Milford chronicle., 1927-09-09

subsidy than legislation which sur
renders the governments preroga-
tive of issuing paper money to ma
tional banks and the Federal re-
serve system.
It is not necessary to continue this
analysis further, but we hope that
the readers will observe that we are
not in a critical or destructive frame
of mind. We are determinedly con-
structive. We are not opposing the
tariff in any way. We are simply i'm
sisting that the time has come to
bring equal advantages and equal
opportunities to agriculture.
Canadian reciprocity which was
done to its death by the heroic eff
forts of the Grange and other organ
izations, was a bold bid to benefit
the American manufacturer and con-
sumer at the expense of the Ameri-
can farmer. Other instances where
agriculture has been neglected might
be given. We are saying this with
out any criticism of any group, save
the farmers themselves.
Fair to the Consumer
The charge is sometimes made
that the Debenture will raise the
price to the consuming public. This
may or may not be true. 1t will be
no more or no less true than that the
tariff or other restrictive legislation
raises consumer cost. 1t will have
great advantages, however, in a ten
dency to stabilize prices, by offering
advantage to hold, store and export
non-perishable agricultural commO-
dities.
Wide fluctuation and excessive
speculation is expensive to the con-
sumer. Study wholesale bread, corn
products and meat prices during the
last year. We will find that the price
of live pork has changed greatly but
there has been little change in the
price of pork chops. There has been
a big change in the price of wheat,
but the wholesale price of bread has
remained almost constant. Corn has
doubled in price yet corn fakes and
other corn products have changed
but little.
Home Manufacturing Encouraged
This plan would not discriminate
against the American manufacturer.
Farm prices would most certainly
advance. The American manufactur-
er would pay more for some of his
raw material. Consequently, to pre-
vent him from being handicapped in
the European or export market, a
clause could be added similar to our
drawback provision, to permit the
manufacturer to secure Debenture
advantages on that proportion of the
raw material contained in the manu-
featured product that he exported.
Surplus Control
The National Grange proposes that
the Debenture value of a COMMODITY
be reduced, just in proportion as the
acreage of that commodity is IN
creased above the ten-year average.
This would have a tendency to pre-
vent over-production and be an add
ed factor leading toward guided ana
intelligent production.
Effect on Revenue
While the Debenture plan would
keen money out of the treasury, 1t
would have little effect on revenue
or taxation. A study of methods OF
raising revenue, since the first sec
retary of the treasury, indicates a
continuous decline in the Importance
of the tariff as a revenue factor. In
the days of Alexander Hamilton,
more than $50 of our revenue came
from the tariff. Today, less than 1870
comes from this source.
The effect of the Debenture on the
treasury could be corrected by lit
tie economy along other lines. On
the other hand it would be very easy
to overcome all the loss in revenue
bv a change in tariff schedules.
Teher should be added tariff duties
on a number of agricultural pro-
ducts. For example, copra, which
completes with butter fats and oils, is
on the free list. A tariff could be
placed on tropical fruits which are a
substitute for home grown fruits.
There are a number of agricultural
luxuries that should be on the tariff
list. By these adjustments it would
be possible to prevent the Export
DeDbenture from costing either the
treasury or the taxpayer a penny
and yet the favorable effect on farm
prices would reach hundreds of mil
lions of dollars each year.
Not a Cure-AI
The export debenture idea will not
cure all the ills, real or imaginary,
of American agriculture. 1t will cor
rect present-day inequalities result
ing from the tariff and restrictive
legislation, and will promote and
stabilize agricultural production and
marketing. The farmer will need to
conduct the fight to shorten the
route between producer and consum-
er, to eliminate waste, to keep down
the cost of government, and to
broaden the base of taxation. The
farmer must demand additional re-
search into methods and experiment
tation, find new uses for farm pro-
ducts, as well as economy and eff
cheney in production, and lastly he
must eternally seek to strengthen his
own organization.
While this plan is not cure-all, it
does have the support Of rural eco
nomists and some of the nations
leading thinkers, on the tariff as it
relates to agriculture. Men like Dr.
Charles Stewart, at the University of
Illinois, who have given lifetime
of study to the problem, favor this
plan in preference to those more in
tricate or complicated. There is no
more cure-all for rural problems
than there is for human diseases. We
must attack our problems one at