The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, June 11, 1918, Page 8

UR delay in getting this wheat started across the world was occa- sitoned by the uncer- tain judgment of the manager, He sent a sample on to the St. Louis zone agent for test, which verified his judgment as to grade. He then went about his usu- al duties, cleaning the grain, filling his bins, and shipping out as regularly as he could in maximum carload quanti- ties, in order to economize the use of cars in time of congestion. He was careful to keep his records very straight as to dates and quantities of wheat purchased, on hand, and shipped out, for the Grain Corporation requires weekly reports and full details of transactions. Selling Wheat to Government. BOUT 29 days after the farmer brought in his [x wheat there came a re- \ quest to this elevator for ‘ a carload to be purchas- ed by the Grain Corpora- tion, So one of our wheat bushels was poured into a car which miraculously had appeared on the siding at a time when car shortage was troubling the entire commercial world. Inquiry might have shown that rect supervision, The corporation charges each miller 1 per cent of the value of the wheat he grinds to cover the costs of administering the cor- poration; for the $50,000,000 capital is to be returned to the United States Treasury, unimpaired, The agreement has its compensa- tion, however, for the poliey of Uncle Sam is to provide each mill with all wheat possible. ‘To do so, every mill signing up was required to furnish an estimate of its possible milling capaci- ty for the season, This nation-wide survey of milling capacities, when bal- anced against the available supply of wheat, enables the Grain Corporation to equalize supplies In a way never done before. In fact, the schedule of prices arranged for the primary mar- kets had for an object this equaliza- tion. For instance, if the proprietor of an elevator at Maryville, Mo., 46 miles northeast of St. Joseph, and 456 miles from Chicago, desires to market wheat he has available these markets: St. Joseph, Mo.; Kansas City, Mo.; St. Louis, Mo.; Chicago, IIL, and New York City, N. Y. To ascertain the most advantageous price for him, he would work it out on the basis of the following table: From this table you can see what Loading Wheat at an Atlantic Port for the Allies. ‘the Grain Corporation was making 4 jlarge purchase for the Allies and was iutilizing its, knowledge of available stocks by having on the job a trans- portation strategist—Edward Cham- bers, vice*president. of the Santa Fe. Mr. Chambers'was assisting the Food Administration and has a remarkable “way with him.” Even before he was called to assist Mr. McAdoo, the Direc- tor. General, his suggestions to the rail- roads -had a wonderful effect in. dis- couraging their hesitancy as to finding ‘available cars and ‘n clearing up con- ‘gestions that looked as though they mever could be uncongested. How Uncle 8am Keeps the Whip Ease in getting the needed cars was ‘one of the advantages enjoyed by this ‘particular elevator after signing the vuluntary agreement which ceded to the Grain Corporation the right to con- trol storage and direct shipments and sales of all wheat bought by the pro- prietor, While voluntary, this agreement is almost compulsory since railroads give priority recognition to Grain Corpora- tion requests for cars; and elevators, or mills outside the official fold must “rustle” for themselves. In return the Government guarantees the elevator proprietor against losses and protects him in every way as to price and pays him rentals for all storage space requi- sitioned by it. All elevators, local and terminal, must take out licenses or face a shut- down. What is the power of the li- cense? It requires the operator to lay all cards on the table as to his busi- ness dealings. For the time of the war the elevator becomes a public util- ity and its proprietor must furnish in- formation as to his business at any time when required by the Grain Cor- poration. Each week he must make and mail reports showing the amount of wheat, rye, or their derivatives, pur- chased, stored, and shipped. Under present license terms, the li- censee can keep on hand for only 30 days, unless he obtains a special per- mit, any stocks of these grains or thelr derivatives. He ts also forbid- den to contract for the sale of any product which can not be delivered within 30 days after the contract is made, How the Wheat Was Milled. Away went our bushel of wheat on its journey to the terminal, where it met other bushels of wheat from all | parts of the territory that fed this | market. special requirements, marked for im- mediate milling and rolled on to a large mill in Tinos. The miller bought the wheat from the Grain Cor- poration, for each miller in the Unit- ed States is under license also, and most of them have filled out another yaluntary agreement which binds them either to purchase all supplies from the Grain Corporation or under its dl- wheat would: bring at five different markets if shipped from Maryville, Mo.: St. Kansas &t. F. A. G. C. Joseph, City Louis, markets. Mo. Mo, Mo. Base price $2.15. $215 $2.18 Rate per 065.095 «1175 Rate per: bushel 039.055.0705 Net price .... 2.111 2.095 2.1095 New F.A.G.C Chicago, York markets. Ti City. Base price $2.20 $2.28 Rate per 100 pounds 14753008 Rate per bushel 0885 1803 Net price’... 2.1115 2.0997 Under these conditions the proprietor would probably sell at St. Joseph or Chicago, according to his inclination, The table further illustrates the equalization of prices and indicates. to what extent the miller is protected when buying wheat in any territory. Through this plan discriminations against the producer, the miller,‘and the consumer are eliminated so far as it seems humanly possible under a plan of/such tremendous proportions, ez HESE schedules arrang- ed for the various . 4 markets are veritable h “price dams” to pre- { N a { vent the overflowing of the stream of s wheat at any single market, ‘They also tend to correct many abuses prevalent in the past, such as cutthroat methods adopted by mills to secure supplies and indiscriml- nate moving of wheat to terminals. For all practical purposes the wheat business of the country is apportioned, and whenever possible mills,are sup- plied from wheat in the territory near- est them, This policy has for an ob- ject the saving of waste in transpor- tation, In another way saving ts made: Formerly large quantities of undergrade wheats have been difficult to dispose of on account of unco-ordi- nated purchase of the competing mills;: but under Uncle Sam's domination each bushel of wheat must now go somewhere and the poorer wheat will move just as freely as the more de- sirable grades. Limiting Millers’ Profits. The Illinois miller who received the carlot containing our bushel of wheat milled it promptly and shipped its flour to a port for exportation. The miller ; ‘was permitted by the Food Adminis. ' tration to make a fair profit, not ex- ceeding a maximum of 25 cents per barrel on the flour and a maximum There it was regarded for| profit of 50 cents per ton on the feed- stuffs left over. All mills, however, must furnish at regular intervals to the Milling Division full statements of ; manufacturing costs, which are scru- tinized carefully. The derivatives of this wheat the miller sold for domes- tic consumption, as the policy of the Government is to keep in the United States all available feedstuffs in order to encourage live-stock production, A Milling Canadian Wheat. ‘ar HILE ‘our bushel was Wt 1] being milled a carlot of ty wheat reached this mill from Canada, Importa- tion of Canadian wheat without special consent being forbidden, the mill operatives became curious and made inguiries, This wheat was part of a large supply which the Grain Corpora- tion had brought into the United States to aid in keeping the American mills running. There was another reason. . Domes- tic wheat was not moving from the farms as freely as the millers needed it, and shortage forced -the mills to operate at a great disadvantage and, according to them, at higher costs. The last journey stage’ of our first bushel, although considerably changed in its form, was to go as flour to port under rush orders, It now had right of way over all other classes of freight except other munitions of war. Con- sent of the War Trade Board being obtained, it was loaded on a ship and. passed safely through the submarine field to France, where it succored the hungry. We started out to follow the travels of two bushels of wheat from the farm to their points of consumption under war condition with the U. S. Food Ad- tuinisteation in control of the market- ing... I have previously discussed the journeys of these two bushels: from the farm to the elevator at the country. point. Here they. parted and one of them passed on to a terminal, and from the terminal to a mill and from the mill to seaboard. There it went to France for consumption. : The Other Bushel of Wheat Starts IN fF Traveling. OW as to the other bushel of \wheat.. A_ certain Georgia miller, in need of supplies, notified the Grain Corporation and received. ‘permission ‘to buy on the open, market. About the same time ‘our co-operative elevator manacer had listed a shipment with: his’ terminal, representative—a highly reputable commission firm, aiso under Grain Corporation Mcense. This firm eaught wind of the Georgia -order and secured permission’to se.l the Mis- sourl wheat: The’ second ‘bushel was among those ‘poured into: a. car and hustled along to its destination. This shipment did not pass” through any terminal market, ‘It moved straight to Atlanta, where it went be:ween the rollers of the mill. 4 Controlling the Jobber by License, Now, the: flour which came*from our second bushel, of wheat , was rolling serenely along in another .direstion, but the car was diverted by special or- der of the U. 8. Food Administrator and received by a large wh6lesale job- ber ‘t’*Néw York City. This jobber also does business