' i r
-
«»>
t S
v/y;>.
UK delay In g ettin g this
w heat s ta rte d across
i
th e w orld w as occa-
r »lffV>»” -i
stoned by th e u n cer
ta in ju d g m en t of th e
m an ag er. He se n t a
sam ple on to th e S t Louis zone agent
fo r test, w hich verified his Judgm ent as
to grade. He then w fn t about his usu
a l d uties, cleaning th e grain , filling his
bins, and shipping o u t as reg u larly as
he could In m axim um carload q u a n ti
ties, In o rd er to econom ize th e use of
c a rs In tim e o f congestion. He w as
carefu l to keep his reco rd s very
s tra ig h t as to d a te s and q u a n titie s of
w h eat purchased, on hand, and shipped
out, fo r th e G rain C o rporation req u ire s
w eekly rep o rts an d full d e ta ils of
tran sactio n s.
Selling W h eat to G overnm ent.
BOUT 29 days a fte r th e
fa rm e r b rought In his
< J
w h eat th ere cam e a re-
r [
\ q
q u est to th is e le v a to r fo r
Mt W \i
a carlo ad to be p u rch as-
ed by th e G rain C o rp o ra
tion.
So one o f o u r
w h eat bushels w as p oured Into a c a r
w hich m iraculously h ad ap p e a re d on
th e siding a t a tim e w hen c a r sh o rta g e
■was tro u b lin g th e e n tire com m ercial
■world. In q u iry m ig h t h av e show n th a t
oublia
^>j / M
prl3 yCharksY.Hdm
an
Jill
the Country Genìleman)
reel supervision.
T he corporation
ch arg es each m iller 1 p e r cent o f the
value o f th e w heat he g rin d s to cover
th e costs of ad m in iste rin g th e cor
p o ra tio n ; for th e $50,000,000 cap ita l Is
to be re tu rn ed to th e U nited S ta te s
T re a su ry , unim paired.
T he ag reem en t has Its com pensa
tion, how ever, fo r th e policy of Uncle
Sam is to provide each mill w ith all
w heat possible. To do so, every mill
signing up w as req u ired to fu rn ish an
e stim a te o f its possible m illing cap aci
ty fo r th e season. T h is nation-w ide
survey of m illing cap acities, w hen bal
anced a g a in st th e a v ailab le supply of
w heat, enables th e G rain C o rporation
to eq ualize su p p lies in a w ay n ever
done before. In fact, th e schedule of
prices a rra n g e d fo r th e p rim ary m ar
k e ts had fo r an o b ject th is eq ualiza
tion. F o r In stan ce, if th e p ro p rie to r
o f an e le v a to r a t M aryville, Mo., 40
m iles n o rth e a st of St. Joseph, an d 456
m iles from Chicago, d esires to m a rk e t
w h e a t he h a s a v ailab le th ese m a rk e ts:
St. Jo sep h , M o .; K an sas City, M o.;
St. Louis, M o.; C hicago. 111., and New
Y ork C ity, N. Y. T o a sc e rta in th e
m ost a d v an ta g eo u s p rice fo r him , he
w ould w ork It o u t o n th e b asts o f th e
follow ing ta b le :
F rom th is ta b le you can see w h a t I
OUBLINQ th e fa rm e r’s !y an ad m in istrativ e arm of th e Gov
sh a re of th e w heat dol ern m en t form ed to buy grain or su p er
lar Is one of th e w ar vise ita ta le a t th e prices determ ined
tim e Jobs U ncle Sam b as by th e com m ission, and It m ust do ita
done since food control w ork on th e basis of the new grades.
becam e possible. A fter B ut to retu rn to o u r farm er and his
v jf
*
five m onths o f grap- exp ectatio n s of price.
pllng w ith th e problem ,
Introducing Two B ushels of W h e a t
U ncle Sum is now tra n s
Lying side by side In his wagon had
la tin g Into the pockets of both p roduc been 2 bushels of w heat th a t fate had
e rs an d consum ers benefits d erived by m arked fo r stran g ely different ends.
