The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1919-05-09
THE WEEK
Another Corn King
Flour Spectators Hit
We Must Dictate to Europe
War Trusts Want Free Hand

"New Corn King Clears 100000
runs a headline of the week. It
seems that while big Chicago pool,
the existence of which would have
been hotly denied two weeks ago,
was hammering down the price of
corn, certain gambler by the name
of Roberts was buying up. The mar
ket began to rise recently due to
corn shortage and Roberts was able
to sell out at a profit of so cents a
! bushel.
When the farmers were selling dur
ing the fall and winter the Chicago
pool was making money by forcing
the price of corn down Now along
comes Roberts and probably good
many others and makes 60 cents a
bushel by forcing corn up when 9th
4 er farmers have to buy. By selling
future these middlemen turn an
abundant crop into a loss for the
raisers of corn; by buying futures
! they make a little shortage look like
famine. Far from steadying the
market, as the department of agri-
culture would say, they make its
4 fluctuations worse. Howzmuch long
er will ! sensible people tolerate
their system?
And now comes julius Barnes
head of the government grain cor
poration, with one method of knock
ing. out this profitable little sport oil
specuiating. The milling combine
has been having royal time with
flour and mill feeds since the re-
strictions were taken off. 1t filled uI
on wheat bought at the government
minimum price and then started the
products of this wheat toward hcav-
en-. At least it would appear thai
neither the -four nor the mill feed:
: were intended for earthly consump
tion and that the trust was engagee
in another of those conservation cam
paigns, the guiding principle o:
, which is to Keep the people from
, eating regularly,
, Barnes has been buying up lot O.
, -four to send to hungry Europe, ant
, now he finds so many hungry a
home that he promises to sell som'
of this flour to the local market. No
!. at the market price, however, but a
: $11.5O, or about $3.50 to So unde
t the SPECTATORS price. Government
operation and control is going to b
mighty unpopular now-among tn
I | speculators-and that means also tn
E big city press.
y It's one way of reaching the bi
v spectators like Corn King Roberts
e Does any one know of any other wa
q that could be effective before we ar
: ready for heaven, where we will b
able to pay all the spectators as
t that is, if there happens to be any o
T. that tribe there?
q Why not also give the organize
n farmers and the organized worker
credit for holding up the arms of tn
:. redoubtable Mr.. Barnes? No publ
O man can take stand like this with
out pretty big SUPPORT.
A new horror has been discoverec
:, America is trying to dictate to Ell
y rope. Allied statesmen had a mic
l new map of Europe worked out
their scret treaties. America is no
!, interfering with the map makers.
: If our memory serves us righ
l. however, it wasn't so long ago thu
/ men were called from the factore
of our East and the farms of OF
: West to help Europe out of MAJ
making spasm. If we have t
straighten out the SPANS, we surel
should have something to say abol
the new map-making lest anothC
:. spasm quickly develop and lest "
" again be called on for our blood an
treasure To deefnd herself Amer
ca must see to it that the new ma
of Europe removes causes for W;
rather than adds new ones, as Italy
Fiume grab and the 'permanel
frontier ideas of French imperia
lists provide The world is too sma
these days for us to disregard VIII;
: is going on in any part OF 1T.
3 The United States Chamber
= Commerce is holding a referendu
3 as to the opinion of leading civic al
= commercial organizations on revisiI
= the antitrust laws. The result
: such a referendum is obvious.
8 practically everv city special priv
x lege has enough representatives
x make it uncomfortable for the m;
= who does not vote right. Soon V
= shall learn that American busine