Plans of Ten Million

The Governors of seven Mid-Western states used these words in calling a National Wheat Conference at Chicago: "More than ten million men, women and children of the United States are directly interested in the production of wheat." The announcement was probably true, but the Governors might have added 'several thousand politicians who are very much concerned with the wheat problem.

The conference, held in Chicago, was attended by some 800 delegates and heard speeches from a number of prominent men--Samuel Gompers, Senator Capper of Kansas, Senator Copeland of New York, Governor Preus of Minnesota, Julius H. Barnes, President of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. There was little unanimity in their counsels, however: Samuel Gompers called for better organization among the farmers; Governor Preus advocated organized study of their problems; Senator Capper declared that the farmers were ruined by manipulators of wheat prices, saying "the Chicago Board of Trade has become the world's greatest gambling place" (John R. Mauff, executive Vice President of the Board of Trade, threatened to bring suit for Senator Capper's "defamation of character" of the Board's 1,598 members); Julius H. Barnes warned the farmers against the fallacy of price fixing; Senator Copeland advised everybody to eat another slice of bread for breakfast.

The radical element urged the adoption of a resolution asking Congress to authorize the Government to purchase wheat at $1.50 a bushel to keep the price from falling below that price. The Conference defeated the resolution, however, and declared for cooperative marketing. A National Council was provided for, to act as a permanent body for studying the farmers' problems.

Although the price fixing scheme was voted down it is not considered dead and is likely to find its way before Congress next Fall, where several similar proposals are already pending.