St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-23
TO CRUSH A SWINOLE.
Farmers Urged to Hold on to
Their Wheat and Force
Prices Up.
A Gigantic Movement to
Illustrate the Efforts Of
Wheat Buyers.
The Granger Who Sells His
Wheat to Be Treated as
a Traitor.
How the Scheme Is Being
Worked and Through
What Agencies.

1dtlOu Cd the DULL size, ana lney nave
started out to do so by attempting to
persuade all Alliance men to hold their
present wheat crop TOR a few weeks or
until prices goes up.
And all Alliance men who decline to
do so are to be branded as traitors, says
the protector of the scheme, who is none
other than Rev. George Nj. Muller, of
this city. the editor of the anti-Don-
nelly Alliance paper, The State.
But how is this to be done? Mr.. Null
Ter says in this wise:
Now. in the first place, said MIR. Muller,
1--WE expect to send out over 100000 copies
of this circular urging the farmers to hold
their wheat a few weeks. They will go to
the secretaries Of alliances in every state
where wheat Is grown, from Delaware
TO Washington. We send to each
Alliance secretary a package of twenty
which he is 10 distribute. We send out TO all
the reform, Alliance and independent news
papers copy Of that circular. We shall
send to 5000 newspapers this week. Next
week we shall follow up with a large reg
ular edition of The State. and TO con-
time this we shall keep up SOW
ing the different states until the fight is over.
The prospects of success are good. The
farmers are well organized. They are embit-
tered against the spectators and combines
The spirit of revolt is strong. 1t has never
been possible before for lack of organization,
Now it Is possible to reach every farming sec
ton in the country through official sources.
no one connected with the Alliance move
ment can safely approve the facts stated in
the circular, because to do so will place them
on the side OF the Spectators, and he Will be
charged with disloyalty and a desire to fur
ther their schemes to depreSS prices. This
movement Is to secure for the farmer the
privilege Of selling his own grain in an open
market subject only to the natural laws of
trade and commerce q inPItp
the farmer to such a revolt as will result in
the lasting defeat of the wheat gamblers.
Prepared by Muller
This circular, a synopsis of which will
be found below, was prepared by Edi-
tor Muller, who then secured the in
dOrSement of the Reform Press bureau
at Washington, which sent out the fol-
lowing appeal to the farmers:
Alilancemen. farmers everywhere, hold |
your wheaI for a few weeks. 1t is more |
than probable that Withholding of grain |
from the market for a short time will cause |
an advance III prices of at least 50 per cent. |
The reason for this Supposition is strong and |
good, and plainly and forcibly given by The |
State, an Alliance newspaper of st. Paul. |
That paper has undertaken to distribute |
100000 or more copies of Il supplement, set |
ting forth. honestly and cOnservatively, the !
opportunity the farmers now have of help |
ing themselves on account OF certain condl- |
lions OF food supply. and especially that of |
wheat. These circulars are sent out with |
the assistance and unqualified approval OF |
the Alliance Bureau of Information, and will |
reach 100000 farmers within the next few |
days.
The circular starts out with the state |
ment that the Farmers Alliance de- !
mands that speculation for future de- |
HVerieS of cereals
Shall BE Prohibited.
The Spectator is declared to be the
greatest enemy of the farmer, and the
competition Of the two is between grain
and wind. The Spectator is declared
to have cost the farmer $500, 100000 in
the last three years. The shortage of |
this year is cited, and the following |
black-lined sentence heads this part of |
the summary:
This year seems especially designed BY |
Providence to help our farming interests
Our wheat crop promises to be good,'' |
runs the circular, the European crops are |
worse than they ever have been, and the re- |
serves are exhausted. Our agricultural |
department issues every month a
government report about the crops
These reports estimate the number of acres
Eown and give the percentage of condition.
A percentage of 100 is a somewhat ideal crop
and would indicate yield of thirteen bush |
els and a fraction to the acre. 1t
has been surpassed only once, namely. in
the year 1882, when the condition ut
one-half per acre. Our present crop is some
what similar to the crops of 1884. the govern
mentrepOrt making the acreage the same and
the condition somewhat less. In 1884, at
harvest time, the condition of winter wheat
was reported as %, and of spring wheat as
W. This year the condition Of
Winter Wheat
Is $3.50 and that of spring wheat 92-6 or about
SI2 per cent. less than the final report of 1884
As the harvest Of 1884, the largest we ever
bad. was 81 100000 bushels, the last govern
ment report would indicate a crop of 494, 600
600 bushels, say 500,000,000 in round num-
bers.
The home consumption has increased with
the population and is certainly over 350000,-
000 bushels, probably 2G0 000 0J0, which leaves
Us 140000,090 for export.
During the last ten years we exported 1877
100000 yearly in average, of which Europe re-
ceived 107, 100000 and the " est Indies and
South America 20,010000.
This year we may have 100000 more to
spare, which, however. will go to South
America on account of the reciprocity
treaties, and Europe will receive the average
quantity OF about 107, 100000 bushels and no
more, as we have no reserves 10 draw upon.
This would make both ends meet there If
Europe had good average crop. but Europe
has not q good average crop. in fact it has
the worst crop failure of the century.
Last winter was phenomenal all over
Europe in Its severity and duration. Snow
and ice covered even Italy and Spain and
sells on the MEDITERRANEAN came into port
thickley covered with ice and this abnormal
weather worked incalcul6ble damage to the
winter wheat in all the countries of that
continent The spring has been late and
very unfavorable, and even in June snow
and frost destroyed most of what was left in
half of Germany and a great part of Austria
The Russian failure is elaborated
upon and the reports Of the
Russian Commission
declared false. Belgium, France and
Austria receive attention, and the final
resume of all this is found in this state
ment:
Under such circumstances it is certain
that the true value of wheat is greater than
ever before, ana it is astonishing that specu-
lators should dare to bet on low prices"
The oyerpfOduction of the years from
1884 to 1887 aided the Spectator, but
their success since has been won bv
cheek, continues Mr. Mueller. The way
of legislation is slow, and so the editor
suggests a new method, and it is
simply to hold back all wheat for time.
No pointer is given the grangers as to
just how much they shall demand be-
fore selling, but the following is de-
signed to give them an idea:
The surplus being entirely used up, it is
perfectly natural thatwheat should return to
the usual prices. The average price Of wheat
in England during the twenty years preced-
ing was 81 As per busheI. Several years it
rose over s. per bUshel.
I'm this year of crop failure, far worse than
any that occurred during these twenty years,
it cannot be eXtrayagant to expect at least
the average price OF that period price of
S1.35 at New York corresponds with S1.45 in
England, as the expense of transferring a
bushel of wheat TO Liverpool or Lon
oon is not more than 10 cents.
New York, Baltimore, Boston and Phila-
6plDhia SbnUld have
Chicago about 10 cents lower, say SIPS. Min