The Key to the Future of the American Wheat Grower Is Shown on This Map and in These Tables. Here Is the . Proof for a Higher Tariff—The Figures Which Show the Need for Readjustment of Rates to the Sea F.a-y Access of Canadian Wheat to the Milling Centers Shotvs INeed for Tariff. •*. r t’Ue' largest market' for Oahadiab wheat in’ the 'United1 Stbtes fsj in the flour mtfltrtgcenters, at- Minneapolis and on'the Great I.aUe*. .W it wore •not for 'the! prestoti although in adequate; tariff ' Canadian wheat Would be fldodbig'theee flour-mill ing centers. As it Is something-like 20,000.000 bushels of Canadian wheat was imported into the United Statea during the year 1923, or approximately one-»cventh the entire American exportable sur plus. Were it not for the present tariff on wheat of 80 cents a bushel Canadian wheat could he snipped as far sduth-' nii"Kansas' City and other interior,' milling' points. The chief reason Canadian wheat continues to roll over the tariff barrier is the lower post pf produx tion, due to lower land values in Canada and ,tp the low export freight'rate on ■wheat given bv the Canadian railroads. The-tariff, must be increased to >0 rents a bushel If this handicap i.v to be overcome., The figures in the table herewith, which .ore also shown on the accompanying map. tell their own story. The argument cannot be made more forcibly no ■ he necessity more evident. lit. .■- 1-e— Large American Crops No Longer Necessary .4 general examination of the whealt ■production or the United Stat&s' js interesting as showing the problems of the wheat farmer. Th’ Omaha, Bee presents this examipa tion 4h> this (special wheat farmer's edition as a guide in the geneni' consideration of the question. Under the stimulus of war prices and in response to the demand for large food supplies, the production of wheat was Increased enormously during the years of the war. The Initial, rise in.pflce following the dec laration of war in 1914 encouraged the expansion of our wheat area This large acreage, together with a favorable season, caused the wheat crop of 1915 to be the largest we ever harvested. Other countries also secured large crops that season, and as a result the price of wheat drop ped to practically the pre war level and remained low through the crop year‘1915-16. -A marked d» eline in wheat plantings followed and with the heavy abandonment in 1917 the acreage harveated that year fell to a point slightly below the pre-war average. With the bottling up of the ltus elan surplus the allies had to de pend upon overseas countries, es pecially North America, for 'heir wheat. The price of wheat ad vanced ah&iply In the fall of 1916 and continued to rise through the forepart of 1917. After the United States entered the war, measures were taken to regulate the price of wheat, and minimum prices were fixed for the 1417, 1918 and 1919 crops. Under continuous appeals for production of food, the produc tion of wheat rose from an average •f 690,000,000 bushels In the period 1919 1915 to 968,000,000 In 1919, an Increase of 40 per cent, and the wheat area expanded from an aver age of 47,900,000 acres to 75,000,000 In 1919. Victims of Deflation. Tn order to provide land for wheat, rye, oats, tame hay, and nome other crops, of which there was an increase, the corn ucreage was materially reduced, and a large amount of pasture and meadow land in the older regions and wild grass l«rnd in the newly settled regions was drawn into cultivation. When general deflation of prices began in the summer of 1920, wheat prices bioke sharply and have continued to decline into the present season. An u result sub ' stantiul reductions have taken place in both acreage and production of wheat. Nevertheless, the crop for 1923 is 781,000.000 bU3hela or 18 per cent greater then the average before the war, and the .acreage 1s about 24 per cent larger. The corn acreage which wan replaced by Canadian Rates, Lake and Rail, to the Milling Centers on the Lakes ' •• ! To i I I I , Port Arthur To To I Tor I To I Toi From Point at .Mnpm.nl (Hood of Duluth I Milwaukee I Chicago I Toledo Detroit ■1 r; ,ll« l^thoo) (Vio Water) I (Via Water) (Via Water) I (Via Water) (Via Water) _s_„_ •’*: *_ ! (Per Cwt.) i (Per Cwt.) • (Per Cwt.) (Per Cwt.) . (Per Cwt.) I (Per Cwt.l Edmonton.,V..7 f r 26c ■ ' I " '29 Vic ; 30Vic- T 80V4C ] 31c I 31c .........w. 1, 26c 1 29 Vic I 30 Vic [ 30 Vic | 31c | 81c Edmdiitdrf wheat can reach Minneapolis for 41c per hundred and Calgary for 