The Washington herald., 1921-01-18
Opposes Legislation to
Prevent Market Dealing
In Crop Futures.

sale at a moments notice. when
his marketing judgment so directs,
All of this can be accomplished by
chan gos in the methods of operating
country station elevators in certain
sections of our country. At the coun-
try station the growers first contact
with a marketing system develops
Forms Mild Monopoly.
IF there be only a single elevator
and a siCgle buyer, and thereby
without local active competition.
this facility acquires mild
form of monopoly which invests ii
with a public interest. II is to be
a great local service. and entitled
therefore to be treated with great
consideration.
Moreover. it is a very hazardous
business venture. for America is
dotted with elevators, dismantled
and useless, as grain production has
decreased or disappeared in their
localities. But, broadly speaking,
these country elevators are not full
flling their full service to the pro-
ducer
Il do not believe il in the national
interest that a producer desiring to
haul his grain to the local elevator
should be compelled. without alter
native, to accept a grade and a price
named in the judgment of a single
local buyer. no matter how fairly
that buyer may try to operate. To
be sure, occasionally, there is some
measure, of potential competition as
between perhaps several stations.
each with their own buyer within
hauling distance. At many stations
also there are several active Compet-
itors for such purchases. I believe
most of these country elevators could
do warehousing business far be-
yond the actual capacity of their
houses and under adequate safe
guards which will give the farmer
his opportunity to haul any time. ac-
cept price, or store and receive a
negotiable certificate which will be
readily accepted by banks as sccur-
ity against loans.
Right Of Shipment.
ITO do this, beyond the actual
storage capacity of the country ele-
vator, there must be given to the
elevator operator the right to ship
on to the large terminal warehouses
and to deliver in these terminals,
at proper freight and charge re-
lation, the grain for which he has
issued a country elevator ticket.
To make these country storage
tickets negotiable and safe for both
farmer and banker on a wider Sc
curity than the character and re-
sources of the local elevator opera
tor. there can be developed, 1 am
sure, a form of insurance Of them
by large liability companies. This
is not a new phase, except as to
country elevators, for the terminal
warehouse receipts at many OF our
large primary markets are secured
by bonds deposited by liability COM
panies with the local exchange au-
thorities for whole or part value of
outstanding receipts. The develop
ment thus of the security of such
country tickets representing grain
in storage at country points would
of itself create the opportunity for
outside buyers to compete with the
elevator operator in the purchase
of such tickets, and thus assure a
price to the owner made by active
competition, always the safest
measure of a just price.
Appalling Collapse.
we are now in the midst of an
appalling collapse OF commodity
values. Raw materials and finished
products of many kinds are tenn
porary unstable at any price. Mer-
chants in many lines have seen their
capital resources impaired or wiped
out entirely. unable to limit their
losses at any point, no matter what
their willingness to sacrifice might
be. What would il have been worth
to them, and what to the banks,
which have seen the security be-
hind their loans grow doubtful, for
such merchants at some point to
have exchange trading in their COM
modities or the basic materials
whose price fiuctuates with their
finished products, so that they could
preserve something of the cseital
investment against the disaster