The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-04-16
,6y gibson ,GAR0N Err.

Washington. April ia minimum
price for staple food crops, such as
wheat, corn, potatoes, oats, etc, can,
and probably will, be fixed by Presi-
dent Wilson by q simple executive or
der 1t is not necessary to wait for
Congress-. Food purchases are within
the authority of the President. as q
war expense and such an Drtlei, would
be backed by the seven billions which
Congress is now making available.
Must Be Made Now.
10 be of any help the governments
offer to underwrite' this years crops
must be made before the seeding
time is gone. This means that 1t
must be made within the next 80
days. Handled as al executive mat
ter, an incident to the war making
power, this can be done. TO wait for
Congress would probably. be fatal.
High government officials to whom
/ have talked say there Is no ques-
tion as to President Wilson's power
to make this order. TO buy the sur
plus crop-or to offer to buy it's
just as necessary now as to buy pow
der or shot.
"The government would not, as a
matter OF fact, have to take over any
of the crops" one official explained.
1T amounts in fact only to insurance
and, like most insurance, the loss
does not have to be met. Yet it
would furnish security and an in
centive to the farmer that would
make him bring into use every road.
side, every railroad right Of way and
every vacant lot" e,4t g.t.r
The best authority on agriculture
in Washington is Captain W.. S. A.
Smith, for years expert advisor to
the department of agriculture and
now a member of the farm loan
board. Capt. Smith said to me:
Matter Of Economics.
"This crop matter should not be
made subject of patriotic appeal. 1t
is a matter of economics and should
be so treated. There is no use ask
ing farmers for the sake of their
country to raise crops at possible
loss, when they can be induced to
raise them at reasonable protlt.
Let the government offer to buy the
crop at some fixed price which the
farmer can know and rely on now,
and he will be able to 60 to the bank,
borrow money for seed and perhaps
even lease extra land. But without
such assurance the farmer goes back
to his usual reasoning that 40 bush
els of corn at 40 cents is just as good
as 20 bushels at 40 cents. And for
him it is, and little better, because
il involves less work. But it is bad
for the country and the world-bad
for the hungry consumer to have it
work out that way.
"Can we increase our yield enough
to meet the need?
Given the stimulus of guaran-
teed price we can do things that. new
er have been suspected.
take millet alone. Tht staple food
in Manchuria, Corea and many parts
of China is millet. It can be substi-
tuted for wheat or mixed with wheat
or used as stock feed. We can
grow two or three crops Of millet in
a season and raise as high as 60 bush
els to the acre. But the farmer will
not raise millet unless he is assured
of his market.
Nothing More Nutritious.
''Or take the ordinary pea. Moth
ing is more Notwithstanding is
better for everyday wholesome diet
than peas In Iowa we used to raise
three crops season. They can be
grown by the acre, dried, run through
a threshing machine and they are
ready for the winter. Pea soup is the
best of foods.
There is no use whooping it up as
q patriotic duty to do these things.
II the government wants the prod
ucts, it can have them by naming
the minimum price,"
(Continued on Page Three)