The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-08-16
THE PRICE OF WHEAT
What the Consumer Has Been Saved at the Expense
of the Producer
By E. S. BRIGHAM. Commissioner of Agricultur

EFF poe per bpsiieF Wpuld be necessary to
partly ehualize theShigher costskof 1ab6f
and supplies Since the Garfield commit
tee found $50 a. fair price I'M 1917 and
Recommended $2.46 as the guarante6n
minimum. The President however, ms
Sept. 2, 1915 issued a proclamation tx
ing the guarantee at So .26 f4e sbsrskaai,
but with the following qualifications.
Gin issuing the government s guar
antee of the same price fer the 1919
/ will appoint a. disinterested commits
sion which will secure for me the facts
by that time disclosed as to the in
creased cost of farm labor and supplies,
using the three-year pre-war average
prices of wheat, of labor, and of supply
costs as a basis and that from this in
formations T2lshall determine whether
there should be an increase in price
above the present level and, if so, what
advance, in order to maintain for the
farmer a good return. -
The commission promised by the
President was not appointed in the
spring of : 1919 because the war had
ended and the government had an
nounced aspolicy of disseminating con-
| troll of prices of all commodities. 1t
was expected that wheat of the 1919
crop would be sold on the basis of the
| world price subject to the government 3
making good its guarantee of 1926 to
producers. 1t now develops that the
! wheat crop of this year is dsappoint-
| ing. Statistician B. w. Snow in the
| August 9th issue of the New England
Homestead points. out the poor and dam
| aged condition of the crop and states:
cit is questionable whether the gu
| aranteed price fixed by the government
and which was intended to stimulate
| production, will furnish the wheat
| grower a reasonable return for his labor
| in view of the marked deficiency in
| yield 1t will not be at all surprising
| if large part of the 1919 crop goes
| into consumption at figure above the
set price
| The average farm price of wheat il
the United States is $2.05 per bushe
and the average farm price for Eu
| ropes - consuming countries is $3.7;
| per bushcl. With a free market, there
fore. we may expect that American
wheat will seek the higher market ant
command a higher price than the Presi
dent 5 minimum guarantee. Price o.
corn, barley. cottonseed meal and othel
concentrates are now so high that
| farmer cannot afford to sell wheat an,
buy back those commodities to fee(
his stock. ~
However, on August s, the President
in his address to congress on the higl
cost of living had this to say abou
wheat prices:
"Wheat shipments and credits t
facilitate the purchase of our wheat cal
and will be limited and controlled il
such way as not to raise, but rattle
to lower the price OF flour here TIL
BrIce of wheat Is lower, ips-the = nitel
States than in Europe,. and can, wit
proper management, be kept so.
i 1t seems, therefore. that without tn
J, appointment of the commission, a
promised, to ascertain whether tn
guaranteed minimum price of wheat i
fair to the producer, the President ha
, determined TO, in effect, make sue
minimum a maximum by controlling
!, foreign shipments and credits so tina
the product of the American produce
will not sell for IFS full value in tn
world market. Without argument a
/ to the justice of such procedure.
may be predicted that the America
, consumer may again be saved anothe
billion dollars, at the expense of tn
, producer, if this policy can be carrie
out. Is it fair then, for the consume
to complain that the government
| guarantee has operated to his disad
, vantage?