Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-10-16
WHY COFFEE COMES HIGH.
Now at It's h.s"s-. ~oint in Sixteen
Years.

Coffee is working hand in hand with
sugar, so TO speak, toward the unpop-
ular end of adding more kinks 10 the
cost -of-living problem. The prices OF
both are advancing steadily, and 1t
might. says the New York Evening
Sun, be reckoned that their upward
progress has been an approximate ra-
ito during the present month. Coffee
on the New York Coffee Exchange is
selling at the highest point reached IN
16 years, While tho sweetener thereon
is on parity with the record figure
made nearly a quarter of century
ago.
Coffee has sold fractionally above
the Il cent mark. a price not touched
since the commodity went to ID cents
in August. 1895 The advance did not
occur suddenly. but was the extreme
end of rise which began late In May
and received only temporary CHECKS
during the summer and fall.
The consensus In the trade regard
ing direct causes for the strength OF
coffee settles on two material factors
"a small crop last season and the
prospect of another yield below nor
NAL this year. and manipulation OF
the market fer profits on the rise. In
crease in consumption. as in the case
of sugar, appears to figure very little:
in fact. coffee interests whose living
depends upon buying cheap insist that
the berry does not occupy as lmpor-
tant a place in the American house
hold as il did a decade ago. Litera-
ture has recently been sent out TO the
trade in quantity with abundant fig
ures to prove that substitutes are root
ing coffee out of it's position among
national beverages.
BE these statements accurate or not
the fact cannot be gainsaid that the
crop was disappointingiy small last
wear. and dealers have consequently
been forced to pursue a. hand-to-
mouth policy of buying, which always
brings trouble to the ultimate con-
sl1ner A bag of coffee weighs lSE
hounds. In the season of 1901, Bra
I'll produced 1054s.000 bags; in lsos-io.
1894 900 bags: In ls0S0e. 12.3lp,Vou
bags: in 1907-0S. 10,2SS.o00 bags, ana IN
19Oe-o7 1854 900 bags. tho high rec
ord of any year. Estimates for the
crop to be gathered this winter pony
TO 5000 600 bags of Santos and 3uoV'uoo
bags of Rio, the leading Graces Oh
Brazil so that the total looked TOT III
the crop season of 19ll-12. I2'ooo,o"
bags. will be considerably below the
average of the past five years.
An eminent authority in the coilee
trade forecasts a yield OF no more
than 10000, 900 bags in all, so that u can
readily be seen that even generous es-
Inmates will not admit of supplies for
tho Immediate future SUFFICIENT 10
meet the demand of a growing popu-
lation on a proportionate scale
THE United States has received from
,erozu about $500, 900 bags on the aver
a ye each year during the past decade
pre,,ious 10 the formation of the val
orization plan of marketing the commo-
dity prices ranged from $50 cents
no,nd in 1909 to 1l.S5 cents back IN
1907 The average during the period
contained within these figures was
about cents.
previous to 1891 coffee seldom sold
Delow 10 cents and more often around
IL cents, SO that the present quotation
;e bv no means abnormal when the
record of Is years is taken into con-
sideration.
The Brazilian scheme of valorizing
the crop, whereby supply can be reg
,,Iated TO demand through Govern
ment monopoly went into effect fol-
lowing the great yield of 906-7. the
Government stocks are undoubtedly
large. but no more can be marketed
in this country during this year. The
contract for deliveries in the United
states called for 100000 bags. with IA
maximum of double the quantity. AL
of which have been sold by auction at
different tifnes.-N. Y. Sun.
Id IL. r1clar.c cl ll.ltl