th e N ation. H e h as sh u t off sp ecu la T hey w ere very much alike, those
tion, produced a free m a rk e t an d bushels of w heat, and to look a t them
m ovem ent of all g ra d e s o f w heat, cu t you would not hnve suspected the
expenses and induced a norm al flow of stran g e and w onderful a d v en tu res in
w heat in n a tu ra l directio n s, and e f store fo r them . Yet one w as destined
fected a thousand o th e r econom ies.
to trav el abroad fo r consum ption In
T he Food A dm in istratio n G rain C or F ra n c e ; the o th e r to find Its wny Into
p o ratio n , w hich su p e rv ise s th e sale, o r G eorgia, w here It w as milled and its
Itse lf buys every bushel o f w heat p ro flour finally reached a New York
duced In th e N ation in Its progress b ak er on the E a st Side. B u t In th e
from co u n try e le v a to r to foreign buy sum of th e tra v e ls m ad e by th e two,
e rs o r dom estic consum ers, m ark s a as we shall follow them , will be un
new ste p to w ard n a tio n a l efficiency. folded th e In tern atio n al p an o ram a of
How In fo u r sh o rt m o n th s It h as been w heat m ark etin g In tim e of w ar.
done Is told In the follow ing episodes
Finding a P rice a t a C ountry P o in t
w h erein tw o bushels o f w h eat trav eled
High w ar costs of production gave
to m a r k e t
O ne fine fall afte rn o o n , Col. Bill our M issouri fa rm e r much concern as
Je n k tn s, w ho fa rm s som ew here In Mis to h is re tu rn s and accounted fo r his
souri, loaded his w h eat Into a w agon depression e v e r th e pro sp ects of his
an d drove along th e black road th a t Wheat “grad in g dow n” ; fo r th a t m ean t
led a c ro ss (he p ra irie to tow n. W hen a reduction of 3 c en ts p e r b u sh el un-
b e re ach ed th e co-o p erativ e e lev a to r ■der th e Ne. 1 g rade. B u t It g raded
o f w hich he w as a stockholder, be No. 2.
11,1.11......... irfT rift
The e le v a to r w ould also deduct an
pulled up on th e scales, checked his
g ross w eights c arefu lly , and began is ad d itio n s; 5 cents a bushel to cover the
■ {■ ' ! * '
unload. T h e m a n a g e r cam e o u t an d fixed ch arg e m ade In th is locality for
handling and selling.
T he 5-cent
ask ed :
“W hen you w an t to sell th is w h eat?” charge Included th e com m ission o f l
"I dunno,” he an sw e re d .
“O ne cent p e r bushel cu sto m ary in 1917
tim e ’s about ns good a s a n o th e r— am ong com m ission men fo r selling the
III
th e s e days. ’T w o n 't w eigh an y m o re w heat to dom estic 'm illers o r foreign
buyers.
la t e r ,” fee added, w tfh a d ry sm ile.
T he elev a to r m an w as none too su re
“ W h e a t sh rin k s a lo t,” a d m itted th e
m an ag er.
“I h e a r th e G overnm ent as to how to get a t the p rice w hich
w a n ts as much w h e a t ao it can get this w heat should bring, li e knew
Ju st now —u n d e rsta n d The A llies do considerably mono a b o u t hum an n a tu re
th an freig h t ra te s and decided to
« a t a te rrib le lot o f It sin ce th e -w ar.”
‘•W hat’s w heat to-dayT ’ ask ed Col. “Check up” th e problem to th e n e a re s t
»one ag en t o f th e G rain C orporation.
Je n k in s, g e ttin g In te re ste d .
“ W ell, let :oe see,” pnrleyed the So he w rote a le tte r to the re p re se n ta
m an ag er. “I guess th is w heut'd be a tiv e statio n ed a t St. Louis. T h a t let
t e r w as re fe rre d to th e traffic e x p e rt
good No. 2 u n d er th e new g rad es.”
“G ra d e s? W lmt a b o u t g ra d e s? T h a t dn the New York office, w ho tra n sm it
F o o d A d m in istratio n seem s tom ilx Into ted th e follow ing ru le fo r determ ining
m ig h ty nigh ev e ry th in g from ra b b its the price of w heat a t a n y country
p o in t;
to a x le g rease.”
