The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-02-01
The Government Cannot Sell Glut
OF wheat at Famine Prices.

Mr.. JULIUS II. BARNES, president Of
the Grain Corporation of the Food
Administration, does not say 1t In SO
many words, but does give the i'm
preston that the Government Is go
ing to try to sell to the consumer all
the country's wheat on n S2.26 basis.
He was speaking specifically Of the
wheat coming to market before next
June. But his whole argument re-
veals that he thinks it is his proper
business, II he can get away with 1t,
to resell to the consumer on S2.26
basis all the wheat-the recent and
the next harvest-the Government
has to take from the farmer at $2.26,
whether it should be a million bushels
or two billion bushels, and whether
the selling period should run till June
or January.
Mr.. BARNES, whatever he thinks, or
thinks he thinks, Is not going to do
anything of the kind. The Govern
ment Food Trust can never sell a glut
Of wheat at famine prices. When for
elgn countries will not take our wheat
on $o.26 basis or perhaps on a $1.26
basis, the American people are not
going to take 1t. If Mr.. BARNES
should put upon the American market.
even at S1.26, all the wheat the Gov
eminent must buy this year at S2.26.
he couldn't sell 1t to go into American
bread. At any price there will be
more wheat in this country by hun
dreds of millions of bushels than the
American people will want or will
take for their bread from Mr.. BARNES,
President WILSON or anybody.
Mr.. BARNES might as we'll talk
about selling all the country's wheat
ut S26 bushel as at S2.26 He might
as well talk about selling all the coun-
try's sand at $50 an ounce. like gold.
Mr.. BARNES may not realize yet
that the Government can no more sell
a thing for which there Is no demand
than anybody else can; but before the
wheat crop Of 1919 Is through piling
up on the Food Administration at
S226 bushel he will have full op-
portunity and plenty Of time to learn
what he doesn't know now.
Mr.. BARNES, furthermore, will learn
that holding on the 1926 basis a vast
superabundance Of wheat which
should be offered to consumers under
the laws of supply and demand, the
Government will strike at the wheat
farmers themselves n blow which will
be fatal in the year 1920. Now the
Government Is under contract to pay
the farmers S226 bushel for all the
wheat they raise this year. The Gov
eminent should take it ut the price !;
it must take 1t. But the Government
will not be under contract to take the
farmers wheat at any price after this
years harvest. The Government,
holding out for S2,26 from the con-
sumers and not being able to sell 1t,
would be compelled to carry over hun
dreds Of millions Of bushels into next
year. With that stupendous carry
over burdening the future market, the
farmers would not plant and harvest
wheat in 1920.
! The farmers raise wheat to sell.
They would know they could never
sell II when there was vast surplus
carried over from 1910 to 1920 be-
cause the United States Government
had been fool enough to put such a
price on the 1910 harvest that nobody
would buy 1t.
If Mr.. BARNES were mad enough to
persist in such course, putting a
famine price on the bread of the
American people though there were
millions of bushels Of wheat not worth
dumping into the sea, he would sim.
ply heap mountains of wheat upon
the Government. He would drive the
farmer out Of the wheat business for
1920. He would ultimately starve the
American consumers because their
wheat farmers had gone to other
fields Of agriculture.
If the United States Government
were blind enough to permit Mr..
BARNES to persist in such madness
even till the first of June Of this
year. the Food Administration would
awaken In n very panic OF remorse to
the fact that the hundreds Of millions
of bushels of wheat which might have
been fed to our people Mt normal
prices must be finally disposed Of
somehow, though to get rid of it the