The Washington times., 1919-08-17
Can't Solve Present Economical
Problem BY Abuse, Says
J. A. Whitfield.
BY JOSEPH A. WHITFIELD,
OF the OLD Dutch Market.

We are confronted with a proble.a
in economies, and it cannot be solved
by abuse. The present abnormal
prices for food products DO not neces-
sarily spell greater profts to the re-
taller, nor, for that matter. to the
wholesaler or packer. A study OF re-
tail food prices will disclose that
many articles Of food not controlled,
or dealt in, by any large interest have
advanced as much as, or more than,
/ those that are. My information and
my judgment are that basic prices Of
raw materials at the source have at
tained such abnormal heights as to
make impossible lower prices at re-
tail until such time az, by greatly in
creased world production, We can get
lower prices at the source.
1t is no answer to say that the
United States has produced and has
on hand more food than the pre-war
normal. The food problem is a world
problem, and the world at large has
less food on hand and produced less
in 1913 than the pre-war normal. Not
only that but the world stocks and
the world production have been far
short of the pre-war totals during
each of the last three years of the
war. The world shortage of the basic
cereals, wheat, corn, oats, rye and
barley, is appalling.
shows Production Shrinkage.
The Price Current and Grain Re
porter Year Book for 1919 show a
shrinkage in production as follows:
Annual world production Of wheat,
corn. oats, rye and barley for the past
six years: 1913, 15.9O3.579, 900 bush.
IL
l6.44I, ,65l, 600 bushels: 1916. 1856
OOO,O bushels; 1917. 12,399. $4,000
bushels; 1918, S.522,156, 900 bushels.
These figures indicate a shrinkage
in the production of cereals of almost
so per cent between the years 1915.
and 1918
To illustrate the price trend on
live stock for the same period, we
might take the July price per hun
dredweight for top hogs on the Chi
cago market each year from 1914 to
19l9-I9I4. $3.50: 1915, IS 1916.
SlO25: 1917, Sl6.3O; 1918, 1910, and
1919. S23.JO.
A comparison OF these figures show
that while the world cereals de-
creased almost one-haIf between the
years 1918 and 1919 the market value
Of live hogs at Chicago increased al
period.
EUrope's need or foods is indicated
by our export figures for the past few
years. We exported. in 1914. S2T, ,523,-
O6O pounds of pork products and in
1918, 2,25O,69S,424 pounds. No doubt
the figures for 1919 Will exceed those
for 1915.
For the month Of June. 1919. our
exports OF food were $3.50. 900 900, the
highest record for one month in our
history.
Exports Grew During War.
Before the war the United States
had gone practically out of the ex-
port beef business, but during the
war our exports grew very rapidly.
In 1918 we shipped out 36,193.T5T
pounds Of fresh and cured beef The
1918 export tonnage was almost
twenty times that OF 1913. We should
keep in mind that the food question
must be considered as a world prob
lem, not as a local or national prob
lem. So long as the world produc-
tion Is so very short OF normal. so
long as Europe needs the vast quan- |
titles OF food that il now needs. il is /
improbable that food prices will come |
down. II they are brought down he
put IN storage for next winter the 1
savings made now will be lost tben.
when the shortage Of storage stock ,
will be most keenly felt.
To put the correct view Of the
storage question we need but con-
slider the prevailing ice shortage and
the loss and suffering caused by il.
Ice produced in winter should he
stored for the summer demand Think
what would happen il no wheat. corn
or potatoes were stored when bsr-
vested q tide over until the next bar- L
vest tine
Currency Imitation.
second factor. unqu -stionabIy
making for h!Eh prices, is the infia-
ion OF the currency OF every nation
Engaged in the war. Food prices
oday arc three times what they were
n 1900. Or, stated in another form.
he dollar Of 1900 will buy 80 cents