Morris tribune., 1917-06-01
THE FOOD sPECULATOR

Says the Hnckley Enterprise"We all condemn the
food peculaor and the speculator called
harsh just Now, who is the food Spectator?
If buys car load of potatoes and holds for raise
in price, he speculaor without doubt. But, if the
farmer his potatoes in the cellar in the fall in
stead of selling them dug isn't he also food
specuaOr If the grain raiser keeps his wheat in his
granary winter hold for higher prices, hun
did winter, isn't he speculator along
with the who buys wheat and holds it for the in
crease? Both these actions purely legitimate. 1t
is only who tries to obtain
foodstuff and wiring eXhorbitant price from
hungry public who be condemned and the world has
grown big and the quantity too large for it to be
possible for this to be done. 1t has been number of
years it attempted and for number of years
all who tried commodity lost
their money There is shortage of foodstu caused by
large of the world not producing and because
of the great increases in the population of the cities with
corresponding increase the farms and the city
people are making a great hue cry about "specul-
ators' food barons" and the city papers MAX
ing awful howl the high of living and the
people country foolish enough to echo the howl
forgetting that 80 cent of the high cost of V
ing because of the high price of farm products OF
course every gets the all lines
the whole get of the increase. Our
farmers paying big prices for their -four but wheat
raisers received this year double what they had be-
and farmers receiving the big prices for
cattle, hogs and dairy products and received the big
price potatoes that the jokesters kening da
Let's stop this letting sensational news-twistng
city papers do thinking for us
There is much of good in the above, and the
concluding advise regarding taking opinions this
subject the city press is especially sound AS
matter of fact set of perform important
function society than those who buy food products
producer store them safely against the
time when them. This equalzes the
supply. Take eggs example. One does not need
be very old to remember the time when sold at
five cents dozen season of the year and were
scarcely another. Now right here in Morris
whence eggs shipped by the there is diff
are the most plentiful and they the scarcest
condition is fairest to both the producer and the
consumer the who brings it about is the mis-
named food speculator" Demagogues in town and
country hold him and yet if he to
business, food products would rot the farm for
people the cities would starve for food
unprecedented rise in the prices of
foods and the who had a storehouse filled the
who had a granary filled has profted, but the
profit legitimate in the as in the other
should suddenycome after the present harvest
gathered, those with storehOuses granaries filled
loss, and if such loss is rghtfully
their own profit rising market is right
fully their
The only consideration worthy of merit is this
These are unusual times, and the great possible
risks as the great possible profits must be dis
counted by dealer result is inordinate uctu
part of wisdom that the government step in regulat
ing steady the market for the producer for
the distributor and for the consumer.