The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-08-12

| ne0 crops.
''The demand from the importing coun :
tries is less than the supply. Great brit
ain takes more than One-half of the sur
plus wheat. The requirements OF the
United Kingdom are about 100000
bushels OF wheat per annum from other
countries. This is only per cent of the
total amount of wheat which the world
produces.
THE eOtton-growers of the South found
themselves confronted with similar con-
! dltlon of overDroduction. and two years
ago they set Systematically to work to re-
duce the acreage devo ted to the raising OF
cotton. The wheat farmers of the United
States would be wise if they would follow
the example of the Southern planters and
curtall the area sown TO wheat.
Then, too. the purchasing power of a
dollar is greater than ever before. and
wheat, like other commodities, suffers
from this cause. Wheat-growing in Cali
! fornia has ceased to be profitab for the
small farmer. The farms are constantly
increasing in size. There are fewer farm
ers IN the great wheat-groWlng counties
of Colusa and Glenn to-day than there
were two years ago, and the number OF
! farmers in those counties two years ago
was less than ii was five years ago. a
| farmer on 160 acres of land cannot produce
wheat so cheaply as his neighD0r who cul-
| tivates 5000 acres. The small farmer can
not compete with the large one. He must
adopt a system of diversified crops"
| A. Montpelier, cashier and manager of
the Changers Bank of California, hopes
| for return of better prices, and believes
that wheat Will bring a cent pound, but
he does not look TO see the high prices of
twenty years ago for some years to come.
The harvest of 1894 iu Argentine was
the largest in the history of that country"
said Mr.. Montpelier. SIT was like the
| IF in 60 w ha6
such an enormous crop here. ArgPntina'S
wheat harvest is in the months OF Deem
Der, January and February, the reverse of
our season her. Argentina has certainly
become great competitor to the United
States, but the wheat is inferior to ours.
When California wheat sells in England
for from % to "a shillings that of ArgeD-
tina brings but 20 shillings in the English
markets. But the masses who eat bread
do not know of this difference in the quail
ity and care less. When the farmer has a
margin Of profit he feels encouraged, but
there is no margin at present prices"
When asked to express an opinion as to
how long it would be before the price of
wheat would advance TO figure leaving a
fair margin Of profit to the farmer Mr.
Montpelier said: Just so soon as gold
and silver are at a parity. France always
prOs eTS She keeps her gold and silver
at par. The drop in wheat keeps pa e
with the decline in silver. l am firm be-
lever in bimetallism. and statistics show
that wheat and cotton keep pace with sill
YER"
Mr.. Montpelier pointed out that Argen-
tina had one advantage i'll being silver
country. and that the London price in
gold, expressed IN terms OF silver, made
wheat in that country worth ST 60. This
years wheat in California was worth from
90 TO 92b cents. while old wheat was
worth from 81 to 80 cents.
81 D TO i've or six years ago." continued
Mr.. MontpellieT, wheat always went as
high as 81 so a GENITAL some time during
the year. Such very low prices as we now
have were reached for the first time in 1898
| think wheat even now ought TO advance
somewhat. l would not be surprised to
see it reach a cent a pound. Crops are
light throughout the United States, with
the exception Of Oregon and Washington.
The crop this year will aggregate perhaps
450, 900, 600 bushels, as against 100000 900
bushels three years ago. A great amount
of corn has been DESTROYED, and that will
have an effect in bringing up the price of.
wheat"
Continuing Mr.. Montpelier said: ENG
land requires every year %, 600, 600 quarters
Of wheat for home consumption beyond
what she raises. Formerly the United
States and Russia were her only sources
Of supply. Then India appeared as fac
tor. Five years ago India exported 1,225. goo
tons. This year tie price OF wheat is so
low that the natives have taken 10 eating
bread and Will consume much more than
usual of their wheat product. Australia
is TOO distant from the markets 10 be con-
sidered as a very important competitor.
1t is impossible TO predict now what kind
of crop of wheat Argentina will have In
the coming season. Last year more than a
million tons was exported from that cOuD-
try to England"
Mr.. Montpelier told of gentleman who
last October desired to mortgage his ranch
properties in the San Joaquin Valley for
100000. That was at the time of the
financial panic and he was unable TO negO-
liste the loan. Il ascertained that his
purpose in desiring 10 secure the money
was TO buy wheat, which was then quoted
curing the loan he would have lost
heavily" continued Mr.. Mon tpellier, "but
he reasoned as did many others that the
price was so low that it could not last.
Unfortunately it has gone lower. About
that time many farmers wired NE for
advice as to whether they should sell
their wheat then. L advised them to
sell as did not believe the
price would advance. Many took nv ad-
vice then. Those who held their wheat
hoping for better prices were unfortunate
ly disappointed. These low prices are a
serious matter for this State. Better
prices means prosperity to the State at
large. and it is only when the State is
prosperous that the city can be so. | sim
cerely hope that the price of wheat in
future years may never be so low as it is
now"
Mr.. Montpelier told of the action of the
Government Of France to protect the farm
eTs Of that country from lower prices
The French Government believes in pro-
tection," said he. Last year wheat was
very low and the crops were very large
The Government of France placed duty
on wheat to protect the farmers. and by
this means has encouraged the farmers 10
keep up their acreage of wheat or possibly
| to increase it, and has decreased the
amount imported.
ut is reasonable to suppose that wheat
may again find better prices, but just at
present the world seems upset. Business
is demoraliZed, and grain feels the effect
of the depression. Foreign lands are suf-
fering as we'll as our own. The banks
| have plenty of money, but they do not
know what to do with it. A year ago the
financial Institutions suffered. Now it is
just the reverse, with plenty of money in
the banks and very little among the
people. The great depression is due to
lack Of confidence.
In July only one vessel cleared from
this port with wheat for Liverpool. The
consequence Is that no gold is coming in
as an exchange for wheat The farmers
do not want to sell their wheat. So much
was held over last year that we have for
shipment abroad nearly as many centals
this year as if the present seasons crop
had been large one,
But as everything bad has had be-
ginning it must necessarily have an end, +"
added Mr.. Montpelier. when people
al i'm hnr lie ,1nar inn