Evening star., 1927-11-13
Hope for Farm Relief Is Frightened

chief farmrelief plans claiming the country's
attention.
There is the McNaryHaugen plan. There
is the National Grange plan. There is the Jar
dine plan. There is the new Business Mems
plan''
Omitting all minor points, and coming to
the main controversial issues involved, these
four plans stand as follows:
They, all of them, in the first place, neces
state the creation Of new special Federal
agency, commonly called a Federal Farm
Board. That issue, therefore, may almost be
regarded as settled. We have had much strong
and honest talk in the country against new
Federal commissions and bureaus and boards
but we are going to have a new one for agri.
culture.
Then we come to what the new board will
do. Here we alight upon a most startling fact.
The Business MEMS plan goes farther in a
certain way toward taking the Government
into business than any of the three other plans
1t is, in a certain sense, the most radical of
the four.
Under the McNary-Haugen plan the Federal
Farm Board would enter into contracts with
cooperative societies with private business
firms and these societies firms would pro-
ceed to do a business of buying and selling farm
products in accordance with the terms of the
contract.
Under the National Grange plan the Fed.
eral Farm Board would at the most, devote
''QeDen.
ture certificates" which would be issued to all
exporters of farm products and which could he
turned into cash at all customhouses of the
United States in connection with the payment
of duties on imported goods
Under the Jardine plan the Federal Farm
board would help to finance the operations Of
rehabilitation corporation" in each agricul.
tural industry in distress, and this corporation
would proceed to buy and to sell the products
or that industry. In other words under the
Jardlne plan, the Government would be a finan.
cler, but it would not be in any way a mer.
chandiser.
Under the Business Mems" plan. however
the Federal Farm Board would buv stoclk IN
the "stabilization corporation" and would be
represented in the directorate Of the corpora.
ton and would therefore be really and actually
Itself engaged in buying and selling
* X X X
when the drastic nature of this suggestion
is considered, it becomes clear that the least
that is going to happen is that the Federal
Government, through board, is going to en-.
ter even more deeply than at present into the
business job OF Offering improved financial facil.
tiles to the agriculture of America.
only one more vital feature of the plan needs
to be considered. Granted a Federal Farm
Board. ard granted a business activity by that
board either as financier or as merchandiser
what will be done to take care of the burden
of whatever losses may be encountered?
Under the National Grange plan the losses
would be absorbed into the customhouses
and into consequent reduction Of the Federal
revenue derived from the customhouses
Ihat is, the losses would be placed directly
upon the United States Treasury and upon the
taxpayer as a whole.
Under the Jardine plan and the Business
Mems plan, 1t is contemplated that losses shall
be avoided altogether through judicious bust.
ness practice by the Federal Farm Board and
the "stabilization corporation"-that is, through
having the "stabilization corporations confine
their buying to times when prices are unduIy
low and embark upon their selling only when
prices have been caused to recover