The Food Situation and Speculation 
LEiUSLATION REGULATING FOODS.—Last 
•week the House of Representatives of the Federal 
Congress passed a hill to encourage agriculture, and 
to regulate marketing and distribution of foods and 
other necessities of life. The hill carries an ai)iu-o- 
priation of fourteen million dollars for the enforce¬ 
ment of its provisions. It is announced that one 
of the pidncipal provisions of the law is to provide 
a survey of the food now in storage and on hand 
throughout the country, the provisions to supple¬ 
ment and repeat the survey from time to time. The 
hill gives large poAver to the President or his.ap- 
l)ointees. and it is estimated that the distribution, 
if effected through the authorities of this bill, Avill 
be executed through the men noAV in the distribu¬ 
tion business. 
IS THE SURVEY NECESSARY?—Just Avhy a 
large appropriation and general survey to ascer¬ 
tain the amount of food in storage should be neces¬ 
sary. does not appear. When the Federal Govern¬ 
ment Avishes to collect an Income tax, it does not 
send agents through the country to take a .survey 
of incomes. It directs every man with an income 
above $3,000 to make a definite, detailed, sAvorn re- 
jAort of his income and outgo, and requii'es him to 
shoAV a balance of his profit. Why should not the 
Federal Government require the speculators and 
stores and carriers of food to make similar rei)orts 
and saA'e the loss of time and expense of a general 
survey? Resides, a suiwey noAV would be compar- 
atlA-ely useless a short time hence, as conditions are 
constantly clumging. Monthly I’eiKirts are necessary. 
The Federal Government, through the Agricultural 
Dei>artment. has been gathering statistics in mak¬ 
ing reports of food siipplies for some time. For 
practical purposes they haA’e been Avorthless because 
the.v Avere not complete and Avei’e not verified. A 
storage house was not required to make rei)orts 
but did so. or neglected to do so. at jdeasure. The 
numbers reporting at different times are never the 
same, and consequently there is no exact com- 
j)a rison. 
STORAGE REPORTS NECESSARY.—Three pro¬ 
visions suggested to Senators Wicks and RroAvn last 
Winter f(»r the NeAv York State bill Avould be timely 
noAv in the Federal hiAA', and would be effective. 
They are: 
1. Require evei-j’ person, firm or corjmration that 
buys food prodiicts for the purpose of holding or 
storing such food products for future sale, t<> re¬ 
port Avithin no days after such purchase, the kind, 
quality and the amount of such food ju-oducts juir- 
chased and the price paid or agreed to be i>aid 
therefor. 
2. Requii'e the owners or operators of all cold stor¬ 
age Avarehouses within the State to make sAvorn 
monthly reports on the first day of each month of 
the kind and volume of food products taken in and 
discharged during the month preceding, and the 
amount of each kind or A’ariety on hand on the last 
day of the month. 
.3. Require railroad companies, express companies, 
navigation companies and other persons. })a 7 -tner- 
ships or companies engaged in transiiorting food 
liroducts of all kinds, to make full rei)orts of all 
shipments, movements and arrh-als of .such products 
at terminals. * 
These reports should be publi.shed for the benefit 
aJ everyone, and a comparatively small number of 
inspectors to verify the reports would result in ac- 
cairate information. It is true that even Avith these 
jiroA’isions in a-.State huA', speculatoi's might control 
food products outside of the .State and nullify some 
of the benefits of the provision.s, but the Federal net 
would catch them all. and Avith accnirate and full in¬ 
formation of this kind, the food problem Avould be 
easily solved. Speculation and manipulation of 
prices could not prevail under such conditions, and 
because it could not jireAail is the only reasoii AA’hy 
such itrovisions do not become laAv. The si)ecula- 
tors in foods haA’e been able to defeat these )>rovis- 
ions so fai’, and it remain.s to be seen nnAA”^ AA'hether 
the present crisis Avill bring them about. Congress 
is spending money in lavish projmrtions, but it 
does not yet seem to have escaped the influence of 
the food speculators. 
Growing Crops on Contract 
W. Perkins, representing the Mayor’s Food .Supply 
Committee of Noav York, has started a minimum 
bi-ice movement for potatoes for the coming year. 
Mr. Perkins has announced that he has secured 1000 
acres of potatoes in Steuben County and elscAvhere, 
which he calculates will give him 100,000 bushels 
in the Fall, A faiuner contracting Avith Mr. Per¬ 
kins has the choice of a flat rate of $1 per bushel, 
IS»e RURAL NEW-YORKER 
or a minimum i)rice of 00c and one-half the 
differcTice between this and the AA’holesale mar¬ 
ket price at the time of delivery. The contract rc- 
(piires that the potatoes shall be marketable, free 
from mechanical or other injurie.s, di.seases, scab or 
second groAvth, and free from any other defects 
that Avill render them unsalable. In the intorAieAA% 
ilr. Perkins says that he has no Avay of knoAving 
Avhether potatoes Avill sell at more or less than $1 
per bushel next Fall, but that he considers it time 
that some agency took precautionary measures in 
the interests of the consumers of the city to Avhom 
the high cost of living has become next to intoler¬ 
able, the purj)ose being to provide for the poor of the 
city and to forestall the control of the, specul.-itor 
ajid gambler. 
