OCR Text |
Show DREW PEARSON , Wheat Price Fight Rages TPHE blast against the British by Undersecretary of Agriculture Albert J. Loveland had more to it than meets the eye. What Loveland was driving at was not so much Britain's wheat and cotton agreements with Canada, Australia et al, but her backstage efforts to boat down the price of American wheat in a proposed new international wheat agreement. He also was trying to atone for the bungling of the 80th congress. Unfortunately for the American Ameri-can farmer, the late lamented GOP congress refused to ratify the wheat agreement at a time when Britain and other nations agreed to a top price of $2.00 a bushel for wheat during the next five years. Since then wheat has dropped and the British have been privately plumping for a $1 .50 maximum in any new international compact. Loveland's blast was calculated to soften them up for bargaining at a higher level. U. S. spokesmen at the 57-nation food and agricultural organization have been putting out feelers for a maximum price ol $1.75 a bushel for world wheat during dur-ing the next five years. This is 25 cents above the British pioposal but 25 cents under the $2.00 which U. S. farmers were offered last summer but which the Republican congress rejected. The mechanics of drafting and ratifying another wheat agreement by participating nations would require re-quire six to eight months, but Loveland Love-land and his boss. Agriculture Secretary Sec-retary Charles Brannan, are hoping to get a preliminary commitment from the FAO, so as to get the ball rolling. If the proposed agreement falls through the alternative is something nobody wants a return to rigid acreage controls. For if we can't sell our surpluses abroad we will have to limit production at home. |