Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1921-09-05

|be made sufficiently high to induce
Speculate in farm lands or produce
Ian excessive surplus.
"Under the stabilizing plan the
farmer would receive the same price
regardless of road conditions. Under
the present system the highest price
usually prevails when roads are bad
Tor elevators .congested and delivery is
difficult or impossible. When these
conditions improve the price goes
down.
Benefit Business and Industry.
"The sterilization Of the price OF
farm products would be equally bene-
fetal to business and industry in
general. IL the manufacturers of
flour and other food products, as well
as wool, linseed Oil and cotton manu-
facturers, could depend upon stable
! price for raw materials, they could
eliminate the risks now resulting from
price fluctuation and conduct their
business more safely and at much
smaller margin Of profit. In the year
1917, up to the passage of the food
control act in the month of August,
the differential between the farm
price of wheat and the mill door price
Of flour varied from $275 to 50 per
barrel, but thereafter, during the pc
Rod Of price control, the average diff
ferential was only about 81 per barrel.
After the, release of wheat from gov
ornamental control, fluctuations were
again resumed. This is certainly a con-
elusive demonstration that stabilized
price Of wheat would lessen the mar
gin now required by the miller and
that 1.-THE farmer could be guaranteed
the cost Of wheat production and the
average price of flour might not be
appreciably increased, and might even
be actually reduced. The elimination
of speculation and resulting fluctua-
tion in the price of corn and grain feeds
will realty: lessen the risks Of stock
feeds and largely stabilize the cost
of meat production. The cost of living.
being thus largely stabilized. will also
tend to stabilize wages which will be
advantageous to every line of industry.
What the business and industrial
world requires above all things is sta
bility. Even if the guaranteed mini
mum price were fixed at less than the
actual cost of production, it would
still be beneficial to every line Of in
dustry as the country would know
when prices had reached bottom and
that conditions could not possibly be-
come worse.
THE national government would not
purchase the entire crop, Init would
simply guarantee a minimum price
for the surplus, if any, remaining on
hand at certain terminals shortly be-
fore the new crop comes in. In the
case of wool, flax, sugar and other
products, Of which we do not raise a
surplus, the entire crop would be con-
sumed by our own people and upon the
basis of the guaranteed price, less
transportation and carrying charges.
The government therefore, would have
no surplus to absorb. but the guaranty
to purchase the surplus, if any, would
stabilize the price Of the entire crop.
The national government would, of
course, take charge Of the disposition
of the surplus of other crops and
either export or carry it over as a pro-
lection against possible shortage. or
furnish it to the starving and impov-
erished Millions in foreign lands.'
Pass Resolutions.
Following the address. resolutions
were passed unanimously endorsing
the. Lyon stabilizing plan and petitions
were also presented which are to be
generally circulated over the county.
The resolutions and the petitions will
be forwarded to Senator Cummins and
Kenyon and Congressman Dickinson.
The Resolution.
Resolution adopted IS as follows:
Whereas the price of farm products
has declined during the past fourteen
months approximately three hundred
per cent to a value about one half the
present cost of production and out of
proportion to the. decline of other prod.
ucts and commodities and.
Whereas, a hill is pending in con.
gress, known as II. X. 1885. introduced
in the house Of representatives by Mr.
ChristOpherson July II. 1912. which if
enacted as law will have the effect
to raise the price of grain to the value
of the cost Of production plus rca-
sOnablc profit and,
Whereas; we, as citizens of HamiI-
ton county, Iowa, have met In mass
meeting at Webster City for the pur-
pose Of discussing and deciding upon !,