The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-07-14
WHEAT SURPLUS
PREDICTION
DOUBTED
U. S. War Finance Corporation
Head Disputes Alarm
lists of West.

A WORLDWIDE battle IN the
wheat market and an. affirmative
effort by the Harding Administra-
ton to prove itself the helpful
friend of the wheat farmer are
the Immediately predicted results
of the spectacular. wheat state
ment issued today by the man
aging director of the United
States War Finance Corporation,
Eugene Meyer, jr.
With a daring which already
has drawn a broadside of critical
shot and shell from his opponents,
Mr.. Meyer openly and emphatic
ally declares in effect that GER
tain high representatives of farm
ing interests are themselves in
considerable part. responsible for
what he manifestly regards as
the present unduly low price Of
wheat.
Have Injured Farmers.
These representatives have been
spending their time pointing in
alarm to a great wheat surplus"
Their purpose has been to arouse
sympathy for the wheat farmer and
to stir the Government into taking
action for the rescue Of the wheat
farmer.
One result, however, of their agi-
tation has been to injure the very
man whom they have been trying
to help. Wheat buyers, becoming
convinced that a great surplus"
would exist and becoming convinced
also that the farmer was expecting
this surplus" and was expecting,
therefore, to get a low price for his
wheat, have been able TO trade the
price of wheat downward.
Mr.. Meyer virtually points out
that it is impossible to saturate the
markets with rumors of an "over-
supply" without producing a CORE
spending price depression. He sets
his face toward counteracting such
rumors in the market for wheat by
asking the country to consider GER
tain tendencies and certain possibil-
ties Of a mitigating sort.
In his formal statement-and
also more fully in informed CON
versatile with this writer-Mr.
Meyer asserts essentially two things.
He asserts them with the backing
of six years spent here in Wash
ington dealing with markets-and
with market scares-from the pub
lie standpoint.
If these two things are verified
by subsequent experiences, the
wheat farmer is presently going
to find himself going up and ru.
raj radicalism Is going to find
itself going down.
European Stocks Low.
The first of these things has
to do with the wheat bins of
Europe. Mr.. Meyer assures this
writer that during his recent
tour of Europe he made search
ing inquiry among millers and
bakers and importers and found
that European stocks of wheat are
far below the pre-War level
He concludes that much of our
nresent Surplus" of wheat over
here is not true surplus" but is
simply storing of normal SUP.
ply in bins over here instead of
bins over there.
In the second place Mr.. Never
contends that the adjusting of
American wheat output to new con-
ditions Of restricted world demand
is already drastically going forward.
In oklahoma and Texas, for in.
lance. according to Mr.. Meyer, the
farmers have this year taken 3O0, 900
acres which they used to give to
| wheat and have Siven it to cotton.
These two unexpected factors
the lowness Of the current supply in
Europe and the reducing of the
prospective output in the United
States-seem now to Mr. Meyer to