The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 7, 1917, Page 12

oS ncle Sam to Market Crop Food Dictator For the War, Herbert C. Hoover, Tells Northwest Farmers Proposed Plans of the Government BY HERBERT E. GASTON Washington, D. C.,, May 31.—Meas- ures are under consideration by Presi- dent Wilson and his advisors which, if they become effective, will practic- ally sliminate the grain exchanges and boards of trade as factors in the grain market for the duration of the war. Complete control of the storage warehouse system of the country by the federal government, complete con- trol of the transportation system by the same power and a price for grain fixed by a board having behind it the authority of the government are im- mediate probabilities. I am able to make these positive statements as the result of a remark- able interview granted by Herbert C. Hoover to members of the delegation of Northwest farmers here to appear before committees of congress on the food supply regulation problem. Mr. Hoover, who, as chairman of the Com- mission for Relief in Belgium, organi- zed and directed the most wonderful business enterprise the world has ever known, is the man who has been chosen by President Wilson to solve the food problem of the United States and her allies in the present war. He is to become food administrator, to be appointed by the president under the authority of acts now before con- gress. ; WANTS THE ADVICE OF THE FARMERS Mr. Hoover, coming directly from a conference with President Wilson, with great frankness told the repre- sentatives of the North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana and Wis- consin farmers just what steps the administration has in mind. The steps he outlined have not been definitely decided upon, he made plain, but are under consideration. “We want your advice on these things,” he told the farmers' delega- tion, and he plied them with a. number of pointed questions regarding grain production and the grain market. The conference bhetween Mr. Hoover and the representatives of the grain growers took place in Mr. Hoover's apartments in the New Willard hotel. The meeting had been arranged for 9:30 in the evening, but it was after 10 be- fore Mr. Hoover returned to his apart- ments to find his visitors awaiting him. His delay was due to the fact that President Wilson had held him at the White House discussing the very ques- tions he took up with the farmers' representatives. ALLIES HAVE ASKED THE U. 8. TO BUY Mr. Hoover smoked in silence for several minutes swhile Congressman George M. Young, J. M. Anderson of the Equity Exchange and others out- lined the situation faced by the farm- ers and their difficulties in ordinary vears in marketing their grain at a fair price. It was after asking a few pointed questions regarding the discrimination against farmers' compnnies that Mr. Hoover made known the plans being made by the goverrment for control of the grain situation. The most important feature of these plans is based on the fact re- vealed by Mr. Hoover that the European allies of the United States have asked the federal gov- ernment to act as a middleman and to buy for them all the grain this country can spare. “They have agreed,” said Mr. Hoover, “to take all the grain we can furnish them, of any grade and at whatever price we find it neces- sary to set.’ The plan decided upon by President Wilson and others of the administra- tion, in consultation with Mr. Hoover, is to use this purchase requirement as a “stabilizer,” to hold the price of grain constant. MAY CREATE BODY TO BUY ALL GRAIN But this will not be all the govern- ‘ ment’s activity as a buyer, if the plans under consideration are adopted. The TUnited States government will take immediate charge of all exports of grain. No neutral lands will be per- mitted to buy, except through the agency of Uncle Sam, grain commis- sglon merchant. : These purchases, Mr. Hoover antici- pates, will amount to 15 to 20 per cent of ‘the whole American crop. But there was something bigger yet. “I want to describe to you,” said Mr. Hoover, “another step that is in con- templation. You must understand that this has not been defintely decided upon. It is merely a proposal and I want to know how you regard it. “It is that we create a body to buy in all the grain for the gov- ernment and to sell it out. “The great difficulty we face now is that the nomal stabilizing factors of peace times have been removed. In ordinary times there ‘are IEuropean markets which act as a balance of each other and the American market. Now it is all in one pool. The result is there is no stability. “If we took this step of buying in all the grain, of course this body would practically fix the price at which all grain would be sold. I#we come to the point where we have to dominate the price we must crcate a body fitted to determine faiily what the price ought to be. “On such a body the producers—the farmers—must be represented strong- ly, and the consumers must also be represented. Then we must also have a few strong and independent men to help in forming a disinterested and fair judgment.” Remarks by Senator Tom Pendray, former Congressman Kelly of South Dakota and F. A. Bennett of Montara, regarding the price question elicited from Mr. Hoover a striking statement that will go a long way toward assur- ing the producers of the Northwest that the food market problem is in the hands of a man of real visian and broad understanding. MINIMUM PRICE TO ANSWER LARGE PRODUCTION “IF WE COME TO FIXING A PRICE FOR GRAIN,” said Mr. Hoover, “WE MUST ESTABLISH AS A MINIMUM A PRICE WHICH WILL ASSURE A LARGE PRODUCTION. WE MUST NOT HAVE MERELY A REASON- ABLE LEVEL, BUT ONE WHICH WILL STIMULAT PRODUCTION. THAT MEANS A HIGHER COMPAR- ATIVE LEVEL OF PRICES THAN WE HAVE HAD IN THE PAST. “THERE IS A SOCIAL AND ECO- NOMIC PROBLEM HERE FAR DEEPER EVEN THAN THE MERE MATTER OF A TEMPORARY STIM- ULUS TO PRODUCTION. “THERE IS NO PANACEA FOR FOOD