Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 312, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 January 1918 — Fixed Price for Wheat Protects Farmer From Danger of Overproduction [ARTICLE]

Fixed Price for Wheat Protects Farmer From Danger of Overproduction

By DR. H. J. WATERS.

President of Kansu State Aricoltnral CoDcge

Today there is only one side on which any loyal American may be found, and that is the side of the Stars and, Stripes. Since we are at war it is necessary for us all to make and the smallest sacrifice anyone can make is the sacrifice of money. Price fixing is a new business to a democracy like ours and it necessarily causes some confusion and some dissatisfaction at first, particularly since it has had to come in a year when the available wheat supply was the lowest in many years and when the demand was perhaps the highest in history. The farmer cannot help feeling that his product under unrestricted sale would bring a much higher price than the government dares to fix. It is to be remembered, however, that the fixed price of *2.20 in Chicago is for the entire 1917 crop and continues in effect until July next, when the guaranty of not less than $2, fixed by congress, becomes operative. Moreover, while the world is short of available wheat, there actually exists a surplus of this crop. Australia has a reserve of 180,000,000 bushels, which ia being offered at $1 a bushel, and there is the prospect of an additional surplus of 100,000,000 bushels at the coming harvest in that country. In India there is in sight a surplus of nearly 100,000,000 bushels and in Argentina of approximately 70,000,000 bushels. If active fighting should cease and peace negotiations begin, these supplies, added to what is obtainable m Canada and the United States, would be thrown immediately on the market, depressing the price here, as well as elsewhere, to probably $1 a bushel. This does not take into account the vast resources of wheat in Russia,-which cannot be reached in time to affect the sale of the 1917 crop. The government price recently fixed protects the American farmer against any decline in the wheat market. While the present guaranty is based on a small crop and will furnish no subsidy to the farmer but will rather call for a sacrifice on his part, we are likely to have under normal crop conditions a billion and a quarter bushels next year. Under the government guaranty this will be sold for at least $2 a bushel.