Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-10-01
WILSON SAVED FARMERS
SUM or s1OO,0OO,OOO
Would Have Lost Amount in Week
il Railroad Men Had
Struck.
STATEMENT OF j.. G.. ODELI.
Agricultural Economist Declares Re-
publican Candidate Hughes Is Con-
demning President for Preventing
Nationwide Industrial Panic.
STATEMENT OF +. G. oDEL1

NEW YORK. September 30-"Onc
hundred million dollars direct loss and
paralysis of the market is what tho
States would have suffered had not
President Wilson avcrtcd the railroad
strike" is the statement made to-day
by Frank 6. Odell, agricultural ccono
mist. and formerly agricultural statIs-
,ician for the state OF Nebraska Mr.
Odell said:
The certified returns made by tn
226 railroads Of the United States to
the Interstate Commerce Commission
show that for the month OF April,
1915. their combined net earnings were
sISooo.ooO more than for April. 1915
The railroads plea of poverty is being
used by the Republicans to scare the
farmer into believing that he would
have TO pay the cost Of increased
freight rates IL the cight-hour day
should compel the roads to pay more
in wages. The Republicans are not
calling attention to tho fact that
farmers would have lost more by ono
week of strike conditions than their
alleged increase OF expense would have
cost the railroads in five years
WOULD HAVE PREVENTED
MOVING FRUIT CROP
Take this single instance" continued
Mr.. Odcll. THE Seattle Times prints
this report of the fruit crop of the
famous Yakima Valley, in Washing
ton:
North Yakima. September 1S-It is
now practically certain that the 1916
fruit crop of the Yakima Valley viii
he 10000 carloads. 2.O00 carloads moro
than ever before. The total may even
run over that figure. High prices have
encouraged the growers to pick and
ship all Of their fruit, and. as it wa
exceptionally clean this year, very
little has gone or will go to waste
"a return of s6.o0O.OoO for those
10000 carloads of fruit seems now
assured. as few doubt apples will ava
age the % cents per box necessary 4,
make this total
"a general railroad strike would
have prevented the moving of this
crop. with resultant loss OF at least
40 per cent. or n total loss of $4,000. 900
to the Yakima fruit growers"
This" Mr.. Odcll continued. "is in
dicativc of similar and perhaps larger
loss in the famous fruitsrowing dis
tricts of Wcnatchcc and the Okanogan
in Washington Hood River, Rogue
River and Mcdford, in Oregon tho
Bitter Root Valley, in Montana; the
INSTRUMENTATION district. I'm South
eastern Washington and Idaho; the big
melon crop of Colorado and its equally
important apple and peach crop, ant
the immense fruit crop OF California
In 1915 the three principal fruit
crops of MisSouri-applcs, peaches and
pears-had farm value OF more than
Si5,000.000; the same crops in Kansas
were worth nearly S9O00,000; in Iowa
S6,So0,000. and in Nebraska, nearly
$4,000,000. This does not take into
account early small fruits. grapes or
melons. y % per cent loss on these
values would have been small in tho
case Of Il railroad strike.
The certain losses which would
have fallen to the growers in these
districts alone would nave totalcd many
millions. The dsorganization OF
markets which would have followed Il
strike would have been felt dis
astrously in every item Of this years
farm production.