whats the matter with Nebraska
K
Nebraska's all right!
During the year -1911, by no means the banner year in her
history, Nebraska added more than half a billion dollars to the
total wealth production of" the world. '
Five hundred and thirty-seven millions of dollars!
That is the grand total of Nebraska's production of agricul
tural products and live stock during the year that will end when
the bells ring out next Sunday night and ring in next Monday
morning.
' We challenge the world to beat that record, everything con
sidered area cultivated, population, age, etc.
Will Maupin's Weekly was moved to make this, tabulation
after seeing a lot of advertising matter for Kansas, sent out by
F. D. Coburn, secretary of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture.
Kansas has Nebraska beaten to a frazzle in one particular the
matter of making known all the glorious facts about Kansas. All
the world knows what Kansas is doing because Kansas spends
thousands of dollars in advertising her productivity, her resources
and her possibilities. All the money that Nberaska spends for
that purpose could be blown into a gnat's eye through a bat's
feather, and never make the gnat blink. Perhaps this will explain
why Kansas, with 8,000,000 less total acreage has 90 per cent more
cultivated acres than Nebraska, and 40 per cent more people
and this, too, despite the fact that Nebraska raises more wheat
per acre, more corn per acre, more rye per acre, more oats per acre,
more sugar beets per acre and more potatoes per acre, than Kansas.
In other words, because she has advertised liberally and wisely,
Kansas has 25,040,550 acres under cultivation and 1,690,949 inhabi
tants, while Nebraska has only 13,773,148 acres under cultivation
and 1,192,214 inhabitants.
Just now' Secretary Coburn of Kansas is sending out postcards,
placards, folders and pamphlets, singing the praises of his stai&LJ
And Secretary Coburn is a sweet singer, too. And how beautiy
the legislature of Kansas accompanies him upon the financial p
From reports received by Will Maupin's Weekly it seems yj
Kansas, according to Secretary Coburn 's figures, produced during I
the year 1911 agricultural and horticultural products, and live
stock sold for slaughter the magnificent total value of $282,927,
188.34. Grand! Magnificent! Hurrah for Kansas!
But Will Maupin's Weekly is edited by a man who knows
quite a bit about Nebraska, her productivity, her resources and
her possibilities. He also knows something about estimating
values. He knows that Nebraska's statistics are gathered just like
Kansas statistics are gathered, and that they are quite as trust
worthy as those gathered by Secretary Coburn.
Wherefore the editor of Will Maupin's Weekly set about
gathering a few facts and making a few estimates on his own ac
count. First he took the statistics gathered by the Bureau of
Labor and Industrial Statistics. He presided over that bureau
for two years and knows just how it works, and knows that its
statistics are reliable. Taking these statistics he further proceeded
to use the same basis of value as used by Secretary Coburn. What
was the result t Does Nebraska, with practically half as many
cultivated acres as Kansas,' and less than two-thirds of the popula
tion of Kansas, come anywhere near the Kansas totals t
Well, we should smile!
In Kansas, $282,927,188.34.
In Nebraska, $331,143,548. 46.
Balance in favor of Nebraska, $48,216,360.12.
Or, to put it in even better and fairer way :
Kansas produced an average agricultural value of $167.32 per
capita in 1911.
Nebraska produced an average agricultural value of $277.75
per capita in 1911. ,
Or, to put it still another way, and a way eminently fair:
Kansas produced agricultural wealth at the rate of $11.28
per cultivated acre.
Nebraska produced agricultural wealth at the rate of $25.47
per cultivated acre.
And all the world knows, about, the productivity of Kansas
because Kansas is wise enough to advertise.
But who outside of Nebraska and comparatively few inside
know that Nebraska is producing more than twice as much per
cultivated acre as her well known sister on the south?
Gracious, but it makes Will Maupin's Weekly's column rules
ache every time it thinks of the criminal parsimony or is it
criminal negligence T that prevents the glories of Nebraska from
being made known to all the world.
Kansas beat Nebraska 4,000,000 bushels of wheat, but Ne
braska beat Kansas 8,000,000 bushels of corn. They were prac
tically equal on oats. We raised a half-million bushels more rye
than Kansas, but Kansas raised a half-million bushels more barley.
Nebraska beat Kansas on potatoes a matter of 2,000,000 bushels.
Nebraska's poultry and egg production was so much larger than
Kansas' that the Jayhawker state isn't in the poultry running.
In the matter of buttermaking Nebraska has her sister state look
ing like an old-fashioned dasher churn by the side of an up-to-date
creamery. More correctly speaking, while Kansas was pro
ducing in round numbers an average of 5 pounds of butter per
capita per year, Nebraska was producing 11 pounds per capita
per year. Butter consumed on the premises is not taken into ac
count by the statisticians of either state.
We beat Kansas in the matter of animals for slaughter by
upwards of $7,000,000. In the production of sugar beets, Kansas
is not to be mentioned in the same day with Nebraska. In horti
cultural and garden products, together with sugar beets, Nebraska
is ahead of Kansas by upwards of $3,000,000.
But all the world knows what Kansas raised. The people
'have the facts thrust upon their attention in every conceivable
way in pamphlets, in books, by post card, in the newspapers, in
the magazines and upon the rostrum.
The facts about Nebraska are carefully concealed it would
seem. All that the statistical department of Nebraska has for
defraying the expenses of printing and disseminating literature
about the resources of Nebraska for a year wouldn't pay the post
age account of Secretary Coburn for thirty days. This is not an
exaggeration it is a truth capable of demonstration.
