Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-08-12
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National Topics Interpreted "a @SbA1@@@@aRmS
by William Bruckart TIEllHaE2
PressB Washington, D. c.

ing their bins empty and are faced
with the necessity of closing their
mills. It is this feature that causes
long range buyers to resort to what
is called hedging. That is, they sell
on option nearly as much as they
buy on contract. They are thus able
to Offset losses whether the price OF
wheat goes up or whether it goes
down and the losses or the gains
are distributed throughout the in
dustry. 1t is the only way by which
the industry can protect itself.
Mr.. Wallace's scheme proposes
doing away with that sort of thing,
not directly but through the effect of
the ever-normal granary. In other
words, the net result of the ever
normal granary would be for the
government to hold these stocks and
feed them into the market as de-
mand for supplies requires. This
sounds feasible and it probably
would be except for the fact that
we have no means of controlling
production in the other wheat pro-
ducing countries, and repeat that
I am using wheat as illustrative OF
all farm products. In fact, the Wal
lace plan provides no control of pro-
duction in this country and that
question is vital. AS far as can
see, nature is going to operate to
give us rain or give us drouth in
accordance with the judgment of
the Higher Power. No human is go
ing to be very influential in that
regard.
To get back to the question of the
price level, it should be said that
while the Wallace plan provides
what appears to be an insurance
against f1uctuation, it is more likely
to have the opposite effect. Be-
cause of the influence of world
prices, great storehouses Of wheat
in the country will hang over the
market like an epidemic. No one
can tell when it will strike and since
markets are made up of individuals
who are human, a portion of the
markets is always going to be
frightened by the uncertainty Of
when government wheat will be Of
fered for sale. It is a perfectly
human reaction because it involves
the pocketbooks and humans nat
urally want to buy as cheaply as
they can and sell as high as they
can.
| One of the things that happened
in the administration of President
| Hoover t h a t is
Tried Once sure to be remem-
and Failed bered is the utter
failure of his farm
policy. That farm policy conferred
at one time in what was called the
Federal Farm board. If you will 90
back few years and recall the op-
erations of the Federal Farm board,
think you will agree that the things
it undertook to do were exactly
comparable to, if not exactly the
same as, the scheme set up by Sec
rotary Wallace in his ever-norma]
granary idea. The only difference
that I can see-and I watched the
operations of the farm board from
close at hands a change in the
name. It must be admitted that
the phrase ever-normal granary has
pretty sound. But when it comes
to question of an attractive ex-
preston, one that is soothing and
one that should convince us all
that every problem is solved, sub
init those favorites which Mr.. Wal.
lace used to use when Professor Tug
well was with him in the Department
of Agriculture. Who does not re.
call the ''more abundant life," and
who has forgotten the doctrine Of
scarcity to assure plenty?"
AS far as know, neither the
house nor the senate committee or
agriculture has held hearings or
this ever-normal granary phase Of
the Wallace legislation. Thus far
the discussion has been largely or
questions involving benefits anc
subsidies and means of marketing
No attention has been given to the
ever-normal granary threat, and
regard it as menace.
If this discussion were devoted tt
only the consumer phase of ou1
economic life, think I should BIZ
selfish enough to urge enactment O.
the Wallace plan. I believe I car
see where the ever-normal granary
idea will make bread cheaper
where it will make cotton textile
goods cheaper and when cotton j!
cheaper other textiles are cheaper
and where other food and neces
saries of life that have their origin
on the farm will be reduced il
price by such legislative policy
But that is not my idea of sount
economic structure. 1t is just a!
necessary for the consumer to pa,
his fair share toward the mainte
nance Of a living agriculture as it i.
for farmers to pay their fair shar,
to a living commerce and industr,
Of whatever kind it may be.
The senate Democrats have elect
ed new leader to succeed the lat,
Senator Joe Robinson, Of Arkansas
He is Senator Alban Barley, O
Kentucky. In previous column
mentioned the split among the sen
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