Manawatu Daily Times [ESTABLISHED 21st MAY, 1875.] SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 1922. THE WHEAT BARGAIN.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 2077, 18 March 1922, Page 4

Manawatu Daily Times [ESTABLISHED 21st MAY, 1875.] SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 1922. THE WHEAT BARGAIN.

I'eoplr in a'iw Zealand do nol appear to realise how they arc being exploited liy t 11< Government t'or Hit luiH'iit of i in- wheal-growers. It they wire acl/.cd of tiic I acts, tiny would rise an one man, and demand Unit tile subsid.siiiK "' primary producers should immediately cease. A Wcliinglon coin nii'iriiant, in tlio course ol an interview, has sin 'I light upon Lin.' subject. Ilf Malta that, the total crop this season is about lon ml/ion bushels. The (lovernnienl ban, In: nays, a contract with A. S. t'utor.son anil Co. lo export a million bushels, and if may cx|iorL more, -perhaps two million buslu Is, It could hardly export tin 1 whole ol the aurplua, beta use that would leave us in the .same position as last year, willi a shortage. I lenities, Hie loss on ctfporliny the three or lour million bushels would be too great. The Government has guaranteed .'>/ 6 per bushel lo the grower lor best milling wheat; ami to ! nuil a mnrlcel for the wheal al home, |il has to export al a loss, It could i not compete, otherwise, with the lower , prices ruling in the Old Count ry. Kill, to recoup itself for the loss on cxI ported v. heal, il is charging 0/3 to Hie ~ miller; and il is estimated that this ".• tlilferencc of Ud a bushel between 111" ' I price paid to the fanner and that paid by II"' miller, spread over the ~1 six million bushels milled here, will make good the loss on export. The , I millers, of course, don't like this extra ; j charge, but they can't help themselves. 1 ''The Government has got control of ~! the whole crop, and they have to pay. It makes ii very awkward for some ~jof the companies which have had lo „'. pul in additional milling machinery in view of the large crop expected this ~j year. The Government has llxcd the. price of the new season's-Hour at £IS >-la ton. so the millers can't raise the i.l price any higher to reimburse lliem- ' selves, in fact, they are much afraid (t lest any one of their number should find himself overstocked and reduce, ii the price of Hour below t'.tS a ton with a view lo flea ring part of his stock: \l for the Wheat Controller has slated 'thai he would look upon that as an ! indication that there was a. margin 10 play with between the price of wheat and the price of hour, and lie would raise the price of wheat, to the millers and so absorb the margin. In view of the facts as stated above, one can only marvel at Cue impudent manner in which the Government has manipulated the. markets for the benefit of wheat-growers, and at the credulity of a people, who will regard such 5. transactions as statesmanlike, and just.