40c; points east of Hieeie stations cdfl reach Minneapolis for even less—* the Saskatoon sectian at 37 Mi c and wheat from Moose .TaW* at»32c a'hundred. The shipper from Billings, Mont., pays 39VjC per hundred to reach Min neapolis arid Dliluth* • American Rates, All Rail, to the Milling Centers on the Lakes I To Duluth To Milwaukee To Chicago To Tolodto | To Detroit _•» Shipment __| (Por Cwt.) j ,(Pt Cwt.) (Pm Cwt.) I Por Cwt.) I (Por Cwt.) j Billings, Mont.. j 89Vic 62Vic 52Vie I 64c 64c .American Falls, Ida. 66Vic 63Vic 63Vic | 76c 75c Cheyenne. Wyo. 50Vie r,0V4c 60Vic I 62c 62c Sheridan, Wyo. ’68 Vic 48 Vic 48 Vic I 60c 60c Denver, Colo. 50Vic 60Vic 60Vic I 62c 62c Julesburg, Colo. 41c 41c 41c I 62 Vic 62 Vic Grand Island, Neb. 87c 37c 37c ! 48Vic 48Vic Culbertson, Neb-... 39c , 39c 39c I 50Vie 60Vie Belleville, Kan. ..... 36c . 36c" 35c 46Vhc 46Vic Mitchell, S. D. i , s.,s.... 29c 32V6c 3'^Vic I 44c 44c • Winner, S. IX . -.......-. ... 42 c ^ 42c a 42c | 68 Vic 63»ic ; Note: If lake transportation in used east of Chicago instead of all rail, the American shipper can reach Toledo and Detroit at a rate of approximately 3 V* cents per hundred over the rate to Chicago. These rates are considerably under the all rail rates to these points, but even on this basis are nearly twice th A-Canadian rdiPand water fratea toi the same .pojpt, • _ - __ whey' iiwi now recovered mov of rhis lose, but la still slightly midi the pre-war average. While theio has been some reduction In cult! tated crops, the total crop area of the country is still between 30,000 000 and 40.000.000 acres larger than before the war. The states included in the corn belt, western winter wheat region, spring wheat region and Pacific Northwest, contain over *5 per cent of the 1923 wheat acreage and are. therefore, of special importance. Winter wheat accounts for the ma jor portion of our expansion in pro duction. Of the 28,500,000 acres in crease in total wheat area during rhe war about 22.000,000 were win ter wheat. In the coin belt wheat increased 7.000. 000 acres and displaced about 1.000. 000 acres of com. Although substantial adjustments in crop acreages have been made since 1919, the wheat area is still almost 2.900.000 acres over the average be fore the war and the corn acreage is about 1,722.000 acres below . Some lands in the corn bell have idno been returned to pasture and mea dow. Where Increase Was. The largest addition to the winter wheat area was made in the great plains states of Nebraska, Kansan, Colorado. Ok lahoma, and Texan. Hy 1919 the wheat acreages in these states had been expanded by over 13.460.000 acres. Corn was reduced *,275,000 acres and better then 11.000. 000 acres of meadow and wiki paafure land were plowed tip anti planted to crop*. Much of the new land ion n to wheat was lo cated in the aemiarid part of tlic region where the harvested wheat acreage between 1909 and 1919 more than trebled. Crop acreages in the region as a whole are still considerably out of line with their pre-war relationships. The wheat area is 7.240.000 acres shove and that of corn is about 4,900,000 below tlie pre-war average. No reduction appears to have been made in t|i< total area of cultivated land whifti at the present time is almost 12, 500,000 acres over the average be fore the war. The area suited to spring wheat in the United Stales Is more re Htrieted than that for winter wheat and the expansion of the former has been, therefore, much smaller in amount. I,ess than 4,500.000 acres were added to the spring wdient area during the war, and all of this Increase has since been lost. The states of Minnesota, North Dakota, Mouth Dakota, and Mon tana account for about 4.160,000 acres of the increase in spring wheat during the war. These states bs x grodp at the same time ma terially enlarged their rye, corn, oats and tame huy production and made Important reductions only In the case of barley, wnd flax Tlu.» crop expansion was brought about, by plowing up some pastures and meadows in Minnesota ami North and South Dakota, but more es pedally wild pasture lands in the aomiarid sections of the western part of the Dakotas and In Mon tanu. The region as a whole has reduced ita 102 3 wheat area to 700, 000 acr<*s less than the average be fore the war This reduction has taken place, however, in the east ern part of the Dakotas and in Minnesota where farmers have turned to livestock and dairying as important lines of production Al though there has been considerable