Evening star., 1924-04-27
FALSE HOPE TO FARMERS
In PRICE-FKINC SCHEME
Leading Agricultural Authorities Show
Fallacies of Relief Promised in
McNary-Haugen Bill.

cession, how long do they imagine
the great consuming public would
permit their price-fixing scheme TO
operate?
Favsritism, Not Equity.
And are they prepared to consent
to government intervention to keep
the wages of labor and the prices of
manufactured articles up to a pre-
war relationship level? If they are
not, it is favoritism and not equity
which they ask.
Suppose that in the very first year
of the operation of the McNary-
Haugen plan there should come a.
world war or droughts in other
wheat-producing countries and the
world price of wheat should soar
way above the pre-war ratio price
Are the proponents of the scheme
willing the government should inter-
vene to keep the price of wheat to
the American consumer down to the
pre-war ratio price? If they are,
they will not find a bakers dozen
among the millions of American
farmers who will support their
project. If they arc not, they cannot
expect to get any considerable num-
ber of consumers to support il.
The McNary- Haugen bill is opposed
by some of the foremost agricultural
economists of the country-men who
have studied the proposal solely from
the standpoint of whether it would
benefit agriculture and who have
come to the conclusion that it Is un-
workable and unsound. Yet these
men, nationally known for their lead
ership in agricultural. progress, we're
not asked to appear before the agri-
cultural committees of either the Sem
ate or House when the bill was under
considera ton.
List an Imposing One.
The list of such authorities who
have spoken and written against the
bill is an imposing one. They oppose
it, first, because they do not believe
it will accomplish what is promised
for it, and, second, because if it did
fulfill its promises the public reac-
tion would be such that the farmer
eventually and inevitably would be
made to suffer a great deal more
than he possibly could benefit. For
example, the National Council OF
Farmers Cooperative Mark citing As
sociations, meeting in Washington
last February, adopted resolutions
of which the following is para
graph:
That we are opposed to all forms
of price fixing by government, first
because it would be perversion Of
government authority and would ulti-
mately bring ruin to farmers and
endanger the government. and, sec
ond, because If the principle OF gov
ernment control Of prices of farm
products should be established. pro-
ducers of agricultural products be-
ing, in the case Of each commodity,
a minority of the total population,
would be compelled to accept prices
fixed by a consum ers' majority"
Other Nations wSuld Retaliate.
w. L Drummond. chairman of the
International Farm Congress of
America, argues that not only is the
proposal for government dumping
abroad of farm surpluses immoral in
itself, but that it would bring re-
taIiation which probably would close
those markets entirely to American
farm products. Then he puts his
finger on a spot which seems entirely
to have escaped the attention OF
McNary- -Haugen bill enthusiasts. I'm
the case of nations, if any," he says
that would permit US to dump eur
surpluses, we would be supplying
their working people with an abun-
dance of cheap food. produced by our
farmers at a loss, thereby contribute
ing still further to the low produc.
ton costs of competing countries,
which already are such a factor in
opr difficulties" And he adds this
thought observation, 1T
,s useless to consider this Sksure
as a temporary one. The existence of
an emergency is given as the sole
reason for it, and there is nearly
always an emergency in the case of
one or more of the commodities"
DR.. Alonzo E. Taylor. head of the
food research institute of Stanford
University and one Of the worlds
foremost agricultural economists, has
made an elaborate analysis Of the
McNary- -Haugen scheme, and has come
to this conclusion:
"A study of the present relations
between family income and the cost
of living in the different groups of
our population makes 1t clear that
two reactions would be provoked
unorganized consumers (the salaried
group, civil servants, rentiers) would
readjust their expenditures to avoid
inroads on the family income; organ
ized consumers, particularly the labor
unions, would react with demands
for wage advances. If such demands
were to be granted, the increased
labor cost would promptly reappear
in the prices Of finished goods, which
would again throw the farm prices
for basic agricultural commodities
augurated the same vicious circle Of
pyramiding of which we have had
50 many fluctuations in Europe since
the war"
PyramidiAg Means Disaster,
1t is recognized by farmers, Of
course, that they cannot prosper un-
less the country as whole is pros
porous; yet the promise held out by
the McNary -Haugen bill, If it prom
ises anything at all. is farm pros
perity at the expense of general nros
perity.
1t is proposed to bring the price of
the enumerated products which may