THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



171 



known man received the presidential 

 nomination, a disappointed contingent 

 from the rural district drawled out: ; 'Abe 

 Lincoln! Now who in h 1 is Abe Lin- 

 coln?" He proved to be the man raised up 

 for the occasion. So with irrigation. A 

 few years ago, at the mention of the word, 

 the eastern or middle state farmers said: 

 "What is this irrigation? Oh, yes, they 

 use that out west and in the deserts of 

 Egypt." They had heard of it, as they 

 had also of the pyramids; it was interest- 

 ing, perhaps, in a casual way, but that the 

 subject would ever be a vital one in this 

 country was not thought of. Now, these 

 same men acknowledge that irrigation is a 

 "great thing." From the little-known art 

 practiced in the western sections it has 

 become a recognized factor in the econo- 

 onic conditions and must be reckoned with 

 among the other great social problems con- 

 fronting the nation today. One of the 

 most striking proofs of the progress irri- 

 gation is making is the fact that at the 

 seventh annual convention of the National 

 Association of Manufacturers, held at In- 

 dianapolis April 17, among the resolutions 

 passed was one asking "for the irrigation 

 of arid lands." This proves that not only 

 the farmers themselves, but the manufac- 

 turers, are awakening to the possibilities 

 of the arid west and to the urgent neces- 

 sity of irrigation. 



Why Prices There is hardly anyone of 

 Are High. moderate means who has 



not felt, in a slight degree at least, the 

 hardship entailed by the high price of pro- 

 visions. An increase in the price of any 

 necessity works the greatest hardship on 

 the poor, and in view of the almost pro- 

 hibitive price of meat at the present time, 

 the governmental inquiry now being made 

 regarding the alleged beef trust will be 

 hailed with joy by those who are not vege- 

 tarians. Ten years ago there was an in- 

 vestigation to discover why the price of 

 cattle was so low. Now, it is claimed, live 

 s tock received at the six principal markets 



during tho last six months has netted the 

 farmer from forty to fifty million dollars 

 more in money than last year during the 

 same period. The packers claim that the 

 price of cattle on hoof is higher than it 

 has been for twenty years, the greatest ad- 

 vance having taken place in the past few 

 weeks. They further claim that the sup- 

 ply has diminished 1 per cent, in num- 

 ber and 5 per cent, in weight, while the 

 consumptive demand is greater than ever 

 before. : 'The people of the South," says 

 the Chicago Tribune, relative to this sub- 

 ject, "have been educated in the use of 

 fresh meat, and whereas formerly they 

 lived mainly upon 'hog and hominy,' they 

 now have beef. The big packing-houses 

 in Chicago have established branches all 

 over the South where formerly they had 

 none. The export trade, until quite lately, 

 has been larger than ever before. The 

 failure of the corn crop put a good many 

 farmers out of business as far as cattle 

 raising is concerned. There are as many 

 cattle in the country, but not so many in 

 marketable condition." 



Secretary of Agriculture Wilson, in a 

 recent interview on this subject, said: 



"I am not an expert on the trust ques- 

 tion, but I do claim to know something 

 about the raising and selling of beef. 

 Others may talk about the 'beef combine, 

 as much as they like, but to me the raise 

 in the price of beef is very easily ex- 

 plained. It is due almost wholly to a short 

 corn crop last year, and a great demand 

 for beef caused by the prosperity of the 

 people of the United States. The high 

 price of corn has made it necessary for 

 Western cattle feeders to send to the 

 South for cottonseed meal to feed their 

 stock. * * * There is a great demand 

 for cattle, and that means a great demand 

 for beef. The people of the United States 

 are eating more beef now than they ever 

 did before in their history. This is be- 

 cause they are making money and spend- 

 ing it. * * * Under such circumstan- 

 ces it is only natural that the price of beef 

 should advance. Cattle and meat, like all 

 other commodities, have to follow the laws 

 of supply and demand." 



