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The Commoner
VOL. 15, NO. 3
12
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The Work of the President's Cabinet
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
TREND OF PRICES OP FARM PRODUCTS
According to tho department's bureau of crop
estimates, tho level of prices paid to producers of
tho United States for tho principal crops in
creased about 11.2 per cent during January; in
tho past sevon years tho price level has increased
during January about 2.1 per cent.
From January 1 to February 1 tho price of
wheat increased 21 per cent, corn ll per cent,
oats 11 per cent, barley 1G per cent, rye 12 per
cent, buckwheat 7 per cent, potatoes 1 per cent,
flaxseed 21 per cent, hay 4 per cent, cotton 12
per cent, chickens 3 per cent; butter declined 3
per cent and eggs declined 8 per cent.
On February 1 tho index figuro of crop prices
was about 6.4 per cent higher than a year ago,
24.8 per cent higher than two years ago, and
11,1 per cent higher than tho average of the past
soven years on February 1.
The level of prices paid to producers of the
United States formeat animals decreased 0.6 per
cent during the month from Decembor 15 to Jan
uary 15. This compares with an average increase
from December 15 to January 15 in tho past four
years of 1.8 per cent.
On January 15 the average (weighted) price
of meat animals hogs, cattle, sheep and chick
ens was $6.57 per 100 pounds, which compares
with $7.05 a year ago, $6.40 tW6 years ago, $5.44
three years ago, $6.40 four years ago, and $6.67
flvo years ago.
The average prices to producers for the entire
United States on dates indicated are as follows:
Feb. 1, Feb. 1,
1916 1914
Wheat bushel. . $1,299 $0,816
Corn do 728 .683
Oats ...do 501 .393
Barley do 629 .524
Rye .T... ..do.... 1.006 .617
Buckwheat do.... .837 .756
Pqtatoes do.... .504 .697
Flaxseed .,do.... 1.637 1.278
Ccjtton , ...pound.. .074 .119
Butter do 279 .274
Chickens do 115 .117
Eggs . dozen.. .292 .284
Hay' ton.. 11.69 12.41
Jan. 15, Jan. 15,
1915 1914
Apples bushel.. $0,693 $1,106
Beans .....do.... 2.63 2.17
Onions do .889 1.21 '
Cabbage. ..hundredweight.. 1.36 1.87
Turnips bushel.. .491 .568
Clover seed .do..., 8.51 7. 9u
Alfalfa seed do.... 7.61 6.55
Timothy seed do...". 2.63 2.07
Broom corn . .ton. . ''66. 26 94.38
Cotton seed dt. . ..';18.97 22.70
Hogs, hundredweight.. ' 6.57 7.45
Beef-cattle do. . . . vr( 6.99 6.04
Veal calves do.... i 7.66 7.89
Sheep do.... 4.95 4.67
Lambs . . . . . . .'. . . . . .do. ... '" 6.47 6.16
Wool, . unwashed ....pound.. .186 .157
Milch cows head.. 58.48 57.99
Horses do 1L9.69 137.46
STOP ADULTERATION OF OATS
Seventy-five carloads of oats intended for ex
port have recently been seized by the federal au
thorities because they were found to be adulter
ated within the meaning of the food and drugs
act. The adulterajtion charged is tho addition of
feed barley or water, or both. Under certain
circumstances adultoration in these ways may be
ao profitable that it is believed to bo at times a
common practice among grain shippers. Tho
government, however, is determined that the
practice shall coaso at once, and field represen
tatives of tho department have all been instruct
ed to exercise the, utmost vigilance in detecting
future shipments adulterated in this way.
Low-grade barley, which is known to the trade
8 "feed barley," is sometimes mixed with oats
when there is sufficient difference between the
prices of the two grains to make this profitable.
Tki "feed barley" is the product which remains
after the best grade of the grain has been sep
arated and removed for malting purposes. It
contains material percentages of weed seeds,
foreign grains, and dust, and the addition to oats
of such a product is held to be a violation of tho
food and drugs act. The addition of water to
oats arises from the fact that tho grain is sold
by weight. ' Jnvestigations of the department of
agriculture have revealed tho fact that water Is
sometimes added in the amount of from 2 to 4
per cent.
In the opinion of the government officials
there is no reason why elth'er of these practices
should be tolerated. Grain shippors and deal
ers, therefore, are being warned that the prev
alence of the custom In the past will not affect
the legal proceedings against future shipments
found to bo adulterated in this way.
CHANGES IN FOOT-AND-MOUTH QUARAN
TINE Two orders, signed February 13, by the sec
retary of agriculture, make radical changes in
the quarantine regulations for the foot-and-mouth
disease. All the territory east of the Mis
sissippi and north of Tennessee is now included
in the quarantined area and no shipments of live
stock, except for the purpose of immediate
slaughter will be permitted from this area to
the south or west. Stock owners, however, in
the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Vermont,
Maine, and the District of Columbia may ship
out their stock upon affidavit that it has been on
their farms for a certain length of time and has
not been exposed to any risk of contagion.
This step the authorities believe to be neces
sary for the protection of the south, southwest,
and west, which have not as yet been affected by
the disease. The recent discovery of a few cases
where cattle, shipped from areas where the dis
ease had existed, carried it to previously unin
fected sections, such as four counties in Kansas,
convinced the department that no precautions
will make such shipments absolutely safe. The
new measure, it is said, should confine the dis
ease to the regions in which it has already made
its appearance and in which the work of eradi
cating it will be pushed as before. All of the
largo slaughtering centers are within this area
and very few shipments for immediate slaughter
are expected to be made out of it.
Tho regulations aro embodied in tho order
known as Bureau of Animal Industry Order No.