T h ere is only one price fu r w h eat at
“ Hold on. C olonel,” said ISie eleva
t o r man, good-naturedly. “T h e Food a cou n try point. T h a t p rice Is alw ays
A d m in istratio n is n o t to blam e. Con to be a rriv é e a t by ta k in g as a basis
L oading W h e a t a t an A tla n tic P o rt fo r th e Allies.
g ress passed th e a c t and told th e De th e price a t th e m ost ad vantageous
p a rtm e n t o f A g ricu ltu re to fix the p rim ary m a rk e t w here w e ttrv e fixed
th e G rain ■Corporation w as m aking a w h e a t would brin g a t five d ifferen t | g rad es. T hey becam e effective last a price and deducting th e fr e ig h t ta
th a t m a rk e t and a fa ir han d lin g profit.
larg e p u rch ase fo r th e A llies an d w as m a rk e ts If shipped from M aryville, i -iul.v. I se n t out a le tte r on It.”
utilizing Its know ledge o f av ailab le Mo.:
“W ell, I guess -you b e tte r sell fo r T h a t Is th e price to be paid Tor w heat
St.
St. K a n s a s
stocks by h a v in g on th e Job a tr a n s
■the best yon can,” said t h e farm er. a t an y sta tio n , reg ard less of th e point
L ouis,
Jo se p h . C ity
O. C.
p o rtatio n s tra te g is t—E dw urd C ham F . m A.
“I am needed a t hom e.” And he drove to w hich K m ay be shipped.
Mo.
Mo.
Mo.
a rk e ts .
W orking out th e price w hich should
bers, vice p resid en t o f th e S a n ta Fe. B a se p rice .................. 02.15 $2.15 $2.18
■away.
be paid f e r w heat a t your sta tio n is
.1175
.095
Mr. C ham bers w as a ssistin g th e Food R a te p e r 100 p o u n d s .065
A
New
O
rd
er
In
th
e
G
rain
W
orld.
.055
.0705
a fine occupation fo r an off day. ’i f
A dm inistration and h a s a re m a rk a b le R a te p e r b u s h e l........ .039
2.1096
2.095
2.111
C N V E nS A T IO N S o f th is you c a n n o t find th e an sw er, w rite to
“w ay w ith h im .” E ven befo re he w as N e t p r i c e .............
N ew
V
t
kind m ight have taken th e Food A dm inistration G<raln C or
called to a ss ist M r. McAdoo, th e TMrec- K. A. O. C.
C hicago. Y ork
'
place in alm o st every
p o ratio n 4c New York C ity and Its
to r G eneral, h is sug g estio n s to th e ra il
C
ity.
III.
m a rk e ts.
l
town In th e g reu t grain
traffic e x p e rt will give you ntd.
.$2.20
$2.28
ro a d s had a w ond erfu l efTect In d is B a se p ric e .................
h a lt of th e N ation * ft- Finding th e P rice of No. 8 W h e a t a t
, .1475
.3005
couraging th e ir h esita n c y a s to finding R a te p e r 100 p o u n d s
.1803
R a ta p a r b u sh « !____ ....... . .0885
e r A ugust 1 0 ; fo r revo
a v a ilab le c a rs and in c lea rin g u p con N et p ric e ..................
Slkeston.
2.0997
lu tio n In .grain m ark et
g estio n s th a t looked a s though th e y
AKE an actu a l e x a m p le :
U nder th ese conditions th e p ro p rie to r : in g w as tak in g place.
U
ncle
Sum
n e v er could be uncongested.
