The Benson signal., 1916-07-08
DA'SEXCELLENT
FINANCIAL STANDING
Bank CIearings Increase-Agri-
culture Is a Paying Indus
try-Manufactures
Doing Well.

Business experts assert that Can
ada is on the threshold of perhaps
the most prosperous era in her his
tory. The unprecedented value OF
the farm products of 1913. together
with tho very large output Of factories
working ON munitions of war has sud
denly brought the country into n pO-
sition. financially. scarcely hoped for
as a nation fOr years to come. EX-
port surplus of 500. .OOO. 600 II month is
making Canada very strong in cash"
-EXtracl from official bulletin of Feb
ruary II. 1916.
The response by the farmers of Cam
ada to the call for increased prOduc-
tl0n in 1915 was II total net output
exceeding one billion dollars an in
crease over normal years of at least
three hundred millions. The three
Prairie Provinces contributed prob
ably nearly cne-half of the total prod
uct.
The wheat crop was worth $31OWN.-
600. and accounted for about 10 per
cent OF the total agricultural prWiMct.
Other things counted also. Look ut
dairying. In Ontario the dairy pro-
ductiOn 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 SEQ
tia. The dairy cow was ION the job"
in 1918. So also were the beef cattle,
the pigs and the hens.
- Is not fair to the SirnerS Of the
Prairies to call the wheat crop Of 1918
''nliracle" crop. The farmers rulti-
waited more land and gave attention
to their seed. Providence gave them
favorable weather. Then they toiled
early and hate in the harvesting and
threShing. Good cultivation gave big
ger yields than careless work. 45 bush
els as against 25
The wealth of Western Canada iS
by no means all in it's wheat crop. IF
the country had no wheat at all 1t
would still he famous as a land Of sue
ceSsfUl farmers on account of it's stock
production. From one shipping point
(High River. Alberta) over $1I.WO.M
worth of horses have been sold in the
last two months. The average prize
TO the farmer has been about $l75.tM
per head. According to Government
returns there are a million and II half
horses in Manitoba saskatchewan and
Alberta. worth probably $1M.OtN. ONO.
The investments which farmers of
Western Canada are making in live
stock and farm improvements are
good evidence of the fact that they
have money for these purposes. II ia
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 tn"
country is particularly active. and
farmers are the biggest hnvcrS
cent report of the Saskatoon district
shows that i'm two months unIIl,n
dollars worth of automobiles have
been sold. largely to farmers. Nor are
all of these ears of the cheaper makes :
some higl-priced machines are i'm de-
mand.
Bank clearingS throughout the West
ern Provinces show greater cun,nier-
cial activity than at the same season
i'm 1913 or 1914 the increase for the
last week of February being $S.OO0.CNW
and almost $9.OOOWW. respectively.
for the first week of March $1IWN.-
600 over 1919 and $lS.OtN). .OM over
1914. The same excellent story comes
from Moose Jaw. S;Sk. where they
showed from 40 to 100 per cent over
the previous year. Cal lgary. Alta.
bank clearingS continue to reflect the
greatly improved business conditions
as compared with Il year ago. Caua
da'S bank clearingS for tn" mOntl! of
February. 1916. were the greatest for
any February in the cOuntry'S history.
The totals amounted to S6tj4 21.. .OlO.OO
as compared with $4S7. .29i ONl(W for
the same month II year ago. An In
crease, of SILT 900. .NW.(M in bank clear
ingS for the month tells it's own story
Of the cOuntry's prOsperity.-Adver-
tiSenIent.