82 THE AGRICULTUKAL BLOC 



that are interposed between the raw product on 

 the farm and the food on the consumer's table 

 there is another large group of unnecessary in- 

 fluences. I refer to those who manipulate the 

 market and speculate unnecessarily in food 

 products, taking an unnecessary toll first from 

 the producer and then from the consumer as 

 the circumstances may change. 



In July of 1920, the grain gamblers of the 

 Cliicago Board of Trade had very favorable 

 circumstances in which to begin a great ^'bear" 

 raid on the market which was maintained for 

 nearly ten months. This was in the face of a 

 large export demand for wheat. When the 

 raid began wheat futures were selling at 

 $2.75 per bushel but before it had ended 

 the farm price of cash wheat had fallen 

 to 85 cents. But during that time and for 

 months afterward the consumer continued to 

 pay war prices for bread and flour notwith- 

 standing that the manipulation of the market 

 had taken hundreds of millions of dollars out 

 of the pockets of American grain producers. 

 This experience was not only costly to the farm- 

 ers but expensive to producers since the price 

 of bread was not reduced as it might have 

 been. 



