The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-10-19
Topeka, Wichita, Salina and
Hutchinson On Map.
All Must Go to Kansas City To
Get Wheat.
CLOSE BOARDS OF TRADE
; Many Mills in State Also Will
Have To Shut Down.
Promised Investigation the
Only Ray of Hope.

Nv an order OF the food administra-
ton. effective October %, Topeka
wichita. SaIina. Hutchinson and other
interior Kansas milling points are 10
paraphrase E. J. Smiley, taken OH
the map" insofar as trading in wheat
is concerned This order commands
that mills reauisition the government
zone headouarters office in Kansas
civ for their full requirements Tor
thirty days in excess OF thelr Pt P1L-
stocks Mills are not permltIeu " VI
der wheat direct from thelI lI,;si- own %
anv other elevators but must requlsl-
tton it from the government oIIlce'
nv Vay Of Introductory the order says,
I'm view of the fact that the food
administration grain corporation Ilhus
itself without sufficient wheat at the
country points to furnish a just pro
norton of the visible supplies to mills
not owning or operating their own
country buying stations, and on ac-
count of so large number OF the IN
dependent dealers having leased thelr
houses to milling companies, 1t mas
been necessary for the food admins
tration to take control of all wheat at
all points and requisition such Wneat
for any and all mills working undeI
the millers' agreement regardless OF
whether the wheat is in mouse owned
or operated by an Independent dealer
or is owned, leased, hired or rented by
a flour milling company or any other
Death Blow to Mills.
Smiley. secretary of the Kansas
Grain Dealers association, today was
pessimistic over the results of the
order. Here are some of the things
he says it will do:
Put nearly every mill in Kansas in
terror points out of business by Janu-
ary /.
Close the Topeka. salina. Hutchin-
son and Wichita boards of trade the
day it becomes effective.
Put every grain broker except those
in government zone headquarters out
Of business.
Under this order" said Smiley to-
day. brokers in Topeka will not be
allowed to buy and sell a bushel of
wheat If a Topeka mill wants
bushel of wheat it must get requisi-
ton from the zone office and then it
will be forwarded from some point
as directed by the government office.
1T is a rank discrimination against
mills in interior points. They will be
at a disadvantage as compared with
the mills at Kansas City which will
be on the ground with the zone office.
Then the brokers here will be put out
of business while brokers in Kansas
do business. And, by the way, be-
fore the government established its
control every broker in Kansas was
ready to handle wheat for a commits
sion of / cent a bushel. The govern
ment has commanded that the brokers
o. Kansas City charge "a cents
blshel and the government commits
sion brings the total commission that
must be paid by the consumer under
the new plan to Ala cents a bushel in
addition to the price of the wheat.
Little Mills Can't Run.
LAS for the interior mills, a lot of
them in central and northwestern
Kansas are only running two or three
days out of the week now and when
this order becomes effective it will
take only until the first of the year
to close them down. Kansas City
mills, by advantage of location, would
be able to run 80 per cent or more
to capacity.
I'VE have, however, a ray of hope
in the situation. 1 have a letter from
F. G. Crowell. yice-president of the
food administration board, New York,
saying that the matter will be looked
into and the order supplemented to
put things back on basis where
brokers in interior points may deal
in wheat as they did before if the
Kansas City office finds a discrimina-
ton against interior points. 1t is the
first ray of hope we have had"
mo official action has yet been
taken however. We consider Mr.
CrowelTs letter as just the first ray
Of hone