Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-08-22

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The {. American s society Of Equity
has started out TO force wheat TO- one
dollar per bushel. Their line Of
action is to organize the farmers and
get them to hold their wheat until the
dollar mark Is reached. The success
of the scheme is rather doubtful. No
doubt the farmers could, by holding
their wheat back, force the price up
temporarily to thu desired mark. But
the moment that price were reached
there would be sude en- dumping of
wheat on tho markets that would force
prices way down again. As long as
it is known that there is large VOL
ume Of wheat ready for the market tho
millers will be chary about buying at
high figure, for they would know
that q slump might come any moment,
leaving them with q large lot of costly
flour that would have to be sold in
competition with -four made from
cheaper wheat.
But while fixing an arbitrary price
may not be q desirable or safe pro-
ceeding, there is no doubt that the
farmers would be better off If they
VIC lid so arrange their affairs that
they would not be obliged to dump
the greater part Of their wheat on the
market in the fall. Those who are In
debt generally have their notes COM
ing due in the fall, and they must
sacrifice their wheat at that time at
such price as the speculators see fit to
give. II these notes were made pay
able at q later date the farmer could
sell when the price was high enough
to pay him a profit on the business.
And that is the point that ought to be
considered as the deciding one on the
question of "to sell, or not to SELL"
That is q safer basis than an arbi-
trary price. By fixing on an arbi-
trary price the farmer may hold his
wheat until he has to sell it at q great
loss. When wheat is high he waits
till it shall go still higher. We have
seen farmers refuse to sell at sl.15
and hold their wheat for two ye ars,
then selling at fifty cents. Every
farmer ought to know approximately
what bushel of wheat costs him each
year. When the price goes above
that sufficiently to pay a fair profit he
ought to sell. Then when the price
goes down he can stop selling until it
reaches the profit level again. This
would distribute selling all over the
year, and prevent the financial dis
turbances that always come with CROP
moving time. The heavy demand for
money in the fall causes high rates of
interest; the men who borrow the
money to move the crop, or withdraw
it from other channels of trade for
that purpose, figure the high cost of
money in determining the price of wheat,
and the farmer pays the cost. Then
if larger amount of wheat than can
be used in the immediate future is
dumped on the market the buyer must
figure cost of holding for several
months, both storage charges and in
terest on money invested, and this
helps reduce the price paid to the pro-
Queer.
If the "American Society of Equity"
would educate the farmers to act on
this principle it would do something
OF permanent use not only to the farm
ers but to the entire business world.
But by their present action they may
simply be running errands tor the
"bulls'' in the wheat market, who
want to force the speculative price up
in order to scalp the "bears. - When
they have performed that operation
they may withdraw from the market
and let the "bears" recoup themselves
for their losses by scalping the farm
ers who have held their wheat
The farmer who speculates may get
rich, or he may lose all he has. The
farmer who sells when the price yields
q fair profit on the investment is on q
sure road to competence - and that is
far better than to take even chances
between wealth and the poorhouse.
Now General Miles is talked of as q
democratic presidential candidate, on
q count of the shabby treatment given
him by the president. If the democrat
ic party makes campaign on that
issue it will show how devoid of live
ideas and principles the party is.
Miles was not treated right, but the