DEFICIENCY SHORT OF MAKING THE FARM PROFITABLE. THERE IS NO USE OF TALKING - ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE BACK TO THE LAND UNLESS WE ADOPT THIS METHOD. “The plain and simple fact about ' food shortage is that there is an overplus of consumers and a shortage of fdod producers. FOOD SUPPLY TO BE SHORT FOR THE NEXT TEN Y(EA\RS “It is necessary, to stimulate produc- tion and this must go on after the war. I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT THE WORLD IS GOING TO BE SHORT OF FOODSTUFFS FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS.” Members of the delegation grouped themselves around Mr. Hoover and listened even more intently as he pass- ed to the subject of the “spread” be- tween the prices received by the pro- ducer and those paid by the consumer. “Somewhere between the price the consumer pays and the price the farmer gets,” he said, “there is a tremendous waste. This is not all due to the avarice of the mid- dleman. A large part of it is due to instability of price and the de- sire of each dealer to protect him- self by a higher margin. “If the difference in price was 20 per cent before the war it is now 50 per cent or 60 per cent. This should not he allowed to continue. “My own view is that we must at- tack this problem of a closer margin of trading first of all.” CONFERENCE DISCUSSES THE GRAIN EXCHANGES The question of what was going to be done with the -grain exchanges and boards of trade was raised. “If the government adopts this plan of buying all the grain of course that will mean the elimination of the grain exchanges,” was suggested. - Mr. Hoover smiled. “I imagine,” he said, “there’ll not be much left for them to do.” IIe paused a moment -and then added: ‘I HAVE A FEELING THAT THE EXCHANGES WILL NOT BE MUCH OF A FACTOR THIS YEAR. THEY THEMSELVES ARE FRIGHTENED AT WHAT THEY HAVE BROUGHT ON. MEMBERS OF THE GRAIN EXCHANGES THEMSELVES ARE IN FAVOR OF 'ACTION BY THRE GOVERNMENT TO CONTROL THE MARKET.” “If the government does not buy all the grain there will be some action to control the grain exchanges, will thers not?” was asked. - “Yes,” said Mr. Hoover. “If we do not take over the buying, steps will be taken to regulate the exchanges so that TWELVE there will be no trading except on the basis of ownership.” > = GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF TERMINALS IS ASSURED BUT, FURTHER THAN THIS, THE GOVERNMENT, WHETH- ER IT BUYS THE GRAIN OR NOT, IS VERY LIKELY TO TAKE OVER AND OPERATE ALL ELE- VATORS AND STORAGE FA- CILITIES, BOTH AT INLAND TERMINAL AND AT SEABOARD POINTS. If that is done, a board will probably be appointed to fix a fair price for the use of the properties. Mr. Hoover made it rather plain that he wanted congress to give the administration the power and the funds to take entire control of the wheat crop. s “I suggested,” he said, “the appro- priation of one hundred million dol- lars . with which to implement this machinery. This appropriation would not be a loss. It would be a marginal fund for financing the buying of grain. In other words, working capital for the grain business. It would have nothing to do with the money appropriated for administration.” | TRANSPORTATION AND EXPORT CONTROL TO BE FIRST STEP “One of the first steps planned by the administration in regulating the food supply is to be the control of export shipments and the rigid control of transportation of foodstuffs. “We are going to have much more difficulty in moving the grain this year than we had last,” said Mr. Hoover. “The allies have been buying and shipping in large quantities in the fall, Instead of these heavy shipments as a relief to the congestion of storage fa- cilities this year they will ship in quan=- tities only just sufficient to keep them- selves going. We want to take advan- tage of all our facilities for storing. The farmer is going to be compelled to hold his wheat for a longer time.” It would be impossible, Mr. Hoover said, to make anysereat increase in the number of cars or the amount of stor- age facilities, but it was hoped to “lu- bricate” the system of transportation by stopping all unnecessary transfers through government control and by making shipments to seaboard only at such times as ships would be waiting to receive them. - DELEGATION ASSURES HOOVER FARMERS DOING THEIR BIT Mr. Hoover asked the farmers pres< ent about the probable size of the crop. He was assured that the farmers had been making every effort to increase their production this year, in spite of heavy obstacles. “Nearly all my neighbors,” said Sen- ator Pendray, “have increased their acreage as a matter of patriotic duty. We are going to raise all the.wheat we can. We have had great difficulty in getting help. Three boys who had expected to work for me enlisted and left me with ten horses idle for a time. “Wives of three of my neighbors have been driving teams in the field.” Mr. Hoover showed interest/ in the fact that agricultural implements have greatly increased in price and that the farmers were assuming a great risk of heavy loss in planting seed woth $3 and even more, a bushel. At the close of the interview he gave what he said was a “hot tip,” to the farmers of the Northwest. Here it iss HOGS SURE MONEY MAKERS DURING AND AFTER THE, WAR “If you want to make money both during the war and after it is over ‘—especially after it is over—raiss hogs. “When the war stops they'll get " back to raising grain in Europe pretty quickly, but they can’t sup- ply their lack of hogs so soon. They are badly in need of fats and oils and they wil pay a big price for pork and *pork products. There’s going to be a big ‘market for hogs.” { ITé A “CUTE SLOGAN" “Carry the truth to the people,” that -cute slogan coined by The Shepherd of the Flock, promises to become just as famous as that other epigram: “Go home and slop your pigs,” promulgated four years ago by one of the othep prominent speakers at the ‘“Anti-So- cialist convention.” — BOTTINEAT COURANT.