But we can not forbear making some more comparisons. Will
Maupin's Weekly is right here to challenge any state in the Union
to equal Nebraska's record for agricultural and live stock wealth
production per acre or per capita: ,
The total agricultural and live stock wealth production of
Kansas in 1911 was $534,559, 676, or an average of $316 per capita.
That's pretty good far and away above the average of the
.whole United States. But ; ;
The total agricultural and live stock wealth production of Ne
braska in 1911 was $537,802,023 an average of $451 per capita.
Again, all the world knows what Kansas produced, and that
she is far ahead of the average of all the states together. But Ne
braska, the state that beats Kansas by $3,242,347 in the total, of
wealth production, and by a matter of $135 per capita or 42 per
cent is known only to statisticians who are pad for compiling
such figures.
WhyT
Because Kansas is so proud of her record that she spends
thousands of dollars every year to make it known, while Ne
braska, with a far better record, doesn't spend a dollar and there
fore is not known at all outside of her own borders and not very
well inside.
Will Maupin's Weekly is pounding along as best it can, try
ing to spread the gospel of Nebraska as widely as possible. Hun
dreds of loyal Nebraskans are helping it but there ought to be
thousands where there are hundreds. It ought not be left to any
one newspaper nor to all the newspapers of the state to adver
tise Nebraska. They may be relied upon to do all they can. But
Nebraska newspapers do not generally circulate where it would be
to the besfr: advantage . to Nebraska to have the truth about her
known. - . ; ' , , .
Nebraska o$ght to be advertising what she has to offer, just
as a merchant Should advertise. Look around you! You will
notice that the jjiercantile firms that are most successful are those
that advertisel best. It is the same way with states. Investi
gate the record of the last decade and note the states that have
gained most in population, in .wealth increase per capita. . They
are the states(tnat have established and liberally maintain publicity
bureaus. There is no getting away from the conclusion.
Nebraska slwhcdd be advertising her resources, her productivity
and her possibilities. She should be telling all the world all the
glorious facts' abbfat herself. ' She ought to be attracting homeseek
ers intsead of allowing her own people to drift away. She ought
to be gathering to herself the best portion of the great tide of land
hungry people constantly drifting through and beyond her borders.
one ought to be1 putting industrious men and women upon her 18
000,000 acres of fertile soil as yet untouched by the plow.
The greatest K thing the next legislature could do for Ne
braska's future welfare and . prosperity would be to establish a
Bureau of , Publicity and Immigration, free from; partisan control,
and give it An appropriation that would allow that bureau to be
gin and carry on-'a great educational campaign, telling the whole
world what Nebraska is and has to offer to those who are seeking
for homes, for manufacturing sites and for investments.
GET IT INTO YOUR HEART AND LIFE
At the mid-winter meeting of the Alabama Press Association, C. W. Ware, editor
of the Tuskegee News, delivered an address on "The Country Press in Politics." From
that address Will Maupin's Weekly takes the liberty of quoting the following paragraph,
earnestly and prayerfully commending it to the thoughtful consideration of some five hun
dred "country newspapers" in Nebraska: ' '
"The most important thing as I see it today is that every ..country editor should get into
his heart and life a correct picture of what his state is and! has, And what it offers to intelligent
and industrious people, and from that picture get a vision of what she' is destined to as all of
her citizens more fully labor together for her development.. . -Then, With that picture and that
vision inspiring him, let him tell every week of what progressive men and women are doing right
ih his own section and county. Thus forever singing of the virtues of his county and his state
he will stimtlate a like hopeful and patriotic feeling in his readers'
Will Maupin's Weekly here give a table showing whaj.Nebraska produced upon her
farms in 1911. The addition of her manufactured products would increase the grand
total by upwards of $240,000,000. What each county;has contributed to this great sum
may be estimated from the statistics compiled by the Nebraska Bureau of Labor and In
dustrial Statistics, and issued as "Bulletin No. 23-A." This bulletin will be sent free upon
application to Louis V. Guye, Chief Deputy Commissioner of Labor, Lincoln.
Come on, and let us all work together for the upbuilding of Nebraska!
Wheat . . .bush,
Corn . '.bush.
Oats . . ,.. bush.
Rye .... '. bush.
Barley1. . . bush.
Millet and Hungarian tons
Hay ...tons
Butter v.... .. , lbs.
Sugar beets -tons
Potatoes . . . bush.
; .i bush.
Flax . ... ; .i
Spelts - bush.
Broom corn lbs.
Sorghum tons
Cheese - lbs.
Milk sold other than butter and cheese
Honey and beeswax .. . jv .
Horticultural and Garden Products.....:...'.....
Poultry and Eggs.
Animals for slaughter
Total Value of Farm Products.
Horses 1 . .
Mules
Cattle (including dairy).
Sheep
Swine
Total Value of Live Stock
Total Value of Farm Products.
Grand Total Live Stock and Farm Products.'.
Quantities.
; '4,609,885
133,400,303
32,035.858
. 930.180
918,180
15491
!6;154,518
47,983,128
. 142,268
.4,747,719
.41,431
,426,770
' 981,850
227,793
.133445
Number
918,240
91,137
2,229,976
, 383,602
1,979,784
Values
$40,084,503.10
67,038,172.71
12,178,026.04
792,158.13
477,453.06
1,080,037.00
48,968,918.00
12,615,528.92
- 711,340.00
4,700,000.00
128,718.90
196,31420
48.480.00
5,467,032.00
15,987.40
1,670,000.00
26,971.00
6,515,091.00
42,884,274.00
. . 89,194,163.00
$334,788,668.46
$102,842,880.00
11,938.947.00
66,899,280.00
1,534,408.00
19,797,840.00
$203,013,355,
334,788,61
$537,802,023.46
' - '' '
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