abandonment of lands during the past several years in the wemi arid sections of North Ikikota Mouth Dakota and Montanu, the harvest ed wheat acreage in these areas is this season about 17# per cent greater than In 1009. For the re gion (Cm a whole the area in culti vated crops has continued Jo ex pand since the beginning of the war. The wheat area ki the Pacific northwest was enlarged to the ex tent of 1.250,000 acres, in consider able measure by decicovlng the “Good for The Bee; Go to It, Vm for —SENATOR KENDRICK Jfl "Congratulations to Th« Omahs Bee for your special wheat grow - era' edition. I’m pleased to have had the opportunity of looking over vour advance proofs.” This was the message of United States Sen ator Kendrick of Wyoming, who was in Omaha attending the con vention of the Livestock Grower*’ association on Tuesday, Wednesda and Thursday. , "You can say for me,” continued Sell or Give Away Surplus to Starving European Peoplet Secretary Wallace of the IV partnient of Agriculture in a special report to President Cool idge urges ths disposal of .sur plus wheat by sale or gift to undernourished women and chit drew in Central Europe. In his a report he used this strong lardflP tuage: "The sale or gift of a snbstpn Hal part of our surplus wheat to countries which are not able to buy. and which would, there fore, tales out of the irrdinsr channels of - trade and compete Hon the wheat sold or given, •opid unquestionably' have a helpful effect upon do meats prices of wheat, provided larger tariff protection wore given ” amount of mmmer fallow aid by plowing up wild pasture land", unf only ellghtly through the r+l'UMfc^ ment of other «*rop«. Here agan $ ^ substantial pari of the additional hi rejig.. Mown to wheat w as acrid arid land. Only alight reductions in ihe wheat acreage bate mart# since 1911. the senator, "that If the increase in the tariff on wheat from 8U cents a bushel to 50 cents a bushel cornes before tjie United States senate, I ^plil Tote for It. Bfti’There are some fellows down B'ere who say an increased tariff Jwlll not help. I say, let’s try It I "Wheat production must come Haws—a bushel of wheat shipped jfm from Canada is a bushel more added to the supply—lot’s keep it fuom coining in. "I’m also in favor of the inquiry now being made by the tariff com nksMon at the direction . of the president. That inquiry should be pushed and a report made as soon »« possible. "If the president tneieaj.es the tariff on wheat, on the basis of the tariff commission’s report, f will be on the front seat of those who will join in the applause. "The organisation of the farmers to cut production is necessary too. It is a big Job. surely it is. but we are accomplishing miracles every day. "It Is as easy to organue .states now as it used so be to organise counties, .lust because it is a big job in no obstacle to the red-blood Sed farmers of America. Let’s get the tariff increased and cut down - production so that wheat will sell SI) a domestic price basis.'" Low-Priced Wheat Can Be to Livestock At prevailing pricer some wheat dan/ be profitably substituted for . -orn ffi the ■♦reding of livestock in manj sections Uf- the country. The r etstive prices at which wheat im—omitadiy stuff displace corn in feeding is shown In the following table: Corn pricer pe> bicbe1 spfl ft _ equivalent wheat pncee hascn on their relative fowling values.* iRxperimental data, Hureuu of Animal Industry! -Wheat Poultry Beef ' tun and Hheep llogs cattle 50 64 66 63 55 at) 64 48 60 64 47 74 65 . 70 73 50 70 5 if S6 75 K0 84 43 HO 86 40 *4 55 *1 46 It), 90 9# 101 111 Ob 103 107 117 104* 107 1 IT 133 (Figures in cents.! * The fowling value of u |>oiinrt of wheat In i4^iiudn of coin Is I fur poultry and sheep, 1.0b for hogs and 1.16 for beef cattle According to these ration* whan corn is So cents u bushel on the farm, for example, 84 cent wheat can he fed profitably to nil animal! . including poultry; 90 cent w heat van bo fed to cattle and hogs hut not sheep and pouHrv; while 9n ent wheal. U profitable for beef rut tic oulj. These rathe* do not take Into account the cost of grind mg the wheat a nscersei < n>ee««i* •n fwdlnt, it Canadian Rates, Lake and Rail, to the Sea at New York anch Baltimore From Hoad Total Rate to Total Rote to Port Arthur of Ld to Ship Out W heat Surplus The Omaha Bee urges that serious consideration should be given the formation of an eiport corporation under the direction of the federal government to handle the