Evening star., 1923-08-19
WHEAT PURCHASE PLAN
BY i. S. HELD FEASIBLE
Bill Introduced by Representative Little
il, Would Protect Farmer Without Great
Cost to the Government.

the great -four mill market at Min
neapolis. Buffalo and Kansas City.
Kan, but not less. The wheat men.
therefore, can get whatever the mar
ket just naturally goes up to. except
that the stored wheat will maLSe ar
tificial prices for bread impossible.
Some have been afraid that there
would be a tremendous surplus OF
wheat that would wreck the plan.
Col. Little calls attention to the fact
that the surplus July |, 1921. was
only 7S.000.000 bushels. In 1922 only
81 10000 and in 1928 only 101. .000, 900.
the amount retained at the close Of
the year in this country, and that
the government couldn't buy any
more than that if il wanted to be-
for food and export. He shows that
the wheat exported is not surplus.
that the wheat eaten in Europe is
just as much disposed of as if II was
eaten in America. that this awful
scare of a big surplus is without any
foundation whatever. The increase
in acreage from 1915 to 1921 was
from 60.000.O00 to 62.000,000 acres.
which did not keep pace with the
acreage increase before the war
He calls attention TO the statement
of Eugene Meyer that Canada has
less wheat this year than last year
and that the European stock Is at
II minimum. The representative shows
pnstrate that before the war Russia
produced more wheat than did the
United States. and that before the
war the rest of the world produced
more wheat than the United States
and Russia combined.
Continual Assets.
He says that the foreign supply,
therefore, was greater before the war
than it has been since and there is
nothing to be scared about, that the
government could easily take care of
whatever surplus may arise. Many
thoughtful men have reached the
conclusion that this government ought
to have a good big stock of wheat on
hand all the time. that it is held very
cheaply and probably would be a
good idea to preserve the conditions
by that continual asset and resource.
Aside from the Little bill, the only
other suggestion that has been given
serious consideration in Congress Is
the Norris Sinclair bill. which would
entail an expense of more than $780,
o00.uOo and authorize the purchase
and sale of all products, which would
amount to altogether too much, prob
ably, and eventually might do more
harm than good.
The time has come" says Repre-
sentative Little. when the farmer
has to get just as much consideration
as is given the manufacturer and his
laboring man by the tariff. just as
much as is given the railroads and
their employees when the government
authorizes them to charge enough to
pay the laborerS big wages and still
make five and half per cent profit
on their investments. 1t is useless to
talk about better wheat and less
acreage and other wise saws for the
farmer. The farmer has got to have
more money for his wheat right
now.
How Law Might Work.
How this Law would work and its
effect are explained by Representa-
tive Little as follows:
IF this bill should become A law,
the government would need no large
number of assistants, but the gov
ernment director at Kansas City or
Minneapolis or other central cities
in the wheat country would announce
by wire to the small towns just how
much they would take each day. ard
Immediately wheat would 60 up to
amount the government should de-
clare. to pay which would be within
the bill. The minute that was done
the wheat problem would be solved
and the wheat people would be saved.
Whenever the farmer comas 70
town with money in his pockets the
rest of the country is all prosperous.
OF course, unless the farmer can get
cost price for his wheat he will
have to desist from growing it and
prices, SO that it is TO the int rests
of the whole country TO back the
wheat man, just as we nave been
supporting the manufacturers and
their laborers with the tariff all these
years.
The west has reached the con-
clusion that it is much more import
ant to get cost for the man who
grows wheat than for the people that
transport II. The bill if passed would
add 5000. 100000 to the wealth of the
farmers in the country. and any logi-
cal mind will see that the govern
ment will not be compelled to buy
any serious amount of wheat.
The effect will be the same on the
wheat market that the gold reserve
had on the paper dollar. Nobody
wanted the gold when they could
get it. and the buyers that buy wheat
will have to pay the price the gov
ernment will pay"