Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1915-12-17
By HENRY c. STUART. Co..
ERN0R Of, VIRGINIA, IN
BALTIMORE sun.

Broadly speaking, Virginia
along with other Southern
States, is sharing in the pros-|
perity which seems to have come |
to the whole country. We see
that the output of coal and
coke is larger than for several
years past ; iron furnaces, long
cold, are again in full blast all
branches of manufacturing are
getting into full swing labor is
employed and is in increasing de-
mand at remunerative wages !;
money is easy for the more tav-
ored class of borrowers at reas
enable rates, especially in the
cities ; good crops Of grain, hay,
tobacco and peanuts have been
already gathered. We see that
the aggregate cash value of the
agricultural products of the
United States for the present
year reaches the phenomenal fig
ure of S., 500, 900, 900.
We know that the prosperity
of the country is based on and
largely grown out of those agri-
cultural products /; that they
constitute and, in a large sense,
measure our national income
that they establish and maintain
the huge trade balance in our
favor. These conditions give
prosperity and stability to what
is known as big business" and
afford the means, directly ard in
directly, of building up huge
fortunes to the credit, however
|of men who have had the leas
to do with producing those con
ditions. 1t must be admitted
that the men who have grow
these great crops and thus Great
ed these values and opportuni
ties, are the smallest participant
in the rewards that flow from
them.
! With the unprecedented fer
| eign demand for agriculture
| products of all kinds, includin,
live stock, we find practically al
of them below the average pric
IF the three preceding year
and most of them below the fai
cost o. production. The cottol
crop of 1914 went out of til,
hands of the planters at fgur
below cost of production ant
only the fact of a very short croI
prevented the planter from meet
ing the same fate in 1915.
Nearly all the grains are lowe
than they were before the Euro
pean war began only a few
grades of tobacco are selling a.
remunerative prices on the ware
house floor. though there seem:
a glea n of hope for better prices
peanuts, one of the importan
money crops of Virginia. are il
the same category, minus the
CLEAN of hope.
The average price of live cat
tie is much lower than that O
1914 and substantially below the
leverage of the last three years
The average price of hogs i:
lower than it has been for sew
eral years. The average hors,
is lower than for ten years past
ITneSe conditions as to live stock
exist III spite of an urgent for
eign demand at war prices
which is being met by unparal
leled shipments to European
markets, markets which have
been more or less closed against
u, Tor several years in spite
also, of the big advances in the
price o. hides, amounting il
cases of large animals to S. OF
S9 per head in spite, also, oil
sharp advances in every by-pro.
duct from the slaughter house.
We are told that the prevail.
ing depression in the price OF
gricultural products is due to
oversupply. Let us inquire into
this in the single case of live
cattle, emitting inquiry as to
other agricultural products. The
question is, how can there be an
oversupply of cattle when there
was an admitted shortage in the
American and world supply dat
ing back to 1912 1t is well
known fact that merchantab BILE
beef cannot be produced on a
large scale on short notice at
least four years are necessary to
increase the supply after the task