The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-01
FLOUR MILLS
CLOSE DOWN
ALL MINNEAPOLIS MILLS AND
MANY COUNTRY MILLS q
Light, Receipts Of Wheat and Armour's
Bull Influence the Causes-F1our
Cannot Be Ground Probably Under
Present Conditions.

All the flour mills of Minneapolis
are closed to-day. Twenty-four coun-
try mills are also closed, making
forty-six northwestern flour mills that
have ceased grinding for an indefinite
period. Some millers believe there is
a prospect of resuming operations
here by next Thursday. Others be-
lieve it will be a much longer time,
before the situation will admit of this.
The Minneapolis millers and the
proprietors Of the principal country
mills, whose offices are here, or who
look to Minneapolis as a source Of
supply when wheat is scarce, were in
an agreement to close all the mills
at one time.
differences of an unfavorable nature
were drawn from this agreement. It
was assumed that the mills of the
northwest had entered into q combina-
ton to fight Armour, the big Chicago
bull" who has been a power in the
wheat market for months and has
been forcing prices higher and higher.
1t is fact that the millers look With
disfovar upon the operations of Ar
mour, but this is an attitude always
maintained by millers towards any
| trader or any clique that enters into
| the wheat market and manipulates
| prices. The millers would be pleased
| if Armour was out Of wheat, yet they
acknowledge that Armour, has based
his bull campaign upon conditions
naturally strong and that there are
| numerous reasons for higher prices in
| wheat aside from the holding of the
immense low lines of May by Armour.
Little Wheat Coming In. $50
The situation at the moment is such
that millers cannot do business profit
ably. There is so little wheat coming
| in here that were the millers to be-
come bidders for it against each other
prices would jump up by leaps and
| bounds. But the flour could not be
sold at the higher basis. They might
turn to stocks Of wheat in Minneapo-
| lis elevators, but the forty-two houses,
with capacity for 35,000,0O0O bushels,
contain only 12,915,92aa b bus OF
which no less than 7,936,02 bushels
is wheat below the No. 1 northern
grade. For a month the local stocks
have been stationary, and now are
decreasing slowly. In the country
houses there are 5,936,000 bushels OF
wheat. Last year at this time. there
were 6,427,O0O bushels. and two
years ago s,566,0oo bushels, Feb.
stocks ought ordinarily to be increas'
ing steadily. To-days report of coun'
try elevator stocks shows a decrease
of $4,000 bushels since Jan. l.
There is in short little wheat In the
northwest, and much less to come OF
the farmer than In an ordinary year
1t is clear now, that before new
! spring wheat crop can be raised
wheat will be a scarce article.
Question of Profits.
In view of such conditions, flou1
prices, the millers says, ought to, bt
higher, 'but the flour buyers are SLOW
to see this and are holding off. Miller!
take the cieW that it is folly to force
! productions and sell the product at {
. bare living profit, and some month
hence when the wheat supply ha
D been exhausted have. flour prices ad
vance with a rush. Better to curtai
production, hold down flour stocks il
jobbers hands, and wait until buyer
can be made to feel the situation. A
. present the difference in favor Of win
t ter wheat mills, in competition for ex
l port business is very great. Kansa
. City has a rate Of IL cents on flour
which goes out thru New Orleans am
cash wheat there has been from l
/ cents to Ia cents cheaper than J.
= Minneapolis.
How Brazil Will Help.
Local millers think the preferential
+ rates obtained by the American min
~ lister to Brazil will be a benefit, in a.
" indirect way. It will come from tn
y larger foreign market for winte
wheaa mills which should enable ther
to sell 100000 barrels more, a, yea
for export, and this would lessen com
petition from winter wheat at large
IS domestic markets, and make it posi-
BILE for spring wheat mills to pene
trate farther south.