The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-10
Madhouse Flour Price Scheme of
the Government Food Trust.

emily it doesn't know how.
The Grain Administration an
nounces a weird scheme to give the
American people o cent loaf. This
is to be done notwithstanding the
purchase from the farmers by the
Government of all their wheat on a
S2.26 basis and the resale Of the
wheat by the Government TO the flour
mills at a correspondence higher
price. Then the Government proposes
TO buy the flour from the millers on
the inflated basis. Then again the
flour would be sold to the bakers at a
loss of 81 a barrel, the Government
footing the loss. The purpose of all
this monkey business, of course, is to
sustain the price of all American
wheat for all uses on the S2.26 basis
in the fatuous belief that II the Gov
eminent Food Trust is thus dealing
country 1t can deal in our enormous
surplus on the same basis in foreign
countries.
But the stupidity of such a perform
ance. If the Government Food Trust
really tried 1t, would be Incompatible.
In the first place, knocking merely 81
a barrel off the price of -four Is no
assurance of the 5 cent loaf to
American consumers. For one thing,
war did not drive up the price Of -four
merely So a barrel. 1t sent it up
from around sc barrel to SO bar
rel. S11 barrel, SIC barrel.
There is no possibility that the
Grain Administration thinks the price
of -four Is now IS barrel or 50 a
barrel or SO a barrel. How, then,
could a mere So barrel Off a still
grossly inflated price send the price
of four down to the low level which
is necessary for a 5 cent loaf?
For another thing, the price of the
loaf no longer depends merely upon
the price of wheat and flour. While
the bakers flour was doubling In price
his labor was climbing In about the
same way. The Government Food
Trusts ridiculous proposal, therefore,
Is not going to give, cannot give, a
cent loaf to the American people,
although there will be more wheat in
this country than can be got rid of
unless it is burned In the fields or
sunk to the bottom of the sea.
For vet another thing, with more
wheat in this country than anybody
wants, the Government could not eX-
port our tremendous 1919 surplus on
a S226 basis, even though it could
bushel for wheat, our bakers $50
a barrel for -four and our bread eaters
Is cents for a loaf. On the farmer s
basis of 1925, with about 16 cents for
transportation to the Seaboard and
about IS cents for overseas freight
and handling. American wheat in
England would always have to sell
at So a bushel. But at this very
moment, while foreign export stocks
are only beginning 10 move, Aus
tralian wheat is being laid down in
England at $1.95 a bushel and is
; going to slide on down.
On the same day the Government
, Food Trusts preposterous announce
mcnt Is given TO the country Sir
JAMES WILSON, world authority on
grain, former delegate for the Brit
ish Empire at the InternaLonl In
stitute of Agriculture. reports that
the worlds wheat surplus in a few
weeks will be prodigious. He esti-
mates that by the end of this sum-
mer the-f rice 81 wheat In England
In England, with all the rail and shir
transportation charges, profits, COM
missions, insurance rates, &c.-may>be
down as low as SIPS bushel. Why
If American wheat were on a farm
basis we'll under 81 bushel instead
of 1926, 1t could not compete with
an Australian, Canadian or Argen
tinian price of S1.25 In England.
The Government Food Trust Is
simply rigging up a contrivance
which will prevent us from getting
rid of any Of our surplus wheat OF
the 1919 crop. 1t will make a world
market for Canadian wheat, for Ar,
gentine wheat, for Australian wheat
for Indian wheat, selling for what II
is worth, while our wheat, held far
above what 1t is worth, rots on the
hands of the Government Food Trust
: by the hundreds of millions OF
bushels.
Worse yet. Sir JAMES WILSON
shows that because OF the enormou,
| oversupply Of wheat compelling ar
: unprecedented carry over from 1910 &c
= 1920, there is going to be too mucl
i world wheat for the good Of tn,
\ farmer for scvera, years. So til,
= Government Food Trust, holding W
I wheat at a price where it cannot hi
a sold abroad, there being at the sam,