The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1918-01-11
BUSINESS IN 1917;
THE Z YEAR EAR TO CONE

Industries Speeded Up Follow
ing Entry of United
States Into War.
Bradstreet's review Of the business
year 1917 says:
Nineteen hundred and seventeen
saw US assert our right to life as a
commercial nation, raise two enor-
nous popular loans for the prosecu-
ton of the war, lay the foundation
for and rear upon this great military
and naval forces, part of this volun-
tarily enlisted and part a great popu-
lar army system, to get the latter
100000 young men submitting
themselves to CONSUMPTION. The gov
eminent followed the drafting Of SOL
diers and civilians by a great cor
scription of wealth and industry, reg
ulated outputs of and prices in all
lines of basic production, commander
ed shipping already building o. con-
tracted for and began construction Of
vast fleet of merchant ships to make
up for submarine sinkings, dispatch
ed hundreds of thousands of soldiers
and sailors to Europe, abolished spec
ulation in many lines, and practically,
if not in actually, took over control
of the c~ountry's railways.
In fact, despite bureaucratic red
tape, which delayed but did not en-
tirely check progress, it took all the
steps necessary to organize the coun-
try's forces for offense and defense
with, as it turned out, a minimum
amount of disorganization of every
day business, which, though naturally
affected by the diversion of millions
of men and women from peaceful pur-
suits, continued of very large vol
In this connection it would be we'll
to state that while economy cam
paigns, acquisitions for government
use and the inevitable requirements
for war have without doubt, lessened
civilian takings, and some nonessen-
tial efforts at national solidarity and
provision, the output of industry and
the volume of trade in the country as
a whole broke all records in value.
The Price Movement.
Perhaps no single development Of
the year surpassed the record made
by prices of commodities. The def
cient food harvests, of 1916, which fell
one-fifth below those of 1915, were
only partly responsible for the aero
plane-like flight of prices. Foreign
demand, sharpened by lessened yields,
especially Of grain abroad, was very
large, while u own or our allies
calls for all sorts of war supplies
cotton and wooden cloth, leather, iron,
steel. coal, copper, lumber, provisions
of all kinds, chemicals and drugs
drove prices to unexampled heights.
Nearly all civil war records of food
prices were broken; wheat sold up to
$3.50 per bushel; corn to $2.45; oats
to SO cents; flour, SIT per barrel;
hogs, $40 per hundred pounds; live
weight; lard, 20 cents per pound; pork
$50 per barrel; refined sugar, $40
per hundred pounds; pig iron, $55, and
steel 500 per ton; lead, II cents; tin,
81 cents; copper, 81 cents; cotton,
$31.25, and print cloths, 8 "a cents
per yard; and, indeed, the list of arti-
cles advancing to dizzy heights was a
virtual roll call of the products of
farm, forest, mine and factory.
Most of these peak points we're
reached in the fore part of the year,
and fuel and food control undoubtedly
held down prices later, still only
three out of the thirteen groups of
commodities failed to reach peak pric-
es in 1917.
Large Results in Crops.
II NAOp ISouACo VI AVAS oIlOW CIdI
the balance lost by the unfavorable
weather and short yield of 1916 was
partly restored by the efforts of the
agriculturist. This is true, at least,
of most of the crops, thought the loss
of winter wheat in 1867 was not
made up in spring wheat, and the
bumper yields of corn, oats, rye, white
and sweet potatoes and beans were
the result rather of enlarged areas
than of increased yields per acre.
However, the yields of leading cereals
meat animal feeds foremost-were
ever one-fifth larger than the year
before and potatoes, an important hu-
man food, were far in advance of any
previous year.
The plant-a-garden movement, first
actively proposed in these columns
early in March, was triumphantly vim
dictated and should see further ex-
pansion in 1918. The effort to plant
a tremendous area in winter wheat
in the fall of 1917 was checked by ad-