Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-02-12
cANNY FARMER TO TURN FROM
ONE CEREAL TO ANOTHER
BECAUSE OF PRICE.
WHEAT At $2.26 WILL
UPSET ACREAGE RULES
With Government Price For Wheat
Guaranteed. Farmers Figure Re-
ducsd Corn Crop viii Spell Higher
Prices For Whsat-Enormous Loss
to Government Certain.

Washington Feb l2.-With the ex-
perts calculating that maintenance of
high price Of wheat by the govern
ment will prevent appreciable reduc-
ton Of the cost of living for year or
more, and with demands for cheaper
bread going Up from industrial CEN
tiers, where unemployment is increasing
congress will be in the midst of a
struggle with this economic question
about the time President Wilson ar
rives from Europe with millennial
plans in his pocket.
From all the agrarian constit uencies
come the tiding that the farmers, with
a bumper winter wheat crop planted,
are putting every available foot OF
soil into spring wheat in order to gar
ner the wartime price Of 1925
bushel. Acreage of corn, oats and other
cereals II being considerably restricted
in favor Of the more profitable wheat.
React In High Meat Prices.
1t is admitted that short crops of
stock feeding grains will make less
beef and pork and continued high
prices for meat. Some statesmen fore
see q large crop Of wheat, and so
great a drop in the market price that
the 81 00O, 100000 1t Is proposed to APP
propriate will be insufficient to cover
the loss to the government occasioned
by paying the farmer, the guaranteed
price and selling the wheat to the con-
sumner at the market price.
Other statesmen predict that the for
eign demand will be such that the mar
ket price will not decline greatly be-
low the guaranteed price. in which
event the loss paid by the taxpayers
will be small, but bread not much
cheaper
Proposals Of Relief.
Various remedies for the situation
have been suggested. One, that spring
wheat, which has not been planted, De
exempted from the guarantee on the
theory that this is a contract with the
farmers which may be Cancelled like
othr war contracts now being can
celed wholesale. With the guaranteed
price applying to winter wheat only
the government loss would be consid-
erably reduced and stock feeding
grains would not be sacrificed to
wheat. This suggestion finds little
support in congress save among repre-
sentatives without farmer constituents.
Another proposal is that the wheat
price guarantee be limited to the acre
age of last year and probably will be
offered as an amendment to the ST.
600, ee0, 900 wheat bill which is planned
to attach as a rider to the agriculture
appropriate bill. with the, southern
democrats contemplating rider to the
rider In the shape Of government
bonus of $500. 900, 900 or thereabouts
to the cotton planters.
The Gold Standard Of Grain.
Wheat is the gold standard Of
grains" said Chairman Lever of the
house committee on agriculture.
with wheat unusually high for
peace ties and all farmers planting il,
there will be shortage of corn, oats.
and other grains. which, in turn, will
be high priced. This will make stock
feeding expensive and the consumer
must pay the price.
But candidly can see no way out
OF the dilemma II we paid $2.2S for
winter wheat and excluded spring
wheat, which as yet is not planted, we
would be showing bad faith to the
farmers. Also it would be impossible
to distinguish between winter and
spring wheat in making payments.
Buy Back Their Own Wheat.
The spring wheat area promises to
be the largest in our history. Grazing
land never before under cultivation
will be planted. This will entail an
enormous loss to the government. But
I fail TO see how 1t can be avoided
1--WE know of cases where farmers
sold their seed wheat for 1925 and
bought it back for $3.50. As the coun-