Arizona republican., 1917-08-13

ment can more justly deal with the situation than any of the agencies mentioned
 Therefore the food administration has determined to take the following course:
 First in order to eliminate specula- tion in wheat and flour all elevators and mills over 100 barrels daily capac- ity will be required to take out a gov ernment icense and the conditions of this license to be:
 That only reasonable and cuStom- ary charges shall be made for ware house service; that no wheat shall be stored for more than thirty days with out the approval of the food adminis- tratiOn; that certain information as to receipts and shipments shall be sup piled regularly The grain exchanges are being asked to suspend all deal ings and quotations in future wheat These regulations will come into force September and the licenses will be pre- pared this week.
 While farmers cooperative elevat- ors are excepted by the food bill, this, however, only applies to mutual con- cerns and .Hot to stock companies and in any event under the advantages of joining the plan, none are likely to stand out.
 Tn substitution of the broken down marketing machinery, the food ad- ministration proposes to open agencies for the purchase of all wheat at the principal terminals. carrying on it's transactions with the usual dealers and is prepared to take the whole harvest if necessary in order to maintain a fair price and will resell wheat for export in such quantities as we can afford to part with in protection of our own peo- pie on one hand and to SC on the other to the millers for domestic consump- tion. The administration will make no charge except a nominal charge to cover costs of operations and arrange ments will be made which will assure the government against a loss.
 Tn order that nothing shall be left to mischance, we are setting up a prop erty constituted and independent audit in gcommittee which will check all transactions at every point. :.
 The food administratio thunder these arrangements would have a large ini fluence in affecting the price of wheat. With view to demanding fair price, the president has approved the ap pointment of committee to be selected from representatives of the producing sections and consuming clements in the community. This committee will be assembled under the chairmanship of President Garfield of Williams college and it will be the duty of this com mittee to determine a fair price for the 1917 harvest.
 Upon the determination of this fair basis, it is the intention of the food ad- ministration to use every authority giv- en it under the bill and the control of exports to effect the universality of this basis throughout the 1917 harvest year without change or fluctuation. It should thus be clear that it will not be to the advantage of any producer to hold back his grain in anticipation of further advance, for he will do so only at his owQ cost of storage and interest, and if it Is necessary for the govern ment to buy the entire wheat harvest in order to maintain this fair price in protection of the producer we intend to do so.
 Furthermore the holding of wheat or flour contracts by persons not en- gagged in the trade and even when in the trade in larger quantities than is necessary for the ordinary course of their business, is unlawful under the act, and such cases will be prosecuted with vigor. And we would advise such holders to liquidate their contracts at once.
 By the above arrangement we be- lieve that we shall stabilize the price of wheat throughout the year, that the hazards of operation due to fluctuat- ing prices which are imposed upon our milling and distributing community will be eliminated and therefore their business can return to the normal lines and the normal margins of profit and that we shall not only have stabilized the price of wheat, but stabilized the price of flour and that it should enable us to arrive at a stabilized price of bread.
 "The food administration has had the patriotic cooperation of the lead ing millers of the country and these millers have organized at the request of the food administration a committee to represent the trade. A detailed pro- posal for an agreed differential of prof it and expenses per barrel of flour and per ton of feed are under discussion.