Williams news., 1916-07-20
CANADA A'SEXCELLENT
 FINANCIAL STANDING
Bank Clearings lncrease-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 1915, together with the very large output of factories working on munitions of war has sud denly brought the country into Il pO- sitfOn. financially. scarcely hoped for as nation for years to come. Ex- port surplus of S50.OO0.OO0 month Is making Canada very strong In cash" Extract from official bulletin of Feb ruary II. 1916.
 The response by the farmers of Can ada to the call for increased produc- ton in 1915 was q total net output exceeding one billion dollars. an tn- crease over normal years of at least three hundred millions. The three Prairie Provinces contributed prob ably nearly one-half of the total prod uct.
 The wheat crop was worth S310.O0O.- OOO. and accounted for about 30 per cent of the total agricultural product. Other things counted atsO. Look at
 
 ductiOn was increased 20 per cent. and prices were over 10 per cent ahead of 1914. Other provinces shured in the increase. especially Alberta. Saskatchewan. Quebec and Nova Sco- tia. The dairy COW was lon the job" in 1915. So also were the beef cattle. the pigs and the hens.
 It is not fair to the farmers of the Prairies to call the wheat crop of 1915 il miracle" crop. The farmers culti- | vated more land and gave attention 10 their seed. Providence gave them favorable weather. Then they toiied early and late 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 its 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 its stock production. From one shipping point (High River. AIberta) over S75.OD0.OO worth of horses have been sold In the last two months. The average price to the farmer has been about S175.00 per head. According to Government returns there are q million and a half horses Tn Manitoba. Saskatchewan and Alberta. worth probably S150.0O0.UO. 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. It Is apparent. however. that they are also speAding 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 huvers. '..- cent report of the Saskatoon district shows that in two mo1ths a million dollars worth of automobiles have been sold. largely to farmers. Nor are all of these cars of the cheaper makes 1; some high-priced machines are In de- mand.
 Bank clearings throughout the Vest ern Provinces show greater commer- ciaI activity than at the same season in 1915 or 1914 the increase for the last week of February being $S.OO0.uD and almost S9.O0O.0OO. respectively. for the first week of March $15.OtN.- 900 over 1915 and S19.0OO.OO0 over 1914. The same excellent story comes from Moose Jaw. Susk.. where they showed from 40 to 100 per cent over the previous year. Calgary. Alta. bank clearings continue to reflect the greatly improved business conditions as compared with u year ago. Canu- da's bank cle,lrings for the month of February. 1916. were the greatest for any February in, the cOuntry's history. The totals amounted to $6G4 2,2 .N0.0O. as compared with $4S7 :2a!,6. .O0O.OO for the same month a-syear ago An tn- crease of $177.O0O. O.OO.OO?in bunk clear ings for the month tells it's own story of the country's prosperity.-Adver- | tisement. .-.-t t--- -,- | Somettinu Different