, 1921-10-04
MEREDrrH,s PRICE CONTROL SCHEME.

What the Democratic party would establish in the
way of n socialistic, bureaucratic combination may be
surmised from a scheme advanced by Z. 7. Meredith,
secretary Of agriculture in the latter part Of the VIII
SON administration, in . recent issue Of the North
Mr.. Meredith proposes that the government fix
each year in advance a minimum price it will pay for
Eve commodities the next season-wheat, corn, wool
cotton and sugar.
His theory is that the government will be called
upon to buy merely the surplus, as the greater part
of the production Of these crops would be sold in the
open market at not less than the guaranteed price. He
ignores the obvious fact that II the government is to
guarantee the minimum price for the commodities, 1t
will inevitably be called upon to guarantee prices for
cattle, hogs. apples, oranges, peaches, peanuts and all
other agricultural as well as mining and manufactured
products. He also overlooks the equally obvious fact
that if some government bureau has the power to fix
the price of commodities it can influence the market
price and there would be unlimited opportunities for
speculation on the part of men who might be in a
price-fxing committee. Neither does he see the ulti-
mate result of adoption of that polcy-the fixing Of
maximum as well as minimum prices, for if the gov
ernment has the power to fix minimum prices to pro-
tect the producer, it has the equal right and duty Of
fixing a maximum price to protect the consumer. 4
Here is an excerpt from the Meredith article which
shows something of the scheme he has fathered:
"Decisions for the whole people can be made only
through our government, and it might be possible for
us to influence a balanced production by our govern
ments fixing one year in advance, for the following
years crops, the minimum price it will guarantee on
five articles, wheat which is bread, wool and cotton
which are clothing, corn which is meat, and sugar Of
the approximate quantity of the five mentioned crops
necessary to meet our domestic needs. The depart
ment of agriculture has made very careful studies as
to the cost of production. A price can be fixed upon
wheat which will permit enough farmers to engage in
its production to give us six hundred million bushels,
II that be our needs. A higher price will let in addi-
tional farmers, farmers not SO fortunately situated as
those who could produce ~proftably ut the lower price,
to give us a total production of seven hundred million
bushels. A still higher price will give US a still larger
production.
with the prices announced one year In advance,
II it were deemed desirable to curtail production. of
a given crop, a reduction in the guaranteed price of
the article of which We had q surplus and an increase
in the price of the one of which we wished to increase
production would discourage q certain percentage of
farmers from raising the one crop and result in the
desired lessened production and increase the produc-
ton Of the other crop Of which we had a shortage.
We might at times find the government with a small
portion Of a given crop on hand, not absorbed by our
own people or the export market, and In that case the
whole people would absorb the surplus through the
government as a problem of mutual interest, handling
It SO as not to bring harm to the people who produced
the crop, thus permitting business to go along without
a jar. In this situation the price the following year
on that particular crop would be reduced in order to
reduce production"