RELATED TOPICS 281 
the result of much inquiry, it will receive general 
support. In fixing the price at what seems so high a 
figure the Board of Trade had to consider the amount 
sufficient not only to cover the cost of production, 
but also to encourage growers to produce the supply 
necessary for home consumption. There is general 
prejudice against wheat production at present, and 
many farmers would turn to pastoral pursuits exclu- 
sively. But this is trespassing on the grounds of the 
concluding chapter. 
It should be remembered that the Australian wheat 
crop has been purchased under a somewhat similar 
scheme for the past three years. A ‘‘wheat pool’’ was 
arranged by the Governments of the Commonwealth 
and the States eoncerned. There is now no’ private 
dealing, and the wheat becomes the property of the 
several State Governments which arrange for sale either 
by distribution to millers, or by export, through the 
Australian Wheat Board, which was set up mainly for 
the purpose of distributing freights among the States, 
and fixing local prices. The price thus fixed is 4s. 9d. 
per bushel, but this does not refer to exported wheat. 
Growers are paid a fixed minimum price in advance 
(2s. 6d. per bushel on 1916-17 crop), and the amount 
which they will ultimately receive is dependent on the 
price the Governments realise on their exports. Shipping 
difficulties have been the most serious problem, but in 
spite of the scarcity of freights the exports during the 
past eighteen months have been in excess of the averages. 
So far as my investigations have gone, it seems that the 
scheme has been more successful than any other type 
of price control. The special problem of making advance- 
ments to farmers on their crops has given it added 
importance. It seems certain that this method of 
control will be adopted more generally. The methods 
of exchange are the real obstacles to price fixation, but 
by commandeering the supplies this difficulty is removed 
