Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1932-02-11

The recent spectacular rise in
wheat, starting from October 5 when
the price was down to Al So cents
per bushel, seems to be helping all
other commodity markets TO rise, and
also stocks and bonds. 1t looks now
like vigorously upward moving wheat
may prove the high powered engine
to draw the whole train Of American
agriculture, industry and ~financa,
around the lucky horseshoe bend to
prosperity ahead.
+ And what started this big move
in which wheat may regenerate Am
erican prosperity The main answer
seems to be found in Soviet Russia,
where conditions always deserve our
careful watching for the effects on
our own economic we'll being. For
the past several months Russia seems
to have been practically eliminated
as an exporter Of any wheat worth
milling Not only thai, but the Soviet
has been buying back contracts to
supply European countries with
wheat that it just simply could not
collect even from its owl state farms.
and worse still only 40 2-1O percent
from its own highly mechanical
state farms. In 1880 Soviet Russia
shipped out 95 million bushels of
wheat and was announcing that,
thanks to its collective and state
farms and mechanization Of agricul-
ture, it intended to export at least
125 million bushels in 1881. But up
to August first of this year it ship
ped only 55,40O, 900 bushels from the
present crop, and at prices evident
" 80 to 40 percent less than it got
a year age. Since August first the
shipments have petered out, and
dwindled to almost nothing, and what
has been shipped seems almost
worthless in quality. 1t looks now like
the total exports for 1881 will hardly
be much above go million bushels.
and perhaps about half of what was
intended. If any other shipments Of
| good wheat occur the rest of the year
1t wit prubabfH4 BE- not from surplus
but by practically taking the bread
out Of the mouths of its own hungry
people on the theory the Soviet gov
eminent needs gold more than they
npe1l the staff of life
Would Lay Blame
The Soviet would probably like to
lay the shortage in its harvest to
"acts of God" except that it has de-
MED the existence of God. But OF
course the late spring and very late
seeding, followed later by ~blistering
hot and dry weather, and then bella
ted rains creating downaours right
over such wheat as was harvested,
| whether or not the acts of a bias
phemed God, cused tremendous re-
duction of the crop and then the
very low prices received, due largely
to the Soviet's own sinister and bear
ish influence in world markets, made
of this years wheat growing front
a miserable fiasco from the stand
| point of the Five Year Plan now per
ilously near financial catastrophe
From our own American stand
point the present situation in wheat
is in very agreeable oontrst to cir
c~lmstances Of a year ago when the
big Soviet bear had the nerve tt
come right to the wheat pit of thf
!, Chicago Board of Trade and on q
very sick market sell short immense
quantities of wheat. There was then
CONSERVATION and fright amongst
our grain producers and our grain
producers and our grain trade. VIZ
were all extremely worried lest So
Wet Russia would completely kill our
own wheat industry. The directors Of
that great American institution, the
Chicago Beard of Trade, always not
ed for it's patriotism, as soon as they
had identified the big red bear in the
pit as, the ursus OF Soviet Russia
took prompt action 10 expell thu
brute. They passed a resolution
which ought to be a standing inspIr'
alton and spine-stiffening example
to Congress to embargo this ret
monster from any chance whatever
to lay its paws on anything American
In plain language that ringing res
olution Of the Board of Trade hrec
tors denied facilities of trading II
any foreign power, on account of tn
possibilities of national peril inner
emit in such transactions by foreign
governments having fai
vaster than those Of any individual
traders and also possessing unlimit
ed monopoly powers. And thus TIN
Soviet bear was definitely kicked our
OF the Chicago wheat It. NevHthe
less, by continued dr. ping, regard
less of price, it consinned till JUS
lately to injure AMI depress not only
world grain markets, but the oil
lumber, cotton and many other mar
kets.
But it looks now like the day o
reckoning for the Soviet is close y