Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1918-01-14
FARMERS CUES
II Tons ANSWERED
+. c. Wolcott, Assistant United
States Food Commissioner,
Answers Many Questions
Asked by Farmers.
TELLS OF THE PRICE FIXING.
Also Speaks Of Control Of Farm
. Labor, Machinery Prices, Etc.
Win the War.
TELLs OF THE PRICE FIXING,

The attention OF Hamilton county
farmers is called by the county agent
to the answers secured by one farm
association from F. G. Wolcott of
Washington, D. c., assistant to the
United States Food Commissioner
Herbert G. Hoover, of certain list
of questions affecting form interests,
which have arisen because of the
war.
The questions included price fix
ing, control Of farm labor, guarantee
Of meat prices, farm credits, regula-
ton Of farm machinery prices, and
the grain problem. as it affects the
\ es. The six. questions, and the
answers made by Mr.. Wolcott to
them, follow:
Price Fixing.
Question: Is there going to be
any further price fixing on farm
products?
Answer: We are not in position
to say definitely. No one knows. The
president has just issued message
and bill is to be introduced in
congress authorizing the president
to fix prices upon all principal COM
modities that enter a farmers busi-
ness. We recognize that you have a
grievance. You do not want prices
fixed upon farm produce until some
price control can be placed upon
most OF the goods that enter into the
farmers cost of production, such as
farm machinery, fuel and fertilizer.
We have uregd upon congress the
injustice of selecting one or two
commodities. The purpose of price
fixing, wherever resorted to as an
emergency measure, should be chief
ly to stimulate production.
No Control Over Farm Labor.
Question: What can we do about
farm labor? We can not produce
our next years output without more
EARN labor.
answer: The food administration
has nothing to do with farm labor.
The question of farm production lies
wholly with the departments OF
agriculture and labor at the presi-
dents request. Mr.. Hoover, how
ever, has protested against taking
skilled farm hands from the farm.
We are fully aware of the difficulties
arising from shortage OF farm
labo;.
No Guarantees on Beef Prices.
Question: Are you going to guar
antee the price of beef, as you have
of hogs?
Answer: We are not planning to
guarantee the price of beef. There
is a popular misconception about
the price of hogs. Strictly speaking,
there is no guarantee on hogs. The
sales of hog meat to our associates
in the war are so great that by con-
trolling the price at which these are
made we are able to standardize the
price to an extent and maintain the
ration between corn and hogs.
The commission recommended that
a minimum price OF $3.50 be fixed
on pork, and that the ratio OF IL
to / between corn and pork be es-
tablished to commence when the pigs
were narrowed in the spring. We
have held strictly to the commits
sioner's recommendation and the re-
suits are gratifying and encourag-
ing. You must remember that the
control of the packers did not go
into effect until Dec l. II we had
set up the ratio of 10 to on that
date the hogs would have been
rushed into the market for killing,
instead of being bred.
Now as to beef. You must always
keep in mind the essential difference
between pork and beef. Pork is
easily kept and easily shipped; it
keeps from six to nine months, while
beef, in its most marketable form
as fresh meat, is highly perishable,
and reaches the consumer on an
average of approximately eleven
days after slaughtering. Further
more, it requires highly specialized
and skilled handling to save it, so
that beef does not lend itself as
readily as hog meat does to any kind
of control.
Credit Checking Temporary.
Question: Why has the farmers
credit suddenly been checked?
Answer: The federal reserve
board, because of the great strain
suddenly put upon it by the foreign
and domestic borrowing, has found
it necessary to keep the banks in
more liquid condition. This, how