The Washington herald., 1921-03-10
FIGHT ON GRAIN
GAMBLERS TO GO
BEFORE CONGRESS
Sen. Capper Says Flour
Supply Low Because
of Conditions.
SAYS PUBLIC TO PAY
Kansan Sees a Remedy for
Looming High Prices in
Curb on Spectators.
SAYS PUBLIC TO PAY

Declaring that gambling in grain
markets throughout the country
has reduced the production of fiour
mills 25 per cent, and as a result
of q threatened shortage the public
will be compelled to pay heavy price
increases, Senator Arthur Capper.
OF Kansas, issued a statement yes
terday in which he said that he
would renew his fight against spec
at the opening Of the new
session Of Congress.
Flour supply Running Low.
Manipulation of the market by
Board of Trade gamblers has been
ruinous to the producers and has
not helped the consumers" declar-
ed the Senator. 81 have reports
from Kansas City, Minneapolis. To-
peka and other milling oenters
which show this country's -four sup
ply Is running low"
A bill proposHg TO curb specula-
tors in farm products was intro
duced in the House by Representa-
tive Caraway. now Senator Cara
way, Of Arkansas, last December.
and Senator Capper is sponsor of
the measure in the upper branch
of Congress.
"The output OF the -four mills of
the United States is 25 per cent
less this crop season than it was
a year ago at this time, except in
such centers as Boston, New YORK.
Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland
and Chicago" SAID Senator Capper
yesterday. There Is not a months
run in the rest of the United States.
"A recent market report contain
ed this Illuminating sentence: De-
mand for -four continued dull. the
market was erratic and generally
very unsettled
Erratic Market Created.
THE reason that stocks of flour
are dwindling and that fiour mills
are running only on part time, al
though the people are consuming
more -four than ever. is this: The
grain gamblers have created an err
ratio, excitable, nervous wheat
market. Prices have no stability.
There are wild fluctuations daily.
and the weeks range of prices may
easily vary as much as from % TO
so cents a bushel. This and worse
has happened during the past seven
months.
"The flour jobber cannot buy foI-
on such a market because the very
next day 1t may take his profit
away from him and something more
besides. So the -four jobber sends
no order to the mill. He sits tight
THE big mills cannot go on buy
ing wheat and grinding it into -four,
either, unless they can sell enough
flour TO keep going and to continue
buying the raw material: so they
slow down. Mills have almost as
hard a time borrowing money these
days as do the farmers.
BY and by the country's supply
of -four may become SO depleted. IL
the risks of producing and distrlb-
uting it continue as great as they
now are, that the public will be
forced to pay a profit margin suf-
ficiently large to insure the miller
and the jobber and the retailer
against any possible loss.
And this is only one of several
ways that market gambling penal
ICES the consumer. j propose to
renew the fight at the beginning of
the next session for legislation
which will stop unrestricted specu-
lation in wheat and farm products.
Manipulation of the market by
Board of Trade gamblers has been
ruinous to the producers and has
not helped the consumers"