Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-04
Prosperity of Railroads.


ineishhor's acres.
Prosperity of Railroads.
| All this in turn. meant prosperity for
the railroads. 1t means even greater
prosperity during 1916. unless an I'M
foreseen bit of gravel gets in the gears.
Farmers from other states where land
is more expensive began to come IN
They are bringing their families and
machinery and farm stock with them
| Freight traffic on the roads rose stead
ily from the early autumn. Ihc incomes
! Of the roads have in most cases been
better than for three years past. and
in some cases have been better thah
! ever before in their history.
! 1--WE hope to make the improvements
| that We're held UP while times were
bad said one railroad man.
| Spurs will be run into the back coun-
try where traffic can be developed
| New stations will be built, new side
| tracks laid, new rolling stock ordered
Minnesota Montana. the Dakotas, a
pairing of Wisconsin and some part OF
| the Pacific coast state are tributary 10
this gateway. The possibilities are m
| toxicating Last year one little valley
! in Montana made what was practically
| its first returns on wheat. Not many
| wears ago people believed the valley
| too high and too dry and too TINS ana
| that to be worth bothering with. Its
Il9l6 crop was one of the best on rec
ord to the number of cultivated acres.
Railroads Money Spenders.
| Railroad prosperity. of course. means
| national prosperity. 1t is not merely
| an index that other people are doing
| we'll When the roads make money
| they are forced to spend money largely
a little bit more money is distributed
/ he
| has speeded up greatly. That means
| the people in those little towns in the
| northwest are buying more goods
and that more little towns are being
| scattered through the northwest. 1t
! isn't all wheat farming, either. The
| northwestern man long ago learned to
| diversity his crops Especially he has
| gone in for dairy farming.
| 1T is difficult to keep the prices of
| land used for wheat farming alone
| higher than $50 an acre said bank
| err VINO has specialized In agricultural
loans. when the farmer begins to di-
| versify the value of his land goes up"
| Dairying eventually results in a leis-
ure class. according to the same bank
| err.
at is a business that is never over
! DONE" said he. The time comes when
the dairyman finds he can sell out for
| $4,000 or thereabouts. At first he re-
| fuses. Then the mornings begin to
| turn cold and it is still his duty to get
4
| tile calf's nose down in the bucket. No
| rich man will do that for long. Sooner
| or later he kicks the bucket and moves
| to town.
They have potato congresses up here,
| which hundreds of farmers attend to
| learn how to grow better potatoes.
| Many counties have occasional gather
| ings in which the young people get ac-
auainted and incidentally learn more
| about their business. Scientists go out
\ the
| farms as to their soil and lay out q ro-
tation series for the crops. One of the
farm papers published here received
! $500 renewals on a single mail. II
costs more to advertise in 1t than in
the most widely circulated weekly gen
eral magazine published in the United
States. One man finds it pays to run
school in which young farmers are
trained to operate agricultural tract
ors.
Means National Prosperity.
what will happen in the northwest
during 1867 ] asked.
I'VE will be kept busy trying to do all
the business offered u.s." was the gen.
eral opinion. Prosperity here means
national prosperity. We are not one idea
| specialists. We beat all over the bust
ness drum
| What will happen after the war?'
1
| Nothing"
| That is the optimist's point of view,
of course-and there can be no pessi-
mists in the northwest Not all, how
ever. are equally certain that the sun
will never stop shining The two
great financial clans here are the Hill
and the Weyerhaeuser, interests. the
first representing railroads and ore and
wheat and the second lumber. Men
who are competent to speak for both
look forward to forced draft business
during the war and Immediately after
the war, while Europe is trying to get
UP on her staggering legs again.
| And them"
we do not know" was the reply.
That there may be friction when
American labor is forced to undergo
| readJustment process in order to COM
| pete with European laboC was regard
| ed as probab bic by the representatives,
of both interests. They agreed upon
the imminent need of American
| merchant marine. Others commented
even more forcibly than these men
who by reason of their position are
conservative, upon the possible effect
of the recent British order in council
by the terms of which England may
require British bottoms to be licensed
even when plying between two neutral
ports
1T forces US TO provide ourselves
with vessels at once" was the general
| opinion Under that order England
| ihiSH's II sHt desired, practically de-
stroy our export trade, or the export
trade of an individual or firm England
might desire TO discipline. The United
States must not consider resting un-
der this threat"
The conclusions gained from a study
OF the situation here IS that 1915 was
easily the best year the northwest has
: ever had. and that the bedplates for a
: greater prosperity IN 1916 have been
laid. even though the harvest is not SO
great. The northwest agrees with the
rest of the country as to the certainty
of big business during the war and
Immediately after the war ends
There's where prophecy stops.