Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1936-08-13

How important a political issue can
be made out of the falling off in ex-
ports of American farm products and
the increase in imports of staple food
supplies is the latest question on which
political observers here are focusing
their attention. How much of the cur-
rent situation is due to natural aus
or conditions outside of governmental
control ard how much to political
measures, is the root of the argument.
The facts as Washington gets them
are something like this:
The oversupply of surplus wheat
which has been depressing the world
market for several years, has been
practically consumed, resulting in
higher prices. The worlds normal car
ryover of surplus wheat is about 3Oc,-
600, 900 bushels. All the reports which
the Department of Agriculture regards
as reliable indicate that the surplus
for the year to come will be just about
this normal carryover. Of this the
United States crop of 1886, amounting
to 600, 900 bushels, and the supply of
old wheat carried over, lbs 900, 900 bu-
shells, will leave an American surplus
of about 100, 600 900 bushels.
Wheat consumption is increasing
all over the world and this fact, coup
led with the worldwide shortage, will
tend to keep prices up. Of course, it is
much too early to forecast the Argen-
tine and Australian crops, where it is
now mid Winter or early Spring.
In the meantime, American wheat
imports are up this year over last
ear. These imports are for special
grades Of wheat in demand by mil
hrs, which are normally grown in the
Northwest and of which the crop has
been short for the past six years. In
he first six months of this year of
fetal figures show that 1896, $50 bu-
shells of wheat were imported from
abroad, compared with 12,839,O47 bu-
shells in the corresponding period of
1885.
| Corn and the Drouth
Official Washington is more con-
cerned with the corn crop than with
the wheat crop. If the drouth contin-
ues to the middle of this month, the
Department of Agriculture's estimate
is that the corn crop will be less than
half of the normal 2,500,0OO 900 bush
els, and even with good weather and
plenty of rain, the corn crop will be
about 900, COO,O 900 bushels short of the
normal $500, 900 1000.
So far this year imports of corn have
been less thar one-third of what they
were in the first half of 1895; 1862, 215
bushels against 17,620,195 in the same
period last year. There has been a
sharp decline in the importation of
oats and of butter.
On the other side of the scale, ex-
ports of wheat have dropped to prac-
tically nothing, though cotton exports
have beer higher on the average in
1896 than in 1885.
1t is this falling off of agricultural
exports and the rise in agricultural
imports which gives the politicians of
both parties concern The opponents
of the Administration assert that ex-
ports have fallen because the Govern
ment has created an artificial scarcity
and an artificial price level, while i'm
ports are rising not only because of
this scarcity but because of the Adj
ministration's reciprocal tariff policies.
Administration supporters say that
so far as tariff Influence goes the pol
Try Of the previous administrations
made it difficult for foreign customers
to get dollars with which to buy Am
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