The advocate., 1894-02-07
ANrBRTOA's WHEAT PRODUCT.
Are the People Well Fed, and Is the
PriCe Of Wheat Governed by the Nat
ural Demand FOX 0onsumptiOn2

every summer there was upwards Of 1OO,-
600, coo bushels Of the old crop still unoon-
gumed-ye the people were well fed"
Capital.
"'Ths people were well fedP" Think OF
chat statement in Che face Of the thousands
who have perishsd every year for wanS OF
proper food.
''Than look St this one;
"'The price Of wheat has adjusted itself
10 the EQUATION Of demand and supply
"That is 10 say, the present low price is
the result Of foverprOduction. We have pro-
duoed 80 much wheat that nearly one-half
of our population must Starve for the want
Of IL, while those who have produced IL are
unable 10 sell IL for what il cost TO ralse il.
This is wisdom gone TO ed."-ADvocATH.
The ADvocATB's criticism that thousands
have perished every year for want Of bread
under the republican party's rule is mean
ingless as applied to this question In the
first place, it 10 not true. Scarcely fraC.
tion of q single per cent. Of Che people Of the
United States under republican adminiStra-
tion persisted for want OF food and none
who would and phynOally were able TO work,
for want Of bread. But suppose 10000
American people every year should have
had more bread. Suppose the full average
consumption Of 100000 people ought TO
have been added every year TO the demand,
it would have called for less than 1,OOO, 600
bushels Of wheat. II the full average con-
sumption Of q L. 900, 900 people had added to
the demand IL would have called for but
5000 900 bushels. The excess every year has
averaged not less than 1OO,0O0,0OO. Every
summer, when the new crop came to mar
ket 100, 600 900 Of former crops were still un-
consumed. The ADvocAT1's theory that
people have been starved, and. hence the an
nuRl wheat surplus, 10 too feeble 10 stand
alone. II needs TO be propped up BY little
common sense.
But il Is not apparent that the O0nsump-
tion would increase with higher prices. The
Capital Is as anxious as the ADVOCATE to see
wheat advance in price. IL would be q good
thing for the farmer and iDjuFe nobody. II
wheat advanced 100 peE cent. 10 would moi
make the cost Of bread too great. But
surely. il people, as the ADVOCATE pretendG
to believe, have been starving for the lack Of
bread with wheat 60 cents a bushel; how ID
IL going TO be possible for everybody 10 be
fed with wheat al $1.25 bushelP The AD.
vooATR's silly talk about making everybody
happy and comfortable and WSll-fed By
water ing the currency iS unworthy Of the in
telliRenoe Of IT'S dullsst reader. Fiab money
will not provide employment for the idle mol
compel the lazy TO work, nor cure the drunk
ard or the gambler or the incompetent,
Sound money and protection stimulated in
dustry and brought the country as near a.
possible TO universal prosperity. But the
ADVOCATE frownB Gt protection and raves
against sound money, Il iS the worst kind
of politiCnl quack.
We reproduce the above from the
Capital Of February l, in order that
there may be a perfectly fair under
standing Of the questions at issue
Now without going into a statistical
showing Of the number who are i'm
properly fed in the different sections
of the country, we propose to arrive
at approximate results by another
route which viii demonstrate some
other things as we 80 along.
The United States army regula-
lations for 1881, page 234 give the
following as the daily allowance Oi
food for one person: