CHEAP WHEAT.

Shannon News, 11 November 1921, Page 3

CHEAP WHEAT.

(To the -Editor.) Sir,—lt has been recently seated that the moon has been wandering out of her proper course. This makes one wonder whether our old earth has not been standing- on its head, or, perhaps, been wandering amqpg the manuka scrub of space in sym- ; pathy with her companion planet. A look at the world’s wheat prices at once suggests that there is something queer somewhere. In the paper of November 4 we note the following! That wheat in Australia is bein/ sold for export at 5s 3d per bushel, roughly 17s 6d per sack. That wheat in New York is quoted at 4s per bushel* or 13s 4d per sack; while in New Zealand, with (according to Mr Massey) the prospects of a magnificent harvest \futhin a few months, we are being charged in the vicinity of 10s per bushel, or over 30s per sack. Freight and duty would only amount to a fraction of the extra charge made for wheat in New Zealand. When one comes to i inquire for the reason of such a state j of things, some suggest that it is con j siderecl wise in some quarters, from a national point of view, to allow certain groups to amass wealth so j that they may be in a position to face , the competition of powerful foreign ■ trusts. That is all right for those within, but jolly wet and no umbrella for those without the group—such as the general public. Others suggest that between the wheat cocky and the politician it is.a case of . “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” If neither of these suggestions touch the right spot, then we'

have to admit that the statesmanship that is responsible for the present state of things regarding wheat has hardly got beyond the nursery stage on its way to greatness.— l am, etc., H. LEGER.