Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1911-12-14
Gold STORAGE
thigh PRICES
Secretary Wilson Offers 4
solution.
SENDS IN ANNUAL REPORT
Head Of Agricultural Department
Recommends That Warehouse
men Make Public the Amount
OF Food In Storage.

Washington-"The consumer pays
dollar for food; the farmer gets less
than so cents of it. Who gets the
rest?"
That is question which Secretary
Wilson, of the Department Of Agri-
culture, asked In his annual report.
The Secretary does not attempt to
answer it. He does explain in some
detail the results OF an investigation
his department has just concluded
into the effect Of cold storage on the
wholesomeness and cost of food. His
investigation leads him to recommend
publicity for the amount of food in
cold storage, just as the department
now gives publicity to the condition
of crops from month to month.
Instead Of food remaining in stor-
age for longer than year or two
years, as a rule, the Secretary de-
cIares that his investigation showed
that receipts into cold storage are
entirely or very nearly exhausted by
the deliveries out of cold storage with
in 10 months"
Long Storage the Exception.
Long storage Is the exception, the
| Secretary asserts. Warehousemen
explained to the department that ex-
cessively long storage was due to law
suits and other circumstances OF an
1 monumental nature The cost Of
storage including storage charge, in
terest and insurance, is considered as
a barrier to very long storage. Cold
storage, the. Secretary reports, has
raised the cost Of living by increasing
the annual price level for butter and
eggs.
The Secretary says that an ex-
animation of the record of prices
gives suspicion that there has
been much speculation in some years
by the men who keep commodities in
cold storage.
| He referred to IAN apparent mis-
take Of the storage men in overesti-
mating the consumption of eggs by
the public at exorbitant prices last
winter, with the result that in the
! spring the storage men had to sell
eggs at remarkably low prices and
send abroad the largest amount OF
eggs ever exported, in order to get rid
of the supply. The Secretary declares
that the warehousemen ought to be
required to send to Washington each
month the amount of commodities
| placed in storage, SO that the public
may be able to judge of the future
| trend OF prices.
Many Subjects Taken Up.
A great variety Of subjects are dealt
with by the Secretary in his report.
He says that the day is not far distant
when the United States will cease to
| import potash. Florida, Kentucky,
Tennessee and Idaho are mentioned
| as repositories.
Recommendation is made that all
government agencies that conserve
health should be grouped together in
one bureau. The success Of the de-
partment in the Southern States,
through object lessons in the fields, is
pronounced to have been such as to
| Justify the extension of the work to
all States.
The department announces that the
corn crop is moving northward by
] seed selection. The American sys-
1 TENS of renting land are declared to
be faulty and result in soil robbing.
| 1t is suggested that domestic animals
be kept on farms, even If the land
owner must furnish them, and that
| there be rotation of crops.