Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-07
MAKES CROP REPORT
Secretary of Agriculture Shows
Smaller Production.
MORE MONEY FOR FARMER
His Produce Brought Greater Return
Than in Previous Years,
COLD STORAGE EXPLAINED
Increase It Makes in Cost of Food
stuffs Gone Into in at
Some Length.
COLD STORAGE EXPLAINED


Some Length.
With smaller crop to tell of than in
previous years, the report Of the Secre-
tary of Agriculture, made public today,
deals not SO much with the enormous
figures of production as with the mani
fold activities of the Department of Agri-
culture. The report is the fifteenth that
Secretary Wilson has submitted, by far
the greatest number that has ever been
turned out by a cabinet officer He dis
cusses the statistics Of crop production. as
usual. but the greatest stress in the re-
port is laid on the investigation the de-
partment has made in cold storage. 1t is
pointed out that this subject is of great
Importance because it closely affects all
classes of population and is the first COM
prehensive investigation of the subject
ever made by any government.
Attention is called by the report to the
fact that it costs the producers of food
stuifs money to hold their products in
cold storage, and so, while it is possible
for the storing of food to increase the
cost, this increase cannot be carried be-
yond certain point without eating up
pTOul HldOe ny the uedieT. Many Oh
the cold storage plants are run as a
refrigerating business only. They rent
space to the dealers, and the cost of this
space by the month has to be added to
the price Of the commodity.
The costs of storage for the average
length of time during which these COM
modities are in cold storage are 10 per
cent of the wholesale price for fresh beef;
III per cent for fresh mutton; 80 per
cent for fresh pork; 6.S per cent for poul-
t.x-- 60
cent for eggs. Approximately the whole
sale prices of the commodities mentioned
are increased by cold storage to the ex-
tent of the percentages just given.
Makes Consumption More Even.
Cold storage has interposed, says the
report, to change considerably the av
erage monthly consumption and to make
it more even throughout the year. 1t has
also changed the relative monthly prices
throughout the year. These two facts
have raised the price level of the COM
modities covered by the investigation for
d reason apart from the cost of storage.
In two ways, then, says the report, cold
storage has raised the cost of living.
This cold storage investigation supports
belief that there has been much specu-
lation In some years by the men who
keep these commodities In cold storage.
one Illustration Is given. Inc egg year
191O-11 had % per cent more eggs in
cold storage than the preceding year. and
yet the price index number went much
higher than usual In the months when 1t
is high-October to January-and much
lower in the months when it is low
March to July following.
At a time when there was plenty of eggs
in storage the wholesale price of eggs
scared to 4:' cents in Boston in Novem-
Der and December, and to 451s cents in
New York for nearby state eggs There
was an apparent mistake of storage men
in overestimating the consumption OF the
public at eXorbitant prices, because so
large was the unsold quantity at the be-
ginning of the next egg year, in the
spring of 1911, that the wholesale price of
and New York. and the storage men
dumped on the foreign market the great
est quantity of eggs ever exported from
this country in a year.
The Secretary closes this feature of his
report as follows:
This is no Indictment of the men who
keep foods in cold storage, except in so
far as they sometimes speculate, nor need
they be indicted for offenseS in order that
the public economic interest in their bust
ness may be made to appear. The fore
going matter, 1t may be supposed, estab-
fishes that. The man who places food in
cold storage Is somewhat in the situation
Of the man who forestalls the market. He
may be a temptation
THE affairs of such a business as this
should have publicity. The public ought
to know how much goods are in storage
from month to month and what the move
ments of receipts and deliveries are.
THE food warehousemen should be re.
quired to send to Washington monthly re.
ports containing the desired information
Here these reports could be promptly ag-
gregated and the results could be given to
he Y,i1h1 IN, q rnxyin dox
of the month, somewhat as the crop re-
ports are
Decline Due to Drought.
On the general subject of crop produc-
ton the Secretary calls attention to the
long and unfavorable periods of dry and
hot weather during the past crop season
He says the total production fell of and
for the first time in several years showed
a decline from the previous year. At the
same time there was no disastrous scare
ity and in many cases the crops on the
farm were worth more to the farmer than
in previous years. The total farm pro-
duct1on, according to the census report
which the Secretary takes as the basis OF
his figures, was $S,417, 100000. This was
falling off of $277, 100000 from the year
1910.
The decline in values was chiefly
chargeable to animals and animal prod
ucts. The crops were worth actually
more than in the previous year. The
estimate of the farm value was more
than $5,5OO.O OO,O 900. This was a gain of
$44, 100000 over the farm prices Of 1910.
Interesting comparisons are made with
official estimates In other countries of
the value of products produced by the
farms in those countries. An estimate
Of 81, 351 100000 is quoted for Italy, Of
$613. 600 900 for Japan, Of $4s4. 100000 for
Australia and of $500. 0OO. 600 for Cam
ada.
With value more than twice that of
the cotton crop this year and but little
less than the combined values of the cot