The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1911-12-15
FARMERS RECEIVE ONLY
HALF FOR PRODUCTS
Where Does the Rest Go? Asks Sec
retary Wilson In Report-Cold
Storage is Blamed.

Notwithstanding cold storage
has increased the cost of living and
is conducive to speculating in food
stuffs are conclusions reached by
Secretary Of Agriculture Wilson from
an investigation that the Department
has been conducting for the last two
years. The Secretary set forth the re-
suits Of the Departments labors in
his annual report to the President.
The report covers a wide range Of
subjects and to attract and educate
the mas who is too tired to read 1t in
full, or even a reasonable summary
OF it, the Secretary has epitomized the
$50 pages of printed matter in series
OF paragraphs. This somewhat start
ling innovation by Cabinet officer ap-
pears without warning at the very be-
ginning of the report. The document
starts off like this:
Mr. President: ! respectfully sub
nit my fifteenth annual report cover
ing the work Of the Department OF
Agriculture for the year of 1911.
Brief Comments.
When the cattle fever tick is de-
stroyed in the Southern States the
country will get much more meat
from that section, and the producing
of it will build up the farms there.
The hog cholera serum developed
in this Department is successful where
it is properly made and applied.
Would it be asking too much of our
universities to have them educate
more plant pathologists and road en-
gineers?
Every country in the world that has
diseased plants that cannot be sold at
home can ship them to us.
The finest dates from the Sahara
Desert succeed in our Southwest.
The schools want more of our pub
lications than we have to give them
Seven hundred and fifty million dol
lars is the best estimate for poultry
products this year.
Cold Storage, he reports, has raised
the cost of living by increasing the
annual price level for butter and eggs.
| He says an examination Of the record
of prices gives a suspicion that there
! has been much speculation in some
! years by the men who kept commodi-
| ties in cold storage. Concerning the
value of wealth produced through
farming Secretary Wilson says:
For the first time in many years
! the total value Of farm products has
! declined from that Of the preceding
! year. The estimate for 1911 is based
! on the census items and is SS,4110OO,'
600. or s277 ,0O00 900 under the total for
/ 1910 The loss is chargeable to the
! general classes Of animal products
! and animals sold and slaughtered In
! consequence of the decline of prices
! OF farm animals and their products
! this group is estimated as having pro
| duced value Of 50, 900, 900 in 1911
or 1921 600 900 below the amount for
| 1910. Farm prices Of all crops are
! higher than for 1910, except for cotton
cottonseed faxseed and perhaps rice
and this general fact. Notwithstanding
the other general fact that production
was low, makes about ten crops oi
1911 the most valuable ones Of the
same kinds that the farms OF this
country have ever produced.
con the other hand the crops are
worth more than those Of 1910, the es
innate of farm value being s5,504.OOO,
00e over 1910"
Secretary Wilson's report ends
thus:
while the total values Of crops In
1911 are not so high as in 1910 there
is great abundance for all purposes
am gratifed to see the beet sugar
tonnage reach nearly the 100000
figure. II indicates that we car
make our sugar. We still buy nearly
500 900 900 worth of sweetening."