The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-10-22
LOCAL FIELD OF COMMERCE
Wheat Prices for the Past
Thirty Years
SHOW A STEADY DECLINE
Some Other Crop Is Likely to Prove
Preferable
We Buy $Ioo, 900, 900 Worth of Sugar An
nuaIIy From Germany-We Should
Take 1t Ourselves
SHOW A STEADY DECLINE

A. Montpelier, manager of the Grang-
ers' bank, has completed a table OF grain
prices ruling at Port Costa during the past
hrty years, which table is reproduced
in the San Francisco Argonaut. The
price of wheat runs from $1.90 per GENITAL
in 1865 to 92 cents in 1895, with steady
decline in the intermediate decades.
dropping to 78 cents in 1893. There has
been a little reaction since, as the 1895
price indicates, but 1t IL Mr.. Montpelier's
belief that the wheat farms of California
must turn their attention to the raising
of some other crop than wheat. He says
that there is too much competition, and
points to the fact that Barring Brothers
sank 500, 900, 900 in Argentina, but incl
dentally developed there a vast wheat
emp ire, where land may be purchasd at
from So to S. per acre, where labor costs
about IS cents day and where wheat
may be shipped to Liverpool in twenty
five days. Then there is tho competition
of India, Russia and the many other
countries engaged in wheat raising.
LAS acreage increases the price goes
down." he says, and he might have
added that the system of protection TO
munu1aCluTeTS Ut Jue eApohoo Vi tuo
wheat grower has already produced its
due effect and is likely to continue to do
so for generation or two 10 come. Asa
matter of cold fact, the American pro-
tected manufacturer of agricultural i'm pie
ments has been providing the pson of
South America and the ryot of India
with the thunder necessary to fight the
United States wheat raiser. Until re-
Gently the Indian ryot cultivated his
land with a wooden pillow, harvested it
with knife only four inches long and
thres.ed out the grain by driving his
cattle over il the South American m eth =
ods were almost as primitive, though the
peon used sickle to cut and fail to
thresh grain But the American manu-
facturer found the home demand unable
to absorb his output and turned his at
tention to the rest of the world, with the
result that the peon walks beside Stock
ton gang pillow aud throws chunks of dirt
at his six or eIght-horse pillow team, and
the ryot whistles as o sits On the seat of
com bined harvester and reaper turned
out of an Ohio factory. The wheat out
put of each is increased fifty or hun
dred fold and the total increase finds its
way to the European market to com pete
with American wheat. With such COM
petition to meet the American farmer
who expects to receive a dollar bushel
Will simply ma ms expectations unIul-
filled. Machinery has Knocked the price
of wheat precise ely as improved processes
have reduced the price of railroad iron,
and until harvesters shall have ceased to
be made and the Bessemer process OF
steel-making is forgotten wheat will
never be worth 81 bushel nor railroad
iron $50 ton. And because wheat Ia
cheaper less of it is raised on land that
can be planted to other crops.
Mr.. Montpelier says that the wheat
CROP this year in California is 100000 tons
short, which means a shortage of about
SO, 000, 600 to the farmers. But the crops
were short and the prices low both in
1894 and 1895. The shrinkags in price
and yield entailed loss to the state of
California of during the past three years.
of from $50, 000 000to $50, 600, 900. Mr.. Mont.
pelier urges the farmers mot to stay by
declining and losing industry" Hs lays
before them the Importance of diversity
ing their crops, and points out that there
are many ranches in the Salinas valley
which, a few wears ago were run at a loss,
but are now making their owners rich
through sugar beetS. Since the esablish-
ment OF beet sugar refineries at Chino, "
comments the Argonaut, "a mark ct for
sugar beets has been furnished to the far
mers in the vicinity. The market for
sugar is practically illimitable. We i'm
port each year 500, 900, 900 OF sugar from
Germany. We ought to make it our
selves"