Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-03-15
Mj9trllanruus 3radin9.
THE FARMERS OPPORTUNITY.
Everything Coming His Way If He
Will Only See Ii.

One of the strongest articles that
has yet come to the attention of York
farmers was circulated by the Bank
of Glover recently. 1t was taken
from The Macon Telegraph, which
cites figures in support of the theory
and the decreased supply of food
stuffs afford the farmer his greatest
opportunity. The article is as fol-
lows. and is well worth reading:
The stock of money in this country
is today approximately SO, 100000
OOO. Ten years ago it was $2,3iO,OOO,-
600. This is a gain of 9O,OOO,OOO,
or approximately 30 per cent.
Authoritative statistics show that
the 1909 wheat crop was S.3 bushels
per capita. against S.63 bushels per
capita ten years ago; the corn crop
dropped from 34.9 to SO.9 bushels per
capita; the oats crop from l2.4 to
Iii bushels per capita: the hay crop
from l ton to ga of a ton per cap
ita, and the number Of food animals,
swine, cattle and sheep, fell from 20
! to 1.9 per capita.
In the matter of meats the gov
ernment returns issued on the 25th OF
January show. under the head of
swine (hogs), that the total supplies
| in 1900, of 54.000,000, fell to 47,OOO,-
600 in 1910, a decrease of nearly 10
per cent. other cattle, in 1903, 49,
600. 600. fell to 47,OOO.0OO in 1910.
Number of Cattle Killed.
The number of cattle killed under
the inspection law in the United
States in 1907 was 7,621.717; i'm 1909
1 T,lt 1nrinu
same period there was an increase Ill
the number of calves killed from l.
763.574 to 2,O46,713. The receipts
of hogs at the markets fell l3.$ per
cent from 1908 to 1909. When the
panic of 1907 came on, many or the
| farmers in the west sold their hogs
because food was too high to feed
them, and these brOOding herds have
not been replaced
In the matter of the production of
fruits, the leader and standard (be-
cause it keeps longer), apples. in the
| United States. have fallen from 6S,-
10000 barrels In 1866 to 2l,OOO,OO0
barrels in 1909!
Here is money, per dollar, decreas-
ing in it's purchasing power because
of a 80 per cent increase in volume.
Here is an increasing deficit in the
field crops per capita. Here Is mark
| ed decrease in hogs and cattle sup
ply. Here is a decrease in the leader
among all the fruits (apples) of ap-
proximately 20 per cent.
On the top of all Of this is an av-
erage tariff of 60 per cent on all for
| eign food Stuffs
The Farmers Chance.
As a result of all these things-the
increased supply of money, the de-
| Of a fnnlStnffG and
the tariff-the prices of beef, pork,
and it's by-products, mutton, chickens,
eggs. butter and milk. and all other
| food products-taken on an average
have never been as high as now, bar
ring. of course. the war prices of the
sos
Is not this the southern farmers
golden opportunity?
The Telegraph has shown in pre-
vious articles that in 1860, when the
population in Georgia was 1,O51,2S6,
there were in this state 2,O36, 16
hogs. In 1907, with a population Of
|, zoo, 900. there were only 1,599,000
hogs. With the population more than
doubled. the number Of hogs has been
reduced nearly one-half!
The Telegraph has shown that, in
1860, there were 299.6SS milch COWS.
In 1907, 30S. .00O-an increase of only
S,312. That in 1860, there were oxen
and other cattle, 706,194. In 1871,
$50, of 26,194. That in
1860 there were 512,6lS sheep. In
1907, 269,O00-a decrease of 243,6lS!
These figures are surprising, and
yet they are based on actual statSti-
cal returns.
The Telegraph has shown that in
1890, when Georgias population was
1.S37,353. Georgia farmers owned l.
I627,OOS swine. In 1907, when the
population had increased to 100000,
the swine owned by Georgia farmers
decreased to $500, ,000-a loss of 2S,-
OOS. That in 1890, the sheep owned
| by Georgia farmers numbered ALL
| SIC. In 1907 they had decreased to
269. loss of approximately one
half That in 1890, Georgia owned
354,61S milch cows. In 1907 the
46,61S.
Cost of a Pound of Meat.
All of these figures are amazing
but they are collected from the most
reliable sources. They call TO the
| farmer with irresistible eloquence and
force. They cry aloud to them to
plant less cotton and more grain; tC
raise more cattle and hogs-not as q
patriotic thing. but as a prOfit-mak-
| ing business. 1t is the farmers op-
portunity. His day has come, if he is
wise enough to read the signs of the
times and take advantage of it.
Food is the first and the last OF
the natural man. All men must eat
Everything else is secondary. We
can go naked and live in the woods
as the heather do. but we must eat
1t takes a pound of cotton to buy q
| pound of meat. \ pound of meat
can be raised more cheaply than g
pound of cotton. \ farmer can eat
his meat. but he cannot eat his cot