The Oskaloosa herald., 1910-08-18
RESUME \ 0F CROPS AND TRADE
CONTINENTAL NATIONAL BANK
ISSUES ANNUAL SUMMARY.
While Business Has Been Compare.
lively Dull In Large Cities, the
West is Prosperous.

Chicago, Aug, l6.-The Continent
al Bank today issued its annual sum.
mary 6f the Financial, Commercial
Eand Industrial conditions Of the coun-
TRY as CLEANED from its many CORES
pondents. Y
| Mature" it says, has not been
prodigal in her yields of grains, for
age, vegetables and fruits, but has
given us haryests this year ample for
the requirements of the country,
without exhausting the supplies from
former haryests.
sour reports indicate a total wheat
crop of 657, 100000 bushels, or so ,O0O,,
900 bushels less than last years rec,
ord production, but equal to a ten
years average production. Corn
promises a yield of 5000, 1000, 900 bush
els; or 225,O00,000 bushels above the
previous season and rs per cent over
a ten years average crop. The oats
yield will exceed last years excellent
production with. total of 1911 900,
900 bushels. 100000 bushels over
the ten-year average. Barley will
equal last years crop of 12S,000,000
bushels, and rye will exceed the pre-.
yious season, being 3l,500,000 BUSH
els, comparing with 30,0O0,000 bush
els. The total production of these
grains, as reported to us, is 4,906, 000,.
600 bushels, while the ten-year aver
age is 4,431, 100000 bushels. Cotton
condition indicates a crop of 11,0O0,-
900 bales, or 100000 bales above last
| yea, ..... .,-..sa- 49, .G.
There has been a small shortage
of hay over most of the country, but
this great forage crop is up to the
average of 10000, 900, tons and the
supplies from former years are esti-
mated at equal to full years de-
mand.
Potatoes are smaller in yield
again the influence of the alternate
cold and dry seasons. While the pro-
ductiOn will fall below last years eX-
cessive crop, the total will be above
the ten-year average of 27S,000,0O0
bushels. ..
The volume of business has been
large, but there are frequent COM
plants that competition is sharper
and the margin of profit smaller than
ever that labor is dictatorial and that
improved methods are constantly re-
quired to Offset its demands. But
the story of Industrial progress reads
like that from the beginning.
1T is a common expression from
the smaller cities and towns that
nothing is known there of business
reaction or of Il threatened trouble
save what comes from the few large
centers. To them the country. seems
very prosperous and conditions sound.
Many of them express some impa-
thence over the conservative attitude
of the banking fraternity, whom they
accuse of being frightened at shad-
ows. Nevertheless, it is apparent
that the note of warning was well
sounded and that wholesome effort
to check the expansion of credits has
been made. andhthe country is in
much better condition because of it.
The entire West has been enor-
mously, almost wildly, prosperous.
The basis of this prosperity has been
the high prices for farm products,
which have furnished the farmers
with the means to build better homes
and barns, drain their lands, buy i'm
proved machinery, enlarge their
farms and in not a few instances
commit the Oft-heralded offence of
buying an automobile. We have
made considerable inquiry into this,
and our information is that the farm
er who buys an automobile generally
pays cash for it and is better able to
own it than most of the town pur-
chasers. 1t is probably of more real
utility to him than to any other class
of purchasers.