102 



terioro'', and its quality is unimpaired, whenever it is 

 handled by grain elevators. 



There are no huge accumulations of sacks at the 

 ports, or heavy expenses to bear for returned empties; 

 and above all there is no question of speculating with 

 the shortage of sacks, such as is only too easy under 

 the present system. 



COSTLY HANDLING OF SACKS. 



Nearly half our sacks are lying about uselessly 

 employed, over fifty millions are lost or tied up in 

 last year's crops (wheat and maize), which we have 

 not been able to dispose of yet. The curious spectacle 

 can be seen in the camp of last year's grain being- 

 turned out of the sacks, and left out in open piles, 

 while this year's crop is taking its place in the sacks. 



At the beginning of the year when the sack short- 

 age question was being pushed for all its worth, all 

 bodies united in stating there were enough sacks in 

 the country. The authorities and the manufacturers, 

 as well as these gentlemen to whom is confided the 

 management of the Wheat Commission, seemed to 

 concur, for no attempt was made to hurry the impor- 

 tation or the manufacture of bags, so that we may take 

 it that they were right in their opinion. Normally 

 there are computed to be nearly as many sacks in this 

 country as in the whole of the United States of North 

 America, mid ten times more than our crop figures 

 justify when compared to those of our Northern neigh- 

 bours. 



As regards the provisions of bags for our coming 

 harvest we have got so used to pessimism that one can 

 well wonder that any attention is' paid the matter at 

 all. There is no denying that it is possible to go on 

 importing and importing: until the supply of jute runs 

 dry, if all the prognostications are listened to; in fact, 

 the shortage serves us very well as a lesson to draw our 

 attention to the need of limiting our useless expen- 

 diture. 



That the situation is taken advantage of by the 

 speculators is deplorable, but we can hardly expect 

 the sack brokers or the importers and exporters to 

 change their methods of doing business or for the 

 "sefiores especuladores". to forego a legitimate chance/ 

 of profit, any more than we can ask our farmers to sell 

 their grain at one price irrespective of 1 the demand. 



The matter lies even less within the power of State 

 intervention, for nothing can be obtained by the aid 



