, 1922-12-10

ing their facilities when he adverted to the grain
situation as follows:
single menace TO the onward march of business ac-
.tirity and prosperity in this country il rests in the
Gtssimilarity between the prices paid for farm
products and the prices OF those commodities which
the farmers must buy.
Il do not follow the full way with those who say
that the farm is in n state Of collapse. II is no such
thing. Twenty cent cotton and ten dollar hogs viii
take care of a large part Of our farmers with a
measure of prosperity, but the grain raising cocE-
try has today the sunrise of hope before it.
yet this Is the situation. From the first OF Sep
TENDER u1tii the first of October, in the very height
Of the crop moTiEg period Of this country, the main
channel Of export outlet for grain in America from
Buffalo to New York, was practically closed. For
thirty days the four great trunk lines that serve
that channel Of movement contracted no grain for
movement. The grain moved from the west until
it had ~congested and exhausted the elevator IA
~cilities Of Buffalo-lS.O 100000 bushels. As soon as
the unloading facilities were thus exhausted, the
lake carriers, reflecting the apprehension Of their
owners that the boats would be tied up with un-
discharged cargoes instead of being returned made
an advance in the lake rates, in thirty days from
two cents per bushel for the carrying Of grain from
Chicago and Duluth TO Buffalo to six cents.
"The rail rate from Buffalo TO New York, on the
published tariff, is nine cents, but as / explained
to you practically no grain was moving. The route
was Open-the Eric canal-with totally made
quate facilities, advanced the rate to thirteen cents
per bushel, paralleling the railroad, which was sup
posed TO carry it for nine.
From Buffalo TO Montreal Is a water route. 1t
is equipped with the facilities of forty years ago.
1t can handle a vessel of go feet in length. when
the lake carrier of today west OF Buffalo is 600 feet
in length. That means that the carriers that oper-
ate on this 4Oyearold route are limited in number,
and limited more in carrying capacity. Thirty
from Buffalo to Montreal of six to seven cents per
bushel. Last Saturday 1872 cent swas paid for the
carriage from Buffalo TO Montreal. That is the
pressure of grain west of Buffalo seeking an outlet
to foreign markets.
"The effect of the market rise in prices has been
this. In thirty days the foreign price of wheat has
corn has advanced 20 cents per bushel, because
these markets are inadequately supplied. The mar
ket price in America of wheat has advanced ten
cents per bushel, and OF corn ten cents per bushel
That Is, the spread between the ultimate foreign
price which should be reflected back to our farms,
has widened from ten TO fifteen cents per bushel
because of the lack of adequate facilities to move
tn crop pressing on the market in the west.
81 make this statement out of thirty years. ex-
perience as a grain exporter, watching the diver
sion of grain from route to route for a half cent
per bushel economy of one route against another.
As a members of n trade that has been content for
wears to lift grain from the western primary mar
kets, like Duluth, Port William and Chicago, and
deliver ii TO Hamburg and Rotterdam and Liver.
pool and London for n charge of one cent per
bushel. 1 make this statement, that we have today
four billion bushels of grain in the west, the value
of which to the farmer in every market in the west
is at least ten cents per bushel below a proper re-
lntion with the European consumer markets. You
take ten cents per bushel, assuming this continues
through the crop ar-an it won't thank good
ness and u would mean n loss in farm revenues
of $40O, 100000.
Il don't need to tell you business men, familiar
with business. what the loss of $400,000,000 of en-
larged spending power to the grain farmers alone
would mean to other industries of this country.
THAT train of evil. that train of economic loss to
basic industry of this country, follows, I believe
from an over.rigid system of government regulation
over our railroads, which has extended over ten or
twelve years. By a process of control of revenues
without any responsibility for operating costs we
have destroyed the earning power of our railroads.
We have thereby undermined their credit, and from
neither sources, of earnings nor of credit, have they
been able to maintain their equipment In a proper
expansion with the growth of this country
1t must not be supposed, however, that the rail
roads have not been moving large quantities of
grain. The receipts of wheat at the twelve "pri.
mary markets from July l to November IL, 1922
were 220,605,0 900 bushels, against "a, 975,000 bushels
in the corresponding weeks of last year, and OF
other grains about the same as last year. Exports
of United States wheat, including flour as wheat
in October were ~1S,2S2,140 bushels against sos,
966 bushels in October, 1921; same July /, to Octo-
Der 81, 1922, 114,973, 900 bushels, against 161 ,572. 00C
corresponding period 1921, and 145,351 900 in 1920
Furthermore, it must be considered that if all
the grain offered at railway stations in last three
months had been promptly moved to the terminal
market prices at the latter might not have been sus
tanned at the Figures that have ruled and even Liv
erpool prices might have been affected.