Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-02-22
Big Stocks Of Wheat
in Store Jan. l

Commercial stocks OF wheat reported
in a survey made by tho Department
Of Agriculture for Jan, l, 1919, amount
ed to lsi,77S.aI7 bushels. These hold
ings. reported by 9,s03 firms-elcvat-
ors. warehouses, grain mills. and
wholesale dealers-were more than
twice as large as the stocks held by
the same firms year earlier the ac-
tual percentage being Ass per cent
OF the 1918 stocks. Tho figures refer
to stocks actually reported, and do
not represent the total commercial
stocks of the country. nor do they in.
clude stocks on farms.
Visible supply Fisurss Compared
The commercial visible supply fig
ures. as published by the Chicago
Board OF Trade for the nearest date
CDec. IS. 1870 show l17.22S. 900 BUSH
els Of wheat, as against 1s.96S.oO0
bushels a year ago. Corresponding
Bradstreet figures for January 4. 1919,
show 129.6a7,000 bushels, as against
26,41S,0V0 bushels for ls1S. As COM
pared with the same date OF, last year
these figures. as well as those obtain
ed by the more extensive survey.
show a very great relative increase in
commercial stocks of wheat on Janu-
airy I. 1919.
Other Cereals, Flour, and Corn Meal
The commercial stocks of other GER
eals reported for January |. 1919, ac-
cording to the department statement.
were as follows: Corn. 17.s34.130 bush
els: oats. G6.44s.S55 bushels: barley,
25,1S3.4s7 bushels: rye. 1s,77o.24l bush
els. These stocks represent the fol-
lowing percentages of the correspond
ing stockS on January /. 1918: Corn.
1913 per cent: oats. 97.5 per cent;
barley. IN per cent; rye. eo6.2 per
cent.
The commercial stocks Of flour and
corn meal. as reported for the survey.
were: Wheat flour. white. 5,943.sSs
barrels: whole wheel and graham
flour. s5.O21 barrels: barley flour. $685.
6oS barrels: rye flour. 400,72s barrels:
corn flour. 40.264.120 pounds; corn
meal. 60.920.401 pounds: buckwheat
flour. o0.046,l4e pounds; mixed flour.
81. O1S,5S0 pounds. These stocks rep
resent the following percentages of
the stocks on hand a year ago: Wheat
flour. white. 1915 per cent: whole
wheat and graham flour So per cent;
barley flour. ss2.3 per cent: rye flour.
1915 per cent; corn flour. 7c4.9 per
cent: corn meal. 231.9 per cent: buck
wheat flour. 1856 per cent: mixed flour.
1913 per cent
Live Stock Prices Lag.
Higher prices of the crops eaten by
live stock should find their way into
II oSf1 rrN1rrfS
Eventually they may. but there is
what the bureau of crop estimates
of the United States Department of
Agriculture calls a lag" Product
prices do not fully respond at once to
advance in feed prices. Such was the
cituation Of farmers with regard to
the prices Of dairy products and other
animal products from 1915 to 1918,
and the lag was heavily felt by farm
ers in 1917.
( From 1915 to 1916 crop prices in
creased Al per cent, from 1915 to 1917
about 10 per cent. and from 1915 to
1918 about 40 per cent. During the,
same time the total value of animal
products on the farm did not corre-
spondingly gain. although tendency
to overtake the lag appeared in 1918.
In the meantime live stock has in
creased in number and price. and enor-
mously in total value although not
enough to hold its place in the process
sion, and it is interesting to compare
the total value Of live stock products
with the total value of the live stock
itself year by year during the war. In
each Of the three years, 1913-1916. the
aggregate value of livestock products
was SIS per cent of the aggregate value
Of live stock. The ratio went up to
So per cent in 1915, made a great adj
vance to IS per cent in 1917 and to
81 per cenAin 1918. Live stock value,
compounded of increasing number and
increasing price, Jagged behind the
advancing value of live stock pro-
ducts. \
That there should have been a lag
in the advance of livestock value,
compared with the advance in the
value of livestock products is in ac-
cordance with experience, but these
products themselves Jagged in price
behind the price of the crops eaten
in their production. Consequently
some improbable production of ami
NAL products may have accompanied
the lag of livestock value behind val
De of products.
1918 Crop Prices Highest.
Slightly below average in production
of all crops per acre. nevertheless the
year 1918 was high in crop production
in the mass. Beginning with 1910 the
bureau Of crop estimates has comput-
ed crop index numbers for each year,
100 being the average, and Interesting
comparisons are easily made. OF the
nine years. 1915 was the most produc-
tive .sne in yield per acre. with an In
deS number Of 10; the year 1912 was
next below with 100, 1914 and 1917
each had 104. On the other hand, the
notably poor ar 1911 stood at 90,
1913 was at is. 1915 at 96, and 1918
at 80. .x4e,
In mass Of crop production, however
1913 is represented by the index NUN
Der 107. on account~of the high acre
age; the high index number 116 re-
presents 1915. 10 represents 1872 and
los represents 1917. The year 1916,
low in yield per acre, hal a mass pro-
duction represented by the average
100. No year since 1913 has been be-
low average in crop production
Before the war, low reproduction
years usually had index numbers for
crop prices above the average and
hig production years had ones below.
Every year Of the war has sent the
rocket Of prices higher and higher.
In 1914, the first year Of the war, the
index Of crop prices was 49, which was
hal ~