The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-14
Wheat Country Especially Is Found to Be in Flour
 ishing Condition
IMPROVEMENT IN
 LUMBER BUSINESS
Highly Gratifying Because Lumber Is One of Last Commodities to Respond to General
 Trend
By HOLLAND

New York, February 13.-(Special)-T midwinter reports from almost all parts of the United States continue to tell not merely of the promise of good business, but also of the existence of it. This is particularly true of that part of the coun- try which the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific and the St. Paul and Puget Sound extension serve with trans portation facilities. In that great north west there is always at this time close scrutiny of conditions which may give promise of the wheat harvest and no matter how heavy the snowfall is or how extensive 1t is always accepted by the formers there as a valuable access sorry in the cultivation of their wheat This year the winter conditions have been, according to reports received in New York, unusually favorable. That is due to the fact that while the month of January was phenomenally cold, never theless it was accompanied with the heaviest snawfall of many years. This blanket Of snow covered substantially the entire wheat belt of the northwest, Curiously enough, in one of the greatest wheat growing sections the heavy snow
  spondinsly heavy spring floods, neverthe- less these oods are sure to provide sui ficient meisture for the wheat in the spring, thereby making good any dam age that the floods themselves may cause.
 This exceptional condition is in the Red river valley where, years ago, James J. Hill, when contemplating the expansion of his first railroad so that it would ul- timately find a terminal upon the Pa cific coast, was persuaded that with ade- quate railway transportation the marvel- ously fertile lands of that valley would be speedily brought into subjection by the farmer and produce very large crops of wheat
 A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION
 The expert statisticians have been for a few days reporting that there is falling off iE the exports of grain and other food commodities, and some have wondered whether this does not forecast Ia permanent drop from the high hgures which have been for a year or more re- ported with respect to exports of grain and other food commodities. However, those who arc well informed are inclined to think that this may be traced to two causes. One is the withholding of wheat by some of the farmers in the hope that they may be able to market their wheat at letter prices by and by This is said to be especially true of the farm CTS of North Dakota, who are holding Es,Ck sA large amount of wheat, although the January prices were high enough to bring a great deal of wheat into the ele- vators. The authoritative figures re- ported by Minnesota show a large in- crease of wheat at Minneapolis and Du- luth; in fact, as large as nearly 6o0,OOo bushels in a single week in January. GREAT WEALTH IN N. DOKOTA
 John II. Rich. federal reserve agent at Minneapolis, reports that it seems to be the impression of some of those who are familiar with conditions in North Da- koto that about $12O.000,000 have been re- eeived by the farmers of that state on account of their wheat crop.
 Another req son which may explain the falling off in the exports of wheat and other food commodities is suggested by Ernest Fl Wands, who a few days ago returned frCm a visit to South America~ Mir Wands is familiar with conditions in South America since. in the admnistra- ton of President Taft, he was the con- fioential agent of the state department, whose duty it was to make reports to the Secretary of State, Phllander '. Knox. based upon conditions in South America that Argentine has been Tor sometime sno is now exporting cereals ard meat in enormous quantities The Argentina people are receiving prices for these commodities which are greatly in excess of any that they have heretofore received for them. It may be that, as Mir Wands suggests this heavy export from Argentina explains the falling or in our own exports of commoditles or this kind Later in the year, when our new haryests have been garnered at a time when it is the winter season in Ar gentina, our own exports are likely to nlatch in quantity and perhaps in price those of last year.
 A GRATIFYING REPORT