The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-10-04
FRANCES WHEAT DEFICIENCY.
This Ycnr's Crop short and the Quail
fty Inferior.

ity Inferior.
The State Department has just received
from Thornweu Haynes. the United
States Consul at Rouen. France. "a report
on the deficiency of Frances wheat crop
Mr. Haynes says
France is disturbed at present over a
deficient wheat harvest. q deficiency all
the worse as the grain is very inferior in
quality Wheat has risen IS cents per
% 70 pounds and the price of a quarteru
loaf Of bread has already advanced from
l2-5 cents 10 135 cents.
The annual consumption OF France, in
/ Guiding seed wheat. is 3i6.35.H ESQ bushels
Substractiug from this the A.5s19JJ bush
: els now in reserve leaves 81, s56,g'J bushels
necessary between now and this time
next car. How much of this the present
harvest viii supply is uncertain NJ
! COrnu. thc general secretary of the Ma
tional Association Of French NilIers. is
reported as saying that he thought the
crop might reach last years fgure-39.-
$4,000 bushels-and that the reserve would
I be sufficient to provide for the 36NS4.p)9
bushels deficit. But next year. ne adds,
unless there is a wonderful harvest
! France will have to apply for bread
stuffs. abroad. In certain quarters, how
! ever. quite a different opinion prevails.
Some authorities say that this years
I yield will not be over 2g231iOJ0 bushels;
others figure as small a supply as 49,
I 9o6.OJo bushels. and a deficiency to come
( from abroad Of q. $50 90 bushels, the same
as in 1897.
/ within the last decCunial period three
I years have been especially deficient-1S93
/ yielded only 275.2S6Dl0 bushels. 1897. 246.-
I $4,000 bushels. and 1900 309.3l2.OJ0 bushels
/ This constantly recurring deficit is as log
| zeal as chronological The varying mood
I Of nature is not the Only cause. The
! increased development of manufacturing.
I the hOCksag Of the peasants % the town
/ and city industries, the partial belief that
/ the country can buy wheat cheaper than
/ it can raise ii. the greater profits gained
/ from growing beets for sugar and aIco-
/ hol, the replacing where possible Of wheat
/ fields by whey ards-these are the proc
/ esseS that viii some day perhaps allow
/ the profitable introduction Of American
! wheat, IL not flour. all over France.
/ So strongly organized Is the French
/ milling industry that the importation Of
/ Hour presents a serious difficulty. LAS
/ Spclauon Rationale de ia Mrunerie Fran
I caise was founded in lsS6 with headquar-
/ tiers AT Paris, and at present il numbers
! between 5000 and 400 members. s.. grea.
/ ~ the capital Invested I'm mills anu So
/ strenuous are the efforts Of this alliance
]
I February =, 1884, the tariff on Hour has
/ been about doJrhfe that on wheat which
] condition enables the French 10 import
! wheat grind II, AID sell IL cheaper than
! imported Hour While Paris and a few II
{ the larger cities consume American flour.
/ THIS giant internal organization. the tx
1 ccsSiVe duty, and Russian, HuuEstian.
J ana other competition prevent the pos
siDllity OF any general introduction there
The prospect for American wheat
/ grows continually better. Against it's i'm
[ portauon there IS no prejudice on the part
I OF tEc mlu owners. The residue Of the
, "nSa -. Is IN demand for domestic animals,
ana the grinding Of it gives employment
not only 90 the mills but to the many
poor people who would go without work
If flour were imported instead.
/ The present tariff charges on wheat
ana hour per 100 Kilograms Z31-46 pounds.
are as follows. Wheat grains. Sl.35.
ground wheat, yielding 90 per cent or more
| or hour; $2lZ: yielding between 20 per
cent and So per cent of -four s. 81. Weld
ing CO per cent or under OF -four. 500
! There Is some talk of a suspension of
the t-franc tariff on wheat, as in 1897
( At the request Of the wine growers and
! consumers. the tariff on wine WIS sup
l pressed this year, the loss being replac-
( cd TO some extent by other taxes. Con-
1 Sidering. however. that the new taxes
l have not fulfilled expectations there be
I ing deficit in the budget just now Of
l about SIl-Ss1,v99. with prospect Of $l9.-
I 10000 deficit by the time the wine tariff
IS TO De restored. IL Is not likely that the
duty on wheat viii be suppressed.
! If the present crop amounts TO 25I.-
I g96 ,0l0 bushels. which appears probable il
I means that 3E,s690J0 bushels viii be i'm
ported This represents at the average
/ weight Of 80 Kilograms TO the hectOliteT.
Z IS 90. 90 metric quiutals- II the tariff Of
$l.35 a quiutal is suppressed on this
I amount IL viii be a loss of $50. $40 so Of
import duty, greater amount than the
probable loss on tine suppression OF the
wine tariff II is safe 20 predict that the
| evil effects Of the present deficiency will
fall upon the consumers OF bread instead
I Of the public treasury.
For the first eleven months Of the cur
rent wheat year, the statistics just fur
nished by the customs administration give
bushels. 81 which all except go slg bushels
came from Algeria and Tuuis. During the
corresponding period OF the preceding
I wheat year. the impOrJatiOuS amounted
| 10 only 2.5sf eaA bushels. The smailness Of
these figures Is due TO the fact that the
1899 yielded each @63 .26f 90 bushels. which
not only furnished sufficient reserve for
1890 bIlt with the supply Of Algeria and
Tuuis left .. 80 900 bushels as "a reserve
for this year.
l There has lately been formed I'm France
| OF wheat II has already received the
! support Of twenty-uine agricultural So
I ci-ties in Denmark Germany. Spain.
! France. Austria Hungary Portugal and
/ Switzerland. The object Of the aSsOria-
ton OF committee is not simply to regis
quoted in the bourSes Of different cGgu-
tries. but 20 obtain influence little by lit
TIE in the ultimate fixing OF the market
IUrice Information concerning the details
/ Of this organization can be had by add
dressing NJ Paisant 50 rue Neuve Yer