Arizona republican., 1921-08-29

ley last week wrote his impressions of conditions in Phoenix and the sur rounding country. After reviewing the causes of whatever unpleasant ness exists now, especially the plung- tug iseauioag into cotton last year. Mr- Hunter says;
 Work2 The folks here are the worldn'est you ever saw Hard labor is their chief dish between meals. Thay have a heavy appetite for 1t. They have to work to get tomorrow's dinner for the wife and kids.
 Men who a year ago had big tracts in cotton and drove in their motors from place to place to see the super intendent working his gangs. are back at bedrock now. those of them who were farmers to start with. The others, the gamblers pure and sim pie. have dropped out of sight. The farmers are farming what they can take care of themselves with what little help they can afford to hire.
 Fewer automobiles are to be
 seen in the towns and on the
 country roads. There are more
 wagons and even bueeies. resur-
 rected from half forgotten cor ners of barns. There are more
 overslls, and, on the whole, there
 is better farming.
 
 crop in 1920. The acreage this year will not be greatly below that figure counting the acreage outside the reclamation project with that inside Good Cotton; Acreage Reduced. The cotton acreage this year is only 73,000, between one-third and one-half of last year. It will be 8 l good crop. Never a better cotton 1 year in the history of the valley SC far as growing conditions are con | cerned. Nobody has the least Idea what the market win be. Nearly all last years crop is stil | unsold. You can see acres of balec | cotton sitting out in the open. ana | there is plenty more under roof. Il | is rot deteriorating much. but inter i est. insurance and other charges ar' | eating into it.
 Much of it will not sell for nor, than enough to pay bank loans, cror l advances, picking and ginnini | charges and interest In those cases | of course. the cotton has been pro l duced too cxpensively.
 Some growers will make a
 profit slender but a profit still if they can sell above 30 cents pound. There is the widest diver eence; some growers could not
 make a profit if they sold under
 70 cents a pound.
 The farmer who made a good croI mC<-iy by his own efforts, last year
 found it cost him not much nor than PC cents a pounc- As fo- tn : man who rented high priced lant
 $50 to SEQ an acre. hired everythin ! done and got a fair to poor yield , would take wartime prices to nor than let him out ev"r.
 s20, 100000 to Come There was time when the 192 crop had an estimated value of $50, , 100000. Now they hope 1t will brin : in s20. .000. 900.
 But $2O. .0O0. GOO. while it may mea heavy loss to some. no profit to man. , and only slender profit to the res
 --is stin $20.o00, 900 income. } The banks will get their loans re , paid, with interest. all charges of a , kinds against the cotton will be pal off and some growers will hay something left over for themselves. l There will be lot Of money to g F into circulation and the banks wi ? be more free to make new loans fC [ commercial and agricultural pun n poses.
 The banks have done remark
 ably cooiheaded and a sound
 financing all the way through.
 They are strong and cautious to-
 day. The big banks have handled
 their loans in big league style
 and while it is unfortunate at the
 moment that much of their paper ' is frozen" it is perfectly good. . Not only did the banks finance u
 1920 crop, but they have done all tn, - could to help finance this year
 varied crops. Many a farmer who d n not receive a dollar for all his wol . last year could not have prepared h s ground and put seed into it if he h. s not had help from some source e Fine Show of Cooperation S Banks, groceries. seed houses. tl II water users association. the depar r. ment stores everybody has sto' Q behind the farmer this year.pullil = him up to a standing position; r V markable demonstration of comm . nifty cooperation.
 a Likewise, everybody has stood . the half dozen smaller banks tn s wobbled and finally closed tho - doors. As a result, bank after bal k has reopened stronger than 1t clos
 and is doing business right alon l. One. concerning which there h.
 been most anxiety, took fin s95,o T deposits the first day its doors we , reopened. It Is running along tod
 as though nothing had ever ha
 pened to it.
 Everything is being raised tt
 year. Last year cotton was almc
 the sole crop. Alfalfa acreage h
 been more than doubled. Number
 dairy cows has been increased l
 per cent to more than 10000 a
 would have been larger still if |
 price of butter had held up. It h
 slumped and high priced COWS a n hard to make money from. l Before cotton took the valley, { milk from 10000 COWS went eve - day to town consumers, to the creal
 cries at Glendale and Phoenix and ie, condensed milk factory at Tem as The creameries. in turn, shipp ot cream and butter to the mini l. cam<os and to Tucson, Bisbee, Dou DIX las and even Fl Paso.
 K Those days are coming back. ne not while cows stay high and m
 and butterfat are low. Feed is che ad now. in the valley, but it is hard -z,t make money out of a COW costi Ih sl50 or $175, unless she is a wol re beater.
 K Alfalfa hay is plentiful; stacks ar it all over the valley, not so ma
 nor as big as a few years ago. n good to see.
 lIu There are field of corn, milo mai .i watermelons. sweet potatoes. ever ,I where. The cantaloupe crop | a.. year was good; the lettuce crop abe uE average
 E You can get dozen roasting e; +o from a farmer for 30 cents; a gc
 watermelon for 10 or 15 cents. See in less grapes sold in the vineyard at 31a cents a pound: apricots at 4 tei ,,e and lower. First quality sweet pot r,t toes can be had from the grower I cents a pOuDd- others Derfec