The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-07-20
GROWERS HEAD
FOR FRENCH PLAN
w. J. ROBINSON WOULD HAVE
GOVERNMENT BUY WHEAT
SURPLUS AFTER JUNE 1

Barking up the wrong tree Is
the way Walter j. Robinson, general
manager of the Washington Wheat
Growers association, sums up the
activities of G. P. Mix and the Mos
COW chamber of commerce in renew
ing the fight behind the Gooding bill
for a government wheat price guar
antee for $175. At the same time
Mr. Robinson upholds the suggestion
of Representative Burton l.. French
of Idaho that congress merely ar
range to buy any surplus wheat left
over next spring in a statement made
to The SpokeSman-Review.
They are barking up the wrong
tree because there is no chances for
special session and congress will
not meet before December IT, said
Mr.. Robinson. Z" If the farmer needs
assistance, and God knows he does,
he needs it on this years crop.
Aside from all that, why should
the government come to the assist
ance of the farmer in this way when
the farmer has it within his own
power, through cooperation, to con-
troll wheat prices?"
Special Meeting Called
In this connection Mr.. Robinson
pointed out that only about 25 per
mage is marketed through the CO.
operative organization. In an effort
to line up 60 to rs per cent to give
the association control this year the
directors have been called together
for a special meeting in Spokane,
Monday, July %. At this time Mr..
Robinson and A. G. Adams, secretary
treasurer, will present proposals for
handling non-member wheat at the
growers order. While the 100 per
cent pool contract would not be OPP
erative until the association has Sc
cured control, whatever non-member
wheat is signed up, they will recon-
mend, should be sold through the
association on whatever basis the
grower desires-in the pool or by di-
rect sale when the grower says to
sell.
We are ready to support the sug-
gestion of Representative French"
said Mr.. Robinson, who is the Wash
ngton representative of the North
west Wheat Price Sterilization bu-
reau, a national organization of
wheat growers. "We will be salts
fled if the government merely an
lounces that after, say, June L, it
Will pay a certain price for all the
surplus wheat on hand. We are not
prepared to say what thaC price
should be and it would have to be
determined after investigation.
Means Little Surplus
eve believe under such a plan the
government will be called upon to
,uy little, if any, wheat. The gov
assurance, however, would
mean that growers would hold their
wheat for the government figure.
Buyers would have to pay it right
away to secure the wheat needed
md foreign buyers would have to
,ome to it as well. By June l little
wheat would be left on hand.
AS an illustration, if the govern
nent should guarantee to pay $1.50
or wheat on hand June 1, the west
rn grower would know that he
ould sell now for $1.35, the carrying
.harge being Is cents a bushel. In
'ther words, buyers would have to
,ay $135 in the west this fall and
he farmers would sell, for they
would reap no advantage through
holding for government purchase.
Under this plan there would be no
lecessity for creating expensive gov
rnment machinery to handle the
Wheat crop as was done through the
var period and public funds would
lot need to be tied up in the pur-
hase of a wheat crop estimated at
90 900 900 bushels"