, 1922-04-03
VICTIMS OF REGULATION.

Secretary Wallace in his statement that ~moss of
the farmers troubles resulted from government regu-
lation as a war emergency" speaks the language of
truth and soberness. .
1t is very true that dehation has been a world wide
experience, but so far the farme has suffered more
than tnose engaged in other industries, his losses have
been due to the inequalities resulting from govern
ment regulation during and after the war.
If all industries had enjoyed initiation equally and
had taken the losses of defiation at the same time and
in the same degree, there would be no cause for COM
plant The fact of the matter is, however, as shown
by the records, that the government withheld from
the farmers some of the profits of imitation and pre-
cipitated its defation program at the very moment
when it would be most injurious to agricultural pro-
ducers. II will be remembered that IN an effort to en-
courage the production of food congress passed an
act which was supposed to guarantee a minimum price
for wheat. Under the administration of that law dur
ing the Wilson administration, the minimum price be-
came a maximum price, so that when other industries
enjoyed the profits OF great imitation the farmer was
not permitted to do so although he was still compelled
TO pay the higher prices which imitation Of other in
dustries established. Thus the farmers profits during
TIE war were limited.
At the same time that the Wilson administration
was holding down the prices the farmer could receive
for his produce that same administration was adupt-
ing cost-plus plans of having construction work per-
formed with the result that wages were greatly en-
HANGED in the cities and the farmer found it limos
sible to secure farm help unless he paid wages on the
governments ~cost-plus basis. Thus the government in
creased the farmers expenses at the same time it cm-
tailed his receipts.
Moreover, the McAdoo management of the rail
roads, after they were taken over by the government,
loaded upon the railroads vastly greater annual expen-
dftures. There would perhaps have been no com
plant of this if the McAdoo regime had at the same
time increased the passenger and freight rates to be
collected by the railroads so that their revenues would
be increased in proportion to their expenditures. This
Mr.. McAdoo did not do, with the result that following
Che war it became absolutely necessary to increase
freight and passenger rates in order to make up in
some measure the revenues which the railroads were
unjustly denied at the time when the government in
creased their expenses. This blow of larger freight
rites fell heavily upon the farmers, for farm prod
nets constitute a large proportion of railroad traffic.
The farmer would have had no complaint whatever to
make if freight rates had been incrs ased at the same
time and in the same proportion that wages were in
creased, if his prices had been permitted to vary in the
same degree. His grievance, as indicated by Secre-
tnry of Agriculture Wallace, is that there was dis
elimination in government regulation and that the
farmer was hit at every turn.
Since all this is true and unquestionable Secretary
Wallace is sound in his assertion that federal aid is
due agriculture. That aid, which the government is