The Glenwood post., 1911-01-14
A. ]. DICKSON, Editor III Proprietor
Saturday, January IA, 1911.
POST PROPHECIES

any special prescience or that his pre-
dictions and prophecies are entitled to
more weight than those of his neigh
bors and friends. We claim no ability
in the prophetic line save that which
is founded on common sense and the
law of cause and effect.
And yet, at this the beginning of
another calendar year and with the
Post starting on its fourteenth year
under the direct management of the
present editor one cannot help taking
few retrospective glances and in doing
so we trust that we may be pardoned
for suggesting that the past predictions
of the Post have come true with a de
gree of accuracy that is especially graf
flying to the writer.
Something like twelve or thirteen
years ago the question of the adapta-
bility of this country to the beet su-
gar industry was considerably agitated
in this section and after giving the
subject very careful study the Post,
without in any manner desiring to dis
courage the proposed industry prophe-
sled that as dividend payer the
sugar beet could not begin to compare
with the potato which at that time
was also considerable of an experiment
in this western slope section.
While we had no disposition at that
time to discourage the growing of su-
gar beets or to "knock'' on any legit
innate proposition or industry for whicm
there was a reasonable prospect of sue
cess we felt, after questioning rum
Der of farmers. and so stated through
the columns of the Post, that the same
amount of labor required to grow a
profitable crop of sugar beets, if ex-
pended on a crop of potatoes, would
yield larger revenue one year with
another. We also gave it as an opinion
that the farmers then residing in Gar
field county would not grow sugar
beets to sufficient extent, even if the
industry We're profitable, to encourage
the location of a sugar factory. For
such statements the Post was branded
as knocker by the sugar beet enthu-
siasts.
Was our prophecy correct? Glance
about you for the answer. Not only
was it necessary to import Japs and
other foreigners to thin and weed the
beets in order to assure even reasonable
success but during the past two years
scarcely an acre has been planted to
sugar beets above Glenwood while at
this very time there is a very persis
tent rumor that the sugar factory es-
tablished at Grand Junction as re
suit of the agitation of those days is
to be moved to Delta for the reason
that the Grand valley farmers will not
grow beets in sufficient quantities to
make it profitable to the company to
leave the factory at the Junction.
A little later there was considerable
agitation in favor of the establishment
of creameries on the western slope and
the Post favored and encouraged the
scheme believing then as We believe
ern slope section should be manufac
tured here. And yet. soon after the
first agitation, the Post, after talking
the matter over with a number of
ranchmen, very reluctantly predicted
that the creamery business would not
be made a success during that decade
or until the "saddle farmers of that
day who simply would not milk cows
had been displaced by those who had
had some experience in dairying or at
least were not averse to giving Bessie
fair trial. Today we do not know
of creamery in successful operation
on the western slope although several
have been started during the past few
years.
We cannot allow the mind to revert
to the early days without recalling the
free silver excitement of 1896 and sub
sequent years in which some of our
subscribers Of that day who are
staunch subscribers and friends of the
Post at the present day predicted all
kinds of dire results unless certain mon
etsry legislation were enacted by the
lawmakers of the land.
Needless to say the Post did not
share in all these dire predictions of
calamity and while favorable to silver
legislation We contended that the val
leys Of Colorado were wonderfully
rich in agricultural possibilities and
thst he hills which ~ pssaussd with