The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-28
r A R M QUESTIONS. LEAD DISCUSSIONS
 IN ECONOMIC LIFE
Expert Sees Little Change Of Government Taking Over
 Wheat Crop
By WALTER E. BROWN Editor New York Commercial


 NEW YORK, July 27.-Agricultural conditions occupy the leading posi- tion in economic discussion and for the next few weeks are likely to influence not only the stock market but the trend of political thought as well. Much is being made of the theoritical surplus of 200, 0,0OO,oOO bushels of wheat for which the coun- try will have difficulty in findins market and as usual the farmers and their spokesmen are turning to congress in an endeaVor to have the nation at large carry the burden.
 There would be no objection to this if plan could be worked out on sound economic basis but unfortu- nately no such plan has as yet been devised. The fact seems to be lost sight of that the country consists of the people at large and that no money can be taken out of the United States treasury except by taking the money out of the pockets of the peo- pie by direct or indirect taxation Hence if the government buys the wheat crop, or any part of it. it will only be an indirect method of selling it to the people who will have to pay for it one way or another.
 D O O
 Would Increase Taxation.
 The farmers themselves would have to share the increased taxation which any public expenditure would involve and in the end the problem would be found to be just as broad as it is long.
 Holding 200, O,OOO,O0O bushels of wheat off the market would be all well enough if the farmers were to reduce their acreage so that next year they would raise 00,000,000 bushels less, but this they are not likely to do and the only alterna- tive would be to dispose of the sur 1n tny ri the farmers had been paid a guar anteed price for it, the difference would have to be made up out of taxa ton. This sort of thing was tried by Great Britain and France, with regard to bread during the war and proved a costly experiment.
 Follow Economic Lines.
 No matter whether the surplus was handled by the government or by private interests 1t would be reckoned in the world supply and world prices would be adjusted accordingly. It would mean that the following crop would be offered on a correspond ingly lower basis and it 'valorize the entire crop. It would in no time be- come a burden greater than even the government could carry. Every farm er would expect that every busheI of wheat he could raise could be taken to a government station and con Nerted into money. There would be no limit to what the farmers would try to do in the matter of raising wheat and it requires no extraord- mary imagination to forsee the result.
 In the meantime growers of all other kinds of farm produce would expect equal attention and the out come would be political chaos.
 O o O
 Congress Provides Machinery.
 The best that Congress can do is to provide the necessary machinery and allow the farmers to work out the problem for themselves. This fact has already been done through the eX- tention of the rediscounting period os agricultural paper from six to nine months and by the tablishment of the rural credits act.
 Some spectators are already sell ing the securities of the northwestern railroads in the expectation tls;ts they will be adversely affected bye the withholding of wheat from market but the point is overlooked that the wheat will have to be moved some time during the year and that what the roads are interested in is not so much the price of wheat as the Valume.
 Those who are able to judge the economic outlook from the agricul- tural standpoint are inclined to be- lieve that too much is being made cl tllc luil III Piltcs dl tulo tililc .dllu that the statistical situation will have to demonstrate itself q little more clearly before there can be any jus tification for stampede to congress by the farmers. Political demago- gues are making all the capital pos sible out of conditions and are en- deavoring to exploit the farmers for their own selfish purposes. There can be no denail of the fact that the problem of marketing the wheat crop is q serious one but is not likely to- be quite so bad as the sensation mongers would have us believe. Pres eut statistics are merely estimates. The actual facts will demonstrate themselves in due time and are the only things that count.