Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1919-01-04
The Business Year
War and Its Results
PEACE BRINGS DEMOBLIZATION PROBLEMS
 Extracts From Bradstreet's Review

for the ushering into the world of truly Happy New Year.
 Over Four Years of War Ended.
 With the great war apparently end ed, glance over the big events of the four years and nearly four months additional that it lasted may not be out of the way. First of all, it needs to be said that no human being ex- pected it to last the length of time it did, nor that the financial costs thereof (probably $1S0,000, 00,000,000 to $2OO ,OO0, ,OO0 ,O0O) could have been so successfully borne by the world. As to cost of life, no definite measure can be had as yet, but probably be- tween 9,000,000 and 10,000,000 fight ing men laid down their lives, while massacre, disease and starvation may have taken as many more civilians. Of our own part in it, it can be said that while our financial costs have been great, perhaps $22,000,000,000 to date, our own loss of life, directly due to the hostilities or to disease and attendant evils, possibly 100000 men, while regrettable in our eyes, was slight compared with either those of any of our foes or of the allies.
 Feeding Our Allies
 In the work of feeding our allies, a really marvellous plan of substitution of other cereals for wheat was first necessary in 1918, and to bring this about, the 1-2 to bushels per capita of domestic consumption at the out set was cut down to below three bus hels. The average for the entire year was not over four bushels, and whereas at the outset of the cereal year 1918 total export of only 4O,- 00O,000 bushels was estimated as pos sible from our deficient 1917 harvest, we actually shipped 190,OO0,OO0 bush els without apparent injury to our own population, which accepted wheat less and meatless days, record high levels of prices, some rather drastic limitations of individual liberties, and a myriad of other sacrifices, as some thing all in the "day's work" of win ming the war. In doing this, by the way, the free stock of wheat was re- duced to a ten days supply by the ClIll6 LllG u6W CIOp W6o dNoi1obhC.
 Super-War Prices.
 Up to the middle of the year the movement of commodity prices, if a slight seasonal reaction in March be excepted, was quite steadily, upward, reflecting the needs of our allies, the high buying power of our own people and, last but not least, the concentrat- ed buying of our government for the army needs (4,000,00 men being in arms and still greater number be- ing in prospect). The August 1 mum Der, however, reflecting, as 1t did, government price-fixing of cotton goods, showed a decline and the fol- lowing numbers a rather uncertain but, on the whole, downward trend un- til December 1, when, contrary to many expectations based on the re- turn of peace, the Index Number nov ed sharply upward, due to the rise in meats and dairy products, which of course, are and have been in a class by themselves, owing to war demands. Illustrative of this, it might be said, selected list of meats, breadstuffs, dairy products and groceries on July l, 1918, showed gains of 65 to 160 per cent, as compared with the prices rul- Ing at the outset of the great war in 1914. Bradstreet's approximate in- dex number of Dec. 1, shows that the prices as whole are only seven tenths to 1 per cent below the high point of July 1, are 8 per cent above Dec. 1 a year ago, and 11S per cent above the level ruling on August 1, 1914. Compared with April 1, 1917, on the eve of our entry into the war, the advance is 30 per cent. The in dex number for the entire year 1918 is $18.73 which is 216 per cent above the low record year 1896, tweny-two years ago.
 The Crops
 Of the crop outturn of 1918, it may be said that it was excellent in part, fair in other respects and bad in few, the conspicious shortages being, how ever, in animal feeding stuffs, hay, oats and potatoes, which has been an unavoidable element in the matter of meat production and prices. Owing to a record of spring wheat, the wheat crop as a whole was classable as good, though 100,000,000 bushels below the high record of 1914. Oats and pota- toes fell off little, but the loss in corn due to drought in the summer is hard to make up. Barley, rye, sweet potatoes, peanuts and beans and tobacco all showed record yields. Cot ton yields were larger than in either of the preceding two years, but short when measured by the yield of 1914. In the matter of prices paid, farm products left little to be desired, corn, potatoes, rye, beans and cabbage be- ing among the few showing smaller