Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-10-21
COUNTRY IS BOOMING.
Member of Interstate Commerce Com mission Says Prosperity Abounds.

washington, U. C., OCl. Zl.-- NO-
 body can appreciate how this country
 is booming until he travels over it and talks to the people. Americas {
 development of agriculture and every sort of industrial pursuit is the most marvellous in history. I thought few years ago we had attained the height of our prosperity; but if man had predicted decade ago what the Am erican people now are actually ex- periencing in commercial way it would have been said of him that ht had what the late senator from Kan sas, John J. Ingalls,, described as an 'irridescent dream.
 Hon Franklin K.. Lane, the Pacific coast member of the interstate com merce commission, made the above quoted statement upon his return from the far west, where he went to conduct some investigations for the commission and to attend to some private business.
 Naturally" continued Commits sioner Lane, my mission brought me directly into contact with the great railroads and large commercial and industrial organizations. I had rath- CT exceptional opportunities to find out just what is being done. l was surprised-and it takes something out of the ordinary to surprise me. I had known that an immense amount of business was being done, not only by the railroads, with which I am officially in touch, but by the people generally; but I had no realization or appreciation of the true situation. A few months ago we were told that the cold spring had destroyed practically the prospect for big crops. This was a discouraging statement to agricul- turists, to railroad men and to all other people. The fact is, the crops are fine. Bigger crops of some kinds of grain have been raised in this country than we have this year, but they are almost up to the standard in quantity and they are very superior in quality. In my own state of Cali fornia we never have had bigger or better crops than we have this year Our fruit crop, particularly oranges grapes and apples, is phenomenal. The result is an extraordinary demand for shipping facilities, which the railroads are doing their best to meet. Notwithstanding large in- crease in equipment made by nearly every one of the western roads dur ing the past year, the railways are simply overwhelmed by the traffic. The Northern Pacific, by which much of the Pacific coast product reaches the east. added ten thousand cars to it's equipment this year, yet it cannot handle all the business offered to it Other railroads have done much the same, yet they find themselves like wise embarrassed.
 The prices received by the pro- ducer for their crops are higher, on an average, than they have been for many years. As a result, the west has an ocean of money. And how about the consumers. you ask? They are doing equally well, thank you. No man who wants to work need be out of a job at remunerative wage fifteen minutes. Trade and industry throughout the country are keeping step with agriculture. Manufacturers books are filled with orders: business of all kinds is humming, and work ingmen in practically every trade are receiving higher pay than they ever have received.
 While all this is remarkable. it is only natural. after all. as it is a demonstration simply of the magnifi- cent resources of America"
 Another point of view of the same was given by ]. A Holm hurst. of Salina, Kansas, who was in Washington day or two ago after a visit to the Jamestown exposition to New York and various other east prn cities. He went to Kansas nearly forty years ago a poor man. Now he owns 5000 acres of fine land. busi- ness blocks and stock in bank. In z faCetiOus way. he remarked:
 "A lot of persons in the east i'm agine that western folks are only about haIf-CiviIizei; that Kansas is q frontier state where the inhabitants are poor and ignorant. where they set a guard to prevent Indian uprisings and where we hunt buffalo on the outskirts of the towns I notice. how ever. that just now New York bank PTS are mighty glad to borrow moneF from us. and we are lending them tens of thousands of dollars every