The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1925-10-09

"URTIS L. MOSHER, assistant
federal reserve agent for the
- Ninth Federal Reserve district
with his headquarters at Minneap-
oils, and the executive chairman of
the Northwest Regional Advisory
board, is a bull on Montana agricul-
ture. Despite recent reports of less
favorable character by the federal
governments reporting bureau on the
wheat crop now being harvested IN
this state, Mr.. MOsher, in a recent let
ter to a Butte bank official says he
expects the freight car requirements
for the crop movement will run very
close to those of last year.
con the whole" he says, ''informa-
ton placed before the Regional Ad-
visory board indicates that grain
crops have not been damaged to ex-
coed Is per cent. If this damage had
not occurred, the car requirements for
the impending crop movement would
have been decidedly heavier than a
year ago.
He Knows Montana.
Mr.. Mosher knows Montana agri-
culture probably better than any man
outside the state. 1t is safe to state
that no man knows more Of the sta
tisticaI data, the car shipments, the
price ranges, farm costs and actual
farm income than he, for that infOr-
nation is part of his business as as
sistant federal reserve agent for the
district of which this state is a part.
Mr.. Mosher has made many trips
through Montana. He has visited
every agricultural county of the state
by automobile and his information is
not gathered from bankers alone but
from intimate contact with farmers,
shippers, elevator men and the rail-
roads.
He was present in Butte last spring
when the Montana division of the
Northwest Advisory board was in SEES
sion there. Two years ago when
Montana vas just emerging from the
dark period of hard times and agri-
cultural depression, Mr.. Mosher was
the first to vision the new and en-
%cOUraging prospects for the farmers
In an interview given at that time
he painted a brilliant picture of the
future of this state in agriculture
His predictions have been fully borne
out by subsequent events.
Money OuttuFn Counts.
Referring in his letter to Mon.
tana's freight a requirements, Mr.
MOsher continues: Il do not believe
the number of cars or the number
. of bushels is quite as important al
the money OUtturn from the crop
After all, what we want to know il
what the northwestern states receiv,
as a result of their years labor. Up
on this point the evidence put be
fore the board seemed to indicat
that the money return ought to b.
equal to that of a year ago., which
: will, 1 think, be of material assis
4 tance in the further liquidation o
debt and the establishment Of bette
credit conditions"
Asked by his Butte friend to Civ
his views Of the agricultural situatio.
in Montana, Mr.. MOsher wrote o.
statement which will be of deep in
terest to thousands who believe tina
this state will eventually develop int
one of the nations leading and mos
successful agricultural areas.
Mr.. MOsher's Statement.
This statement follows:
81 doubt if any well informed ma.
is skeptical about the agriculture
future of Montana. I have alway
maintained that there is nothing tn
= matter with your state except the lac
- Of ability and experience on the pal
= of some of the men who in the pas
have tried to farm out there. Farm
ing requires as much skill, technics
knowledge and ability as is require
in any other business, and in you
state it presents some unusual proI
lens, due to the character of you
soil, your climate and your rainfall
This 1 think is particularly true {
dry farming, which has proved t
be a successful business at the hand
of fully competent men, but not S
successful when under the manage
ment of the inexperienced. The GU
standing fact which does not seel
to be as well understood as it shOul
be, is that there is NJ county in MOI
tana that l know of which does NJ
show conspicuous examples of me
who have met every problem of IL
past and who have succeeded at farn
ing and made good. There are a fe
areas which probably should reve
to cattle range. 1 am not trying
say that every acre in Montana
good farm land. Here in Minneso
there T acreages utterly insult,
to agriculture and fit for nothing b
the growth of timber. Eventually DO
states will utilize their lands Wisel