Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-23
GOOD CROPS ABROAD
Charles M. Pepper Discusses
His Foreign Observations.
SHORTAGE IN FREIGHT CARS
Demand for American Farming I'm
plements.
BIG INCREASE IN LAND VALUES
Interest in Europe in the Railway
Situation - Experience With
Government Ownership.
BIG INCREASE IN LAND VALUES

Commerce and Labor has returned from @
| ten months trip to India, Egypt and the
countries Of the near east, where he went
| in connection with the foreign trade ex-
| ploitation work in which the department
| is engaged.
American manufacturers" he said to a
Star reporter. have been pretty slow in
waking up to their opportunities abroad,
but In spite Of the great activity at home
many Of them are now laying the founda-
ton for foreign trade. When a dull period
comes along they will find that the depart
ment has paved the way for them. and
that what is most needed Is their own In
telligent cooperation. There has been an
immense Improvement in the consular serv-
ice, and that also is going to be Of great
benefit to them.
Two striking conditions impressed me
in my travels One was the universal boom
in real estate The other was the sequence
of bumper crops everywhere.
Jump in Land Values.
"a couple Of summers ago in the Cana
dian northwest thought the jump In land
prices there was phenomenal, but 1t is not
| remarkable compared with other parts Of
the world. At Alexandria, which is the
chief port of Egypt, the advances in city
real estate have been enormous, ranging
from 1OV TO 4OU per cent, anu dC S6lTO Iuey
have been just as large. The solid basis
for 1t has been the increase of agricultural
productiveness through the irrigation works
of the Nile.
there Is q modern Jerusalem outside the
walls Of the historic holy city which Is
going to be bigger than the ancient town.
At Damascus I rode on the first trolley car
which is part Of the electric system that is
lifting property away above the value 1t
has had for the last 1900 years or so. Going
ON to India, at Bombay the condition was
similar to Alexandria and every one except
addition to the rents The same thing was
happening in Calcutta. OF course there
has been over-speculation and the true
worth Of property has been discounted for
perhaps the next ten years. But that there
has been a permanent advance In land val
ues everywhere Is very clear.
Bumper Crops General.
1.-THE bumper crops seem to have been
general. Some Australians whom I met
on the ship at Colombo told me that they
had had four crop seasons without a
drought coming in between, though many
people suppose that the drought and the
crops alternate regularly in Australia.
India had something Of a shortage last
year in Its wheat harvest, yet this was more
than made up by the big addition to other
agricultural products, and now a much
larger area Is coming under cultivation and
India will yield heavy grain crops again.
Coming back to Europe, the Balkan states
have had almost continuous harvests and
the American makers of agricultural ma
chinery have been getting the good of it
in the demand for improved farm tools. In
Bulgaria the condition was like that in
Kansas a few years ago when the loca'
banks could not place loans because the
farmers were depositing instead of borrow
Bulgaria's leading financial institution, in
order to keep its capital from lying idle l
was told, was employing its funds in MAX
ing heavy purchases Of plows and other
agricultural machinery. 1t sold the blows
to the farmers on the installment plan,
charging interest on the deferred payments,
and by this device get some return for its
funds.
Transportation Facilities Lacking.
"a consequence or result of these big
crops naturally has been a great develop
ment Of traffic, and 1t isn't only the rail-
way companies that have been unable to
supply sufficient transportation facilities.
On many Of the sea routes there has been
an actual congestion Of ocean freights.
There also have been a good many rail-
way extensions and new lines to take care
Of territory which is being opened up to
agriculture, but they have not kept up with
the demand. Steel rails are about the only
thing entering into railway construction
that has not gone up by bounds. While the
construction has not actually stopped some
of these railways are going forward very
slowly because of the difficulty of getting
funds and on account Of the high price of
labor. 1t may be that when the bumper
crops drop OFF a little and there is some
lessening of the universal agricultural
prosperity change in this condition will
help to prevent a continued period of in
dustrial depression by enabling capital and
labor to be obtained on better terms. The
head of one big railway enterprise in the
orient told me he was waiting till he could
get money and labor cheaper. He thought
it would be good thing II the people who
own money had to come into the market