Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-01
COffee-Wheat Transaction
Fires American Imagination

Great differences of opinion have de-
veloped as to the deal Of the American
Farm Board for an exchange of $780,
600 bushels Of surplus wheat for 050,-
600 bags Of coffee held by the Brazilian
government. Economic value of the
exchange is a subject for argument.
Unprecedented barter, however. appeals
to the American imagination, and leads
to the query as to how far the exchange
of commodities is likely to go.
"BraZils purchase China's bid for q
vast amount on credit and other I'M
disclosed negotiations do not come as
a surprise to any one who has not
been suffering from hysteria.' declares
the St. Louis Times, with the predic-
ton: Wheat is not going to remain
at its low 1t will increase in price
as other less favored lands come here
to make up their depleted stores. If
all of our potential customers come up
to Uncle Sans counter it may be that
flapiacks will be a luxury for breakfast
along about the middle of January"
The Rochester Times Union suggests
good results in the future" offering
the explanation: Brazil has not been
large importer of American wheat:
this country has always been a large
importer of Brazilian coffee. We have
opened new trade relations with that
country. This plan does not require
payment of money by Brazil to secure
our wheat. And the amount of coffee
which We receive from Brazil will re-
duce the amount of coffee that we
would pay for in cash if this barter
had not been made"
* Xxx
1.-The gigantic swap seems eminently
wise. 1t should prove mutually bene-
fetal" in the opinion of the Chicago
Daily News, which states further: THE
success of the ingenious device by
which two great nations mitigate the
effects of their economic f1irtatlons
with the law of supply and demand
perhaps will lead to similar arrange
ments with other countries emoar-
raised by commodity SURPRISES In the
case of China. Impoverished py cMii
war. communist instructions ana dis
astrous floods affecting millions OF
peasants and city jewellers, barter APP
pears to be out of the question. China
needs gratuities, not loans, to alleviate
the suffering in its starving provinces.
AT a time when international eX-
change and domestic exchange are no!
working satisfactorily with money ano
credit as a medium remarks the To-
neka Daily Capital 1.-The Farm Board
cuts cross lots and performs lCs olin e,.u
I
tenn" That paper asks: Are nations
to exchange SURPRISES, thereby not only
avoiding the use Of money, but credit
charges and interest on money!" The
Duluth Herald concludes that the ext
gencies of this mad period, when people
are hungry because there is too much
food, seem to have driven us back tc
the primitive" The Wheeling 1ntelll-
gencer, suggesting that more deals OF
this character could be undertaken to
advantage" and calling the exchange
"the most sensible step yet taken to
help straighten out the tangled snarl
of world supply and demand" asserts
ut is doubtful If there exists a world
overproduction of the necessities OF life
The trouble is with distribution. II
such exchanges as are now under way
can be carried on without disruptine
trade, they should be encouraged"
There is a six-month supply of cof-
fee for the American farms already or
The shelves of the stores or in the whole
sale warehouses Of this country" AYERS
| the Fort Worth Telegram, with
the suggestion: Maybe Brazil can use
the American wheat. We hope so. II
| is too bad If trading on such colossal
scale contains nothing more than grief
| for both traders" The New York
Times asserts: IF 25,o00,000 bushels