The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1891-05-21
SAUK CENTRE HERALD.
THURSDAY, MAY l., 1891.
AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS.

AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS.
T here is 10 economic consideration
which strikes deeper at universal welfare
and prosperity, and Therefore possesses
more interest to the general pnblic than
the present and prospective condition OF
agricultural enterprise. tits the founda-
ton upon which rests the financial con-
dition of the county either directly or re-
motely-and in this great northwest its
influence is immediate legislation cannot
control 1.-THE law of supply and de-
mand, as inexorable as the law of grav-
ity-must determine the conditions.
Therefore tits, that when expert authori-
ty discusses the subject in the light ofthe
operation of such laws, the discussion is
worthy the greatest consideration.
In recent number of the Arena, J..
Woods Davis had an exhaustive article
in which he makes the assertion, deduced
from careful study of fact and figures,
that an unprecedented era of prosperity is
not far distant. He asserts that the bal
ance between grain production and grain
consumption, not in America only but in
the world at large, has been reached, CT
soon will be; that the United States will
have no grain to spare for export after
1894, and that the increase of consump-
ton is in greater rats than the increase
Of production. Figures and statistics
are quoted to strengthen the position.
AS an inevitable conclusion, the prices of
wheat must advance and continue to
rule much higher.
In discussing this remarkable article,
theE Pioneer-Press took occasion to in
terview Charles A. Pillsbury, an acknowl-
edged authority on that upon the subject
OF the wheat market. and his views are
we'll worth the greatest consideration.
He says:
In my opinion consumption over
took prohibition several years ago, and
this is especially true of wheat. There
has been no increase in acreage of wheat
to correspond to tic increased consump-
ton all over the world. Indeed, in most
countries the acreage has positively de-
creased in the past few years, while the
consumption has been increasing. The
reason why this has not already perma-
nentlv affected the price of wheat is. in
my opinion, this: Up to the time of the
mania for short selling, which came up
on this country few wears ago, nothing
was surer than the fact if a miller laid in
a good stock Of wheat during the heavy
movement OF grain just after threshing,
and thatit the -four dealer laid in heavy
stock of -four about the same time. and
kept his good stock until the end OF the
season that lie would make, in eight
years, out Of ten, a handsome profit by
so doing. This, of course, took an i'm
mense amount of wheat and flour to sup
ply what is called the invisible visible"
to use an Irishism, but since short selling
has becomeso prevalent that an amount
of wheat equal to the whole crop can be
sold in a lew days by parties who do
not own or controls bushel. the effect on
the market has been even worse than if
men who owned millions of bushels of
actual wheat sold it out, for the reason
that the men who owned the actual
wheat would want to get good prices,
and would regulate his sales by the de-
mand, for the express reason of depress-
ing the market, in order that he might
buy his short sales on the decline. -
Now this state of affairs has continued
so long that a great majority of the
millers and -four dealers have practically
been reducing their stocks during the
last three or four years. To use an illus
trat1on, the same as the use of checks in
large business transactions diminishes
the amount of currency that it is neces-
pary TO navy haud order to keep
this channel of business in motion.
Now, my opinion is that we have been
wears. and that at the end of the last
crop the visible all over the world was
about as low as practicable on even the
carrying sthck. and shall be surprised
IT before a new crop is int to use we do
not see the same situat ton, perhaps even
worse. But. as long as this short selling
is not c1rcumscribed by the strong hand
only come at the later end OF the crop,
when the farmers have already sold
nearly all their wheat, and when neither
ties nor other business men in this state
will get the benefit of the fact that the
world is not producing as much bread
stuff as it is eating. For example:
Ii the world was entirely out of wheat
at the end ofthis crop. and our crop was
only II months supply under the old
methods, wheat would be from 5 so to
So bushel, but under the new methods
the heavy short seller in Chicago would
sell 100000 or Is, 10000 bushels
put while he was talking high markets,
and then on some weak spot sell 2,000,-
600 or 100000 more when there was
no demand for it, in order to break the
markets dowd to 60 or70 cents bushel
then buy in his short sales and this would
discourage all holders of wheat until
the scarcity was actually teit and there
was hardly any one holding any wheat
to get the benefit of the advance.
think Mr.. Davis theory is right, but
it will not do any one much good, no
matter how short crops are, until this
short selling of wheat by those who do
not own bushel can be stopped. As /
said before, farmers may talk about
sailroad and elevator charges, but if the
elevator companies handled their wheat
for nothing and the railroads hauled it
without compensation, these benefits
would not begin to Offset the injusies
which the farmers receive from the
boards Of trade"
MCKINLEY BILL.