An e lev a to r m an In
w ould probably sell ut St. Jo sep h or 'h ad s ta rte d on th is re m a rk a b le ex
Slkeston, Mo., w anted
H ew U n d e 'S a m K eeps th e W hip
Chicago, according to his Inclination, j p e r im e n t; he w as g o in g to aee w h eth
to know w hat price
E a se In g e ttin g th e needed c a rs w as
T h e ta b le fu r th e r Illu stra te s th e [ e r w h eat could be m a rk e te d m inus
No. 2 w heat should
one o f th e ad v a n ta g e s enjoyed by th is eq u alizatio n of p rices an d In d icates to
rake-offs to tb e sp e c u la to rs, (This
bring a t hi« statio n
p a rtic u la r e le v a to r a f te r signing th e w h at e x te n t th e m iller is p ro tected [n ecessitated com plete con tro l by the
w hen No. 1 w h eat
v o lu n tary ag reem e n t w hich ceded to when buying w heat In any te rrito ry . ■Government o f sto ra g e facilities, tra n s
th e G rain C orporatio n th e rig h t to con T hro u g h thla p lan d iscrim in atio n s
p o rta tio n and d is trib u tiv e agencies, a t N ew York C ity w as $2.28 p e r bush
tro l sto ra g e an d d ire c t sh ip m e n ts an d a g a in st th e producer, th e m iller, an d j a n d th e m ark etin g m ach in ery fo r el. H er* Is how h e w en t sh o u t U :
T h e fre ig h t ra ta from Stkestoa ta
sale s o f all w h eat b o u g h t by th e p ro th e co n su m er a re 'e lim in a te d so f a r as
w h e a t an d rye.
p rieto r.
it seem s bum auly possible u n d e r a
E verybody w as tr o u b le d ; m ost o f New York being lfl.08 can ts p e r bush-
W hile voluntary, th is a g re e m e n t Is p lan o f such trem en d o u s proportions.
a ll, th e officials o f th e F o o d A dm inis el, be deducted th a t from $2.28 p er
alm o st com pulsory sin ce ra ilro a d s give
tra tio n G rain C o rp o ratio n w ho bad bushel an d found tbe price a t Slfcestoa
H E S E schedules a rra n g u n d e rta k e n , w ith o u t s a la ry . a n d a t tb e to be $2.U©2. From thla be deducted
p rio rity recognition to G ra in C o rp o ra
ed fo r th e v ario u s sa c rific e o f th e ir p erso n al -connection 1 p e r c e n t n e r bushel fo r th e com m is
tion re q u e sts fo r c a r s ; a n d e le v a to rs
m a rk e ts a re v e rita b le w ith th e g rain tra d e , te w nip in to sion firm ’s charges, which p u t ttio net
, o r m ills o utside th e official fold m ust
“p rice d am s” to pre- s h a p e th e forces th a t would d riv e fo r price f. o. t . Slkeston a t $2.1002.
“ru s tle " fo r them selves. In re tu rn th e
H e n ext com pared this price w ith
vent th e overflow ing w a rd th e big b u sin ess m ach in e fo r
G overnm ent g u a ra n te e s th e e le v a to r
o f th e
stream
of m a rk e tin g A m erican w heat. A sin g le w hat he eould get If be »old a t S t
p ro p rie to r a g a in s t losses a n d p ro te c ts
w heat a t any single c o n tr o l; and a $50,090,90© nonprofit- Louis, h is o e arest p rim ary m ark et. At
him In every w ay a s to p rice a n d pay s
SL L ouis th e basic price is $2.1$ p er
him re n ta ls fo r all sto ra g e sp ace req u i m ark et. T hey also ten d to co rre c t
m ak in g co rp o ratio n to do th e w ork.
m any ab u ses p re v a le n t In th e past,
T h is w ork is a n ecessary a rm o f th e bushel, and the freight ra te from
sitioned by I t
Slkeston to-St. Louis 6 cents p e r hush-
All elev ato rs, local a n d term in al, such a s c u tth ro a t m ethods adopted by Food A d m in istratio n , allow ing th e
el. T h is would m ake the Slkeston
m
ills
to
secu
re
su
p
p
lies
and
Indiscrim
i
G
overnm
ent
to
do
b
a
sln
e
m
quickly
m ust ta k e out licen ses o r fa c e a sh u t
s a d w ith o u t red tape. Its sto ck Is held i price $2.12, less 1 cent per bushel fo r
dow n. W hat Is th e pow er o f th e li n a te m oving of w h e a t to term inals.
