The Washington times., 1915-01-17
VARIATIONS IN BUNK"

come from an investigation of the
causes Of high prices of grain and of
foodstuffs in general. No harm would
come from an inquiry to determine
why the Atlantic ocean is moister
than the Sahara. desert, or why
Pixies Peak is taller than the Gulf
Of Mexico. A properly constituted
commission would be able to make
quite a report on either of these in
vestigations, and some folks might
even find excuse for reading them.
None the less, an investigation
into the causes of present high prices
of grain will strike most people as
an effort to make sensation out Of
the hopelessly obvious. Last year
the United States had an unprece-
dentedly large crop of wheat. The
rest of the world had rather an un-
satisfactory yield. The early sales
of wheat were at prices which justi-
fled expectation that a very low
level Of prices was going to be
reached; and the reason for that low
level was plain enough for anybody
to understand it. It consisted in the
fact that there was an immense pro-
duction here, and not enough short
age abroad to absorb. our surplus.
Nobody thought Of having an in
quiry to determine why prices were
low and likely to go lower.
Then came the war. Russia, next
to the United States had the big
gest exportable surplus; and the Bal
tic and the Dardanelles were pres
emily closed against movement of
that surplus to the western coun-
tries of Europe that needed it. 1t is
estimated that there is still sur
plus of about 100000 bushels of
wheat in Russia; but it can't get out.
Very pol lsibly the Russian govern
ment is not very enthusiastic about
letting all Of it get out, because Rus
sia will have difficulty keeping its
yield up to normal another year. At
any rate, Russia's supply is bottled
up for the time being; yet it is only
little time since report that the
allies were planning to force the
Dardanelles caused wheat prices in
this country to fall suddenly; if the
Russian wheat should find an outlet
it would be very certain quickly to
affect the worlds prices.
Russia being for the time being
out of the calculation as a source u
supply, the warning nations found
themselves compelled to turn to Cam
ada, Australia, Argentina, and the
United States for supplies to feed
their armies and their people at
home. The only one Of these coun-
tries that harvested as large crop
as had been expected, was the
United States. The pressure upon
our supplies was thus accentuated
not only by the bottling-up of Rus
sia, but also by the fact that other
countries were short. Only one
thing could possibly happen when
all this extraordinary demand was
forced upon the United States, and
that was an era of high prices.
Much has been said about the
spectators responsibility for the
very high quotations. Who are the
spectators, and what are the inves-
tigators going to do about them?
First, the largest spectators are
the governments and the business in
terests Of the European countries.
They are laying hands on all the
supplies they can find because Of un-
certainty about the future. England
bitterly complained in the first two
months Of the war that everybody
who had ready cash was rushing out
to buy and impound supplies of food
stuffs, in order to be insured against
any emergency that might shut of
the kingdom from it's contact with
the sources from which these must
be drawn. That was speculation, no
doubt; but it is hard to figure how
the investigation could discover more
than that both governments and pri.
vate people in Europe had been lay.
ing in stocks against the possibility
of imminent need.
Then there is another class OF
spectators. The vicious, monopo.
listic, and evil-minded farmers have
been holding back their wheat be.
cause they guess they will get still
higher prices for it. With 10000, ,OO(
bushels leaving our ports in week
and with the farmers cheerfully sit
ting back and announcing that the,
don't need the money and don't car.
to sell just now, prices are high ant
liable To be higher.
But what would an investigation
do, more than to enable the sleuth!
|