Evening star., 1924-03-16
WHEATPR|CES0FF
I AS DUTY GOES UP
Raising of Tariff by President
| Fails to Bring About Mar
ket Advance.
BY HARDEN COLFAX.

Washington officials who are fol-
lowing with keen interest the Pres
ident's first exercise of tariff adjust
ment powers in raising the duty on
wheat 40 per cent a week ago read
to their surprise yesterday that
wheat prices had declined to the lowest
level reached since last August. The
drop in price averages about cents
bushel on the Chicago market in all
grades.
Advocates of a high protective tar
1H point to the market as vindication
for their claim that a tariff on food
StuffS produced in America Is purely
protective and has little. if any, bear
ing on prices to the ultimate consum-
er. They profess to see also a prece-
dent in this. the first major finding
of the tariff commission, which will
receive careful consideration by the
commission and the President in de-
terminlng the course to be followed
with respect to similar questions be-
fore the commission and'yet to be de-
cided.
Selling Wave Causes Break.
While the present decline in wheat
prices is attributed largely to a wave
of selling orders which broke over
the Chicago market during the past
few days, and is therefore entirely un-
connected with the tariff, the course
OF the market during the SIX trdOlnS
days elapsing since the Presidents
proclamation appears to have been
altogether unaffected by the mcreaS-
ed duty. At no time has the price
risen higher than a quarter of a
cent a bushel. notwithstanding the
tWeive-cent increase in the tariff.
Spot wheat is not affected by the
increased tariff which does not, under
the law. go into effect until thirty
days after the Presidents proclama-
ton. May. July and September de-
1iveries however, will be made within
the period affected by the higher
duty and it was assumed that these
deliveries would respond, at least to
some extent. by the supposed stimu
tds of higher import tax.
The following figures show. the
coarse of wheat prices per bushel at
Chicago on March 6, the day before
duty; March Z. the day of the an
pouncement. and March IS, a week
thereafter:
Delivery Mars Mar Mar, 13
May .sl.l1as s1.ll1s sl.o6
Suny Suly emil her 1.1Is? 11Ih lbs 1lI 1Ssis Ssi:
Flour Disregnrds Tariff Change.
Flour prices at Minneapolis also
appear to have utterly disregarded
the tariff increase of from 78 cents
to sI.o4 per 100 pounds. On March
flour was selling in that market
ped five cents to s6.35. The highest
point reached in 1924 was $3.50 and
that was attained more than a month
prior to the announcement of the
lowest price, s615, was touched jan
uary Is.
Representatives here of farm or
Plantations are warmly praising
the traiff. however. and claim that
without increasing the price of wheat
and flour to the consumer the higher
tariff will give new heart and pro-
by preventing Canadian growers from
flooding the market with wheat, pro-
duced at less cost than in this coun
try. The existing tariff, the farmers
shown to be inadequate to prevent
American growers from sustaining
large losses annually.
Sugar Tariff Also Discussed.
Within the next thirty days or SO,
1t is expected the tariff commission
will make recommendations to the
President with respect to the tariff
held shortly on the petition to rec
ommend reduction in the present
rate of 1.76 cents a pound. This pro-
poSal is Stoutly resisted by American
growers and producers of beet and
cane sugar and by Hawaiian and Po--
to Rican producers who also receive
the protection of the present tariff.
Americas chief source of sugar
supply is Cuba and the price of Gu
ban sugar at New York dominates
the market. Domestic producers are
preparing to utilize the wheat sit
uation in their effort to prove that
the tariff has no effect whatever on
prices to the consumer in the United
States except to make possible a
: large domestic production which in
turn prevents runaway market.
Without the present tariff. domestic
producers claim, the American con-
sumer would be wholly at the mercy
of foreign producers.
View Of Ref1ners.
Refining interests deny this and as
sert that the tariff holds up the price
to the consumer by nearly two cents
a pound. To that domestic producers
dissent, asserting that lowering of
weapon in refners' hands; that If
refners merely wanted to keep their
present profits they could do so and
reduce prices to the point of driving
domestic producers out of business;
otherwise, that a reduced tariff would
increase refiners' profits to an unwar-
ranted degree.
Both sides are preparing for
showdown before the commission
the last of this month in which it is
expected that the relation of the
tariff to the price of wheat will play
leading part.