The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-07-11
Senator Nelson Tells of
Elevators Taking Grain
Only for Storage
GOVERNMENT MUST
BECOME THE BUYER
Some Market Must be Pro
Vided to Replace the
Grain Exchanges
fRx Associated Press.l

Washington, July 11.-"Coming
events cast their shadow before" de-
clared Senator Knure Nelson in a
speech on the pending food control
bill in the senate. Ever since this
bill was incubated, and up to the
present time the price of wheat has
gradually gone down and down, and
it is today 81 a bushel less than it
was during the early part of May"
Senator Nelson outlined the mar
keting conditions before the bill was
drafted. He called attention to the
fact that then the farmer had three
sets of purchasers millers, export
ers and traders on the exchanges.
"a farmer who had a load OF
wheat could take it to the elevator
in his home town and get cash for
it." the senator said. "And from day
to day while the market would fluc-
tuate, and except in the peculiar
conditions that prevailed early last
spring, on the whole the boards of
trade. have been wholesome and safe
regulators of the market, and have
furnished the farmers with a cash
market continually.
Would Not Buy.
"a short time ago, however,
farmer took his grain to an elevator
at st. Peter, and he was told that
the elevator company could not buy
it. They offered to store it. Under
such conditions, in what shape is he?
He must store his wheat, and has
to go to the bank and borrow money
If he needs it-and they all need 1t.
"By the adoption of the embargo
provision-and I believe that is
highly appropriate as a means of
bringing this war to a successful
termination-you have cut out the
trade of the exporters and deprived
the farmer of his market.
What does that result in? Mani
festly there can be no other buyer
than the United States government.
In order to keep the scheme of this
bill afioat the government must have
sufficient money and provide buyers
at the terminal stations to take the
wheat when it reaches there in car
load lots from the country points.
Unless that is done there will be no
market at all for the grain. The
farmers win be utterly wrecked and
it is folly to talk about encouraging
the farmers to raise bigger crops II
you are going to destroy the market,
which you will do by this proposed
legislation"
Quotes Hoover.
Senator Nelson told Of a confer
ence with Herbert G. Hoover. at
which he presented these facts. He
asked Mr.. Hoover what he was go
ing to do.
"Mr. Hoover said. calmly and
blandly, as became statesman" the
senator told the senate that we are
going to provide buyers at these
terminal points-buyers who win be
there equipped with money
''E1e told me no further" said Sem
ator Nelson, "but I believe he was
correct about that. and that he had
in view the creation of a corpora
ton something like the shipping |
board, through which the govern
ment would operate in buying wheat |
ITO make this effective you have |
got to have trading on the grain ex
changes. BY the embargo you have
stopped the export trade. You have |
left the buying to no one but the /
millers, and they can absorb only /
part of the grain. Our mills at MINI /
neapo1is, the largest in the world. |
cannot begin to absorb more than a /
small part Of the wheat that comes /
10 the terminals"
In answer to a question by Sen
ator w. II. King Of Utah, as to the /
ruth Of report that the 1000 seats
Continued on PaRA Eight. !