wheat surplus. This is a difficult thing to d«, but It is possible of solution. The «'4BfnctiH$ of course Is to fag the surplus. This plan in given official incogni lion by Henry C. Wallace, secretary of agriculture. He covered this point, in a special report to Prest dent Coolidge as follows: ' Inasmuch SC? tlie first etep look ing toward increasing the domestic price requires the disposition of the Mil plus over and abovf domestic needs, and Inasmuch a* the facts presented in the foregoing pages indicate that the world production of wheat will probably be overlarge for another year or ao, the sugges- . tion that the government set up an export corporation to aid the dis position of this surplus is worthy of the most careful consideration. Such a corporation necessarily would need rather broad powers. It would not he necessary that it should undertake to handle the en tire crop, and It could prolwbly carry on Us activities in co-opera lion with existing private agencies If it aliould be found necesatry to arrange for the sole of the surplus “xported at a price much lower than the domestic price, the loss so in curred would properly he distribut ed over the entire crop. "The prime duty of such an ex port corporation would be to restore, so far as possible, the pre w ar ratio between wheat, and other farm product* of which we cxjxirt a sips plus, and other commodities Its activities would therefore expand or contract according as the relative prices for farm prodm ts Varied e ij^i othoi commodities and It e. ,inld rea-e m function a M prewar ctfos I'c-cpi- fai-ii n 1 tosi©i'ril lo Mfet Lou Lsiiiadian KalPr to the Sea U. S, Ivxport Rates Must ■ Be Cut. I he wheat surplus iritis? {*: to the sea. The cost of getting it to ihe «ea .comes out of the selling price in- the work] markets If tjj»» v.O'it is high the return to the furtr et Is affected accordingly. If the • ha wheat farmers In other tour trie* pay lees for this service, the’ title an advantage orsr the Am ican farmer. Canadian rates (e the e-» a;* materially less than America i rates This inequality should be r emedied at once. A reedjustmeii’ "* ;n eaport rates to mee' Canadian competition is fer that reason th? second plank m the wheat grower? olatform of The Omaha Bee. The first plank la an adequate •arlff to keep out the other fellow • sirplus and an egpor: rate cr. Canadian Rates, Lake and Rail, to tke Sea at New York and Baltimore j To To To ~i “l fa f~ _ . _ Port Arthrn- r BailfpW Now York ! BoJtfaworo I from Point of Sfcipwut (HooS of (Vi. tko (Vlo Boil MQoo I (Vlo BoM M-'r tfco Lokon) Lokotl boo loMoio) j from Bwftata) __ ■ (P» Cwt.) I St. Lnu Naw Orkui New Orkau •ra» Petal ef Siaippar.t (Vie Beil) (Vie Beil) ) (Vie Beil) (Vie Bergs Mar*. 'Per Cwt.) | (Pee Cwt.) | ___ I_ i_ IP. Cwt.) ' Billings, Mont... 86He 52 ta. 7616c 64c j 2199 American Falls, Ida.j 53c 60c I 78. 71 He j 2428 Cheyenne. Wyo. .‘13c 46Hr 62He j 38c 1868 Sheridan, Wyo. 36c 46c 64c 57 He 2194 Denver, Colo... 33c 46 He I 56Hc* j 58e 1906 Julesburg, Colo. 23Hc 37c j 5Ae 48He 1708 ' Grand Island, Neb. H'Hc 33c ole 44He 1490 Culbertson. Neb. 21 He A&c oft- 46He 1640 Belleville, Kan.. 17 He 31c | 49- 42 He 149.~< Mitchell, S. D. 20Hc 34< j o‘A 45Hc 1687 Winner, S. D... 24He | 38c [ 5ft 49He 1635 •Note: Gower Denver iwte to New Oriean.' is to equalize rate to Galveston. Use of Wheat Less Than Before War »he surplus of wheat prodncuor ,m greater than actual increase in oroduction The consumption of wheat is materially lower In all countries including the United .States. In Europe this is due to the continuance of war regulations, m this country to the effects of war habits and to the practice of • hanging for bread with meals. The standard of living in some Eurupeni ♦ •ountries has been lowered and cheaper fool* substituted for wheat. Wheat has been conserved b\ long milling,” mixing, and h> feeding less to livestock. The per • apita consumption of wheat in the United Kingdom has remained re markablv constant during the las 14 years, but declined slightly dur ing the war. In France per capft o he.it consumption, including need was reduced from an average of * 3 bushels during the period 1949 1913 to an average of 7 4 bushel* during the war period 1914 191* Sine© then the average has In creased to 7 bushels. Milling rc ‘frictions arc still in force, requir ing the mixing of from 3 to i© pe< » ent of substitutes with v heal tiour Decrease n. on.Miiitption of v iitv flour »n this country has contrit tfted to the huge exports of the w#r and postwar periods. The w. appeal to save bread aided by high price*, fovtned f«x>d habits which have remained >* jthi u*. The prewai custom of serving bread free with every .i la carte order in rant.