F o r all p ra c tic a l p urposes th e w h eat la tr u s t by th e P re sid e n t o f th e U nit- j selling charges, o r $2.11 neL T he S t
ce n se ! It req u ires th e o p e ra to r to lay
ed S ta te s. F o r th e tim e o f th e w ar It Louis price w ould th erefo re govern,
all c a rd s on th e ta b le a s to h is busi b u sin e ss o f th e co u n try Is apportioned,
being ad v an tag eo u s to the Slkeston
n e s s dealings. F o r th e tim e o f th e a n d w h en ev er possible m ills a re su p will -supervise th e r a te o r p u rchase
seller.
plied
from
w
h
eat
In
th
e
te
rrito
ry
n
ear-
|
tb
e
p
a
r
t
com
m
ercially
a
v
a
ila
b
le
of
the
I
w a r th e e lev a to r becom es a p ublic u til
If o u r Im aginary 2 bushels o f w heat
ity an d I ts p ro p rie to r m u st fu rn ish in e s t them . T h is policy h a s fo r an ob- 600/100.000 bushels o f w heat an d the '
had s ta rte d from Slkeston, since It w as
fo rm a tio n a s to his b u sin e ss a t an y Ject th e sav in g o f w aste In tra n sp o r- 1 00,009,900 su rp lu s of rye grow n In
in a n o th e r way saving Is A m erica in 1917. Its Job Is to find a a No. 2 grade, we m ust deduct 3 cents
tim e w hen req u ired by th e G rain Cor tatio n .
p er bushel, w hich would bring the
p o ratio n . E ach w eek b e m u st m ake m a d e : F o rm erly la rg e q u a n titie s of ' m a rk e t fo r every bushel. Irresp ective
price f. o. b. th e elev a to r point to
u
n
d
e
rg
ra
d
e
w
h
eats
have
been
difficult
o
f
cla
ss
and
g
rade.
U
nder
its
p
a
tro
n
a n d m all re p o rts show ing th e am o u n t
$2.0802 p e r bushel. As our Im aginary
•of w heat, rye, o r th e ir d e riv a tiv e s, p u r to d ispose o f on acco u n t « f unco-ordl- j age, w heat screen in g s a re m oving Just
n ated p u rc h a se o f th e com peting m ills ; a s easily a s No. 1 N o rth ern . It m ust e le v a to r mnn Is charging 5 cen ts per
chased, stored, and shipped.
bushel fo r handling, which Includes
but u n d e r U ncle S am 's dom ination
also w ork out sa tisfa c to rily th e local
U nder p resen t license term s, th e li
each bu sh el of w h eat m ust now go p rices fa r w heat a t each o f alm ost th e com m ission fee Just m entioned, we
censee can keep on h and fo r only 30
som ew here an d th e p o o rer w h eat will 20,000 co u n try e le v a to r points, a d ju st •deduct an additional 4 cents to a rriv e
days, unless he o b tain s a special p er
move Ju st as fre e ly a s th e m o re de th o u san d s o f com plaints, organize th e a t th e price the farm er received. T his
m it, an y sto ck s o f th ese g ra in s o r
sira b le grad es.
g a th e rin g a n d an a ly sis o f d a te . Inspect p rice w ould he $2.0402 a t the elevator.
th e ir derivatives. H e is also fo rbid
concerns
rep o rted a s d ealin g u n fairly, S em e o f th a t 4 cents will re tu rn to our
den Is co n tract fo r th e sale o f any
L im iting M illars' Profits.
fa rm e r If th e elev a to r prospers ; fo r It
solve
v
exatious
d isa g re e m e n ts am ong
p ro d u ct w hich can not be d eliv ered
Is o w ned co-operatively.
T h e n iiM ie m iller w ho received the
th e tra d e , ai*d deal effectively w ltn the
w ith in 80 days a f te r th e c o n tra c t Is c a rlo t c o n tain in g o a r bushel o f w heat
W hen F a rm e r and E Jevator Man D is
a
llie
s’
p
u
rch
asin
g
a
g
e
n
t
and
th
e
neu
m ade.
m illed It p rom ptly an d shipped Its flour tra ls who may d e sire to purchase.
agree.
