The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-08-06
NO SECRET ABOUT IT.
Full Text Of the Lon9-Promised
Alliance Circular.
Farmer Are Advised to Hold Their wheat
Until They Can Get Their Own Price
for It-ArGuments 20 Sus-
tain the Demand.

Until They Can Get Their Own Price
for It-ArGuments 20 Sus-
tain the Demand.
For some time the press of the coun-
try has referred in rather uncertain
terms TO ..secret" circular about to
be issued by the Farmers Alliance. 1t
now transpires that the circular, which
Is published in the form Of a supple
mcnt to the State. st. Paul (Minn. J
Alliance paper, is treatise against spec.
ulators and . request to farmers to
hold their grain until they can sell it
at its real value. The following is a
copy of the document:
The Farmers Alliance demand unani-
mously that the speculation for future
deliveries of cereals shall be prohib-
tied.
The greatest competitor of the farmer
Is the Spectator, and his competition
is not at all fair, because he sells what
he has not got, and can sell unlimited
quantities, while the farmer has no
more to offer than nature grants to
him.
The speculator sells for delivery in
any month of the year, and therefore
makes it unnecessary for the actual
consumer, the miller and the exporter
to lay in such stock as he may consider
reasonably sufficient for his require
ments.
The farmer coming in with actual
grain finds most of his customers sup
piled by the Spectator with promises
to deliver.
He has no choice but to sell to the
elevator man at a lower price than the
Chicago speculator has offered his
promises.
1t is competition between grain
and wind in which the wind has the
advantage as the wind crop is never
short.
The farmer is told that it is best for
him to sell as quickly as possible. that
there is superabundance Of wheat,
that Europe will pay no more. and that
II the United States will not sell it,
Europeans will buy of other countries,
who would be glad to have the trade.
Now. there comes in the swindle.
India is the only country that has
any wheat to sell to Europe, namely
about IS, OOO, 900 bushels per year. All
that they have to spare is shipped or
contracted for long before our crop
comes into the market, and supplies
only small portion OF the LA, 900
bushels yearly imported by England
alone.
People talking about Egypt, Aus
tralia, Argentine Republic, etc, as
competitors with American wheat are
either ignorant or lie, for all these
countries together have not enough
surplus for export to Europe to feed it
for three days.
You have probably heard that we'll
worn talk, that now every month in
the year there is wheat crop harvest
ed somewhere in the world. This is
probably true, but it has not . particle
Of influence on the worlds market, be-
cause it is all needed at home, and
probably more too.
But no matter how ridiculous his as
sertions are, the Spectator succeeds in
depressing prices and makes q profit.
Ii finally at the end of a crop year the
supply gets notably scarce he still tries
to hold down prices by talking about
the enormous crop that is going to
come
This manipulation has robbed the
farmer of this country Of $500, OOO, 900 in
the last three wears
From 1884 to 1887 the crops of Europe
and America were in excess Of the con-
sumption, and low price for wheat
was quite natural, but during the last
three years the crops. though very fair,
were not equal TO the requirements
which is proven by the steady decrease
Of the reserves, which at present are
practically nothing or hardly sufficient
to reach the new crops.
With this deficiency in crops thorough
" known, wheat should have brought
very fair prices during the last three
years according to the laws Of supply
and demand.
1t makes difference of one hundred
million dollars per year to the farmers
Of this country whether they sell
wheat at sevcnty-fve cents or one dol
lar, and that yon had to take the lower
price for your product is due entirely
to the manipulation of the speculator.
Non this gear seems especially designed
By Providence to help our farming inter.
ests..
Our wheat crop promises to be good,
the European crops are worse than
they ever have been, and the reserves
are exhausted.
Our agricultural department issues
every month a government report a bout
the crops. These reports estimate the
number of acres sown and give the per.
centage of condition. percentage OF
100 is somewhat ideal crop and would
indicate yield of thirteen bushels and
fraction to the acre. 1t has been sur.
passed only once. namely, in the year
1852, when the condition at harvest
was 1O4 and the yield thirteen and one
half per acre. Our present crop il
somewhat similar to the crops
of 1884, the government report
making the acreage the same and
the condition somewhat less In 1885,
at harvest time the condition of winter
wheat was reported as 9s and Of spring
wheat as 90. This year the condition
Of winter wheat is 96.6 and that Of
spring wheat 92.6 or about 314 per cent
less than the final report of 1884.
AS the harvest of 1884, the largest we
ever had, was 512, 1000, 900 bushels. the
last government report would indicate
q crop of 494 100000 bushels, say 500
0OO, 600 in round numbers.
The home consumption has increased
with the population and is certainly
over $50, OO0, 900 bushels, probably $780,.
10000. which leaves US 14O,00o,0oO for
export.
During the last ten years we exported
IL, 200. 900 yearly in average, of which
Europe received 107,0OO.O00 and the
West Indies and South America 10000.
900.
This year we may have $4,000, OOt
more to spare, which, however, will sc
to South America on account of the
reciprocity treaties and Europe will
receive the average quantity OF about
1O7. 900, 600 bushels and no more, as we
have no reserves to draw upon.
This would make both ends meet
there if Europe had a good average
crop, but Europe has not a good aver
age crop, in fact it has the worst cror
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