The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1919-08-22
MONTANA PROSPEROUS
IN SPITE OF DROUTH

St. Paul, Mimi, August 8.-Condi-
lions in Montana are not nearly so
bad as they have been made to appear,
in the opinion of ]. W. Wheeler, pres
ident Of the Capital Trust and Saw
ings bank, who returned from Mon
tana where he made an exhaustive in
vestigation.
Mr.. Wheeler made his investigation
for big financial interests in St. Paul
and New York. He is an expert on
farming and cattle.
"The possibility of a severe winter
with a lack of winter feed is caus-
ing all this discussion" said Mr..
Wheeler. "Cattle are going forward
very rapidly from Alberta and Mon
tana to terminal markets, and beef
cattle are in most excellent condition,
as indicated by the satisfactory price
for this character Of stock.
The real loss to Montana will be in
the interruption of the program of the
individual rancher in being obliged to
sell more or less of the young cattle
which should be kept on the ranch for
the benefit of the consumer as we'll
as the producer, but / suppose what
will be a loss of future profits of the
western cattle ranches will be an adj
vantage to the mar with a large
amount of fodder and corr in this part
of the country, in giving him an OPP
portunity to buy well graded year
lings and COWS and calves.
"West Of the mountains there has
been more rain, and pasturage and
feed conditions are much better, and
all reports are that the Flathead val
ley and the Bitter Root valley are in
good shape as to crop production.
apparently the long dry spell is
broken, as they have had numerous
rains in all parts of Montana during
the past week, and it is probable that
fall conditions will be a good deal
the same as they were last year, when
the rains came in August, making
fall grazing the best Of the whole
year.
"1n the long run the u%nfavorable
seasons are going to result in a great
benefit to Montana, in that their at
tention has been called as never be-
fore to the advantage of the smaller
irrigation units that are possible on
so many places.
"The spirit of the settler is splend-
id. In n district where they had an
exceedingly small crop in 1918, and
a smaller crop this year, hundreds
of acres are already prepared for next
years crop by careful summer plow-
ing and discing.
POSSIBLY it was a little unfortu-
nate that when the new settlers went
into Montana they had such wonder
full years of crop production, when the
average crop of wheat was from 40
to so bushels an acre, and this OBJ
tanned under a preparation of the soil,
in some cases, that consisted of only
breaking the ground and seeding.
Banks in Montana are in splendid
financial condition. It is the are ex-
perience to find a Montana bank show
ing and rediscounts or borrowed mon
ey, and the banks and their custom
ers have a very liberal amount of
United States bonds,
Business in the larger towns seems
to be good; considerable building is
going on in different places, and wages
of the laboring men are high.
while these people think they are
going through something that is test
ing their nerve, it is nothing compar-
ed to what the early settlers of Min
n%esota, the Dakotas, Kansas and Ne
braska went through in the forma-
tive periods"