Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-02-02

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THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY :, 1922.
PURCHASING THE SURPLUS.
In the argument given before the agricultural
committee recently, Congressman Burtness Of
North Dakota advised the appointment Of a COM
rnittee which should ascertain the reasonable cost
of production OF the three basic staple crops, wheat,
corn, and cotton, and that on this basis the govern
1nent be authorized to purchase the export surplus
of each OF these crops for the>next two years.
One merit of Mr.. Burtness' argument is it's
frankness. He has not been carried away by, some
vague theory that the government Of the United
States can fix and maintain the price Of one OF our
staple agricultural products at a level materially
above the price which it would command i'll the gen
.eral world market. without cost to itself and ulti-
rnately to the taxpayers. He knows that this can
not be done without cost. He suggests that cost
might not be greater than the profits which were
derived from the government grain corporation
during the war, but he believes that even if the cost
were several times this sum, the expenditure would
be warranted in view OF the emergency which ex-
Mr.. Burtness also disavows any belief in the
theory that the government ought to fix prices of
products of any kind as a settled policy. The con-.
dltions now existing in the agricultural industry, he
believes, create such an emergency as to warrant
special emergency measures to be discontinued
when the emergency has disappeared.
1t is quite easy to get Mr.. Burtness' point Of
view in this matter. We believe, however, that the
policy which he and others along this
line is a mistaken one, and would be highly injurious
to every interest in the nation, that of agriculture
included.
In the first place, it is impossible to adopt the
policy even temporarily OF substituting one industry,
no matter how important it may be, without letting
loose an avalanche of demands from every other in
dustry for similar treatment; and were the govern
ment to grant all the demands which be made
the result would be simply a general raise of price
levels which would be maintained only by the i'm
poation of further direct taxation on the very peo-
pie in whose favor these concessions were granted.
We should simply be travelling around in a circle
without material advantage to any interest. The
downward trend of living costs would be checked.
Prices would advance all along the line. Cost OF
production would increase. Speculation would be
revived in view of the upward trend Of prices, and
we should pass through another era of imitation
brought on deliberately by our own act, as disas-
trous in its results as was that other imitation Great
ed without our deliberate purposes by the exigen-
cies3 Of the war.
Another feature to be considered is the improb-
ability that a policy of substituting industry, once
adopted even for emergency purposes, would read
Ky be discontinued. There has never been a time
in the history of any industry when many of the
persons engaged in it were not DESTROYS of higher
prices for their products. There has seldom been
a time when demands for such increased prices
could not be supported by arguments which were
at least made to appear plausible. Let the govern
rnent adopt the policy OF fixing prices now, and that
policy will not be abandoned at the end of two years
unless it's effects within that time have proved so
intolerab}e that the whole nation insists on a differ
ent line of action. The demand for continuance
would be supported sby the votes of those imr1e-
diately benefited. If those votes were not nurner-
Gus enough to achieve the desired result they would
be combined with the votes Of representatives of
some other industry or industries. A system Of
logrollina would result. Concessions would be Civ
en- in this or that direction, and little by little, we
should find ourselves committed to a policy of
wholesale substituting, whether we approved of it
or not.
The Herald has asserted before, and it repeats
now, that the adoption Of this policy tends directly
toward the complete specialization of all our indus
try. There can be no other ultimate result. To
begin to subsidize now would be one of the most
dangerous steps which this nation could take.