under a Food Ad- ministration license, but administered by the distribution divison. Under®ll- cense terms the jobbers must sell’ at a fair profit only, although the exact amount of this profit is not determin- ed, the Food Administration reserving the right In each case to call a‘ halt when alicensee has gone “the limit.” The New York jobber took for his own, in this case, a profit of 50 cents per barrel, He sold part of this ship- ment to a retail merchant. This merchant did a small business and was not licensed, but even here was another social check, For the retail’ merchants of the large cities and those of many small cities and towns find each morning and after- noon in the daily papers a price list for flour and other commodities which are considered fair by the Federal Food Administrator for their: State. These prices are usually arrived at through the. machinery of the whole- salers’ and the retailers’ organizations. The retailer also discovered that the jobber who sold him this flour was keenly interested in the prices paid by the consumer. For the Food Adminis- tration has discovered an indirect means of Control of the retailer by making the jobber a voluntary police man to.his customer. The jobber is Neensed to sell only to traders. who deal fairly, and if Jt should’ turniout that: a Jobber. persists in doing busl- ness with retallers guilty of profiteere ing in staples under, control the Food Administration has and may ‘exercise the right to revoke the lcensée of the Jobber. . ‘The other part of this shipment con- tained our second bushel:of wheat and went over to the East Side into'a small bakery, which quickly made’ it;into creamy: loaves? These loaves “were Placed in grocefies and delicatessens and the inext:day*were eaten “by hun- gry. little: boys: and girls with ‘dark eyes and big noses and quaint ways, Brings Out Startling: Truths, ‘Government tontrol has brought, out’ these startling truths: ‘ More’ people unnecessarily: ‘make their lying out_of. wheat’ distribution than was’ suspected. “Thousands, and thousands; of little: speculators «have had to turn elsewhere fora livelihood, A number of’ commission -men: have had to close shop, There‘ are: places where elevators: should be ‘bullt- and other’ places where there are too many elevators. The Government, dominate ing the wheat market, carries its own marine insurance, Wheat handlers. at terminals have: had. their activities re- stricted. But most of all it s interesting to see how the price.of: flour-per barrel tumbled from the time Uncle Sam took a positive hand in the matter. The Food Administration has recently com- pleted an interesting chart on the prices of wheat’atid bulk flour-at*Bfin- neapolis. In a statement of Novem- ber 26, the, Food Administration says The tarmer received for’ thd 1916’ har- vest between: $145. and $1.50 per bushel for the. harver ing the country by large and * .. Last year he received under 20 percent of the price of the loaf. Today he ts receiving over 40 per cent of the money pad. for:-the cash’ loaf,.this being ‘the result of the stabilization of prices and:the total. elimination of hoard- ing. and. speculation ‘in this: industry. ‘The statement reports that farmers on ‘November fere ‘receiving “with proximately ‘$9.60 ,for 4% ‘bushels, of wheats, ‘The: price-of bulk flour, at the Minnenvols ‘mil iin: Corporation, flour ‘production in ‘the * principal ‘centers was:75 per cent under'the same pertod in 1916, In ‘September, October and November, tinder ‘the’ supervision of. the Food Administration, flour pro- duction was 114"per cent of the same period in 1916. What this means.in the great national situation, with depleted domestic flour reserves and clamoring foreign buyers, can hardly be over emphasized, when movement of wheat info primary markets has been hardly Success in This War Depends Large ly on America’s Next Wheat Crop]. half that of a year ago, or $00,000,000 bushels less. It was nothing short of master strategy. The total number of. bushels pur- chased by the Grain Corporation from the’ time ft: commenced activities’ to February 1'ts 97,276,145.59. Arranged by months, thé, pufchases tn’ bushels were: September, 7,841,209.20; Octo- ber, 19,359,646.59; November, 30,920,- 074.26; December, 21,456,249.06, and January, 17,698,966.08. During July and August, our flour exports were about the. same ag in, the same two months of 19163.but In Sep- tember, October, “and November, the exportation. was 50 per cent larger than a year ago. So the Grain Cor poration ‘has discharged our obliga- tions to the allies, and restored onr flour. reserves, which ig the larger as pect of the question, J OR eee aaa WILL HIGHER FREIGHT MEAN LESS FOR WHEAT? The ‘North Dakota council of defense has under consideration petitions for an increase in price of wheat which wills absorb: 25 per cent advance ‘n yreight rates recently aungunced by ¢ Director General McAdoo, to become effective June 25. The council will carefully investigate the effect of this increase