234, which defines and classifies the various
areas in all the states affected. Another order,
Bureau of Animal Industry Order No. 233, re
quires that on and after February 17, 1915, all
live stock, unless Intended for Immediate slaugh
ter, shall be transported only in railroad cars
which have been cleaned and disinfected. This
applies to the whole United States.
UNITED STATES NOT THREATENED WITH
FOOD SHORTAGE
On February 17 the department issued a state
ment regarding food stuffs. The 1914 wheat
crop of the United States was estimated to be
891,000,000 bushels. The estimated surplus
carried over from the 1913 crop wdB about 76 -000,000
bushels. There was, therefore, a total
available supply of 967,000,000 bushels. As the
normal annual per capita consumption of wheat
in the United States is about 5.3 bushels, 520,
000,000 bushels should meet our normal do
mestic requirements for food; in addition, 90,
000,000 bushels are required annually for seed
ing. Six hundred and ten million bushels, there
fore, should supply the normal domestic demand
This would leave a surplus of 357,000,000 bush
els. Of this surplus, about 510,000,000 bushAs
were exported by January 30. This left 147 -000,000
bushels, or 40,000,000 bushels more
than our average annual export for the past five
years, for export between February 1 and the ap
pearance of the new crop, or for carrying over
into the next crop year. The amount is sufficient
to permit tho export of nearly 1,000,000 bushels
a day until July 1,. before which time mo new
crop will begin to bo available. This is about
the average recent exportation.
But suppose a shortage in wheat should de
velop in the next three months, what would he
the situation? There is a great surplus in other
food crops in the United States, a number of
which .can bo used as substitutes. Wheat dno
not constitute more than 12 per cent of the nor
mal diet, about tho same as poultry and eecs
Meat and dairy products constitute 48 per cent,
vegetables, 11 per cent; fruits, nuts, suW fi!X'
and other items remaining 19 per cent Tha
are larger supplies of corn and other grains, meat
animals, dairy products, potatoes, and fruit It
the opening of 1915 than for many years The
most important competing products are corn and
potatoes. This is Bhown by the fact that while
tlie normal consumption of wheat la 5.3 bushels
in Maine it la only 4.7 bushels and In Michigan
5. In the wheat-growing states, wherfc wheat is
abundant, such as Minnesota, the average is 7.2,
whereas in tho south, where corn is much used!
the average is 4 bushels. Normally about 3 per
cent of tho corn crop is consumed as food. Of
our total crop about 80,000,000 bushels would
be used for food, the remainder for other pur
poses. The remainder could be used for foods
and substitutes used for animals. The potato
production in the United States averages 3.8
bushels per capita. This year the available sup
ply Is 4.1 bushels. The average price of meat
animals was 7 per cent cheaper In January than
a year ago, butter 2 per cent lower, the price
of chickens slightly lower, of potatoes 35 per cent
lower, and of apples it was 37 per cent lower.
" ' mm
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Early in February Secretary Redfleld wrote the
following letter to the Honorable John J. Fitz
gerald, chairman of the house committee on ap
propriations, requesting a reduction of $40,300
in the appropriation for taking the census of
manufactures:
"We like you to feel that the department of
commerce realizes the efforts of your committee
to economize in government expenditures, and
so far as it is in its power endeavors to second
them by saving money itself wherever possible
even after same shall have been appropriated.
Therefore I am sure you will be glad to know
that the director of the census finds that through
the success of his efforts in putting the census
of manufactures, now under way, upon a business
basis he has been able so far to save money that
he has requested the senate committee on appro
priations to reduce the amount already appro
priated by the house of representatives in the
pending legislative, executive and judicial bill
for completing the census of manufactures by
the amount of $40,300. This amount the pro
gress already made shows will not be required.
It is conditioned upon the amount in the present
bill being made immediately available, otherwise
we should not be able to make the saving.
"This is written to you both for the reason
above stated and because we should like you to
understand why, should the bill come into con
ference, we have asked for a reduction of the
amount which you kindly allotted us and the
conditions under which same can be saved."
EXHIBITS AT THE PANAMA PACIFIC EX
POSITION Exhibits of educational and historical interest
have been installed at the Panama-Pacific Inter
national exposition. In the Food Products build
ing will be found a large exhibit by the bureau
of fisheries, the Palace of Machinery houses an
extensive display from the bureau of lighthouses,
and in the Palace of Liberal Arts will be found
exhibits from the bureaus of standards, naviga
tion, census, and foreign and domestic com
merce, and the coast and geodetic' survey. The
magnitude and excellence of the department's
showing Is largely due to tho energy and activ
ity of its official representative, Dr. Geo. C. Ha
venner, the. chief clerk of the department.
BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC
COMMERCE
CANNED GOODS INDUSTRY
Three reports prepared by Commercial Agent
J. Alexis Shriver, on the canned goods industry
in various parts of the world, have been issued
recently by th bureau of foreign and domestic
commerce.
One entitled "Canned Pineapple Industry of
the World," states that Hawaii produced in round
numbers, 2,000,000 cases of canned pineapple
in 194 as compared with 2,000 in 1901, a most
remarkable development in the face of active
competition from the older canning centers of
the far east. The up-to-date machinery and the
cleanliness that characterizes the Hawaiian fac
tories are contrasted with the hand labor and the
general untidiness that is the rule in most of the
other pineapple centers, and the conditions in
general that govern the industry in all the pro
ducing countries of the world are described in
tho report. "
Another report entitled "Canned Goods Trade
in the Far Bastf" contains many Interesting facts
about the home life of the Chinese, Japanese,
Malays, etc., and many valuable suggestions for