The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1924-03-20

Head Associated Wheat Growers
Points Out Advantages and Rea-
sons for Pending Measure.

The McNary Haugen export eorpor-
alton bill, which has been favorably
reported by the senate committee on
agriculture, If enacted into law viii
Immediately place American agricul-
ture on the road to removed prosper
| ity. This is the opinion of George G.
Jewett, of Minneapolis, general man
ager of the American Wheat Growers
Associated cooperative wheat market
ing organization operating in nine
states.
ssThe McNary Haugen bin goes
straight to the core Of the situation
which has put the farming sections of
the country on the brink of bank
ruptcy,'' said Mr. Jewett, who is in
Washington supporting the legislation.
1t is neither make believe nor the
ory. II is logical, workable means
for accomplishing the one thing which
win save the farm producers--prices
for their crops on balance with the
prices they pay for the things they
buy
"The measure would, Immediately
make the farm commodity dollar
worth an even hundred cents in the
open market. 1t is now worth less
than two-thirds of that The bill
would make bushel of wheat or a
pound of pork, exchange for as large
an amount of manufactured or other
commodities as was the case before
the war.
ssAnd this would be accomplished
without any resort to arbitrary or un
natural fixing of prices. Under the
provisions of the McNary -Haugen bill
the prices of farm products would be
just as flcrible and just as sensitive to
general conditions as they are today
but they would be established on u
generally higher plane, in keeping
with returns secured for other lines
of production.
"The McNary Haugen bill does two
things:
"First, through specified study
Of comparative prices for farm com
modities and other articles during the
pre-war years, it determines what
wheat and other products should sell
for today, in comparison with other
commodities, to make these farm arti-
cles equal their pre-war exchange val
ues. In other words, if the price. of
five bushels of wheat before the war
would purchase pair of shoes of a
certain quality, the bill determines
what wheat would have to sell for to-
day, 80 that the actual money received
for five bushels by the farmer would
purchase the same pair Of shoes. In
determining these comparative prices
a list of more than 400 standard COM
modities is used.
ffSeeond, after this legitimate price
is determined, the bill provides a gov
ernment agency to go into the market
whenever the price of the enumerated
farm products goes below this figure,
and make sufficient purchases to put
the price up to the proper point. OF
course, the result of having such a
price available from government
purchaser will endorse competitive pri-
vate dealers to pay equal or greater
amounts
"This, stripped Of detail, is what
the McNary- Haugen bill would do. II
determines what fair prices, for wheat,
corn, livestock or other depressed pro,
duet should be, and then it provides
facilities for purchasing that product
under such conditions that the deter
mined price will be paid. The corpora
tion probably will stand some loss in
disposing of the exportable portion of
various crops on world Is markets
which are below the established do
mestic price, so to protect the treasury
of the United States the bill provides
unique workable method of assess
ing back on the growers of the com
modify any such loss in export sales.
If the bill were in effect today,
wheat would be selling for from 35
cents to 55 cents a bushel more than
it is bringing, depending upon grade
and location. Corn, livestock and otn-
er affected products would undergo
comparable price benefits. American
agriculture would again be faced to-
ward prosperity"