Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1891-09-22
A BREADSTUFF CRISIS.
Alarming Situation of Affairs
in Germany.
An Interesting Letter just Received at the
State Department From Consul
General Mason.

WASHINGTON, D. c., September 15.-
Consul General Mason, at Frankfort,
has sent to the state department an in
teresting report on the 5readstuffs crl-
sis in Germany. He says the most not
able commercial event OF the present
summer was the sudden announcement
recently by the Russian government OF
an imperial decree forbidding, until
otherwise ordered, the expectation OF
rye from the Russian empire to any
foreign country. This is equivalent to
an official declaration that the harvest
of cereals in Russia is so deficient that
the export OF rye must be forbidden in
order TO avert danger OF famine. The
consul general then explains what this
means to the laboring classes of Ger
many.
Every little pure wheat bread" he
says. lis eaten Dy the middle and
lower classes in Germany. The staff OF
life, to vast majority of the German
people, is black bread made with flour
ground from mixture of rye and an
inferior quality of wheat. The con-
sumption OF this material is so enOr-
nous that Germany imported 8,6l2,500
meter centners in 1890, or 947,37 tons
of rye, of which 100000 meter cent
ners, or IS per cent of the entire i'm
port. as well as So per cent of the whole
import OF wheat into this country came
from Russia The recent edict, there
fore cuts off nearly five-sixths of the
entire foreign rye supply OF Germany.
How difficult it will be to fill this vast
deficit by increased impOrtatiOns from
other sources will be evident from the
fact that the entire export OF rye from
the six countries Which rank next to
Russia as producers of the cereal
attained only the following yearly
average during the period from 1884 TO
1883:
Countries. Bushels. Countries. Bushels
France. .......1 1888 600 Canada. ISL ,666
Servia .... S0666
Eur'pn Turkey $4,000 Total. 142, 3Sl
This is barely one-fourth of she rye
import of Germany from Russia alone
during the year 1890. In view of the
short cereal crops which prevail this
season more or less uniformly through
out Europe, IL is not certain that either
France, ROumania or Servia will have
any considerable amount of rye for ex-
port. The deficit of Germany cannot,
therefore, be filled from any known
source of supply on this side OF the At
lantic, and the effect of this situation
upon the rye market has been start.
ling. One year ago rye was selling in
Berlin for 1874 marks per 1000 kilO-
grammes, or 1856 per gross ton OF 9, 200
rounds; on August Sd the effect of the
meager harvest had raised the market
price to 2l9.5 so marks, or $50. "a per L.
600 kilOgrammes. Then came the
Russian edict, and within twelve days
the price had risen to 260 marks, or
$61.8 SO. and the end is not yet reached.
Add TO this short and inferior
potato crop throughout nearly the
whole of Germany, the direct re-
suit of late spring and a cold, wet
cloudy summer, and it will be seen that
the food question in this country has
assumed pOrtentiOus aspect. The de-
mand has been made by certain news
papers that the government shall sus-
pend, Professionally, the import duty on
cereals. but thus far the situation has
not been regarded sufficiently serious
to require such step. The early con-
cession that has thus far been made is
reduction in the freight tariff for &C.
reals on all the state railways OF Prus-
STA, which will go into effect on the lst
of September. This will, of course, IA
cilitate, to some extent, the distribu-
tion of grain throughout large por-
tion OF the German empire, but, as
leading journal points out, it will not
create pound of breadstuffs which
does not already exist, and in the end
the people of Germany, like those OF
France and England, will have to draw
upon the well-filled granaries of the
United States for a large part of their
food supply during the coming year."