How th e W h ea t W as Milled.
to a p o rt fo r ex p o rta tio n . T he m iller
In th e early days, follow ing th e de
H ad th is elev a to r been owned by p ri
A w ay w ent o u r bushel of w heat on w as p erm itte d b y th e Food A dm inis term in atio n of p ric e s fo r 1917 w heal v ate firm o r person, o r had It been a
Its Journey to th e term in al, w here It tra tio n to m ake a fa ir profit, not ex by th e P re sid e n t’s F a ir P ric e Commis “lin e” p lan t, Col. Je n k in s would not
m et o th e r b ushels o f w h eat from all ceeding a m axim um o f 25 c en ts p er sion, confusion e s ls te d In every p a rt of have been so hlnnd and tru stfu l.
p a rts of the te rrito ry th a t fed th is b a rre l on th e flour a n d a m axim um ‘th e w heat-producing regions. T h is w as
R e m ight have refused to sell a t all
m a r k e t T h ere It w as reg ard ed fo r profit o f 50 c e n ts p e r ton on th e feed Intensified by th e In au g u ratio n o f the and arra n g e d to sto re his w heat o r h t
special requirem ents, m arked fo r Im stuff* le ft over. All mills, how ever, new g rain grades, a s p rom ulgated by m ight have taken It over to a com
m ediate m illing and rolled on to a m ust fu rn ish a t re g u la r In terv als to the D e p artm en t o f A griculture, which p etltlv e concern w hich offered a high
la rg e mill In Illinois.
T h e m iller th e M illing D ivision full sta te m e n ts of took place ab o u t th e sam e tim e, and e r p r i c e ; f o r the Food A dm inistration
bought th e w heat from th e G rain C or m a n u fa c tu rin g costs, w hich a re sc ru led lo div erse co m p lain ts and a feel b as not yet attem p ted to reg u late the
po ratio n , fo r each m iller In th e U nit tinized carefu lly . T h e d e riv a tiv e s of ing am ong fa rm e rs th a t th e G rain Cor prices paid fa rm ers for w heal a t coon
ed S ta te s Is u n d er license also, and th is w h eat th e m iller sold fo r dom es po ratio n o f th e Food A d m inistration try points. It dees, how ever, offer to
m ost o f them h av e filled o u t a n o th e r tic consum ption, as th e policy o f th e
w as responsible fo r both th e p rice a* sell fo r any fa rm e r or fa rm e rs’ organ
v o lu n tary ag reem en t w hich h inds them G o vernm ent Is to keep In th e U nited determ in ed and s tric te r o bservance of ization w heat offered a t te rm 'n a l
e ith e r to purch ase all su p p lies from S ta te s all av a ila b le feedstuff* In o rd e r g rain grades. B ut th e co rp o ratio n w as p aints, b u t m akes a com m ission charge
th e G rain C orporatio n o r u n d e r Its <1- to eu co u rag e live-stock pro d u st l— .
rtso sn slb lo fo r n e ith e r a c t It Is p u re. of 1 p e r oent fo r its eervloea.
L
This page is printed at the of the Pood Administration to show the people how the wheat problem is handled.
Milling C anadian W heat.
| i f /« g H Il.E o u r bushel w as
being m illed a carlo t of
w heat reached th is mill
from Canndn. Im p o rta
tion of C anadian w heat
w ithout special consent
being forbidden, the mill
o p erativ es becam e curious and m ade
inquiries. T h is w heat w as p a rt of a
large supply which the G rain C orpora
tion had brought inio th e U nited S tates
to aid In keeping the A m erican mills
running.
T h ere w as an o th e r reason. Domes
tic w h eat w as not m oving from the
farm s as freely ns the m illers needed
it, and sh o rtag e forced the m ills to
o p erate a t a g re a t d isad v an tag e and,
according to them , a t h ig h er costs.
T he la s t Journey sta g e o f o u r first
bushel, alth o u g h considerably changed
In its form , w as to go a s flour to p o rt
u n d er rush orders. It now had rig h t
of w ay over all o th e r classes of freig h t
except o th e r m unitions of w ar. Con
se n t o f th e W ar T ra d e B oard being
obtained. It w as loaded on a ship and
p assed safely through th e su b m arin e
field to F ran ce, w here It succored the
hungry.
