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I 



AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE 



Senator Stewart, of Nevada, woke the 

 Senate up the other day. He said the 

 great depreciation of silver gave to the 

 cheap labor of Asia a tremendous ad- 

 vantage in competing with the domestic 

 products of the American market. Japan, 

 in particular, he said, was profiting by ' 

 this difference of 50 per cent between our 

 money and that of Japan, and Japanese 

 merchants were to-day underselling our 

 home producers in many lines of goods. 



The latest statement of the visible sup- 

 ply of grain, as compiled by the New York 

 Produce Exchange, is as follows: Wheat, 

 66,835.000 bushels; increase, 3,049,000 

 bushels. Corn, 5,227,000 bushels; in- 

 crease, 20,000. Oats, 6,134,000 bushels; 

 increase, 123,000' bushels. Eye, 1,555,- 

 000 bushels; increase, 104,000 bushels. 

 Barley, 4,475,000 bushels; decrease, 279,- 

 000 bushels. 



A cable between the United States and 

 Hawaii has been incorporated, and it is 

 predicted that at no distant day the line 

 will be extended to Australia and China. 



According to the last census report 

 more than $100,000,000 are invested in 

 "truck farming," mostly early vegetable 

 production, in the United States, and the 

 annual yield from the 534, 440 acres of land 

 so occupied is $76,517,155 net after pay- 

 ing freights and commissions, or over 

 $143 per acre net cash returns. 



Thomas G. Merrill, of Montana, chair- 

 man of the Finance Committee of the 

 National Bimetallic Union, says: ''The 

 recommendation of the President to re- 

 tire greenbacks, if carried out, would be 

 disastrous to the silver interest. The re- 

 tiring of the national currency, issued 

 under the Sherman act, which has been 

 the means used for the recent heavy with- 

 drawals of gold from the Treasury, would 

 mean that the bullion in the Treasury 

 would be thrown upon the market, causing 

 a decided decline in the price of silver." 



In attendance on the Illinois State 

 Orange at Springfield were 165 delegates, 

 while sixty-five delegates were in attend- 



ance on the annual convention of the 

 Pomona Grange, an organization devoted 

 to women. During the year twenty-five 

 new granges were organized, with 300 

 members, making 1,700 Granges in the 

 State, with a total membership of 8,000. 



The movement to have the Michigan 

 State Grange indorse ex-Governor Luce 

 for president of the Michigan Agricultural 

 College was abandoned, but the Grange 

 spoke out as to the manner of man Avho 

 should occupy that position, and recom- 

 mended an amendment to the law re- 

 quiring that members of the board in 

 charge of the college be elected by the 

 people instead of appointed by the gover- 

 nor as now. 



Officers elected at the meeting of 

 the Indiana Grange were as follows: 

 Master, Aaron Jones, South Bend; over- 

 seer, P. B. Ewan, Hayden; lecturer, F. 

 J. S. Robinson, Cloverdale; steward, G. 

 W. Sawdon, Aurora; assistant steward, 

 G. W. Laird, Columbia City; chaplain, 

 Milton Trusler, Connersville; treasurer, 

 J. W. Holmes, Cortland; secretary, T. 

 B. Frazier, Frankfort; gatekeeper, O. M. 

 Curry, Terre Haute. 



The Illinois Patrons' Aid Society elected 

 the following officers: President, D. O. 

 Trotter, Jersey county; vice-president, 

 Mrs. M. M. Baker, McLean county; 

 secretary, H. K. Smith, Putnam county; 

 treasurer, Mrs. R. Newman, Coles county; 

 board of managers, C. W. Gree, Marion 

 county; J. P. Smith, St. Glair county; 

 Fred Helms, St. Clair county. 



Progressive members of the Chicago 

 Board of Trade are holding meetings and 

 considering a plan for a change of 

 methods in trading. The proposition is 

 to compel the elevators to do business 

 on a cash basis. It was shown at a re- 

 cent meeting that $20,000,000 is annually 

 paid for carrying grain that does not 

 exist. 



Farmers seldom fail, but it is well 

 enough for them to be po e ted. If a 

 farmer is mortgaged and it finally comes 



