Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-11-14
STARTLING FIGURES ON GRAIN.
WHEAT IL, ACTUALLY WORTH 4
DOLLAR A BrsHEL.
But Our Farmers Become Fright
snea Mt Cables About tho Arssn-
tines Product and sell for Less
Feeding wheat.

/ |1UltIKO. III. NOV -AAS
Peak q COLA money pane sotho
years ago apread throughout the en-
lightened world. gradually settleu ~
to period OF financial strnGenVS,
causing universal dlstrust, anu lAtsr
resulted in severe Industrial depression
and disaster. During these same yeAtS
a steady overproduetlon OF wnea'i
through phenomenaliy large sfVps,
caused enormous Accommodations OF TINS
grain, far exceeding human iooa re-
quiremenfs, until the cost OF carrying
the overabundant load completely stag
gered the trade.
These two causes--a stringency OF
money md 4 glut OF graln-have GO.
operated to make record OF the loWsst
prices ever known IN the history OF our
grain trade. The price OF wheat mas
\ been thus depressed until II mas for
months ruled lower than the prices OF
coarse grains used almost exclusively
as farm animal feed. These two causes
are legitimate ones, and surely govern
prices IN the end without regard to
| forestailing or manipulation. inc COM
| binltlon Of these financial ana asrlcut-
tural conditions are wholly chaFgeaple
| with dlscredltlng values ana lowering
prices Of wheat everywhere
This being true. It Is useless to expect
relief or the restoration Of remunera-
| tive prices to producers, unless We can
| find them In q combination OF clrcuin-
stances which will show a complete
| change OF conditions and reversal OF
| their influence upon the market. 10
| these changed conditions Inc wheat
market Is now Just beginning TO re-
spond by strong Indications OF advance
ing prices.
In every financial center Of the Uni.
| ted States there Is now a plethora OF
money Instead OF stringency; anu
| likewise there Is everywhere except
| wheat In public storehouse) a scarcity
instead OF glut Of grain arising from
! the partial failure OF the corn crop OF
| 1894 The price OF wheat below that OF
corn and oats has forced It's substtu-
ton as a farm animal food throughout
| the country, far and near. We have
| passed the experimental stage OF wheat
| feeding, and neither assertion nor argu-
ment ~ necessary 10 prove the adapta-
| billy, superiority and profit of II; be-
/ cause they are already demonstrated
| facts.
We have only to deal now with the
extent to which wheat has been 80
| fed in the place OF corn and oats. We
| can Judge of the exhaustion OF the
wheat surplus already accomplished,
and form some idea OF the demands
| that are likely to be further made upon
our wheat stock reserves, and also esti-
| mate now lIttAl WE Nhll NbAAtAllhN ~
meet those demands without disturbing
the abnormal and unnatural relation
established by present prices OF wheat
and corn.
First, there Is the extensive district
! over which severe drought prevailed,
| and throughout which wheat has been
and stlll must be Of a necessity largely
| fed to farm animals There Is no escape
| from the pse OF wheat for corn pur-
poses In this district TO the full extent
Of the entire crop there grown. In the
still greater region from which our beef
| and pork supplies are drawn, and in
! the dalrylrg industry. extensive as the
country Itself. the profit Of ~ to so
cents u bushel to the feeder OF wheat
nbove that obtrlnable by the seller of
| wheat. has diverted this grain TO the
hog and cattle trough to a degree far
beyond any computation yet made. The
depletion of the invisible wheat stocks
| from this extraordinary consumption
has been great and rapid. Quite asmuch
so must be the advance in price when
this becomes generally known.
The usual ordinary consumption OF
The usualorordlnary consumption OF
wheat has aeen one barrel Of flour to
each Of some slNty-flve and perhaps
seventy millions OF human beings Now
to prove the extraordinary cOnsump-
ton of wheat. tell us for how many
OF our ie0000000 Of cattle, swine, horsea
and sheep eating each from fve to ten
times the quantity required for hui
man being IL IL necessary to prescribe
a partial wheat diet? Such feeding has
been done for over three months What
the demands upon wheat reserves In
farmers hands have been during this
prolonged period, and what they will
continue 10 he, the following figures
from tho agricultural department In
Washington may suggest:
Yearly average OF aggregate wheat
corn and oat crops for three years
past 2,ejO,Q5S0O0; aggregate wheat corn
and oat crops OF 1894. 2.9l5 900 O0O-the
ueMeieney therefore being i5405s 600
yearly average of aggregate wheat.
corn and cat crops for ten years past.
2,soi. 659,SlB; aggregate wheat corn and
oat crops OF 1894, 2,2l5, O00,O 600. The de-
heiency in this case Is $50, 65g, g76. From
such allowing as this, can 1t be
doubted that we have now reversed the
agricultural conditions from the over
abundance that lately prevailed to a
startling scarcity2 And does not a
glance at the bank statement. now
showing q glut OF idle money where
lately existed an alarming stringency.
prove changed conditions there, too.
that are cooperating to restore CON
fdence IN values and advance prices {?
Look again and sec how real Is this
scarcity; and to see II more clearly
stlll eliminate from the estimate en-
lrely all human requirements for
breadsutft, and this year ell our whole
grain crop farm animal feed
II we devote our entire wheat crop
this year TO supply the shortage In
farm animal food. there is still de-.
iiciency OF over 2l0,0OO,00o bushels In
such animal requirements OF three
~ ~ M 40