The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-11-20
GobbIers Reported to Be Scarce;
Other Good Things.
BIG INCOME FROM SALOONS
Chicago Thirst ParIors Contribute
Lot of Cash to City's Strong Box;
Windy Town News.
Especial to The Free Press.1

Especial to The Free Press.1
Chicago, Nov. ls,-Again the turkey
crop is short, "alarmingly Short" as it
is just prior to Thanksgiving day each
year in justification of the prices
charged. As Chicago consumes 100000
pounds of turkey, in addition to half
million pounds of other poultry at
Thanksgiving time, the Shortage" cost
this city alone pretty penny, in the
neighborhood of $l25,OOO. Last year
turkey prices scared like the wise old
gobblers that take to roosting high
just prior to the festivities, the ad-
vance coming about the time the
housewives began buying in earnest.
Curiously enough the severity of the
annual shortages" of turkeys, cram
berries, pumpkins and oysters are
simultaneously are short together at
the crucial time. Everything that is
handled in South Water street gets
"sarce" in the retail markets and the
scarcity is traced to the commission
merchants, whose consignors hear only
of a glut in the Chicago markets.
Last year the commission merchants
blamed the farmers and poultry ship
pers, the poultry shippers pointed an
accusing finger at South Water street
where practically the produce OF the
city in wholesale lots is handled, and
the retailer put the blame there also,
pleading innocence of eXtortion him
self. Turkeys went up to 25 cents
a pound last year, cranberries to 1917
cents the quart, pumpkins to 90 cents
each and oysters to 40 cents, as
against II cents for turkeys, cents
for cranberries, Is cents for pumpkins
and 25 cents for oysters. This year the
turkey scare has a new wrinkle, APP
pendicitis having developed, and of
course the crop is affected. Chicago's
Thanksgiving dinner this year will
cost about $2,5OO,OOO not at prevailing
prices but at the shortage" prices
that soon will prevail.
Increase Demand for Money.
The first results of the big business
revival have already begun to make
themselves felt in an increased demand
"At present the volume of free money
in the banks is the largest in the his
tory of the country" said w. T. Fen
ton, vice president of the National
Bank of the Republic, "but there are
marked evidences of improved senti-
ment among merchants and manufac-
turers, and that feeling is already de-
veloping fresh demands for funds. Our
bank will encourage the activity so
far as it is warranted, as we believe
that better times are ahead. Since
the election discount rates have, ad-
vanced a full onehalf of one per cent,
and the supply of notes offered has
been decidedly increased. Customers
from now on will not be held under
any restraint when they need money
for sane purposes. Adjustment dur
ing the panic worked out an extremely
healthful condition in general business,
and the country is starting fresh with
small stocks of manufactured products,
big crops, good prices, and an album
dance of cheap money" Bank clear
ings show a gain and for the first
time now the comparison of current
clearings with those of 1907 gives a
real indication of the progress toward
recovery from the effects of last years
panic, as hitherto the comparison has
been with weeks when prosperity was
at high tide, before the financial storm
broke. A recent week showed gain
of S29,262,l79 over the corresponding
week of 1907, or gain of almost So
100000 day. If this rate of increase
continues it will not be long before
business will be on permanent basis
of prosperity again.
Most Interesting Result.
The most interesting result of the
panic of 1907 now is shown in the re-
ports of corporations as to the increase
of the number of stockholding part
ners, particularly in the west and
among road and industrial corpora
tions have reported $4,000 partners
as against 255,499 before the "bank-
ers' panic" began. Reports of the Hill
railroads show. 1900 shareholders now
as compared with $500 year ago.
These figures throw light upon the
process of change that took place dur
ing the period when the wires from
the west were burdened with small
lot buying orders at bargain prices.
The reports of the Steel Trust and
the Pennsylvania railway show that
45 per cent of the shareholders now
are women, the increase being 80 per
cent in the case of the Steel Trust
and 40 per cent in that of the Penn
sylvania, which goes to show what a
real marked down" sale will do
with women. Before the panic the
shareholders of United States steel
numbered $4,000; they number over
10000 now. The Pennsylvania has
10000 shareholders and the Santa Fe
railway has reported $4,000. This tre-
mendous change is to be attributed
very largely to the west, where in
vestments are being made in stocks
and bonds much more than in former
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