Evening star., 1932-06-25
With Cut in Expected Surplus,
Wheat Becomes Influential

Prospects Of reduced wheat crop
and efforts to employ the limited ac-
cumulatiors Of the Farm Board for re-
lief, linked with world conditions, create
q new position for that commodity and
arouse interest in its relation to general
conditions. 1t is thought possible that
this grain may lead the procession back
to normal
In 20 countries wheat production
will apparently be per cent less than
last year." points out the Portland
Oregon Journal, adding that with co.
000,0 900 bushels of wheat still held by
the Farm Board. to compare with 200.-
900, 900, the quantity formerly held by
the board, and with efforts being made
to get rid of the reduced hold over, OBJ
servers are hopeful of an uptuTn." The
Oregon paper concludes: Just as up
turn of agricultural products is con-
ventionally the first herald of returned
general prosperity, so an upward move
on the part of wheat usually points a
more favorable way for other agri-
cultural products. And in the mean
time it is scarcely likely that the Farm
Board or any other Federal agency will
ever again accumulate a staggering
quantity of wheat in the name of
stabilization. when the effect is chiefly
to handicap the future"
The Red Cross has done notably
good work" says the Philadelphia
Public Ledger with the 10000, 900
bushels of Farm Board wheat turned
over to it for relief last March. The
provisions of the present proposal, al
lowing the wheat to be traded for any
sort of food and the cotton to be traded
for finished cotton products, would
widen the scope of the relief work, pos
sible But, from an economic view
point, the removal of virtually all the
Farm Board wheat from the threaten
ing position it has held over the market
for the last two years would be Of
primary importance A year ago the
board held 257,000,000 bushels OF sur
plus wheat, a decided factor in the
movement of grain prices. With that
removed and the 1882 wheat crop one
of the smallest In 10 years, prices un-
doubtedly would resume their natural
movement this Fall, and that move
ment presumably would be upward.
When is a crop failure not crop
failure7" asks the Harrisburg Tele-
graph, with the comment: The an
swer is, in a year like this, when the
Weld of Winter wheat. according 70
Government reports, will be All ,OOO, 900
bushels, 366, 900 900 Bushels less tnan
last year Only twice in recent years
has the crop been smaller.
This ought to be benef1clal TO the
growers rather than detrimental. for 1t
promises a rise in the price OF gram
instead of the reduction to ruinous ng-
ures that would have resulted from an
other bumper crop. With Congress
planning another distribution OF stored
wheat to feed the needy and the Gov
ernnent endeavoring to finance the
sale of more grain abroad, next Winter
may see the country restored to some
thing like a normal basis With respect
TO wheat in storage, with resultant ben
efits to the farmer and everybody else. y
The people OF the world are eat'',C
I'D the surplus" observes the Omaha
world Herald. That paper voices Tn
Judgment: There Is no danger OF a
wheat famine, but there iG evidence tina
the surplus Is moving downward toward
a normal quantity. In the meantime
the prospect Is for short crop, not
only In our own. but al some OF the
other surplus-producing wheat coun-
tries. So far thee sigaF haze had no
effect upon our dcmcct'e market. A
market reporter ascribel some OF its
weakness to the uncertainty which pre-
walls over what the Farm Board may