the value of $60O,000,000 Wheat,
with total of $450,0OO,00O,
showed a. falling of of about 500
100000.
AS showing the prepOnderance OF
the United States in cotton, the re-
port points out that the product OF
Texas alone is greater than that OF
British India, and three times that
of Egypt. while it is half as much
again as the entire crop OF the rest
of the world outside of the United
States, India and Egypt.
There is a curious note in the fact
that, despite the furore over the
Westinghouse disclosure, the exports
of that industry exceeded those OF
the previous year by $37,000,OOO.
The secretary's report deals in de-
tail with the work of the depart
ment, but the preponderant interest
to the mass of Americans must lie
in that portion that tells the romance
of the wealth wrung from American
farms. Secretary Wilson says IL
part:
Taken at the point in production
at which they acquire commercial
value, the farm products of this year
estimated for every detail presented
by the census, have a farm value o.
s6,794,000000 This is $485,00O
600 above the value of 1905, $685.,
100000 above 1904, $S77,000,0 O(
above 1903 and $2,077, 0,00(
above the census for 1899
The value of the farm products o
1906 was per cent greater thai
that of 1905, 10 per cent over 1904
Is per cent over 1903 and "A pc
cent. over 1899.
Increase in Live Stock.
Analysis into items of the CRANE
total of wealth produced discover