W e s ta rte d o u t to follow th e tra v e ls
o f tw o b u sh els of w h eat from th e fnrm
to th e ir points of consum ption under
w a r condition w ith th e U. S. Food Ad
m in istra tio n In control of the m a rk e t
ing. I have previously discussed the
Journeys o f these tw o bushels from
The farm to th e e lev a to r a t th e country
point. H e re th ey p a rte d and one of
them p assed on to a term inal, an d
from th e term in al to a mill and from
th e mill to seaboard. T h e re It w ent to
F ra n c e fo r consum ption.
T he O th er Bushel of W heat S ta r ts
T raveling.
OW as to th e o th e r bushel
of w heat.
A certain
G eorgia m iller, In need
o f supplies, notified the
G rain C orporation an d
received perm ission to
buy on th e open m ark et.
A bout the sam e tim e o u r co-operative
e lev a to r m an ag er had listed a shipm ent
w ith his term in al re p re sen tativ e— a
highly rep u tab le com m ission firm, also
u n d er G rain C orporation license. T his
firm caught w ind of th e G eorgia o rd er
and secured perm ission to sell th e Mis
souri w heat. T he second bushel w as
am ong those poured in to a e ar and
h ustled along to its d estin atio n . T his
Shipm ent did not pass through any
term in al m ark et. It moved stra ig h t
to A tlan ta, w here It w ent betw een the
ro llers of th e mill.
C ontrolling th e Jo b b er by License.
Now, th e flour w hich cam e from our
second bushel of w heat w as rolling
serenely along In a n o th e r direction,
b u t th e c a r w as diverted by special o r
d e r of the U. S. Food A d m in istrato r
and received by a large w holesale Job
b er In New York City. T h is Jobber
also does business u n d er a Food Ad
m in istratio n license, b u t ad m in istered
by th e d istrib u tio n divlson. U nder li
cense term s th e Jobbers m ust sell a t
a fa ir profit only, although the ex act
am ount of th is profit Is n o t d e te rm in
ed, the Food AdrnVvistratlon re s e rv in g
the rig h t In each case to eartl a h a lt
w hen a licensee has gone “th e lim it.”
m eans of control of the re ta ile r by
m aking 'lie Jobber a v o luntary police
m an to his custom er. T h e Jobber is
licensed to sell only to tra d e rs w ho
deni fairly , and If It should tu rn o u t
th u t a Jobber p e rsists In doing busi
ness w ith re ta ile rs guilty of profiteer
ing In stap les u n d er control the Food
A dm inistration h as and may exercise
th e rig h t to revoke the license of th e
Jobber.
T he o th e r p a rt of th is shipm ent con
tained o u r second bushel of w heat and
w ent over to the E ast Side Into a sm all
bnkery, w hich quickly m ade It Into
cream y loaves.
T hese loaves w ere
placed In groceries and delicatessen s
and th e n ext day w ere efften by hun
gry little boys and girls w ith d a rk
eyes and big noseo and q u ain t w ays.
B rings O ut S tartlin g T ru th s.
G overnm ent control has brought o u t |
th ese s ta rtlin g tr u th s :
More people unnecessarily m ake
th e ir living out of w heat d istrib u tio n
th an w as suspected. T housands anfl
th o u san d s of little sp ecu lato rs havsl
had to tu rn elsew here fo r a livelihood,
A num ber of com m ission men have
had to close shop. T h ere a re places
w here elev ato rs should be built an d
o th e r places w here th ere a re too many,
elevators. T h e G overnm ent, dom inat
ing the w h eat m ark et, ca rrie s Its ow n
m arine Insurance. W heat hnndlers a t
term in als hav e had th e ir activ ities re
stricted .
