Show THE SPECULATORS NOT THE FARMERS The London Daily Aeir commenting on the action of Russia in prohibiting the export ex-port of rye says the American farmers are masters of the situation as regards the price of grain and expresses the hopo that these formers will use their power mercifully merci-fully and not practice extortion In ono sense the Aeire is correct in its estimate in another senso it talks at random If the I American farmers Were in the financial condition which they should be in they would indeed be masters of the situation and could command almost any price they might ask Tho grain yield of America will undoubtedly be larger this year than ever before while in Europe and Asia the harvests are short All our surplus wheat will be required to feed the people of tho old world most of whom have in tho past drawn their supplies sup-plies from the east As a matter of course the price of our wheat will go UP to such a figure as it is thought the hungry people I abroad can afford to pay and America will i add immensely to her wealth by reason of I her bounteous harvest I But we doubt that the American farmer I is master of the situation as regards prices or that ho vill prove to bo much of a factor in the case It may even be doubted that he will be consulted in the matter Ono of the idlest of schemes is that devised I by Alliance financiers by which farmers are to hold their grain until they can command I their own prices for it This would be all right if the conditions necessary to its success suc-cess existed One of the necessary conditions j condi-tions would be unity of action on the part of all the farmers the I million or such a matter 01 grain growers all holding their surplus wheat until such time hungry buyers would pay the price demanded Another condition essential to the success of the scheme would be the providing of every farmer with a bank account of suf ficont proportions to pay his bills until he could sell his grain on his own terms Now every intelligent person knows that it would bo simply impossible to get tho multitude of wheat growers grow-ers scattered as they are almost across the ontinent to act in harmony to hold the farmers of Oregon Washington and California back to await the convenience conven-ience of those of Kansas Iowa and Illinois A combine of proportions necessary to success is so absurd that we wonder that intelligent men discuss the matter But suppose the farmers could be brought to act together cone of them selling except G j on an order from a central board watching tho market who ito i-to advance tho money to pay the farmers expenses and meet the interest in-terest on his notes It is a well known fact that the American farmers are deplorably de-plorably if not hopelessly in debt Tho census returns show that their farms are heavily mortgaged and the census does I not tell the whole truth In many if not I I in a majority of cases not only is the farm mortgaged but tho crop is pledged before I it is harvested the creditor taking the I grain direct from the thresher Talk about men in the condition of so many of our I farmers holding on to their grain for six or eight months Why it is ridiculous ridicu-lous The poor toilers must let go they must sell as quickly as possible or tho sheriff will sell for them in behalf of the trust companies and the storekeepers the machine dealers and the I SHYLOCKS of the INGALLS stripe who get the farmers into a tight place and then i exact usurious interest from them i The American speculators and not the American manufacturers are masters of j the situation The world must have our I surplus grain and will be made to pay handsomely for It but the high pries will go to the deaters and not to the unfortunate unfortu-nate producers |