Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-02
MEN AND MONEY
BY M. s. Rulseyser.
fCopyright. 1877

In the current drama of business
in the United States the persistent
clash of wills between city folk and
rural classes is an outstanding theme.
BY better organization, city work
ers and urban business managers
have succeeded in getting relatively
higher rewards for their productive
activities than the men on the farms
The old pre-war ratios have changed
TO the disadvantage of the urban
classes. In their distress. the farm
ers have turned for relief to poll
ticians, and the recurrent McNary-
Haugen bill is the suggested legis-
lative answer. The bill, which
though defeated and blocked from
time to time, will not down, involves
subtle and far-reaching economic
experiments, little understood by the
adversaries or its proponents.
The proposed law would entail a
far-reaching application of economic
therapeutics. 1t represents at bot
tom an attempt of the farmers to
get larger purchasing power-to
turn wheat. corn. cattle and cotton
into larger amounts of automobiles,
clothing, radios and agricultural
machinery.
Purposes OF the Bill.
Apart from the abstract merits OF
the principles, are the city workers
likely to assent to an attempt by
Government authorities to stack the
cards against them, even though the
purpose may be to restore 1913 rela-
tionships?
The purpose of the present bill is
to prevent SURPRISES from unduly
1ear 4LA vNWfn nh q N
such commodities" In a way, this
is an effort to get the Government
to dam up natural economic forces.
Price ordinarily reflects the state OF
production, as well as the nature Of
the demand for products. The new
machinery would be administered by
a Federal farm board to laid in the
orderly marketing and in the con-
troll and disposition of the surplus of
agricultural commodities. 1t would
receive wide powers to assist in re-
moving or Withholding or disposing
of the surplus" of commodities under
its supervision, and would offset losses
by levying an equalization fee upon
all producers of the commodities on
which 1t is operating. In last years
bill it was clearly intended to mar
ket commodities at home above world
prices and to dispose of the surplus
abroad below the domestic prices. In
the case of wheat, it was suggested
that a price of AZ cents above the
nearest competing foreign market, plus
transportation charges, be charged in
the home market.
Wall Street Opposed.
The business and financial interests
are for the most part opposed to the
proposed legislation. Perhaps the
most enlightened expression Of the
grounds for opposition has been
made by George e. Roberts, vice
president of the National City Bank
or New York, who says:
THE fundamental objection to the
plan Is that 1t proposes an arbitrary
interference with the free play of
economic forces, impracticable because
the undertaking is far too great to
be intrusted to such body as is pro-
posed. No scheme of price control
ever has been successful which did
not include a scheme for controlling
production also. Prices and produc-
ton are inseparably related. Prices
are the natural agency by which pro-
duction is directed. II they are
unduly high or low for certain
commodities, productive effort is
shifted accordingly and thus fairly
adjusted relations among commodities
and industries are maintained. These
relations are often disturbed by chang
ing conditions, but the natural price
system is always tending to restore
the natural equilibrium. Efforts at
arbitrary price regulation interfere
with this natural process and wher-
ever the influence upon production is
disregarded they not only fail of their
purpose, but work mischief.
There is something abnormal and
repugnant in the idea of deliberately
adopting a national policy of selling
foodstuffs and other necessaries
abroad below prices artificially fixed to
our own people. 1t cannot be sup
posed, in view Of the large wage-earn-
ing population, that such policy
would last long. The effects which it
would have on this country's position
in foreign trade are obvious.
Sees Great Speculation.
"The bill contemplates the great
est venture in commodity speculation
ever undertaken and the farmers are
compelled to participate whether they
want to or not"
Apart from technical arguments
what the farmers really want is
larger slice of the aggregate pie
which American industry produces.
Perhaps the real remedy is in
emulating the methods which have
been successful in cities-better or
ganization of production and distri-
button. Labor saving machinery,
scientific management and q relent-
less battle to get costs down have
characterized the efforts of the more
successful manufacturers. Labor in
the cities has shared in the progress
by the force of its own organization
efforts
Cooperative marketing of farm
products, better information regard
ing world supply and demand for
farm products and perhaps larger
scale production units among farm
ers are factors which offer more hope
for substantial progress.
If labor is better compensated in
the cities than in the country a
migration of men will tend ultimately
to set up new equilibrium. Mean
time, Representatives and Senators
have the immediate problem of de-
Gliding how to cast their votes on
the proposed legislative remedy, de-