Evening star., 1938-01-20
Costly Workings of the
tsEver.Normal Cranary''
10 the Editor Of The star:


10 the Editor Of The star:
January 10 in your editorial "Pros-
per1ty Formula" you say: AT first
thought there may seem wide gap
between controversies over freight rates.
overproduction and relief needs. Mayor
La Guardia sweeps sthem all together.
In both cases 1t is problem Of distribu-
ton. The single item Of transportation
is the major factor in the distribution
system"
Thanks awfully! You have touched
very family the most important question
confronting the whole world today. But
you are awfully wrong! Civilization de-
pends on agriculture because we have
to eat to stay civilized. Agriculture pro-
duces all the food there is or is to be.
Wheat sold at the farms in the wheat
belt at around 80 cents last October
when farmers had wheat they had to
sell. The freight Is about Is cents per
bushel. The millers grind the wheat for
the feed, so that grinding does not cost
q penny against the flour. There are
STA loaves Of bread In each bushel of
wheat. The bread sells at cents per
loaf. or $40 per bushel Of wheat. The
chain grocers bought wheat, had it
ground. paid the freight, baked the
bread in their own bakeries. Farmers
price, 80 cents; freight, Is cents: total
to pay, $1.05; selling price, $40; margin
OF profit, $4.35. When you say that Is
cents transportation charge Is the mai
factor in distribution, you should ex-
anime that $4.35 margin.
thought I heard a big breeze de-
rIorinU IL u011d fol La 1.:1
some monopolies How about killing off
this one that hurts every one more than
all the rest combined?
Last July wheat was quoted at SIPS
at Chicago. The crop report showed a
crop of 835,00OO 900 bushels and we onlv
need 60O,OOO,OO0. Had the crop been
short of 600,000,00O the price would
quickly have gone to $3.50 Had ar
rangements been made to sink 235. .OOO.-
oOo IN the ocean the price would have
gone up to $780, Had ARRANGEMENTS
been made to ship this wheat to Europe
and Asia 1t could have been sold at some
price. But the big breeze announced a
plan for an "ever-normal granary" and
this surplus wheat is to be stored and held
as permanent menace over the market
TO hold prices down forever. The price
quickly dropped to 80 cents.
This announcement. then, has cost
the American wheat grower 60 cents on
each bushel of 835,O0O.0OO bushels-a
total Of $501 900 900. This magnificent
sum was taken from the farmers and
nanoed to the chain grocery monopoly
by the very identical chap that is going
out to kill of monopolies. How fat they
Will get while he Is killing them!
When Secretary Wallace took half a
billion dollars from the wheat growers
and another half billion from the cotton
growers, then still another from the
corn and oats and barley crops, nat
urally these farmers quit buying goods,
retailers found their shelves were loaded
up. wholesalers could not move mer-
cnandlse and manufacturers had to shut
down. Who caused the big wind that
brought on this recession? Surely that
monopoly that permits the Department
OF Agriculture to depress prices of farm
crops at will. Find it!
A billion and a half dollars taken
from agriculture that normally should
nave bought billion and a half dollars
worth OF merchandise and paid near q
Dillon and half of wages in industry.
interest and taxes, and then been ready
10 ouy another billion or so of farm
crops. The stream was damned up bv
an "ever-normal granary.". Find the
man that did this this year and then
let the American people know who in
vented and proposed that "eyer-norma
granary. They will DO their own
uamnlng! HERB E. SHARP