Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-05-24
SENATORS PROPOSE
CROP INSURANCE To
HELP THE FARMER
BY FREDERICK J. HAsKINs

to the American farmer are being
studied by members of the senate
committee on agriculture during the
recess of congress. The results of
these studies will be presented to
congress when it convenes next De-
cember, with recommendations for
legislation and drafts of proposed
bills.
The most important subject being
taken up is that of crop insurance.
The greatest single enemy, as well
as the greatest single friend, of the
farmer, is the weather. Upon the
vagaries Of the elements must de-
pend the success Or failure of his
crops In large part. These clements
are, of course, recognized to be be-
yond the power of human control,
but the senate committee does be-
lieve that human prudence and fore
sight, coupled with. the cooperation
of the Federal government, can do
much to ameliorate the hardships
which spring from unfavorable
weather and bad harvests.
Insurance, mans sheet anchor to
windward against all manner of mis-.
fortunes, is the subject which is be-
ing given chief attention along this
line.
Will Broaden Scope
There are many insurance compa-
MES now in business in the United
States which sell a good deal of in
surance to farmers to protect them
against the chances of weather, but
the. new plan is to provide an ex-
panded scheme WHICH presumably
will provide cheaper and more pro-
tective insurance and reach more
farmers.
Insurance can be written against
hail, drought, too much rain, wind,
tornadoes and such natural phenom-
ena. This type of insurance would
be greatly extended and IN addition
the plan would provide government
insurance against plant diseases
and insect pests.
The weather, diseases and pests
annually take a toll of 100000 900
from the American farmer. His crop
each harvest is short that much as
a result of the depredations of these
enemies. The American agricultur-
al crop of last year was valued at
$14, 900, 100000. 1t would have
been worth ,0OO,00O,000 had not
this baleful trinity swept away the
excess value.
The same farmers are not always
injured each year by the same agen-
cies. The $2,000,000 900 loss is an
average one for the whole country.
1t does not fall each year on the
same farmers. The most reliable
pest is the cotton boil weevil. South
ern cotton planters know that each
year they will lose certain per-
centage of their cotton. as a result
of the weevil's depredations, but
even this varies.
Black rust falls on the northern
wheat some years and some years
spares it, although it has been in
creasing recently. Fruit diseases
appear now in one place and now in
others, and the flights of locUsts
are not dependable. Late frosts do
much damage and there has not in
the past been any way of determin-
ing in advance when or where they
would occur, although the science
of long distance weather forecast
ing now is reaching such perfection
that in few years, advance infor-
nation on these events will be pos
sible.
Insurance Desirable
The fact that these enemies of the
farmer are intermittent and varied
makes insurance against them prac.
ticable and desirable.
1t it were known that each year
frosts were going to come late and
kill fruits, that storms were going
to sweep certain regions or that GER
tain insect pests were to deVour CIV
en- acreages, insurance would not be
practical. 1t is the element of
chance in the situation which opens
the way for insurance. In the good
years, when the enemies avoid the
crops in a given section, the farmer
wins; in years of hard luck and crop
failure, his insurance will cover his
loss.
The government scheme of crop
insurance is expected to have a
string attached to it which is of
the utmost interest and Importance.
The farmer is a great individualist.
He never has been a strong adher-
ent of organizations. He has been
inclined to plant the crops his father
planted and cultivate them in the
same way. He has been slow to lis
ten to the advice of government sci
entlstS and college experts. For this
reason such reforms as crop diver
sification and rotation have been
rather slow over large sections of
the United States. The string tied
to the government insurance plan
will have the effect of bringing the
farmer into line for some of these
reforms.
1t is recognized that if planters
in a given section were to suspend
the planting of cotton absolutely for
two or three years, the cotton boil
WeeVil would be eradicated from that
section. 1t would be starved out. 1t
never has been possible to get a
whole Community of farmers to agree
to suspend cotton planting. Some
of them might but others would de-
cline, This nullifies the whole plan.
If one planter produced cotton, the
WeeVils would have something to
live on and the next year they would
still be present.
May Get Community Action
Under the government insurance
plan it is believed it will be posi-
BILE to exercise strong influence for
better community action. For in
stance, the government could say
to the farmers of a given county or
section of a state: This cheap insur-
ance is available for you if you will
plant\corn or wheat or something
else, and refrain from raisin3 cotton
for three years. No one in the whole
community may have this insurance
unless all agree to the terms.
Undoubtedly the leaders Of the
community would make every effort
to get unanimous action because
most of them certainly would want
the cheap government insurance. In
this way, the government could ac-
complish what no individual or or
ganization could do.
The general plan under this
scheme is to have the government
dictate what the farmers who bene-