OCR Text |
Show WHEAT SUPPLY OF UTAH IS EXHAUSTED SALT LAKE. April 14. Utah may soon be confronted with the unparalleled unparal-leled predicament of buying back for home consumption the wheat that has been shipped to eastern and western centers, according to the prognostication prognostica-tion of a prominent miller yesterday. Unable to resist the temptation of getting sky-high prices for their wheat, the Utah farmers have been shipping out qf the state so freely that the wheat supply is already well-nigh exhausted. ex-hausted. The unusual shortage Is just beginning to be noticed by the advance in the price of flour which occurred last week, when it jumped to $6 a hundred pounds. Although the tremendous Increase in the exportation of grain, made necessary neces-sary by the scant production in tho belligerent countries of Europe, has depleted the supply in this country, by no means one of the least important factors contributing to the shortage was the utter failure of the winter wheat crop in Kansas and Nebraska, according to local millers. No assurance is given by the dealers or millers that the price of flour will show any decrease in the near future. On the other hand, indications point to a steady increase for an indefinite period. pe-riod. In view of this situation, it is reported, re-ported, many consumers are stocking their bins with as much as from 600 pounds to two tons of flour. Prices on all foodstuffs, notably sugar sug-ar and potatoes, are stiffening every day. Dealers declare It Is almost impossible im-possible to secure canned products, such as beans, catsup, etc. Candy men are feeling great anxiety anxi-ety over tho leap in the price of sugar. It is selling to candy makers at $9 a hundred pounds and the indication is that it will go still higher. New price lists in candy products are being arranged ar-ranged from time to time with the steady increase in price of sugar. California cleaned rice has touched $5.75 a hundred pounds at wholesale and is going higher. Beans are following fol-lowing the same upward course as rice and are selling at 35 cents for two pounds. Eggs are getting scarcer and scarcer every day and an advance is expected in the next few days. Butter is past the half-dollar stage. Tho scarcity of potatoes is pronounced. pro-nounced. They were selling at 5 cents a pound yesterday and higher prices aro expected. |