B ut m ost o f all It Is In terestin g toi
see how th e p rice of flour p e r b a rre l
tum bled from th e tim e U ncle Sam took
a positive h and In th e m atter. T h e
Food A dm inistration has recen tly com
pleted an In terestin g c h a rt on th e
prices of w h eat and bulk flour a t Min
neapolis. In a sta te m e n t of Novem
b er 26, th e Food A dm inistration s a y s :
T h e fa rm e r receiv ed fo r th e 1914 har
v e st b e tw e e n $1.45 a n d $1.50 p e r b u sh e l
fo r th e h a r v e s t, ta k in g th e c o u n try b y
la rg e an d • • *. L a st y e a r h e re c e iv e d
u n d e r 20 p e r c e n t o f th e p ric e of th e loaf.
T o d a y h e is re c e iv in g o v er '0 p e r c e n t o f
th e m o n ey pRld fo r th e c ash loaf, th is
b e in g th e re s u lt o f th e s ta b iliz a tio n of
p ric e s an d th e to ta l e lim in a tio n of h o a rd
in g an d sp e c u la tio n In th is In d u stry .
T he sta te m e n t rep o rts th a t fa rm ers
on N ovem ber 26 w ere receiving w ith
freig h t ch arg es Included from the te r
rito ry rep resen ted to M inneapolis, a p
proxim ately $9.50 fnr 4 Vi bushels o f
w heat.' T he price of hulk flour a t th e
M inneapolis mill Is about $10.25 p er
b arrel, show ing th a t th e m iller Is novr
receiving about 75 cents p er b arrel,
w hich m ust Include both his o p eratin g
expenses and profit.
URINO Inst Ju ly and Au
gust, w Idle C ongress w as
w restling w ith Itself to
produce n food adm inis
tra tio n , and th e re w as
no G rain C orporation,
flour production In th e
principal c en te rs w as 75
per cent u n d er the sam e
period In 1916. In Septem ber, O ctober
and November, u n d er the supervisloa
o f the Food A dm inistration, flour p ro
duction w as 114 p er cen t of th e sam e
period In 1916. W hat th is m eans In th e
g re a t n ational situ atio n , w ith depleted
dom estic flour reserv es and clam oring
foreign buyers, can h ard ly be ovei*
em phasized, when m ovem ent of w heat
Into p rim ary m a rk e ts h as been hardly
M I I WÊËâmÊmWM.
wmar
Bucce at te T h is W ar D epends L arge ly on A m erica's N ext W heat Cropi. I,
T h e New York Jobber took fo r his
ew n, In this case, a profit of 50 cents
p e r b arrel. H e sold p a rt o f th is ship
m ent to a retail m erchant.
T h is m erch an t did a sm all business
and w as not licensed, b u t even h ere
w as a n o th e r social check. F o r th e
re ta il m erch an ts of th e larg e cities
and th o se o f m any sm all cities and
tow ns find each m orning and a fte r
noon In th e dally p ap ers a price list
fo r floor and o th e r com m odities which
a re considered fa ir by th e F ederal
Food A d m in istrato r fo r th e ir S tate.
T hese prices a re usually a rriv ed a t
through th e m achinery o f th e w hole
salers’ and th e re ta ile rs ’ organizations.
T h e re ta ile r also discovered th a t the
Jobber who sold him th is floar w as
keenly In terested In the prices paid by
th e consum er. F o r th e Food Adralnts-
t n t l e e be* discovered s s Indirect
h a lf th a t o f a y e a r ago, o r 100,000.000
bushels less. It w as nothing sh o rt of
m aster strateg y .
T he to tal num ber o f b ushels p u r
chased by (he G rain C orporation from
the tim e It com m enced activ ities to
F e b ru a ry 1 Is 97,276,145.59. A rranged
by m onths, the p u rch ases In bushels
w e re : Septem ber, 7,841,209.20: O cto
ber, 19,359.646,50; N ovem ber, 30,920,-
074.26; D ecem ber, 21,456.240.06, and
J a n u a ry 17.698.066 08.
D uring Ju ly and August o u r flout
export* w ere sh o u t the sam e s s In the
sam e tw o m onths of 191«; hut In Sep
tem ber, O ctober, and November, th s
ex p o rtatio n w as 60 per cent target
th an a y e a r ago. So the G rain Cor
poration h as discharged our obllga-
tle n s to the slllee. and restored o at
flour roeerves. which Is the larger a e
poet e f the quest!««.