The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1921-04-08

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GOVERNMENT PRICE
FIXING UNSOCND

Congressman Riddick is doing some
good constructive work in the house
regarding the stabilizing of the price
of wheat. He recently appeared be-
fore the House committee on Agricul-
ture and made an argument in favor
of an amendment he has offered to
the warehouse law, that is absolute
ly sound and strictly in line with the
tendency of the times which is to-
wards such laws as will allow the pro-
Queer to hold his wheat until he wants
to sell it.
Mr.. Reddick said among other
things:
" Government price-fixing is eco
nomically unsound. In practice in
this and in other countries it has
always worked an injustice. and
proven unsatisfactory. If the price
is fixed too low the producer is re-
quested to give up a portion of his
profit to which he US justly entitled,
as was the case with the wheat pro-
ducers of America during the per-
iod of the late war. If the price
is fixed too high, the public must
pay taxes to provide an excessive
profit for a special and favored
class. In this world of change
able seasons and fat and lean years,
where grain is harvested at some
point on the globe every month of
the year, no man is wise enough
to justly fix exact price or rela-
tiOnship of values of different COM
modities.
"But the Government can render
a great deal of service to farmers
without doing injustice to other peo-
pies by making facilities available
for every individual farmer, and his
grain in storage evidenced by ne
gotiable receipts, properly safe
guarded so that the receipt will be
good collateral at every bank.
"There is no better collateral than
a warehouse receipt for grain in
storage, fully secured as to respon-
sibility, and its collateral deter
mined overv business day by the
actual trading value on the termin-
al exchanges.
"The measure | have introduced
l have made an amendment to the
United States warehouse act of Ar-
gust IL, 1916. | hope this may
make it possible for every solvent
farmer to finance through his local
banks and carry his own grain
from time of harvest until time of
need by consumers, and to exercise
his own marketing judgment as to
its time of sale.
with this arrangement. if the
price level of grain is too low. be-
cause of a glut on the market. farm
ers may organize and withhold
their products and permit the ma
tural law of supply and demand to
bring prices to a natural level, based
upon world offerings and consump-
tive demands"
Congressman Riddick is doing $
much. ard such e-rellent work for tn
peonle of this district, hat we ca
hardly keep up with him.
W. accent favnrS and are r"onc t
fore the;~ source. which reminds u
thu CN~"~"ssman Riddick is as niue
responsible as any other individual q
idaS' ~ having procured the see
legislation by which Valley count
fa'~E 40 now profiting. H
sad in congress in February. in SUI
pcr. of his bill creating the Apr,
priation for seed loans, which becan
a low
Before the farm loan bank could
function, even in the face of the
favorable Supreme Court decision
which has just been made, the plant,
ing season would be oven and these
drought-stricken farmers would have
been compelled to face ruin anG
leave the State by thousands, anc
dire calamity would overtake then
and that part of the country. MOI
only would thousands of farmer:
be ruined but merchants who have
been extending them credit and alst
the banks"