The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1921-12-28
Secretary Wallace Says Depression Stays With Us
Because of Lack of Buying Power By Farmer
~ HAnnN nUNT.

WASHINGTON. Ice. 1s.--Lask OF
haslnR power hy the American farf.t-
or II perhaps the srellcsi single iac-
tor bcfind the present siaEnant m
dustrlai and bnsiaes- situation. sn,s
Secretary Of ~Agrlcultuits Henry 4.
Wallace.
Thu farmer Il today ~rccciviag III
his PRINCIPAL products . I'VE level
q prices thun ne received IN laiS
and isi4. before the war.
Hut he " paying. on an average.
iss per cent more for the things he
has to buy han he paid ia tsis.
Tho result H. that In p~urchis.ng
power tho dollar the farmer receives
today ia. compared to the dollar he
received In Igid worth Just % cents.
He must spenc t2.sO 10 get the same
he got fer 81 before the war.
And he has no more dollars with
which 10 buy tken he had In 1878.
That q the situation in a nutshell
Disastrous Effect.
when We remember that approx
imalely 30 per cen OF all our people
live In 1he country are dependent
upon what grows out OF tho SOIL
upon the nation Of reducing the pur-
chasing power OF that 30 per GENT
more man 10000. 600 persons-r0 TAR
below normal 4 Obvious.
"We are sadly lacking ID UNDER
standing OF ccnnOmic laWf or Ia our
adjustment TO them whom the pro-
ductlon OF bounicuns crops by the
hard iahcr OF 1~s.00q.ooo farmers and
their families - permitted to play
such "A large part IN parnlyziug "A
business and our industries.
For. with the purchasing power
Of his dollars cut more han In half.
tho farmer Is compelled To practice
h most rigid economy. And we
must not forget that the farmer h.
a a. well a. a producer.
-He must wear hts old clothes. re-
pair his old machinery, deny his fam
~ not only Injuries but comforts.
must refrain from purchasing every
thing he can possibly do without.
THIS in urn forces the manufact-
70 restrict his outpui to the les
sened demand. reducing his own
OF raw material and reducing
the number OF his wofkmcn.
Men out 90 work faust live on
their savings or on credit and arg In
compelled 90 practice economy
by reducing their buying. This fur
ther restricts the farmers market,
and we start TO swing through the
same vicious circle again"
Comparative Costs.
Just how the farmer is ground be-
the economic m%illstones OF low
prices and high costs. however. may
best be visuaiized By comparing what
he has u give today In actual farm
produce for the things he must have
to carry on his work.
To buy a $50 nut Of clothes, he
must exchange geo pounds OF raw
wool. or the years clip from q fiock
Of 20 sheep. He could get a better
suit in 19i3 for $z0 worth OF wool.
which he could clip from IA sheep.
Today, u he needs a new wagon.
IL will take the proceeds from $50
bushels OF cor TO purchase II. lilo
could have bought the same wagon
In 1919 with 10 bushels. The price
of farm wagons has o n up from SIT
10 sit6 aince 1913. The price OF
oorn has gone down from 30 to ~
cents a hushel.
A new mower today takes the price
OF sever and one-half tons OF good
hay. A better mower could have
been bought in 1913 with the proceeds
OF four toE
IL takes 100 bushels OF oats today
10 pay for n new harrow or "a single
harness. Thirty bushels would have
paid for the harrow IN 1918 and IS
bushels would have supplied the cost
Of the harness.
Cotton was low in 1919. but a ton
Of fertilizer could be bought then for
the equivalent Of $50 pounds OF cot