The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-10-30
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L. T.. ICELAND DOUBTS
SUPPLY AND DEMAND IDEA

Who lis fixing the price of wheat
We have been told that supply ant
demand governs the price of wheat
but the more we study this question
the harder we find it to believe this
it looks to me as though the board
OF trade, or the exchange at Chicago
is SO well organized that they can
fix prices at will.
Just to show you that they can do
this l want to remind you of 1920, OF
at the close of the war, when they
were able to hammer wheat down
from $3.50 a bushel to below a dollar
in less than six months, and that in
the face of a strong demand. This, it
was announced by the Wall Street
Journal, was done to reduce the high
cost of living. This ought to be
enough to convince the most skepti-
cal man out that the farmer is COM
pletely at the mercy of these ex-
changes at the present time We
might ask, "Who did this slump in the
price of wheat helpT We are not
prepared to say, but all the federal
banks, east and west, were doing
big business, with the result that
scores of others are hanging on to
the last thread of hope. Unless the
federal government can do something
between now and the first of the year
many more will go out of business as
farmers, and will invade other fields
of labor.
The propaganda is busy spread
ing all kinds of rumors detrimental
to the farmer, such as telling of
great surplus of wheat, while the
truth is, there is no surplus of wheat.
Some say that Europe can't buy and
that therefore wheat will not go high
err Are we going to regulate the
wages Of the American farmer by the
purse of Europe? Let us admit that |
Europe is not able to pay the price |
Can not the people of the United |
States pay the cost price of wheat? |
Is there any reason why they should |
not pay it? If we were to go to one
Of the merchants of Moscow and ask
him to sell US goods at cost price l |
,hink the next thing would be a
big boot behind us.
Mr.. Meyer, in Spokane last week.
said that the only real way for the
uSI Wdo " COOpGIdtS. HIS lulSDL /
De true, but it is too late to do that
his year. There must be help from
he government for this years crop
lot to loan more money, but to get
prices for the farmer which will en-
Ible him to pay his debts. Mr.. Meyer
"a that if one-fourth of the farmers
would cooperate and pool their wheat
would lift prices. But how high
would it lift them? If this would
ave to pass through through the
ocular channels of the exchange at
'hicago, there would be but little re-
ef.
What the farmer needs is for the
ovcrrment to help the farmers take
yer all terminal elevators and ware
ouses including all grain exchanges
nd appoint men in charge of them
no will give the farmer a square
cal. When wn elect a man to of
&c we elect him for certain num- r
sr OF years. Whv do we do thihp
ecause human nature is such that
has a tendency to go wrong. Who
,Dointed these men to sit there and
II our wheat? Did the presidert :
it? Did the wheat growers ask 7
EN- to take this job and handle the E
heat for us?
Mr. Meyer stys that for the gov Ia
to handle the wheat crop. as l.
income suggests, would require a =