It is also reported from Chicago that Montgom¬ 
ery Ward & Co. has i)lnced contracts in Wisconsin 
for Itl.tXlO bushels of potatoes for the benefit of 
their emi>lo.A-ees at .$1.,3.’) per bushel. 
It is further reported that interests in Michigan 
:iro offerijig .$t per bushel for pototoes for Fall de¬ 
livery. 
In ilassachusetts some large manufacturers are 
quoted to have placed orders for the usq of their 
employees at .$L.50 per bu.shel. 
We are not in a position to substantiate these rc- 
}»(U*ts but they all come from sources that indicate 
reliable information. 
The rei>orts indicate con.sidei’able A'ariation in 
the i)rices of ))otatoes for Fall delh'ery. The aver¬ 
age 30-year yield for the State of Noav York is 
giveji in the Department of .Vgriculture Year Rook 
at 07 bushels i)er acre. This is ju’obably ba.sed 
largely on commercial groAvers and taking the Avhole 
average of the .State, it Avould probably be less. 
Figuring the cost of stH'd, of fertilizers, implements, 
spra.ving material and labor, Ave are unable to es¬ 
timate the cost of planting, cultivating and harvest¬ 
ing an acre of potatoes this year at less than ,$00. 
1-lven to get it at this figure, the cost of labor must 
be figured conseiwatively, and on this basis, there 
Avill be no juvfit to the groAver in i)otatoes this year 
at either 00 cents \n’ .$1 iier bushel. On the basis 
of an aA'orage yield, the groAver, hoAvever, is able 
to estimate at this time pretty closely on the cost 
per acre. EAen if he has .s\ip])lied his oaa'U set'd, he 
must estimate it at the market price. The yield per 
acre Avill of course depend on Aveather wndirions, 
fungus groAA'ths and insect i)e.sts. There is always 
an element of chance in this Avhich makes it difii- 
cult to estimate in advance. If potatoes AV(u-e groAvn 
on contract, one yield Avith another average over a 
number of years, Avould form a basis for compar¬ 
atively safe estimates, but the jteculiar conditions 
of this year need to be taken into consideration in 
making contracts for the Fall delivery potatoe.s. 
The system of making contracts for groAving pro¬ 
duce is in lino Avith contracts Avith manufacturers 
for the production and delivery of manufactured 
products, and if this became a permanent custom, 
it ought to Avork to the advantage of groAA'ers, pro¬ 
vided the distribution Avould be made at a fair 
lu-ice to consumers. If the operations Avere large 
enough to assume a monopoly, the custom Avouhl 
))rove disastrous. A .selfish monopoly in the di.s- 
trihution of farm itroducts has ahvays proved dis¬ 
astrous to producer and consumer for the reason 
that the tendency Ims ahvays been to loAver the 
))rice to the producer and to squeeze the last po,s- 
sible cent out of tlie consumer. This has tended to 
restrict consumptioii and to discourage production. 
The purpo.se in the present instance being to ]»ro- 
tect the consumer, the effect of it ought to he to in¬ 
crease consum))tion and to that extent indirectly 
benefit the producers as a class. The difficulty, 
hOAvever, as Ave see it, Avith attempts so far to in¬ 
crease ])roduction and for the conservation of food 
is that they are all expedients: they are intended 
only to tide over a crisis and to aiqdy as wartime 
measures. 
We believe the best solution Avould be .simidy to 
establish a system of free distribution Avhere yirices 
Avould be made in an oi)en market on the basis of 
supjdy and demand, and Avhere distribution Avould 
be made on the cost of the service Avithout man¬ 
ipulation of prices or speculative profits. 
A New Move in the Milk Trade 
Milk i)roducers who supply the Noav York market 
Avill he intei’ested in the new adjustment of things 
in the distribution circles of the city. The present 
infoi-mation is that the Rorden's comitany has bought 
up the R. F. Stevens romi)any of Rrooklyn. the 
Central Dairy Company, and the I'hlmann & Hank 
Co. of Noav York. The price is said to aggregate 
between eight and nine millions. It is also reported 
that negotiations are i)ractically concluded for the ' 
77S' 
purchase of tAvo other concerns, one of Avhich is 
the largest remaining milk company in Rrooklyn. 
It is freely predicted noAV that all of the other small 
companies Avill ultimately fall into the Rorden’s 
hands; and that the Avhole distribution bu.siness 
Avill then be controlled by Rorden's and Shetfield 
Farm.s. 
The original Wicks bill Avas intended to bring this 
condition about in a i)ainless operation. The loss 
of the Wicks bill, the defeat of the ToAvner bill, and 
the pui*cha.se of the existing companies is something 
of an undertaking for one year. Judging by the 
dealers’ microscoj)ic profits described by ex-.ludge 
Will’d of the Wicks Committee, the Rorden’s must 
be taking reckless chances. 
