The Kadoka press and Kadoka reporter. [volume] (Kadoka, S.D.) 1910-1923, 1920-10-15

Not Solomon with all his glory
his wisdom and good judgment
could in my humble opininon ans
wer the question. 1t is to intli
cate, too involved, too technical
too many problems in the path t.
solve and although my lifetime ha
been spent either directly with tn,
industry or it's collateral issues,
have never felt SO much at sea Ii
regard to it as at present. 1t l.
not a local issue confined to Wyo
ming. Montana and adjoining
states, but it is world wide. Yo,
find it in every country and clim
and we people of the United State
have to compete against the Au'
tralian bush, the great alfali
fields of Buenos Aides and the d,
vastated regions of Europe. Or
newspapers as they voice publ
sentiment, that narrow, one-side,
deeply roted personal prejudice, i
great many cases blame tn
packers, others fay the railroad
others the bankers and then thcr
is the general crouch who shoot
at everything. 1t is true that IT.
industry we speak of has bee
roughly handled in many instance
by the above interests, but we TO!
get the benefits we reap froI
them; in fact. we could not sc
along without them. Since AUG
ust 1914. to December, 1919, W
have been prosperous; wonderful,
prosperous during the last thre
years Of that period. This led o.
to great initiation, to extend cree
it's, to reckless extravaganza, t
heavy purchases of land whicl
made basic increase in capita
account. Then came the break il
hogs. in fed cattle and latterly II
wool. After fine summer siest;
with further dreams of conques+
came rude awakening and b,
slow attrition we getting baci
to an era of slowly lowering prices
From lst May, 1919 to 18th May
1920, the live stock industry Went
through physically and climatic
ally the worst period in my know
ledge of conditions extending ovei
forty years. The summer and win
ter of lSS6-'S7 did not do anything
like the damage of the past sea
son in the West. Then we had
lot of big herds mostly financed il
the East and Europe. NNowaday
it is the small ranchmn and most
" home capital that is affected
Our streams are bordered by home
steads inhabited by thrifty mer-
in the cattle or sheep business
Nearly everyone has been hit; some
harder than others. The strange
without our gates will say: "Ah
this comes for want of care in pro
viding winter feed!" Very easily
said but | would like to have had
some of these SNUG critics sitting
in the ranch house at Chugwater
during the 18th, 10th, 18th and
18th of April last. We could talk
by phone to our ranches but we
could not move a wheel Why?
Because we had forty inches of
snow on the level and drifts ten to
twelve feet dep. The hay and
grain were at the corrals where
our sheep were lying. The death
loss during those days was not so
reavy but the wastage afterwards
was terrific. 1t was dance of
death in those naturally peaceful
valleys.
Far away on the financial hori-
zon was a cloud not larger than a
mans hand. AS the spring days
b passed it grew to greater porpor-
tions. Then the storm burst, as
have stated above. 1t came home
to our sheep men not so much in
a decline in the price of their wool
but an absolute stop in trading.
You had a standard commodity un-
salable frozen tight as theNOrth
Pole. Consequently lambs arr, sell
ing at $3.50 to $500 per lOOlbs.
less than a year ago. and $500 per
100 lbs. less than two years ago.
Ewes are in the same condition as
wool. Cattle and hogs are doing
somewhat betetr on our markets.
Beef and pork are nearly normal