Tombstone epitaph., 1916-07-16
CANADA'SEXCELLENT
 FINANCIAL STANDING
Bank Clearings lncrease-Agri. culture Is a Paying lndus- try-Manufactures
 Doing Well.

Business experts assert that tan- ada Is on the threshold of perhaps the most prosperous era in her his tory. The unprecedented value of the farm products of 1915. together with the very large output of factories working on munitions of war has sud denly brought the country into a po- sition, financially, scarcely hoped for as nation for years to come. Ex- port surplus of SJOWO.OOo q month is making Canada very strong in cash" Extract from official bulletin of Feb -uary II. 1916.
 The response by the farmers of Can ada to the call fer increased produc- lion in 1915 was a total net output exceeding one billion dollars, an in crease over normal years of at least three hundred millions. The three frairie Provinces contributed prob ably nearly one-half of the total prod lct.
 The wheat crop was worth S3lO,OOO.- MO, and accounted for about 90 p<r cent of the total agricultural product. DNAaNh AiAAtN NpH-4Nt'4 sAA@p- i%''N "N iairying. In Ontario the dairy pro iuctiOn was increased 20 per cent, and prices were over 10 per cent ahead of 1914. other provinces shared In the increase, especially Alberta, Saskatchewan. Quebec and Nova Sco- tia. The dairy COW was "on the job" in 1915 So also were the beef cattle, the pigs and the hens.
 IL is moi fair to the farmers of the PrRiries tp call the wheat crop of 1915 T miracle crop. The farmers culti- vated more land and gave attention to their seed. Providence gave them favorable weather. Then they toiled early and late in the harvesting and thre>hing. Good cultivation gave big ger yields than careleSs work, 45 bush els as agiinSi 2J.
 The wealth of Western Canada is by no means all in its wheat crop. If the country had no wheat at all It would still be famous as land of sue cessful farmers on account of its stock production. From one shipping point (High River, Alberta) over S7j.OO0.OO worth Of horses have been sold in the last two months. The average price 10 the farmer has been about Sl7J.O0 per head. According to Government returns there are million and a half horses in Manitoba. Saskatchewan and Alberta, worth probably SlJo.eO0UoO.
 The investments which farmers of Western Canatla are making in live stock and farm Improvements are good evidence of the fact that they have money for these purposes. It Is apparent. however. that they are also spending some of their profits on those things which will bring greater comfort and enjoyment to themselves. their wives and their families. The automobile trade all through the country is particularly active. and farmers are the biggest buyers. re- cent report of the Saskatoon district shows that in two months Il million dollars worth of automobiles have been sold. largely to farmers. Nor are all of these cars of the cheaper makes some high-priced machines are Tn de mand.
 Bank clearings throughout the West ern Provinces show greater conner cial activity than at the same season In 1915 or 1914. the increase for the last week of February being SSOOO.OOO and almost s9.OO0.O00. respectively, for the first week of March S1J.OOO.- 600 over 1915 and s1S.OOO,OOO over 1914. The same excellent story comes from Moose Jaw. Sask.. where they showed from 70 to 100 per cent over the previous year. Calgary, Alta, bank clearings continue to reflect the greatly improved business conditions as compared with year ago. Cana da's bank clearings for the month of February, 1916. were the greatest for any February in the cOuntry's history. The totals amounted to SGGi, 222 900. O. as compared with S4s7, ,296. .OO0O0 for the same month a year ago. An in crease of SIT 7,OOO. .OOOOO In bank clear ings for the month tells it's own story of the country's prosperity.-Adver- tisement.