Great Falls daily tribune., 1920-05-22

IlOn. Inc government responded 10 LndC ueINdho.
The grain corporation ceased to function, the
government withdrew from the business of pur-
chasing sugar, and controlling its price and dis
tribution. 1t turned the railroads back to their
private owners and abolished all control over
priority of shipments and allotment of freight
cars. In word it got out of the business of reg
ulatng supply and demand and fixing prices or
exercizng any control over industry just as fast
as it could. The public appauded. 1t was just
what they wanted. They asked for it and got it.
The government as as much pleased to get rid of
these duties as the public was to have them drop
out. Everybody was happy.
But there is noticeable change in recent
weeks. Sugar is selling at more than twice the
price that it was when Uncle Sam bought it all
and distributed it at fixed price. A lot of people
want Uncle Sam to handle the sugar of the coun-
try as state monopoly again. Some of our sales
men who denounced the administration for in
competence and extravaganza in purchasing the
Cuban sugar crop are now complaining because
the administration listened to complaints and
abandoned the job The administration points
out that for one thing Congress failed to appro-
pirate any money for this purpose or extend their
quit and the price of sugar has scared ever since.
European countries bought up the Cuban crop
largely and boosted the price at the same time.
Sugar is dear and bids fair to remain dear be-
cause the sugar crop of the world is short. Bel
gium and France and Germany and Russia have
none to spare. They formerly largely supplied
Europe. Wheat also seems likely to be scarce.
The two countries in this hemisphere which gen.
orally export wheat, outside of the United States
and Canada are Argentine and Australia. The
crop has been bad in these countries. They will
have no surplus to export this year. Rumania
usually exports wheat. It has none to spare this
year. The great grain producing portion of Rus
sia is the Ukraine. 1t has been called the "bread
basket of Russia The Poles and Ukrainians are
fighting the bolsheviki in that country today
They are destroying and not producing there
India produces some wheat for export-not very
much. We don't know what crop conditions pre-
vail there. The other countries of Europe do
not normally produce enough grain to feed them
selves. The production in these countries will
be less than normal this year.
This leaves the United States and Canada as
practically the only countries in the world with
surplus bread grains to supply the needs of those
countries in Europe who have not produced suf-
ficient for their needs The crop in the United
States and Canada is undoubtedly going to be
considerably less than last year. The winter
wheat crop prospect is for not much more than
half the amount raised last year. The spring is
late everywhere; labor scarce wages high, mon
ey tight. The spring acreage is going to shrink
as compared with last year even if the yield is
good. These facts are troubling some of the
eastern economists and statesmen. They are
afraid that Europe may purchase SO much Of our
wheat that there will not be enough left to meet
our own needs and the price of the poor mans
wheat loaf may soar to 25 cents. They want the
government to exercise some control over ex-
ports of wheat and flour once more. Even the
farmers who might possibly benefit by high
prices for wheat in that event. are little fearful
on that score The price of wheat is fixed by the
price of the surplus exported and they are afraid
of combination among European governments
purchasing this surplus to make the price low
This could be done more easily than in pre-wal
times when our wheat was purchased by private
citizens abroad Now in most European coun.
tries, their government furnishes them bread
often at less than cost price, so that the Euro
pean governments are the wheat buyers. They
could form a combination to depress prices more
easily than lot of individual spectators could
Then there is the question of transportation AL
ready the business men of the country are calling
on the government through the interstate com
merce commission to break the freight blockade
by resuming control of the distribution of freight
cars and priority rights. The public seems to be
lilo Huck Eipn's cat which asked for a dose nj
pain killer and then did not like its TASTE