The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1930-02-20
M'KELVIE ASSAILS
SPECULATIVE SALE
Marketing Losses Cost Farm
er S2OO,0OO,OOO Annually
Says Board Member
GAMBLING IS FOOLISH
Purpose of Federal Farm
Board Is to Minimize Cost
of Handling Products

Bismark, N. D., Feb. 18-Market-
ing losses cost the American wheat
farmer more than $2O0,0O0,0O0 an
nually, Samuel r. McKelvie, men,
Der of the federal farm board, rep
resenting the wheat industry, said
here last night.
Mr.. McKelvie stated the object
of the federal farm board is to
minimize this speculation, put con-
troll of wheat produced in this coun-
try into the hands of cooperative
agencies controlled by farmers,
and make the wheat market SUBJ
ject to laws of supply and demand.
He charged that at times the mar
ket reports appear to be designed
ito stimulate speculative interest =
Estimating the cost of the pres
ent Speculative" marketing system
at rs cents a bushel to wheat farm
ers, the federal farm board men,
Der read a statement which said:
"The agricultural marketing act
says that speculation in marketing
agricultural commodities and their
food products shall be minimized.
This is not a request, it Is a COM
mand.
TWENTY-FIVE times the annual
production of wheat is dealt in an
nually-this indicates the vast ex-
tent to which speculation exists II.
a single commodity-and I insist
that much of that speculation is
harmful.
cat least 40 per cent of this bust
ness is pure speculation by social
ed small investors-the public-and
the commission on that 8,000,000,-
600 bushels of speculative trading
is not less than $20,000,000. Near.
ly all of these spectators lose
their margin sooner or later, and
that amounts to many times the
commissions. Probably $200,000,-
600 would not cover these losses
annually, so that, all in all, total
speculative cost, plus loss runs up
ward of rs cents per bushel on each
years crop.
IT hold that that amount comes
out of the pocket of the wheat
farmer eventually, for it is part
of the cost of maintaining our pres
ent marketing system.
1.-THE legitimate seller" he con-
tinued, "who wishes to deliver at
future date, and the legitimate
buyer who wishes to take delivery
at a similar future date, may cas-
lily get together without all this
waste and loss in pure speculation
and when that time comes the mar
ket reports will be based upon more
facts and fewer wild predictions.
1.-THE federal farm board pro-
poses to hasten the day of wholly
legitimate trading in farm COM
modities by promoting farmer-own-
er farmer-controlled marketing
systems, wherey natural laws Of
supply and demand will have free
play, based upon the best infor-
nation available throughout the
producing and consuming world"
Mr.. McKelvie credited the Farm
ers National Grain Corporation
with preventing the slump In the
wheat market comparable to the
stock market slump last fall, al
though the two markets are not
necessarily related. He said the
marketing agency will be repre-
scented on the principal wheat mar
kets of this country and of the
world by the next wheat marketing
season.
AS proof of the effect of specu-
lation on the wheat market, Nc
Kelvie said that cash prices as
compared with the December OPP
ton prices last fall were an illus
tration. The difference, he said,
represented the amount which the
present speculative marketing sys-
tenn cost the farmer.
In addition to the present mar
keting system, he said, he foresaw
gradual development of a ware
housing system which would keep
grain nearer the farm, and pas
sage of a law which would prohibit
the selling of grain placed in ter
minal storage by farmers until they
were ready to sell.