Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-05-12

in the middle west plowed up and
turned into wheat. With the high price
Of hogs and cattle and corn farmers
who own this high priced and for
tile land in the middle west will Eot
grow wheat at 20 cents, but let them
be sure of getting dollar for their
wheat and you will see hundreds of
thousands Of acres turned from cattle
fodder into the grain that produces the
staff of life There is good profit to
the farmer in wheat at a dollar.
Let me tell you another thing, and
that is that the east is going to be fed
more and more from the sandy deserts
of the west. A few years ago the So
called arid land OF the west was not
considered worth anything except to
raise cactus on, but now we have given
the farmer a hard wheat that will grow
into an abundant crop with a ten inch
rainfall, and more and more Of that
wheat is being produced every year
Last year believe we got $4,000, 900
bushels"
Secretary Wilson at this point re-
verified to his controversy with Mr.. Pat
ten.
THE system Of gathering farm stat
istics which the government uses has
been in vogue-let me see how many
years7 Well, 1 have been in office
twelve years. and suppose the system
was started abou. twenty years before
that have spent my time trying to
perfect it, and we have brought our
reports up to such a high standard Of
efficiency that they are sought for by
great many people.
HNVa ha1- in rot ,hn
receives a small salary from the gov
eminent and who collects data from the
state at large. Then we have other
States, and in each township, and while
they get no salary, they get favors
from the government which compen-
safe them.
Besides that the department has
divided the whole country into dis
tricts, and each district is in charge of
a salaried man who spends his whole
time getting the data and statistics
about farm produce. In all we must
have 100000 men working for us, and
they are first class men, let me tell
you-men who know their business,
and large majority of them are farm
erS.
and yet these people-O, but won't
talk about any one who tries to dis
credit our reports. Why, do you know
had letter from Kansas the other
day, from one of our agents there, say
ing that men were travelling thru Kan
sas in the interest of certain private
parties. I'm not saying whom, and they
were trying to spread the belief among
the farmers that there was big short
age of wheat in the country, and that
the new crop is being retarded by bad
weather, and that they had better hang
on to their wheat for awhile, because
it would bring them better prices. This
is all rot"
Thru his brother. George James A.
Patten sent out word that he would not
see any reporters. He was besieged. but
no amount of persuasion could induce
, his negro attendant or any other en-
ploye of the firm to take a card or
message to the wheat king" nor even
to announce a visitor.
In the meantime the board of trade
was in an excited state all day, and all
tho openly at least the Patten house did
little in the market, the traders were
nervous and were inclined to hold off
to see what the big bull" was going
to do. He did nothing, and the result
was sag of about l cent in prices.