Evening star., 1923-07-14
CAPITAL KEYNOTES
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS

/ lers and the wheat raisers. All Amer
i loan wage earners are already in
profitable employment, consequently
eating three full meals a day; no
more can be forced upon them.
Nor is there a prospect for as great
foreign demand as there has been
ever since the war. says the council.
T., for Europe Is raising a good crop
and may have grain for export. 1t
Is to that situation that the eco
nomists attribute the prevailing low
price of our wheat.
The conditions which depress prices
of grain also make for lower prices
on all other food, including hogs and
cattle, but the high prices of hogs
have stimulated hog production In
the last three years, and that. In
I turn mas eaten up the surplus of
| earn, so that, unless there is a great
corn acreage next year. there will be
a. corn shortage. So the balance of
adjusted in the councils of the ex-
perts.
The world does not all feed alike
Foods that are ignored in America
are extremely popular in some other
countries and may have a direct eff
feet upon American exports of what
We count as standard foods
| Our beef market in China is in
terfered with by the Chinese fond
ness Tor "l1gaments"-such as Ameri-
! cans consider too tough for food. The
cattle sinews are dried and kept in
that state until needed.
Scandinavians and Japanese are
| using great quantities of -four made
from dried herring. The Scandina-
vians eat the products Of. this her
ring flour and consider it a health
| food" since it contains 20 per cent
OF fat and protein. The Japanese
use 1t mainly as a fertilizer for rails
| ing flowers.
; mer off the coasts of Iceland and
| after a normal quantity has been
salted ior export as fish. the surplus
Is treated by having the oil pressed
out; the cake dried and ground into
fine fish-fiour, which is tasteless.
and odorless. but extremely nutri-
t1ous. II is used in bread, and in
making oleomargarine. The use in
possible IL it retained any odor or
| taste of fish. There Is no limit to
| the supply of herring, hence its fur
ther use In food competition is be-
yond prophecy.
| Canada has enacted laws pro-
hibiting the making or importation
OF oleomargarine after this fall.
! Oleomargarine has played havoc with
| the butter market of the United
states. as we'll as Canada The chief
| objection to oleomargarine, however,
/ is not one of commercial interest
| alone, but of health. Oleomargarine
contains no vitamins, which are the
essential element in food, for the up
even with a full supply of oleomargarine; !;
| that is not true of butter.
X X n
| The day is coming when We shall
/ not buy wheat or milk or fish or
beef; say the scientists. we shall
measure out, instead, proteids. fat,
carbo- hydrates and salts. Then we
| shall be familiar with the fact that
wheat bread consists of 9 per cent
proteids. 2 per cent fat. 81 per cent
| carbo- -hydrates tsugar and starch) /
per cent mineral salt, and the rest
| water. We may contrast that with
bread of herring flour which con-
+, tains in one pound as much of the
proteids as wheat bread has in eleven
! pounds.
Maybe DR.. Cummings bread pills
will be made of herring. instead of
| wheat. Let our farmers beware,
The War Finance Corporation an
| nounces, with considerable satisfac-
ton. that farmers are paying off
| their loans and calling for fewer ad-
| vances than in the preceding year.
p, It infers therefore that the farmers
| are growing in prosperity. Not SO do
bankers measure the prosperity of
, manufacturers and merchants. When
| business activity is at its height,
| there is the greatest activity in bor-
! rowing.
/ An economist, familiar with agri-
cultural conditions. says that a more
rational view of the paying off of
| farm loans might be that the farmers
are ceasing to branch out" and are
| confining their operations more
closely Prosperity is never measur-
able by the borrowed capital in
volved, but by the net profits. 1t
will take several expert account
| ants" he asserts, to discover and
| compute the current net profits of
farming. Whence come the profits
| From wheat. netting on the farm 20
| cents a bushel. at cost of produc-
| ton exceeding s1.02? Or from what
| other field crops? Or live stock
The agricultural crisis he declares. Is
! far more serious than most city folks
understand. according to those most
| familiar with the costs and receipts
of the farmers.
Copyright 1923. by p V. Collins)