The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-14
Contrast With His Mission Immediately After the
 Great Earthquake
NEW YORK BANKER
 GIVES HIS VIEWS
Has Been Greatly Elated Over Crop Prospects in All Sections h. cluding Wheat Outlook
 in Canada
By HOLLAND

By HOLLAND
 New York, September 13.-tSpeclal) }
 William A Simonson, vice president Of the National City bank, started in the latter part of last week upon an excursion of some six weeks to the Pacific coast His mission is entirely different from the one which took him. at the time of the San Francisco earthquake in almost record time from New York city to Oakland. Cal For at that time he carried S500O 9o0. or it's equivalent, which was an instantly and voluntarily raised loan by some of the banks of the New York clearing house association by means of which the San Francisco banks would be able to resume at the earliest possible moment at least imperative business. MT. Simonson fol- loved F. H. Hartman, who happened to be at Omaha when news of the earth quake and fire reached him and who. for tifying himself with abundant securities and cash, and with absolute right of way for the whole distance, reached Oak land few hours before MT. Simonson got there. The resources provided by these two men went far toward enabling San Francisco banks. which had temporarily opened such offices as were possible to secure in Oakland to aid business men of San Francisco and the city itself
 Now MT. Simonson goes not merely to visit the exposition, but also to learn what business and commercial conditions upon the Pacific are. getting his infor- nation at first hand. He presumes that al, that he learns will confirm the impress sions he obtained when upon an extended business trip throughout that section of the west which reaches from Minnearolis southerly. extending westerly from the Mississippi river to the Missouri. As a result of that visit, MT Simonon was able to report to his banking associates in this city almost phenomenal conditions. These included those which were charac- teristic of the banks which were overflow ing with money and the wonderful vistas of the fields which later were to yield the harvests of which reports came from Washington the day before MT. Simonson began his excursion to the Pacific coast.
 Wonderful Agricultural Capacity
 One of the facts which was strongly im- pressed upon him at the time of his visit in the late spring and early summer was the wonderful agricultural capacity of the United States by reason of It's length and breadth, an area which stretches from almost the subarctic line on the north to the subtropic on the south and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The magnitude of this area make 1t practi- cally inconceivable that there should ever be any famine-like impairment of the crops For if there be bad weather in some sections of the country, good farm ing weather is likely to prevail in other sections.
 Just before MT. Slmonson took the train he called attention to the latest of the government bulletins. These show that the harvests are now to be not only excel lent, but probably exceptional as whole. Yet in some parts of the country the farming season has been wet and In some other parts of the country occasional drouths have prevailed. For instance, the winter wheat crop in the southwest was impaired by the rain. On the other hand. the spring wheat crop in the northwest was magnificent. So that one section of the country which contains large wheat belts has made good by its prolific harvest of wheat the impairment occasioned by bad weather in another section. Bankers and men of business all over the United States are speaking with of the fact that Canada. not that the dominion Is greatly W1In t1e WAT dnQ 1du BcIlt IflnN many thousand troops to the battlefield, nevertheless is raising the largest crop of wheat ever harvested. Corn through out the United States averages we'll
 Another fact demonstrated by the gov ernment's latest report proves again how the magnificent distances which charac- terize our agricultural areas mako 1t possible to even up conditions so that poor corn harvests in one section of the q <7> p<>1 txrx. oellent harvests in other sections. The at Washington says that we are to have harvests of nearly 5000, 0o,oO0 bushels of corn. More acres were planted to corn than ever before. The south will report before October ends the largest harvest of corn ever garnered in those states, and it Is the results which the southern planters of corn have secured which made good some impairment In the corn harvest in other parts of the country.
 For instance. the monthly report of the federal reserve bank at Minneapolis con- tains a reference to corn as the condition of that crop appeared to be on September 1 in the northwest. good deal of dam age on account of early frosts Is reported. JIntimely and unusually severe frosts in the last week of August shriveled corn and caused losses to the growers of flax as well as to the planters of corn. Had the frost not come. the harvest of flax in the northwest would have been the best in years.
 But the south and other parts of the cnlintrv have yielded such unusually great of corn as te make good the inn ;.ailInent in the northwest. But for this occa stoned by frost and wet there probably would have been harvested in the United States more bushels of corn than were garnered in the greatest year of corn harvest. over 300, 100000 bushels.
 In New England, farmers have suffered serious losses on account of the damage to their hay occasioned by prolonged rains. The estimate is that not more than 70 Ter cent of the normal hay crop in New Eng land will be secured this year. But in the west they are harvesting very heavy crops of hay and late pasturage is re- markably good. This year there vii, be no question about greater money value of the hay crop than on that of the cot ton crop. In years past, the experts have been fond of making calculations which would tend to show whether the money value of the hay harvested in the United States was greater than the money value cotton. exclusive of by-products. In normal seasons, the money value Of these two crops Is regarded as approximately equal, although 1t is difficult to secure an accurate estimate of the money value of the hay crop.
 Now that the harvests are nearly com ,leted, some consideration is being given 10 the market conditions. MT. Simonson says thnf they are this year the rovarea