The age-herald., 1898-05-12
RISE IN PRICES OF FOOD STUFFS Flour Has Risen Over Two Dollars Per MEAL. HAS GONE UP ALSO Due to Speculation and Not to the Im-
 pending War. HEAVY FOREIGN DEMAND FOR WHEAT Failure of Wheat Crop in All Foreign Countries Causes Big Demand on United States
 Other Breadstufs Go Up
 in Sympathy.
HEAVY FOREIGN DEMAND FOR WHEAT

flour mas risen rom $4.S0 to S1 per barrel
 Corn meal has risen from s1 to $i25 pc, sack of sS pounds.
 Irish potatoes have gone up from S1 to $1.25 per bushel.
 Lemons, which three weeks ago retailed for 15 cents a dozen, now sell for 20 cents Sugar, which formerly sold at 20 pounds for dollar now sells IS pounds to the dol. lar.
 Lard has gone up from 6Q6hc to TQ7Kt per pound. Mixed oats have jumped from 35 cents to 45 cents per bushel.
 Bran retails for SIS a ton which formerly brought $17
 The advance in the retail prices of the staple groceries given above are the mos direct evidences that Birmingham has fell of the Spanish war
 It is true that they are caused almost en. tirely by the manipulating of the stock markets, but this speculation is made pos sible by the excitement incident to the commencement of all " A.
 Everybody agrees th.t there is no earthly necessity for high prices and that they 'POOAa As an evidence of this fact it is shown that neither the consumers nor the jobbers are buying up any large stocks ofg groceries They do not fear a much further rise in the markets, and they think that the bottom will soon fall out of the whole thing
 The retail merchants say that even at the advanced prices, the trade is better tn n it was about April l, when the whole coun- try was disturbed with the apprehension of war and with local politics.
 There are various reasons assigned for the extraordinary rise of prices noted above.
 Robert McLester
 'The war is causing small advance in most of the staples of food" said Robert McLester, yesterday, but the rise in wheat is caused by the corner which now exists on May wheat. The question is whether Letter of Chicago can hold this corner on July wheat. He and his associates have a lot of money, but it is doubted whether they can control the tremendous July crop or not. The fact that enables this corner to be made is that nearly the whole world Is demanding wheat, and the United States IS the only country that can supply it. France wants wheat so badly that she has removed all import tax on it.
 Though the few farmers of the north west and the others who have held on to their wheat will be benefited, the Chicago speculators are the ones reaping the harv- est The millers and the jobbers of the south are not benefited, because they have no stock on hand. For this reason they have been quick to take advantage of the rise and their prices were advanced at once. The Jobbers are now selling flour for $65O which was bought for $45O. If they had large stocks the price would advance grad ually.'
 J. II. McCary
 ''It is not war that is advancing the prices of breadstuffs," said J. H. McCary 'but 1t Is the heavy demand for wheat There is no wheat in the Argentine Repub- lie, none in Russia, Turkey. nor in fact any of the wheat producing countries of the world. Only in the United States was the wheat crop a success and the extra ordinary demand necessarily causes the prices to go up. The price of corn ad. vances out of sympathy for wheat. If this were not the case the people could easily live on meal until the new wheat crop is gathered.
 Although the army of the United States is very small per cent of the total popu- latlon Of this country, still 125,GOO able- bodied men who were formerly the pro- ducers of wealth, but who are now con sumers only, together with the excitement incidental to war, necessarily cause n slight advance in prices. But the present ad- vance IS entirely unreasonable and don't apprehend that they will keep up long,"
 Wm. Redd
 There is no necessity for the present advance in prices" said Wm. Redd, 'h,,t the people are simply taking advantage Inf a n , stuffs We have all the grain and other commodities that we need to last us until the new crop is gathered.
 "The rise in wheat can be partially ex- plained by the big foreign demand, but this is not the case with hay and a few other supplies. Of which there is the greatest quantity. This is due almost entirely to speculation. Even in the time of peace have known wheat to be pulled up to $2 a bushel."
 Mack Drennen
 "As the prices of bread stuffs go up," said Mack Drennen, cloths go down. In war times the people have tendency to buy only the necessaries of life, which makes wheat, corn and the like advance
 "But there is really no cause for the present advance and the big fluctuations are caused almost entirely by speculation. For instance, the price of flour does not compare with that of wheat. If it did, flour would sell for s10 barrel. While flour has advanced about g already, still the people have not lost confidence and think prices will soon assume their normal condi- tions.
 ''One of the remarkable features of the Birmingham trade is that about April 1 the consumers quit buying and trade was very poor, but now it is as good as 1t was in January. I attribute the depression at that time to the apprehension of war. and the exciting state of county politics."