Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1884-10-17
MisCellamenms.
WHEAT OR MEAT.

For two or three years too much
wheat has been raised There is not
the market for it nor the people to eat
it, and it accumulates in granaries and
elevators Less production is the only
remedy for over-production, and when
it costs more to grow Il bushol of wheat
than it will bring in open market farm
crs must necessarily stop raising that
crop. In the west, they are seriously
considering diminished production and
the substitution of some other crop
for wheat. The Chicago Tribune and
the Louisville Cowicr-Jomnal have been
discussing the matter. A recent Tribune
has the following:
The wheat rasers of the west have
been advised by the Tribune not to sell
their wheat at the prices fixed by the
gamblers of the Board of Trade and of
Wall street. and not to plant as many
acres with wheat this fall as last They
may thus, We told them, "let the CON
suming power Of the world catch up
with their supply. just now the farmers
are suffering from over-production of
wheat The remedy is to produce less
of that cereal" The Louisville Courier
journal quotes this from our columns
and presses very vigorous dissent. It's
position is fairly stated in the following
paragraph;
The facts of the situation, which are
as clear as the sun is in an open sky, are
that the losses in the present wheat crisis
are ten.fold greater to tho European
farmer than to the American that the
former is at a point where he must of
necessity give up the contest, and that
the American farmer is therefore in n
position in which he may begin TO COM
mand the situation. Two wrestlers have
wearied each other in long struggle,
but ono is finally helpless, while the other
has still an ample reserve Of strength
At this crisis the Tribune advises the
freshcr and stronger to yield the palm to
his despairing adversary and rest from
his labor I! II. Kains Jackson, probably
the most popular authority in England
in letter recently published in Dorm
busch's list, asserts that English farmers
will Immediately reduce their wheat crop
1000, 900 acres, and French farmers
100000 acres. This means n rcduc.
ton of 80 per cent, If the genera
production Of Europe be reduced only
rs per cent. tbore will be new demand
on the next harvest for 300, 900, 900
bushels added to the normal, or an ag
gregate deficit in Europe of 500, 900,
900 bushels
This is energetic but not deep. Farm.
err are not wrestlers or duelsts. The
cannibalistic competition to which the
Cowier-.Jouraal urges the American
farmers would not cxterminate his for.
eign rival Even if all the predictions
Of our esteemed contemporary about the
abandonment Of wheat culture in Eu.
rope were fulfilled the farmers Of En-
gland, France, and Hungary would re-
main in their places, and their ground
would still be there. The first year the
markets felt the pull Of the extra de-
mand for the 300, 100000 bushels Of
which the Couriev-.Jornal speaks prices
would rush up so high that every one of
these foreign agriculturists would &c
back TO raising wheat. Our competi.
ton cannot obliterate the men or the
lands Of the wheat raising countries Of
Europe, and the moment profit reap.
peared in the business Of producing
wheat they would all go at it again.
Tho belligcrcnt farming recommended
by our critic 10 the farmers Of the West
would be useless war, because, wag'
hostilitios as many years as VIC might
we should at the end find our enemies
fresh and smiling and in better shap'
than ourselves. Its policy is neithe
good war nor good business. II urge
a fight which does not kill, and u bust
ness which loses money. The cold enc
Of this burning question, and tho on
Of which our farmers will find it best Il
take hold, is that it is waste Of time
labor and money 10 raise wheat that sell
for less than ii costs AS We have shown
the moment the market turns so as Il
give our producers a little profit tn
wheat growers of other countries viii
food the markets with surplus. VIVA
is market worth in which you can dea
, only at loss
II our farmers would produce one
third less wheat they would get NOR
for the small crop than they do for thu
big one and they would then have ono
J third of the land now sowed in wheat t.
be put in oats, barley, corn, grass, Of
anv other crop. Common sense shout,