Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1870-01-06
Cheap Bread.

Just now we hear through our East
crn exchanges the complaints OF dear
bread. On the other hand, at home
here, we are met with the assertion
| that our farmers are On the verge OF
ruin by reason of the inexcusably low
price of wheat. One ingredient enters
into this subject, which cannot be
avoided Our crop unexpectedly is
detcriorated The season opened au-
spiciously, but the rains have depre-
GATED the quality of the wheat. This
is one cause of its low price, but 1t is
not enough III itself to reduce it to a
pauper standard. Take the complaint
East of dear bread, and ours OF low
prices, and we cannot avoid the con
c.usion that it is in the middlemen that
| the evil lies. Natural causes would
produce result something like this:
| low price of wheat here would make
it cheap to the consumer on the Allan
tic coast. Cheap bread there would
induce lower wages and cheaper man
| utactures. These benefits are arrested
by intervenors who add no value to
the product, although they enhance the
price in a ruinous degree to those who
eat, and deprcciate it in the same re-
spect as to those who cultivate the soil
| and sell. Chicago is clamoring
through its press at the evils inflicted
upon the farmer, and at the ruinous
prices the Western agricultulist is al
legged to receive for his wheat. Chi
cagos wealth manly depends upon her
grain handling. She is one OF the evils
over which we must some day pass II
we wish TO prosper as farmers. There
IS no more necessity tor TIE wheat OF
Iowa stopping in chat city on its way
to the eastern consumer than it is tor
one of us to lay over there forty eight
hours on our way to New York or
Philadelphia. Take 20 example if you
will. On Sunday morning our tele-
graph report from Chicago for wheat
was 99c to $l.00 per bushel This is
three or tour cents lower than on the
18th inst, day we accept tor our IL
lustra,on. On that day we saw sold
at Cedar Falls and Waterloo, one hun
drcd miles west OF Dubuque more than
one hundred wagon loads OF No. >
wheat at 40 to 50 cts. per bushel. The
same grade of wheat on that day was
worth and quoted at al.O2 to sl,Ol IN
Chicago. Spectators sadilethe blame
on railroad companies and allege that
their charges eat up all this margin.
There IS something radically wrong
when the farmer who owns the land,
pays S. so per day Tor harvesting, $500
tor seed, and counts his labor III pillow
ing, sowing and threshing, and then
only gets forty or fifty cents, while
fifty or sixty arc divided between the
speculator and transporter 1t is a TO
torious fact too, and one that goes tC
show that this margin is not swallowed
up by transportation, that the railroads
have entered into competition with til,
lake and canal treights, and are con
trolling the carrying trade on the ba
sis oil the lowest water rates. There
is little hope that Iowa wheat in an,
great quantity will find its way to tn
Atlantic seaboard by the water rout
south. Railroads, in Iowa, at leas
have superseded this, and will contin
, uc their control SO long as railwa
manag rs have remnant OF commo
sense. Now, we are deeply intereste
in selling our grain for all it is wort
to the man who eats it, The latter
just as much interested in getting it {.
cheanly as possible. The expense {
transportation we cannot get Over
That OF middle men we can. But
small portion of our surplus whea
goes to Europe. The manufacturer
OF New England and the Middle State
consume the bulk. TO avoid the cxol
btant margin which the speculate
makes, and robs of us and the consume
it is only necessary TO send agents
this western country and buy til
wheat at tho points where it is deli,
cred from the farmers wagon, put
into the cars and send it to its fin:
destination without first passin
through Chicago, Cincinnati, or S
Louis hands. to be tossed about an
gambled tor at the expense OF ever
man who has had an honest hand eilhe
in the production, transportation, {
consumption OF the article. We bu
goods III New York, but ST Loni
Chicago, etc, don't handle them an
make a profit off them. They con
direct here, and whatever margin is
them we have 1t. When we sell O,
produce in the eastern market "
should have the same benefit. Til
may not at present be fully attainabI
but we conceive that the day is rapi
" approaching when the number
intcryenors will be So far reduced