The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-03-08
ENTENTE ALLIES IN
WHEAT BUSINESS
Governments Themselves Are Buying
Vast Stocks, Probably the Largest
Bulk Expenditure for Wheat
Ever Made.

London March s.--Great Britain and
her allies have gone into the wheat bus
mess on very extensive scale, the gov
ernments themselves buying vast stocks
of wheat--20O,0OO tons in Australia at
cost of Sl6,OO00OO; 100000 tons in
Argentine az cost of s20,000,0O0 and
1.-THE whole remaining crop OF Rumania
at S50000000-in all about Ss6,000,000,
probably the largest bulk expenditure
for wheat ever made.
This is a new governments
buying up the wheat supply. IL has a
special interest TO the United States for
two reasons, namely:
First: The rate of American exchange,
which went so strongly against England
last fall, is dependent on keeping down
imports of American wheat, cotton and
other products. In this way the balance
of trade will not be so heavily against
England as il was last fall; the drain of
gold to meet that balance will not be so
heavy, and the exchange rate will remain
steady. One of the highest officials OF
the government told the Associated Press
when the rate of exchange crisis occurred
last fall that one of the surest ways
of steadying the exchange was for Eng
land TO stop buying wheat in the United
States and buy il instead in Australia,
Canada and elsewhere. He intimated
strongly, too, that this would be done;
and apparently il has been done, al
though the corn exchange is flooding the
London press with queries as TO why
these government purchases are made.
Second Irrespective of the exchange
rate. the government purchase of wheat !
discloses the tremendous weapon which |
the quadruple allies possess in the con- |
troll of that fundamental food product. /
As it stands now, the countries forming |
the quadruple alliance have an enormous I
stock of wheat, about one half of the to-
tai worlds crop OF 1876 the neutral
come next with about half as
much as the quadruple allies possess;
and the central powers come last with
great food staple. A rough summary
showing the wheat holdings of the va
rious groups is as follows:
Quadruple allies :. 1928 ASP 900 quarters
Neutral countries. :. . lS9, Isl 900 quarters
CENTRAL powers. 49,. 56,739,OO0 quarters
That is, the quadruple allies have the
Iulk of the worlds wheat supply, and
ire buying up good deal OF the neu
rails share, while the central powers
ave about sixth the supply of their
opponent with little chance OF buying !
rom neutrals or getting it delivered if /
fought. !
The details OF wheat holdings by the :
wo war groups, and by the neutrals, can |
,e approximately figured out from re- I
,orts obtained through the corn eX i
hange While not official, the figures n
re published in the leading organs OF
he exchange, as compiled from all avail ]
BILE sources, including official. Rear y
anged according to groups in the present il
rar for this is struggle between war il
roups-the stocks OF wheat, in quarters, s
J as follows: il
Quadruple allies France, 32,0o0000; a
.lgeria and Tunisia, 100000; United +
.ingdom, 100000; India, 1922, 600; a
anada, 42,030,000; Egypt and the cape, t,
100000; Australia, 23,200000; New
ealand, 100000; Italy, q 100000; Rus "
a, l33,000,0O0; Japan, 2,950,000. Total, "
%, ASP. 600 quarters. o
Neutrals 100000; Portugal, t,
]0,000 Rumania, ll,250,000; Greece Ell
10000; Holland, 7ll,000; Switzerland, Il
$4,000; Sweden. 100000; Denmark, in
Is, 900; United States, l26, 440,0 900; Mex W
o, 100000; Argentina, 24,000000; Chile, cl
100000; Uruguay, 100000; Peru, 600, :
10; Persia, 100000. Total, 9,lsI 900
Iarters.
Central powers-Germany, 20,000,000;
ustria, 100000; Hungary, lS,959,000;
-otia and Slavonia, 100000; Bosnia
Id Herzegovina, 100000; Bulgaria, 5,7S5,-
%; Serbia, 100000; Belgium, 1000,
%. Total, 56,739.000 quarters.
There are of course other factors C
n @RUWw II