The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1924-05-20
farmers must!
: HAVE HELP IS
GODD|NC IDEA
Senator Advocates Re
lief Measure; Opposes
Policy but Believes
Situation is Critical

SITUATION ID SAA
w.shington-"We are facing an
...oss;ble condition in this country,
"-d one of two things must happeni
.;,h.r the farmer must be moved up
= the same plane on which the
.ov,mment has placed labor. rail-
.o.ds and all other industries. or else
s.o, and the great industries will
!. toreed down to the level OF agri-
.-,,ur. II is an unnatural condition
- have labor, railroads and all lines
& ;,dustry in a prosperous condi-
ian and at the same time leave the
h.s;c industry OF the country-agri-
,ul,ure-in bankrupt condition.
This statement was made by Sena-
-, Frank R. Gooding of Idaho in
the course OF an exhaustive speech
in the senate advocating enactment OF
the NcNary- Haugen agricultural relief
hill The senator added that this
!. the FIRST time in our history when.
tor ,ny length of time. labor and the
Industries have remained prosperous
while agriculture was depressed and
paralyzed.
AS farmer" continued Senator
Cooding, 1T is not hard for me to
understand what is the matter with
agriculture. II you analyzc the situa-
ton fairly you can come only to one
conclusion, and that is that our
government is responsible for the in
creased cost Of. production on the
American farm, an increase that in
exchange for her commodities
makes farm products worth about 70
eests on the dollar as compared with
the purchasing price of farm pro-
ducts before the war"
Sisuxsion Anti
Senator Gooding said he generally
was opposed to legislation stabiliz-
ing the prices of farm products, but
in the present situation, with the
government responsible for great
losses sustained by the wheat growers
and for the serious condition of agri-
culture generally, legislation is re-
Quired to pull agriculture through,
and he said the McNary-Haugen bill
will come nearer solving the problems
OF agriculture than any other meas
ure now before congress- 1t not only
will save the wheat grower, but
iarmers generally, in his opinion.
Entering into an elaborate analysis
OF the wheat-price-hxing operations
Of the government during the war,
Senator Gooding showed that the
government actually fixed the price
OF wheat below the cost of produc-
ton for some Of the crops produced
during that period. After fixing the
price Of wheat at $2.20, it indirectly
'nereased the cost of producing wheat
BY more than 100 per cent-that is
BY sanctioning an increase of rail-
road and ship-yard wages, which
were reflected in an advance Of wages
generally, including wages on the
farm, and then in 1920 he showed
how the federal reserve board forced
defation upon the country that
brought about the greatest crisis
ever known to agriculture"
Didn't Go far Enough
When the government fixed the
pnoe OF wheat, the senator said it
should have fixed also a maximum
priee OF everything the farmer had
70 buy. The farmer, in addition to
0e'ns forced to pay higher wages, also
was compelled to pay increased ele-
Va'or charges and increased freight
rates. none of which increases he
Gould pass on to the public, as can
'ne manufacturer or the railroads.
AS illustrating the extent to which
increased freight rates have burdencd
'ne farmer, Senator Gooding showed
from interstate commerce commission
'su'es that the farmer paid freight
OH on farm products alone of $oi4.-
'o'''IS in 1922. or about q per cent
" y the total freight bill of the United
va'es ,n. On this basis, he said. since
-, -, ~. the farmers have paid $l.ss7,-
s''a<' In freight on farm products
s'0ve = what they would have paid had
,e been no advance in freight rates
'ae and following the period Of
control. This takes no ac-
."0u'd have been reduced as he ad-
!, .a' certainly his plan should have
'a'r trail. But II he was wrong
' was no excuse for reducing the
,.e' 'e' at all II the Democrats and
s''" are right in their insissenee