New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-06-08
TUE UHE1T SURPLUS.

Tho ,,,rost nrice ever named for wheat will
.s,nr;sh pohody who has watched the course
If tho market for the last year. Indeed, 1t
vas nrcdcted by TIE TRIBUNE, when the
o,,uv Chicago boom in wheat was holding the
r,;co y cents above the cost Ut the same grade
~ vow-York. and from to ID cents above
tbe cost at other Western cities, that tine result
WAS likely to be an extremely low prize pelore
the crop year ended. The high prices then
established by combination ATTRACTED al enor-
mo,,s ouantity Of wheat to that market. Ire
ora m rourcd in by every railroad ana IN vol
ume altogether unprecedented Tor me season.
Miles of Loaded clrs ST Cd waiting for elevator
room and it was charged that the srcculatols,
tho elevators and the railroads were in com
bination to prevent delivery of the wheat where
Il coud be offered in settlement OF contracts.
Hut the avalanche from farms kept coming,
and in time it caused smash such as Is rarely
seen even in Chicago.
Ever since holders OF that city have been
irving TO sol thc wheat which some of them
ucrc irving to buy when the smash came. Last
week the price dropped to the lowest point ever
touched snce the war panic IN 1861, ana yet
there were over 30, 600, 900 bushels remaining
in Chicago elevators, 100000 bushels at
Minneapolis, and nearly 100000 at Duluth.
The total visibly supply was over 7O'Ooo'ooo
bushels, against 20, 100000 year ago, and
vet another crop is MT more than month dis
tant. Under the circumstances it is not strange
that fne lowest price ever quoted at Newly ork
has been made this week. and while there has
appeared an encouraging increase IN the Tor
cgn demand, it amounts to little in comparison
with the vast supplies available. For behind
the visible supplies at a few points there arc
unknown but large stocks in country elevators
and in farmers hands, from which there arc
coming every week quantities quite unusual
for the season. notwithstanding the extremely
low prices now ruling
This is an "object lcssOn' which the anti
combination convention now in session at the
West might proftably study. Some farmers
began this mischief by combining among them
selves to pu, up the price and to keep back the
truth They caused false information to be
given through State and National crop reports
until the spectators were deluded with the
notion that last years yield was very short, and
that there must come deficit before July.
When the spectators were crazy to buy thcs"
farmers emptied wheat on them, several million
bushels each week reckoning only actual de-
livcries. and far more no doubt. reckoning sales
for future delivery.
But the consequences to the combining farm
crs are not pleasant. They have put into the
coming crop all the labor and seed for a very
large yield, only to find that their market is
practically destroyed, at least fer some months
10 come, by the extraordinary accumulation OF
wheat whEh high pliceS have prevented this
country from exporting. Added to this there
comes the sore depression in money markets,
which would hardly exist if, instead of TO-
600. 900 bushels of surplus wheat unscld. the
country had parted with the surplus at the
proper time, and exported S5O,00OOOO or
500, 600 900 less gold. 1t will probably re-
suit that on four or five hundred million bush
lis 10 be raised this year. the farmers will get
3 very much lower price than they might have
received if there had not been combination Of
producers TO put up prices last winter.