Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-01-23
FARMER SUPREME
Made So in America by crof 8
atHave Broken All
Records.
GREATER THINGS IN sT0t E
Sets Pace for Industrial Activity and
Wall Street Finance-Some
Figures.

CROPS. Ill9J nave SNc-lS,l "
more and more fabulous, proportions
have made the American farmer the
most important factor in OR national
prosperity. writes w. q. Johnson. man
aging editor of the American Agricul
turist, in the New York Herald's an
nual financial and commercial review
He is the dictator of the world of com
merce. His wonderful achievements
during the last few years have as
founded the world. All other classes
of producers drop into insigniiicance
when compared with him.
Wall street was shaken to its very
foundation when he demanded SG,410,
100000 in cash for his 1903 crop. Rail
road managers stood agaast and were
unable to speak because they realized
their inability to hand this wonderful
man Il clean bill of lading TO transport
his products.
1t required $4,900.O00.000 in hard
cash in 1904, but financiers had to
make provision for an increase of ST.
515,U00000 to take over the crops of
1905, as their total valuation was &c.,
415,00000O Such unthinkable figures
and demands paralyzed both financial
and commercial institutions. The
worlds history had no such marvellous
records While captains of industry
were making provision for delivering
the cash and for handling the products
of 1908, up to that time the most bOun-
tiful and wonderful crop ever pro-
duced, the sturl y farmer had his hand
on the plow looking toward 1906.
Not satisfied with the achievements
of former years, he set his standard
still higher and plunged into the flu
ture As result the modest demand
of the American farmer for $4,000, 00O,
600 cold hard cash TO cover his harvest
of 1906 came like bolt of lightning
from clear sky. Neither financial
nor commercial institutions were pre-
pared to meet any such demand.
1t has brought from the secretary of
the national treasury, Mr.. Shaw, the
statement that 1--WE who pray should
ask God to save us from any increased
prosperity. We have all we can stand
We are growing more crops than we
can harvest and harvesting more than
we can haul TO market
Not Too Radical.
This is indeed a radical statement
and reflects more or less the actual
conditions confronting the farmer, but
do not think for a moment that the
hard handed plowman will look back
ward. He; is advancing step by step
and season by season. He encounters
and overcomes meteorological and
economic conditions that would deaden
the iron nerve and zeal of the most
Strn0ocSfr,I IralI OF
favorable weather conditions, lack of
help to harvest his crops and inefficient
facilities to market them are not fac
tors that will force the American farm
err to sit down and idly fold his hands.
Marvellous as was his success for the
year just closed, the dawn of 1907 Is
no less promising. He has made plans
for still greater things. His winter
wheat crop, now seeded for the coming
midsummer harvest, is more than a
million acres in excess of that of 1906
Who can fathom the future and say
where the wonderful producer will
stop? He has confidence and implicit |
faith in the ability of financial and |
leaders to pay for and |
transport his products; hence his I'M
faltering and Interchangeable belief in |
the future of his profession, for most |
exact profession is agriculture.
The American farmer has set the |
pace for industrial activity. 1t is he |
who is first consulted before Wall |
street ventures far into the future. By |
reason of his successes the last ten |
years the man behind the plow has be- |
come a dominating influence in every |
branch of our Industrial life. Bankers |
reckon with him first, railroads regu-
late their rolling stock and track ia
cilities after glancing at his crop re-
ports, ocean liners base calculations |
for service on his harvests, brokers are
at sea until the farmer opens his gran
aries. cities clamor for recognition he