on the price of wheat, Farm- ers in North Dakota are paid on a basis of $2.20 at Chicago, less freight. lt, is claimed that the higher freight rates, will make # difference of almost six cents per bushel to wheat raisers. Inasmuch as the federal government has given the farmer an iron-bound guaranty on his 1918 wheat, based on treight rates now in force, the council is confident that some provision will be made to reimburse growers for any reduction which may result from high freight. For County: Justice. W. S. Casselman | hereby announces his candidacy for the Republican. nom- ination for County Justice of Burleigh county and respectfully. solicits’ the support of the voters.» +6-10-to-6-26. Tribune Want, Ads Bring Results. co-operation, ALIEN ENEMY WOMEN MUST BE REGISTERED) Every alien enemy woman 14 years | old or more must register within a days beginning June 17, or face the possibility of being interned for the period of the war, announces the North Dakota council” of defense. By “alien enemy women"—or “fe- males” to use the term of. the Presi- dent’s proclamation,—is meant all those of 14 years of age or over who were’ born in Germany or Austria- Hungary and are not fully naturalized ‘themselves, if they are single, or whose husbands are not fully natural- fzed,*if they are married. “Actually naturalized” is the term used in the proclamation, which is interpreted by the Department of Justice to mean completely naturalized—that is to say that. they have received their last naturalization papers. Merely to have taken out first papers will not serve to avoid registration. Native born women married to unnaturalized Ger- Ynans or Austro-Hungarians are also included. Nine week days are set aside for the registration of enemy alien women “|=June 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25 and 26. In cities given a population of 5,000 or more by the Census of 1910, registration must be made under the direction of police officials—in police ‘precincts where there are such, and at police headquarters otherwise. in cities of less than. 5,000 inhab- Automobile Owners: Filtered er Gallon Until further notice, we will fur: nish gasoline at the above price." ‘We suggest to automobile owners that: whenever possible they purchase their gasoline from dealers who are equipped and prepared to extend them various cour- tesies and services other than to pump gasoline into their tank, and in so doing keep your ‘money at home and build up home industry instead of | sending your money east and building.up -eastern corporations. At 277-10 cents for gasoline, it is a matter of service to our trade rather than profit to us, and we ask your Lahr Motor Sales Company, Corwin Motor Company, Dakota Motor ‘Company, Motor Car Supply, Company, , Western Sales Company, Bismarck Motor Company, Missouri Valley Motor Co. 5 F = E = ange uote itants and in rural community town-/| enumerated which claim to be raising“ ships women must register with the postmasters, and the places of reg- istration will be the post offices. Finger prints must be taken at the time of registration, for purposes of indentification, and four clear, wun- mounted photographs must be fur- nished. After registering, alien enemy women will not be permitted to move from one community to another with- out obtaining the consent of the reg- istration officer. Good citizens throughout the state are asked to cooperate with registra- tion officials and see that all alien enemy women are registered, or re- ported. DON’T GIVE MONEY FOR WAR WORK UNLESS YOU KNOW WHERE IT’S GOING The following agencies overating un- der authority of war and navy de- ments commissions on training camp activities have received the sanction of the state council of defense: The Young Men’s Christian association, Young Women’s Christian association, Knights of Columbus’ war camps as- sociations, Salvation army and Jewish Welfare board. The Red Cross, Lib- erty Loan and War Savings Stamps movements, it goes without saying, have the endorsement of every govern- mental agency. Organizations other than those bere money for war. work should be refer- red to the county councils or the state council. of credentials. If they are legitimate and essential, they will bear investigation. ..1f not, it will afford our citizens an opportunity to save their money for investment in such activi- nek through properly regulated chan- nels, Instances have been reported to the council of defense where well-inten. tioned organizations have raised sub- stantial sums through public subscrip- tion only to find, after its collection, that it ‘could neither be used nor re- turned to the donors. STICKNEY TO CHICAGO Medical Advisor to Attend Mili- tary Officers’ Meeting Dr. V. J. Stickney, medical advisory officer to Governor Frazier, left last evening for Chicago to attend a con- ference of army medical officers call- ed_for June 12, 13 and 14 Away with DEADLY POISONS FRAT CORN KILLS RATS MICE AND GOPHERS “OR SALE BY Finney’s Drug Store, ‘Bismarck, N. D.