The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1894-09-21
RUSSIA'S VAST CROPS.
Too Great to Be Harve sted Where
Famine Recently Reigned-
To Gather In the Grain Would BE Tanta-
mount To Throwing Good Money After
Bad-A Severe Agricultural \ Crisis
Anticipated.

Anticipated.
Cries of despair are coming from
Russian farmers and landowners be
cause of the abundant wheat harvest,
SAYS the London Telegraph. For
weeks past the Russian press has been
dcvoting its leading articles to dis
cussion of the measures best calcu-
lated to neutralize the effects of the
coming plentiful harvest, and now.
curiously enough, the question has re
duced itself TO this simple issue:
Should the wheat be reaped and gar
nered in, or would it not be wiser to
turn sheep and cattle into the fields
and thus lessen the quantity of the
produce? 1t seems well nigh incrcd-
ible that a people who. two years ago.
were in the throes of famine and pub
Iicly offered up prayers to Heaven for
an abundant harvest, should he now
concerting measures for the purpose oi
cOunteracting the effects of the wished
for abundance. But it l. none the less
true, and stranger still, some organs oi
the press, in reply to the question.
should the wheat be reaped?' have
deliberately given it as their opinion
that for numerous districts it would
be advisable to solve this problem in
the negative" Nay, more, it now APP
pears that many landowners refused
last year to gather in the harvest. and
are determined not to remove ii this
year either. One landlord, for in
stance, who owns large estate near
Odessa, and whose facilities for export
are therefore exceptionally numerous.
fOreseeing the ia II of prices. purchased
one thpnSani Shaan rrly-
turned them into his fields of wheat.
He is said To be so satisfied with.the re
suit that he means to do likewise now
that further fall in prices is probable
The Odessa Novosti, a journal which
is usually very well informed upon
agricultural questions, has published a
series of articles to show that to
gather in the harvest this year would
be tantamount to throwing good money
after bad, for it can only be done at a
heavy loss to farmers. a pood thirty
six pounds) of barley, for instance,
when it reaches the port of Nikolaietf
from the neighboring government of
Poltava costs the producer thirty-six
and one-fourth copeclxs, whereas the
market price is at present thirty-six
copecks, and is bound to become less
harvest Is generally known. \ very
severe agricultural crisis is anticipated
in consequence, and the well meaning
efforts of the government to keep down
the price of the ruble with "a view to
facilitating expectation, will avail
nothing. The results of such a crisis
may be gauged by the circumstances
that Russia is an agricultural country.
hI. fs.4r . hon TO IL IN, h.
creased profits of manufactures com
DenSatiOn for the falling off of corn
exports The situation is critical, and
will make itself sOrely felt in more
than one form before the end of theyear.
Unfortunately. a disPassionate study
of the causes that have combined to
bring about the present crisis fails to
bring to light a single consideration
which would warrant hopes of a
brighter prospect in the near future.
Some authorities maintain that the
prohibition to export grain which was
issued by the government during the
famine enabled American farmers to
triumph over their Russian competitors
b. leaving European markets without
Russian grain for a year. But most
Russians hold that this was NO more
deeper, and Is to be sought for in the
manner in which the Russian producer
is handicapped by domestic laws and
conditions, in the negligence of Rus
sian grain merchants. who sought to
enrich themselves rather than acquire
high reputation for the native produce
and in the resulting inferiority of Rus
sian grain. Thus RusSkaia Chisn, d
well-informed agricultural organ
unhesitatingly declares that the for
eign demand for Russian grain was
the result of a misunderstanding. for
the grain itself. owing to its quality.
could not compare with that of Amer
lea or even Australia and East India
and those who transacted the sale. if
Judged by the standard of coGScien-
tiouSneSs or by the commercial methods
they employed. would lose by compar-
ison with their foreign colleagues"
the export from Russia was artificial
due exclusively to the mistaken agri-
cultural policy of the government,
which made il impossible to forward
grain from the farthest corners of Rus
sia to Germany, England and Belgium
for nominal freights, while ii was prac-
tically impossible to distribute it in
the neighboring Russian districts
where people were dying of hunger
home, where sorely needed, and plcnti-
full abroad, where itswas not really
wanted.