material. It would also "set a price on the Canadian crop and prevent it from going forward in large quantities at low prices during the season following harvest to glut foreign markets, drive out American wheat, and depress the price in this country to the detriment of the farmer and allied interests." Practically the only objection to the bill on the part of the country miller is that he can not bond his only mill and hold it exclusively for such use. His market will be improved, however, by the bonding of mills now in competition with his. A country miller states: "We are of the firm opinion that an arrangement enabling spring-wheat mills in the United States to grind Canadian wheat would not only be a good thing for the milling industry, but it would help the farmers. There is just so much grain produced and whether it goes to England and foreign countries in the flour form, or in its native condition, it affects the market. On the other hand, we believe that cheap wheat exported from Canada does more to depress our wheat prices than the exporting of an equal amount of flour from Canadian wheat." It is urged that if the fast increasing crop of Canadian wheat should go to Europe on a basis that will develop the capacity of the English miller to supply the United Kingdom with flour, the American miller would be cut off from that market and be obliged to sell more at home. This would tend to make our milling unprofitable and to restrict that industry and the home market for wheat, affecting the price unfavorably. On March 3 in each of the years from 1893 to the present the prices of by-products and cash wheat were as follows, as shown by the files of the Minneapolis Daily Market Record: It will be seen that the prices of so-called millstuffs-bran and shorts-are not governed by the prices of wheat. They are controlled by the demand and the price of hay. They are unsuited for exportation because of their light weight and great bulk and tendency to lose grade and condition in transit. The by-products of the American mills are used by the dairy interests of the United States, and the demand is steadily increasing. The foregoing figures show that the prices of bran and shorts have almost trebled in the last seven years, and the increased supply that would result from milling Canadian wheat in bond would greatly benefit the American dairy man. The rapid development of cattle and dairy industries is creating an increased demand for "mill feeds" in the country districts that can hardly be supplied by the local millers. It has been well said that if the Canadian wheat crop in part is milled in bond in this country, the millers and their employees will be benefited; the mills will run more days in the year, increasing the supply of bran and middlings for domestic consumption. In addition thereto, the Government will gain in revenue in duties paid thereon; this increase of business will occur not only in the employment of more men in the flour mills, but also in the employment of more men to handle the wheat, more men to handle the freight, and more men to manufacture sacks and packages, and will have the same generally diffused beneficial results that come from any increase to the industries of a given section of the country. Canadian wheat milled in bond in 1902 and 1903 yielded products as follows: During the periods of such milling the prices of such by-products per ton in Winnipeg and Minneapolis were as follows: Advices from various millers show that the flour product obtained in the mills varies from 65 to 76 per cent of the weight of the wheat ground, the by-products from 22 to 29 per cent, and the absolute waste or loss from 1 to 2 per cent. These figures undoubtedly vary with the quality of the wheat, whether harvested in dry or moist season, the presence of foreign seeds, and the character of the mill machinery and its supervision. In the larger mills the flour product obtained is about 73 per cent of the weight of the wheat consumed; 25 per cent consists of by-products and 2 per cent of absolute loss. It would, therefore, appear that the provisions of the bill limiting the amount of such by-products which may be withdrawn for consumption to 25 per cent of the weight of the imported wheat is just, and inasmuch as the milling of said wheat, the exportation of the flour, and the withdrawal of the bran and other by-products for consumption will be under the supervision of customs officers and under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, the bill appears to be sufficient to safeguard the interests of the Government. L. M. SHAW, Respectfully, Secretary. THE NORTHWESTERN COOPERAGE AND LUMBER CO., MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., URGES ENACTMENT OF PROVISIONS FOR MILLING OF CANADIAN WHEAT IN BOND. MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., January 23, 1909. Hon. SERENO E. PAYNE, M. C., Chairman Ways and Means Committee, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: You will note from our letter head that our business is contingent upon the prosperity of flour millers in this part of the country. That is the writer's excuse for troubling you in regard to a matter which is very important to the success, and even the continued life, of some of our flour mills. We refer to the present condition which makes it impossible for northwestern mills to grind Canadian wheat to advantage. Inability to do this restricts the mills to United States domestic trade almost entirely, and as a result a good percentage of the milling capacity stands idle a considerable portion of the time. The duty of 25 cents per bushel on foreign wheat is not objectionable as applied to the selling of flour made from it in the States. What we need is an arrangement whereby the millers can grind the Canadian wheat, exporting the equivalent amount of flour, but have the privilege of selling the bran, etc., at home, as conditions do not often permit the exporting of the bran and by-products. We write you in the interest of the millers, and the argument for the northwestern millers would also apply to those in other territory contiguous to other countries. In this connection we need hardly remind you of the benefits which will come to all milling communities from the steady running of the mills and the employment of the labor. The avenues into which the milling capital will distribute itself are many and various. These and kindred benefits must be apparent to you without argument. One or two other features may not have presented themselves to your minds. One would be the benefit to dairy and other farmers in milling communities from an augmented supply of mill feed obtainable by the steady operation of the mills. Another pertains to the large industries employing thousands of men in the manufacture of bags and barrels. We are especially concerned with the latter. There are in this city alone hundreds of men who have the savings of their lives invested in cooperative cooper shops for the sole purpose of supplying flour barrels to the mills. These men look to their people in Congress to afford consistent relief to the situation by a readjustment of the law whereby the grinding of wheat from across the border is now prohibited. The grinding of such wheat for export only could not in any way have an adverse effect upon the price of wheat grown by the American farmer. Under the arrangement requested, the flour from the foreign wheat would not be sold in the United States, where the homegrown product finds its market. It would go to foreign markets, where American-ground wheat is not now finding an outlet at all. To repeat, the flour from the American wheat would still supply the domestic markets, while the flour from Canadian and other outside wheat would enable the American miller to get into the markets abroad, from which he is now excluded. Our own industry would naturally share in the reasonable prosperity afforded the flour millers under this new arrangement. This would benefit such people as ourselves and thousands upon thousands of workingmen and timber owners in our manufacturing districts. The latter are necessarily in the timber districts where land is being cleared and farms made. Our business enables the settler to make a good income while he is clearing his land. He can sell us his logs. He could also sell logs to sawmills, but by selling to us he can bring in logs which are crooked and otherwise defective, such as could not be marketed to sawmills or such other industries at all. He can also make bolts from the small timber and can get many of them out of the tops of trees. In short, our business not only gives good employment to the men connected directly with the manufacture, but it furnishes a market to the settler for millions of dollars' worth of bolts, etc., which would otherwise go into the brush pile for burning. It thus means the creation of merchandise at a reasonable profit to all concerned, instead of the making of ashes and smoke from a good deal of the stuff in the woods, at about the same cost of labor and trouble, but at no profit to the settler. We would be glad to answer any questions which you might see fit to dictate to us. We have endeavored to give you a brief but comprehensive idea of the situation from a logical standpoint. We ask that you use your influence and persistent endeavor to get such legislation as will relieve this obviously unnecessary situation. Hoping that you will see to it that the matter is vigorously pushed and brought to a successful issue, we remain, Yours, very truly, THE NORTHWESTERN COOPERAGE & LUMBER CO. O Minneapolis Manager. |