The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1872-12-06
Why Flour and Bread should be Cheap.

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Early in the history of the wheat
harvest of this year, the impression
that there would be a short crop of
this cereal obtained SO firm a foot
ing that prices advanced rapidly,
and have up to within few weeks
past remained very firm in all the
markets of this country. The uni
versal stringency in the money mar
ket was the first cause which pro-
duced weakening of prices. Mil
lers were compelled to pay cash for
wheat, while they could not convert
their product readily into that artl-
Gle. They could make shipments of
-four to the East and draw against I
them, but their drafts, were g general
~ for thirty days, and, therefore, to /
q great extent, uncOnvertible IN /
market where sight exchange was at !
q discount and not wanted by the
banks. The demand for wheat con-
sequently lessened and the market
dragged heavily. On the top of this
depressed state of feeling came the
October report of the Agricultural
Bureau, showing that the wheat crop
of 1871 amounted to 230,0O0,O0O
bushels, while that of 1872 footed up
240,O00,000. Here was an exhibit
which surprised the short crop men
amazingly, and shook their faith in
high prices for the winter. Added
to this is the fact that the corn crop of
1872 is the largest and best crop
ever gathered in this country, and
that the price at which it is now
sslling-30 to "a for mixed-is so
very low that a farmer living 100
miles from market can not realize
ten cents per btshel for it. Under
these circumstances the farmer will
eat corn and sell his wheat, because
corn is a wholesome and palatable
breadstutf, aud is worth nothing to
sell. These causes are now unset
Ting the wheat market, and produc-
ing doubt and uncertainty in regard
to future prices which are irritating
and embarrassing.
It is claimed by the adherents of
"high wheat" that the European de-
mand for breadstuffs of all kinds
will be SO great that prices must rule
high. Europe's millions want the
cheapest bread they can get. Peo-
pie who do not get bit of meat to
eat oftener than once a week, be-
cause they are too poor to purchase
1t, are not likely to consume much
wheat -four at SO to $40 per barrel
when they can get good, sweet corn
meal at third of the money. The
people of Europe have learned that
American maize, ground into meal,
makes q palatable, hearty, whole
some and very cheap breadstuf, and
they are ordering it vastly in
creased quantities, as the fact that
on October 1 there were in store in
London 96,0S8 quarters of corn
against 1862 for the corresponding
date of the previous year, abundant
ly proves. England will undoubted-
ly take large amount of wheat of
us at certain prices, but while pres
ent figures prevail she will buy her
wheat of France, Russia and Hun
gary, and her corn of America. To
ship large supply of wheat to Eng
land at present figures, expecting
that the market there may advance,
has already been proven very poor
policy, for no sooner do English
operators find that an unusual num-
Der OF cargoes of wheat are afoat fo1
British ports than they induce an
advance in the Bank of England
rate of interest, and by the time the
cargoes arrive, money is dear and
scarce, and wheat correspondingly
depressed and abundant. John Bull
has played it upon his American
cousin in precisely this disgusting
fashion more than once this season,
as many an American shipper has
learned to his cost.
From the foregoing premises the
following deductions may properly
be inferred First, that we have
more wheat in the country now than
we had at this time last year; Sc
cond that our corn crop is also much
larger; third that Great Britain
will buy corn of us ad libltun, and
wheat when the price suits her
fourth, that wheat will be more OF
less firmly held in this country
throughout the winter; fifth, that
corn will much more largely enter
into homo consumption as bread.
stuff; and sixth, that Just upon the
eve of the wheat harvest of 1873 il
will suddenly be discovered that
wheat is in excessive supply, and
the attempt to rush it into market
may cause q decline as much too low
as the present price is too high. Il
will be well for our grain operators
to study all of these things.-S