Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-12
No Prospect of Cheaper Food Soon.

difference between the world price OF
wheat and the price the government has
guaranteed the American farmer he shall
receive.
This would involve an outright loss
to the government estimated at from
S50o,0oo0oO to $70O0O0OO0, depending on the
world price of wheat and the size of the
American harvest. But many close students
of the economic situation, including high
government officials, believe it would be
the wiser policy. Whichever plan is
adopted, the American people will have
to foot the bill which was contracted in
order that Europe might not go hungry,
and there is strong and growing belief
that it be footed best through a gov
eminent subsidy. thus giving American
labor and industry the advantage Of low
cred food costs.
About the only objection heard voiced
to the proposal for government substituting
of this years wheat crop is very robust
Discrimination that those European coun-
tries which have not played up to the
American notion of square deal should
be permitted to get any benefit from such
subsidy The idea of letting Europe have
the surplus 1919 wheat at, say, $l.50 bushel,
with the American taxpayers penalized 20
cents for each bushei OF wheat exported,
doesn't go down well at all i'll view of the
disposition some of the European coun-
tries are showing to let Uncle Sam hold
the bag" on the 1918 CROP
90 MUCH for wheat and for those food
commodities which depend most d.
- rectly on wheat for the determining
of prices.
Last year the American farmers grew
large, but by no means a bumper, crop
of corn, and there was produced the
largest crop of hogs in the history of the
country. Why, then, are not corn products
and pork products cheaper? For the very
simple reason that very large proportion
of the moderate corn crop was used in
feeding the enormous hog crop, and the
price of hogs is being maintained at an
artifcially high level.
The necessity, assuming continuance
of the war, for bumper crop of hogs
was almost, if not quite, as great as it was
for bumper crop of wheat There was,
and still is, shortage in the worlds sup
ply of fats, estimated today atSthree billion
pounds Fats afE equally essential with
bresd for TIE maintenance Of health ana
strength.
TO SAVE Europe from fat famine,
the government, through the Food
Administration, asked the American
II. L
had grown before, and the government
pledged its faith to the hog growers that
they should receive remunerative price.
There was no guaranteed price, as in the
case of wheat, nor did the government as
sumo any legally binding obligation. 1t
was merely matter of good faith
The American farmers, accepting the
covenant at its face value, produced the
increased number of hogs asked of them.
Those hogs, having been fed on high-priced
corn to point where further feeding
would not be profitable, now are being
sent to market in such numbers as almost
to swamp the packing houses.
The packers storage houses are filled
with pork almost to the bursting point, and
still the hogs are coming from the farms
in what seems an inexhautible stream
Under normal conditions this would mean
break in prices and pork products might
be as cheap as they were generation ago.
n UT the price has not broken, and it
n will not break unless the hogs con-
tinue to food the market until stor-
age capacity is exhausted and there is
created surplus which must be disposed
of regardless of loss. The reason the price
has not broken is that the government,
with the cooperation of the packers, is
keeping faith with the hog growers, the
packers paying price for hogs far in
excess of that warranted by market condi-
tons. AS in the case Of wheat, the law of
supply and demand has ceased to operate.
Unlike the case of wheat however,
there is no prospect that either the govern
ment or the packers will have to take loss
because of the accumulation of pork prod
ucts. The unprecedented marketing Of hogs
will come to an end in few weeks, but the