*, hotels and dining care wj*s abandoned during the war period and Hum not been generally revived Free bieud” l* undoubtedly . con sumed more liberally than bretid «it the r<4te of two slice* with a n.ckcl order of braul and but lei At the mte of a cent and k half P°r slice, the cafeteria patron pay * between 35 and 10 cents for a pound loaf of bread. In hot eh res tAurants and dining e.u * where the charge for uti order of brewe and butter may be as high as yo cents the ohnaumptUai of a red t .y,\ rtp* Marketing Costs Can Be Cut by Efficiency 1 ufoiniation in possession of toe uepartmcnt of Agriculture suggests 'lie need of reducing both local and terminal margins in the marketing of w heat. A reduction of the eoun try elevator margin can be effected iu considerable measure by increes mg the volume of grain handled by each elevator. This would ne • esaiiate a reduction in the nun, her of elevators at points where there are two or more competing elevators. It should not be over looked, however, that in the case of privately operated elevators the increased volume thus obtained might to some extent at least b* offset by lower prices resulting trom decreased competition. Such investigations as have been made indicate that the co-opera rive farmers elevator efficientlv operated Is an effective factor It, reducing local buying margins. 1 t is not so important to have con petition in the case of patronage vilviilend elevators, since ail profits over and above operating expense* ire ultimately returned to the pa irona. Since 1 i*ot the organisation of cooperative elevators has prw • ceded rapidly. Between uu and !»fl the number of such organise lions In IS north central states Ir • eased from l.?4C to 4 44.’ During the last two years at-. ,-flfort has been made to reduce • he margins at terminal markets and bring about a better neasona’ Targeting of wheat through tbe oiterations of grain market assocla lion*. Fourteen state association* of this kiu-i have been formed and i-ist A uguat nine of them w ere sfit listed In s notional wiles agencs Bulletin '* till* *|wvm1 edition i* bring I as paced for the press wore • avoir* from Chicago that k is estimated kl a close observer that ll.bM.MW bushel* ,.f Isas •Wall wheat hate been Imparted lute tlie I cited State* and tax HI paid since September I. eanaj Li-n* with the oth*i -• cn - ** a necessary second The map reproduced or *ht* peg. which shows more definite:*' Thai would a long array of figure* th, ■ ’■gent necessity tor th* readjus o.ent Ut export rate* for which the Omaha Bee contend* This map i* commended to the attention of the congress of the United States an ^ interstate commerce comm-* Sion also to the wheat arr>ts: aitroads. In order that the neap enforced The Omaha Bee a 1m directs attention to th* ah',* o' ompariaon. I ne American wheat growe1 .# S better freight rate friar the u, c o.e aest and frowi the foothill* o' ’* Rocky mountain* tf he ship* ms surpius by way of Hew On*,.!* ran he h.is if he ships by w»« e* \>w Tory or Baltimore. With ere .-ese better rate*. howevr he P »: a disadvantage m compeut.-o with the wheat growers of Canad, Anti these American sbipp**~* • ,* as fr.r west as Billings Moot has, a shorter mileage tbar, th* CXnu n an grower* Rven after ther ha,* : e,iche,1 the gulf, however, oceai rates to Ue«rpoo| ore j c-i-t* p* liurhei higher than fror Hew y.- ; nr Baltimore. in preparing the tab's* » Canadian rates to the Atijn'. - ^ n sn has* b*en r-"p*wt*»s i hus the n beat grows- oat •* *1 a glare* the disability unde Tbtch h» works y ber h»* surplus is to b* shipped to the me* wheth. '<• ships by way of tb* At'sut - * OT wyy of th, gutf W -- • unddian Groirfft in Kwr North Get Rtnlurnl Ks(f> t Mnnj the course of preparatlci of this special wheat grower* ed lion new* dispatches try, Calgar, Alberta announced th* redi i-tlm of Canadian rati rates to *er Arthur from the One* R:,»r lit* • rlct of British Columbia and nertl er*i Alberta Th*we rate redo. tl. v> • r* fror.-. S rents to f cents i'bt fence River la not now a whoa faming section. The rate* wet - reduced not to me*; a pees, et rfe mand. but to aid in bulMtr.g «r the country. Ttv* Amtrkar «i" -oads might well take ecttew c tb'* • cac i,t- making poijeyi