The truth, hoAA'evcr, is that the profits on pas¬ 
teurizing milk alone for all the Ncav York supply 
iunounts to iipju’oximately .$1.0,(K)0 a day. All the 
pliints used for the purpose can be rephiced every 
two itnd a Imlf yciirs out of the profits. Farmers 
are paying for the jdants tAvice over every fiv’e years, 
and the comiianies oavu them all the time, and use 
them to keep the price beloAV the cost of produc¬ 
tion. In the ncAV arrangement producers Avill luiA-e 
hut one customer in the city. If tluit customer 
controls the pasteurizers, the Dairymen’s League 
Avill have a ucav proposition to face. In the mean¬ 
time it is losing time. It should ho increasing its 
plants in the country and cultmiting ucav direct 
customers in the city. The Department of Foods 
and Markets has constant demand for iiasteurized 
milk in bottles and in cans. The League should be 
deA’eloping this trade. It cannot afford to stand 
.still. The trust is going ahead. The League must 
go ahead too. It must build pasteurizing plants and 
sell milk direct to the stores that are ready to take 
it. In the development of this trade is the only 
hope for the Noav York milk producers of the futui'C. 
Prices for Plain Necessities 
It has repoatodly occurred to me recently, auent the 
prevailing hysteria reg.-irding food prices, that perchance 
there is a reason, a Avell-fostored reason. Closely allied 
to both manufacturers and farmers, I am impres.sed 
more and more that owing to his divided-we-stand- 
united-AA’c-fall attitude, the farmer is, as usual, being 
made the goat. Keep the spotlight on the farmer and 
food prices, and tell him ho^ much he cau .sell his output 
for. It’s a pojnilar diversion and also keeps attention 
from those needing it most. .And be sure and don’t tell 
the farmer hoAV little he can sell his output for. 
Were the spotlight moved about a bit it might rind 
some dark comer like, for instance, the soft coal busi¬ 
ness. Du a yearly contract that expired on April 30th. 
I Avas buying steam coal for ,$1.00 a ton. I am noAV 
offered a contract for the same coal from the same firm 
at ,$4.20 a ton. Except for a small advance in Avages 
amounting to a fcAV cents on a ton, there has been no 
iiKTease in the cost. I’erhaps the sixty million dollar 
corporation Avith which I do business wants to invest 
in Liberty loan bonds, a very laudable ambitioxi, but 
Avants the other fellow to pay for them. 
IVere the spotlight mov<>d vei’y much it might find 
another dark corner like the pig iron business. Two 
years ago I Avas buying pig iron for ,$11.75 a ton. To¬ 
day I can buy the same pig iron from the same firm for 
,$45 a ton. As in the case of coal, '.here has been a 
slight advance in Avages amounting to a few cents on 
the ton. Freight rates are the .same. I’erhaps, like the 
A-oal barons, the pig iron barons Avant to be acclaimed 
as patriots in the public press for their million dollar 
inirchases of l.iberty Loan bonds Avith the other felloAv’s 
money. 
I am not up in the culture of either pig iron or coal. 
I’erhaps, after all, the high prices of nitrates and potash 
are responsible for the arbitrary advances in prices. 
’riiese instances are but two out of a great number 
of similar ones confronting the manufacturer. Who 
l>ays? The consumer of course. Why not use a little 
i-omnion sense in some of these matttn’s, and demand 
that the horny-handed. hard-Avorking farmer be left 
alone for a time and attention given to the kid-gloved 
traitors masipierading in droves throughout the country, 
in many lines of business, in the guise of patriots? For 
boldness and daring they are peerless in the Avorld’s his- 
KOSCOE B. MAKTIX. . 
( hautauqua Co., N. \. 
A Farmer’s Wife on Organization 
I read Avith interest the letter by ,1. (). P., Connecti¬ 
cut, page 73.’?, in which he eriti(*izes Uncle Sam for not 
being Avilling to contract for food Avith the producers, as 
he does for ammunition, and on the same basis of 
jirolit. .1. O. r. has pointed out a serious situation, 
but he seems to lay the blame in the Avrong jilace. The 
ammunition industry, the railroads, the mining indus¬ 
try and every other great industry, except farming, are 
organized. Uncle l^ani amh make a contract, Avhich is 
binding on both sides with these organizations and is 
glad to do so, but, Avheu Uncle Sam wants Avheat, po¬ 
tatoes, beans or anything else produced by the farmer, 
he must go to the middleman to place a contract, for 
the simple reason that the farmer has no organization . 
Avhich could deliver a million bushels of Avheat or po¬ 
tatoes or beans at a certain date at any price. To 
A’arry out ,1. O. P.’s idi'a. Uncle Sam Avould have to 
organize an army of buyers to go through the whole 
country and make individual contracts with each and 
(‘very farnu'r. The expense of this ai-my would have 
to be deducted from the price iiaid for the products. 
'I'lie result Avoiild be very unsatisfactory both to the 
government and to the farmei*. and all because of the 
lack of proper organization of the farmers. I am a 
farmer’s wife, and I have studied both sides of this 
(|U(‘stion for years, and I see no Avay of eliminating 
the middleman and the .35-ceiit dollar, except by a na¬ 
tional organization of farmers. mrs. a. m. young. 
Michigan. 
