Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-06-17
Prices and Price-Fhing,
BY FREDERIC ]. HAsKIN.

There is one thing which every con-
sumner can do right now to keep prices
down. and that is to refrain from buy
ing more than he usually buys OF staple
food articlea The present high price
of staples is due in no small part to
the sudden alarm about n food short
age. which has sent housekeepers into
the market to buy far beyond their
Immediate needs. For example. In q
certain suburb the people have ciubbes
together to buy flour by the barrel J.
certain clerk makes IL a practice =
buy ten pounds OF sugar every day. All
over the country these things arc being
done. One of the results is that m.iiers
have orders for about twice what their
mills can produce Tho inevitable ef-
feet ia TO force prices upward. 70 en-
courage speculation.
Food boarding I. not economy. To
buy vegetables that will keep and store
them In your cellar. to preserve fruits
and put them on the pantry shelf are
genuine food economies. because In
these ways you may save foods which
are abundant In tho summer and largo
quantities OF which will rot. BY such
eXpedients as these you are adding
your mite TO the nations food supply.
But by boarding hour and sugar you
are forcing up the price Of these ar
supply
The question Of prices seem. 10 he
badly misunderstood Thus general
Power to President I'D. .,.,pr - ,.r n
Under Proposed Law ;s., ,'o |. ro.d
Ia CT.
prices tina, he can arbitrarily lower
the retail price 81 food articles As
matter OF fact. although the hul as
reported by the committee. does give
him this power. there Is 'ttls likelihood
that nc VIII exercise II
The primar, purpose % price fixing is
to assure the farmer OF good prica for
hts products. 80 thar he viii raise all that
he possibly can. u has been the inyari-
able experience OF the farmer that a small
crop PAYS better than a large one For
| example. a man could make more money
last year out Of half crop 81 potatoes
than he could two years ago out 81 .
bumper crop. The south gets more for q
moderate cotton crop than 10 docs for a
big one Every farmer knows this And
every farmer. for that reason. 10 sS-
tremely suspicious Of tho propaganda on
the part % the government and the press
Tor him TO plant rnore and produce more.
He Is asked 10 spend his money for seed.
and in developing new lands. when his
entire experience teaches him that a big
national crop 81 an. staple will mean low
prices for that staple. And his costs Of
production high that he cannot
risk low price.
For example. right now a big potato
crop is needed badly. but ~ costs S5s
po<o%o rro {" plant an In
A0o StoP potatoes Mess prices
an Example is .xs ~ n. farmer rgrs S n,En
not afford 10 plant many potatoes Dr.
A T Russell Of the Wisconsin State Agri-
cultural College told the House commit
tee agriculture that FOR this reason
he had advised students Of that institu-
ton not TO plant potatoes. man can
plant a crop OF beans this year for about
81. and beans are much better risk.
therefore. than potatoes
So the need for the food administration
to have power to fix minimum price IL
clear. Unless he has some assurance OF
a good return the farmer will not enthuss
over this bumper crop idea.
Price fixing will not he resorted to at
all until the need for II Is certain. The
first price fixed. II any price is fixed. will
be a minimum price for certain staples.
This price will be high enough to assur.
the farmer OF liberal profit over all
costs OF production. II. then. a staple be-
comes so abundant that its market value
10 less than the price which the govern
ment had guaranteed to the producer. the
government will make up the difference.
as it was explained to the House commit
tee on agriculture.
Such a minimum price would tend to
insure the farmer. not only against loss.
but against the possibility of not maxi
ing a good profit 1t was pointed out
to the committee. however. that prices
OF farm machinery and tools, fertilizer
and other costs of production might adj
vance SO that even the guaranteed price
would not mean a profit. Inasmuch az
the protection of the farmer is the main
concern of all this price fixing legisla-
ton, and the minimum price is to all
low a good profit over all costs of pro-
duction, this Is not probable. The pro-
vision in the bill which allows for tho
fixing of maximum price was drawn.
however, with this contingency largely
in mind. 1t would make IL possible to
fix the price Of farm machinery so that
the farmer could not lose his profit in
increased costs.
-
In the long and earnest discussion
which preceded the drawing of tho
Ultimate Consumer Clauses in A the
Rarely Mentioned. c cor now oe tbs
ultimate consumer was seldom men
toned. However ii may be applied. the
| theory Of the bill, as understood by
the congressman, was to fx prices SOLE
~ with a view to the farmer welfare.
1t is assumed that there will then be q
greatly increased production. and that
this abundance. together with the elm
nation of speculation. the careful SUI
pervision of shipments and of storage.
will automatically take care of prices.
For example. many farmers this year
sold their potatoes for a dollar a
bushel and afterward saw those same
potatoes sold in the market for So to
81 a bushel. Ii is evident that car
riers and middlemen made an exorbi-
tant profit at the expense OF both pro-
Queer and consumer Under the food
adm inistration as planned. supposing
that a minimum price had been fixed.
the farmer would have gotten perhaps
So for his potatoes. and with careful
government supervision Of shipment
..4c.. ed