Imperial Valley press., 1924-03-14

ording to the seventh section O
so2er w. Babson S report on eur
ct business conditions. The state
omprising this section average
bout evenly with the country rs ;
vhole according to the s.atistieian !,
indings.
California is leading the group
I southwestern states with n gain
+ 5 per cent over last year, says
hr. Babson. 'fArizona comes next
nth q gain Of 2 per cent; New
Mexico follows with gain OF l per
ent. In checking up Utah we find
loss of per cent; Colorado a
PISS of 4 per cent; and Nevada q
PISS Of 4 per ceEt.
These states differ from most of
he other western and southern sta
es in that a large portion of their
purchasing power comes from their
pinerals. Vast quantities of petrol
um have been taken from the
round in Southern California;
arge amounts of copper are being
nined in Arizona, Nevada and
'tah; Colorado and New Mexico
re rich in coal deposits; while gold,
liver and other metals are found
p practically all of these states.
Hay Supply Crop
/. The raising Of live stock has
lso been feature of these states,
lthongh one may be somewhat
surprised to find 4.hat only from
10 10 per cent of their income is
erived from this source. Arizona
leads the group in live stock prod.
bction. Where formerly cattle were
great source Of income sheep are
bow found 10 be more profitable in
host sections. Incidentally as the
,rice of cotton increases the demand
For wool should also increase.
Hay is the principal crop of
zach of these states with the ex-
Eeption of California and Arizona
slthough it should be noted that
lav is more of supply crop than
cash crop. In California, of
EGnrse, fruit leads, and in Arizona
ialf of the agricultural income is
lerived from high grade cotton.
Examining ihe barometer of
Failures we find in California, Ne.
Fada and Utah showing relatively
small increase in failures compared
With a year ago; while Colorado is
omewhat less favorable; and Ari-
bona and New Mexico show relative
y large failure increase. All of
hese states, with the possible ex-
feption Of California, have wealth
bred the worst of their readjust-
nents. ! am little anxious as 10
What may happen in Southern Cali
fornia when the oil gives out and
he influx of new capital from east
ern settler begins to decline.
Detailed Analysis
Analyzing the situation in detail
8abson' s report includes the fol
lowing findings by states:
California: Iron and steel indus
Try shows little Improvement. Re
luction of forces in southern oil
Field tends to slow up allied trades.
Railroad shops activity indicates
b0me improvement. Building and
construction activities promise fav-
prable trend. Compared with year
pgo, there is large gain in the
price Of potatoes, but there are de-
ereases in the prices of hay, bar
Fey, and wheat. The price index
pf crops is about per cent under
ast year.
Arizora: laundering continues
naotieeably active. Large program
Pot highway construction provides
considerable employmen,. Metal
sAnining remains steady. Comparing
3priees with last year, cotton shows
VI large gain and hay a smaller gain.
Wheat, however, is about the same
sln price as q year ago, while bar
sley is considerably less. In total
sthe price index Of crops is about
s]i per cent higher than last year.
!. Nevada: Metal mining outlook
somewhat improved, and railroad
shop activity has slightly increased.
4 Highway and construction activi-
ties checked by weather conditions,
sbut should be resumed on, consider
liable scale in the spring Because OF
Sihc large increases in the prices OF
hay and potatoes, the price indes
tof crops shows a gain of ~ per cent
lower last year. Wheat and barley
however, are both below last year 4
level.
"When considering the various
opportunities Of these states, on,
nh0uld not overlook the great la
@Tnf and undevelopcd water power
skno irrigation possibilities. Not
only does manufacturing grow ul
amongst such powers; but in theil
localities living should ultimately
ho easiest and perhaps most ceono
mkepl, II II essimsted that ! large