Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-15
HORSE NOT DISPLACED
His Value in This Country
Greater Than Ever.
NAVAL TRAINING STATION
Bids for New Buildings Will Be Open
ed April /.
CHINESE AND THE CANAL
Coolies Will Not Be Allowed to Go to
the Observation-Disclosures in Consul
General Roosevelt's Career.
IINESE AND THE CANAL
BY WILLIAM E. CIPTIS.

Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
Notwithstanding the enormous increase
in the construction and use of automobiles
and other horseless vehicles for pleasure
and traffic. that intelligent and reliable old
standby, THE best friend of mankind is
increasing in numbers and in value. Ac-
cording to the most reliable statistics our
factories turn out about 5000 automobiles
a year. Electric cars are now almost uni
versal. Except in a few of the smaller
cities of the south you no longer see street
cars drawn by horses or mules, and steam.
gasoline and electric motors are used very
generally for trucking in the large cities.
II naturally expected that the horse
would gradually become unnecessary; that
he would lose his value and a conse-
quence, decrease in numbers. Some years
ago out in the mountain states the price of
horses WIS so low that it did not pay to
ship them, and one day in Boise City, Ida
no. | a carload sold at auction by the
railway company to cover the freight
charges. The owner had shipped them in
from his ranch and, finding an unproht-
able market. had abandon II his property
without paying the freight and told the Of
ficials of the railway company that they
could have the animals. Horses We're SO
cheap that they were slaughtered for their
hides and a factory for canning horse meat
was started In Oregon.
This condition of the horse market was
attributed chiefly to the Introduction OF
electricity as a motive power, but notwith-
standing the remarkable degree to which
its use has increased throughout the coun-
try the number and the value of horses
and mules have advanced in correspond
ing ratio and keep advancing. We have
more horses in the land today than we ever
had before, and they are worth more money
than they were ever worth before. The Ag-
rio Dnr rtr MT
were 10. 147 600 horses in the United States
on the first of January 1907. and that they
were worth an average of $92.51 head
This is an increase of 100000 in the num-
Der of horses and an increase of Sl1.I9 per
head in their value from the first of Janu-
AIRY, 1906.
The same increase is shown in the num-
Der and value of mules. On the first OF
January 1905, there were 3 ,4O4 600 mules in
the United States. and they We're worth an
average of 1881 per head. On the first OF
January, 1907, the number had Increased
to 3S17 900 and the value to $11216.
There is an increase in all kinds OF IVe
stock both in numbers and value. On the
LIST of January, 1906. We had III, iioo mlIch
cows with an average value of So. ~ On
Oun mich cows reported, with an average
price of S51. The cattle on the range num-
bered A ,06S 000 worth an average of $loSo
a year ago. On the LIST of this year d.
566 900 were reported with an average value
of S17.10.
No country in the world has so many
animals as the United States. The follow
ing is the census of numbers and value on
the LIST of January, 1907: