The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1918-02-26
MANY POTATOES
ROT Or FREEZE;
PROBES STARTED
Michigan's Big Crop Fails
To Do Much Good Through
Fault Of Someone; Goat
Is Being Sought.

DETROIT, Mich, Feb. 22-The po-
tato problem in Michigan this winter
is attracting widespread attention.
Private Investigations have been start
cd to determine why thousands upon
thousands of bushels OF tubers have
been allowed to rot in country dis
tricts, while war prices have been
maintained in Detroit and othr Michi.
gan cities.
information obtained from various
sections OF the state indicates that
potatoes which have sold for 4j and
80 cents peck in Detroit are a drug
on the market in sections less than
200 miles from here. Farmers have
tried to get $1.00 q bushel for their
product, and failed. Recently they
have been offered about 80 cents.
Many reasons have been advanced
for the great range in prices.
Commission men have been charged
with unfair tactics.
Railroad congestion has been held
responsible.
The weather has been blamed.
The poor distribution system" has
been attacked.
Last spring when potatoes were sell
ing for sky high prices. q tremendous
campaign was prosecuted all over
Michigan for a record yield. Seed po-
tatoes sold as high as So bushel and
farmers have claimed there was Il
tacit understanding that they would
receive $1.O0 bushel for their pro-
duct.
Vacant lots were planted all over
the state. Hundreds of families raised
their own potatoes and the result was
that millions of bushels of "spuds"
were dug from Michigan soil last fall.
The average crop was 102 bushels an
acre, against A bushels an acre in
1916. lteports to the secretary Of
state estimate that more than forty
million bushels of potatoes was Michi-
gans yield.
Then something happened and. at
present, everybody connected with
the potato business in the state seems
to be blaming somebody, or everybo-
dy else. There are two outstanding
facts, however, Judging from various
Investigations. One is that railroad
congestion and weather conditions had
something to do with the situation
and the other is that Michigan farm
ers have something like 20,000,O00
bushels of potatoes. good, Indifferent
and bad, on their hands.
Potato shippers have come forward
with charges of transportation de-
fects. One shipment of potatoes from
Cadillac to Detroit was on the road
Is days. it is claimed. One freight
train was held up near Clare, Michi-
gan, and four carloads of potatoes
froze. A+agysesW
On the other hand, farmers have
been blamed by commission men. De
troit dealers have asserted that farm
ers held on to their stocks too long,
and that, when the crash came, they
tried to unload but couldn't 1t is
claimed that 1t cost the farmers about
60 cents II bushel to raise potatoes
last summer. 1t is claimed. also that
commission men last fall offered be-
tween 80 cents and $l.00 a bushel for
big consignments. Commission men
In Detroit assert that their offers were
quite generally declined and claim
that as Detroit's potato supply began
10 dwindle, bad weather came.
Finally, when transportation condi-
tons were at their worst. II is as
serted that the potato situation here
and In other cities became serious.
Emergency prices were offered and
accepted. Everybody dealing in pota.
toes, it is claimed, was satisfied. But
there We're no cars, or at least no cars
that could he moved.
So millions of bushels of potatoes
which might have been eaten are still
lying in storage on the farms from
which they were dug.