Great Falls daily tribune., 1919-09-18
Plants With Capacity of
10000 Barrels Day
Short of Wheat.
Securing Supply Which
Will Allow Operation
Is Problem.

Montana milling interests just now
are wrestling with the problem Of how
they are to provide wheat for their need
until another crop may be harvested
and marketed The crop failure, due to
drouth, brought a condition that will re-
duce the possible milling output more
than one half aud without question will
result in the absolute shutdown Of some
of the milling plants and operation on
partial capacity Of others. That result
already has been obtained; 1t is the con-
dition now existing in Great Falls. The
Montana FIGURING Mills company's plant
here is idle because of lack of grain for
grinding and the company IS bending
every effort to work out some plan
whereby they can get grain here and
grind it on basis that will enable 1t
to meet the market conditions for flour.
The Royal Milling company is operating
only one Of it's twin mills at the local
plant and its officers are seriously study
ing the situation with hope that they
may find some feasible plan to keep
at least one of their mills going steadily.
But they are hopeful, rather than san
guine about the results, for at the pre-
sent time it is impossible to say what the
future will develop.
~ Milling Centers.
There are II milling centers in the
state where the milling plants have
capacity Of more than 100 barrels
day. They are Belgrade, Billings, Boze-
man, Cascade, Glasgow, Great Falls,
Harlowton, Hobson, Lewistown, Living
ston. Manhattan, Missoula, Poison, Three
Fork. Townsend and Kalispell The APP
af ha lo,,t fc
10000 barrels Of flour daily which means
that they would require, running steadi
ly, about $4,000 bushels Of wheat daily
or little more than 100000 bushels
year. assuming that the mills we're
operated only 313 daysthe week days
each year. 1t is that fact which makes
the problem for the millers Of Montana
just now. The actual wheat yield for
the state in 1919 is a mooted question
and probably always will be. for getting
at the actual returns in wheat yield is
a hard task
But the estimated yield ranges all the
way from 100000 to 100000 bushels,
SO that accepting either estimate as ap
proximately correct. it will be seen that
the millers have to find supply from out
side the state if they are to operate their
plants on only week day capacity for the
ing closer to the actual yield il the es
innate was set at 100000 bushels. That
still would leave a shortage Of nearly so
per cent Of the grinding capacity of the
mills.
Must Ship in Wheat.
But what the wheat yield of the state
happens to be does not tell what wheat
the mills of the state will be able to
get from the Montana farmers for their
use. There are many buyers of wheat
for both eastern and western markets
SO that it is readily seen that the mills
with a normal crop might still have only
what they actually needed, because the
other buyers would certainly get por-
ton Of the crop. Now this year. assum-
ing that the outside buyers got their
usual share of the yield, then the milling
interests would have only part Of the
100000 bushels, say about 60 per cent.
and if the lower estimate were accepted
as correct, they would get only little
over 100000 bushels. That would
mean that they must go out side the
state for from 100000 bushels if they
are to grind at weekday capacity, or
else close their mills until more wheat
can be grown.
One of the problems that is now
getting attention of the millers Is that
of rates, the application for a milling
in transit rate now being before the
federal railroad authorities. That means
that if they can secure it, the trend Of
the freight will be to the west coast, |
and that is the way it must be now. be-
cause with the scarcity of wheat, Mon
tana mills can not hope to ship the
wheat from the east and mill it and then
send it back and compete with the mills
there.
Rate Badly Needed.
So the milling in transit rate is being
urged with the hope that wheat can be
secured in the Dakotas, Iowa and Ne
braska brought here, ground, and then
sent on to the west coast as flour. That
profitable basis at least d part Of the
time. Until the decision as to the mill
ing rate has been made the millers Of
the state will not know what they can
do about operating their plants at a /
profit, either all or a part Of the time.
The milling capacity of Great Falls |
mills is i'll excess Of 10000 bushels a |
day so that those familiar with the crop
in this action may guess how long the t
wheat harvested here would last Them.
For example, one of the small stations |
within the 15-mile radius Of the city, |
handled about 10000 bushels Of wheat |
through the elevator there and the com
munity felt it had good fortune this
year because no other of the small sta
lions near here did that WELL The same
station in normal years would have han
lied not far from 20 times what it got
this year, but its 1919 crop would last
he Great Falls milling plants little
ess than 36 hours. But not all the crop
handled there came to the Great Falls
Mills.
Price Is ProbIematical.
As to the probable cost Of wheat to
he millers within the next few months.
lone would venture guess further than
hat it would probably not be below
he government guaranteed price There
8 sentiment, however. in milling cir
les Of the east that the guaranteed