Evening star., 1927-02-25
Continued from First Page.D

mestic consumption OF the other.
| would mean an increased exportable
! surplus to be dumped on the world
market. This in turn would mean "a
constantly decreasing world price
| until the point was reached where
/ the world price was sufficiently low s."
| mat. even though increased by our
| tariff duties, commodities would flow
/ INTO this country In large quantities.
! "A board Of - men are granted
| almost unlimited control OF the agri-
| cultural industry and cannot only fix
J the price which the producers Of five
, commodities shall receive for their
| goods, but can also fix the price
which the consumers OF the country
shall pay for these commodities. The
board is expected to obtain higher
prices for the American farmer by
removing the surplus from the home
{! market and dumping it abroad al n
below-c0st price. To do this. the
| board is given the authority by i'm
plication TO fix the domestic price
level. either by means of contracts
| which it may make with professors
or c0-operatives. or by providing for
| the purchase of the commodities In
such quantities as will bring the
prices up TO the point which the
board may fix.
Except as it may he restrained by
fear Of foreign importations. the farm
board. composed of representatives of
producers, iS given the power to fix
the prices Of these necessities of life
at any point ii sees fit The law fixes
no standards imposes no restrictions
and requires no regulation of any kind
There could be no appeal from the ar
bitrary decision of these men. who
would be under constant pressure from
their constituents to push prices as
high as possible. TO expect modera-
ton under these circumstances is to
disregard experience and credit human
nature with qualities it does not pos
sess. 1t is not so long since the Gov.
ernment was spending vast sums and
through the Department of Justice ex
erting every effort to break up conbi
nations that We're raising the cost of
living to point conceived to be eXees
sive.
Would Increase Prices.
"rhis bill if it accomplishes its bur
pose, will raise the price of the speci,
fed agricultural commodities to the
highest possible point, and in doing so
the board will operate without any re-
straints imposed by the antitrust laws.
The granting of any such arbitrary
power to n Government board is to
run counter to our traditions, the
philosophy of our Government. the
spirit of our institutions and all prin-
ciples OF equity.
The administrative difficulties in
volved are sufficient to wreck the plan.
No matter how simple an economic
conception may be, it's application on
large scale in the modern world is at
hxy iy,A 1,nNln nvif a nd
difficulties The principle underlying
this bill. whether fallacious or not. is
simple and easy to state, but no one
has outlined in definite and detailed
terms how the principle is to be car
iied out in practice. How can the
board be expected to carry out after
the enactment OF the law what cannot
even be described prior to its passage?
In the meanwhile. existing channels
and methods of distribution and mar
ketng must be seriously dislocated.
EQUALIZATION Fee Problem.
This is even more apparent when
We take into consideration the prob.
lem of administering the, collection of
the equalization fee. The bureau
states that the fee will have to be col
lected either. from the professors or
the transportation companies, and dis.
misses as impracticable collections at
the point of sale. In the ease of trans.
portation companies. it points @out THE
enormous difficulties of collecting the
fee in view of the possibility of ship
ping commodities by unregistered We.
hicles. In 80 far as professors are
concerned, 1t estimates the number at
6.632. without considering the number
Of factories engaged in the business of
canning corn or manufacturing food
products other, than millers. Some
conception of the magnitude of the
task may be had when we consider
that if the wheat, the corn and the
cotton crops had been under operation
in the year 1925. collection would have
been required from an aggregate of
16. .O34, ,466,619 units. The bureau states
that it will be impossible to collect
the equalization fee in full 81
'NO Constructive Suggestion"
THE bill will not succeed in provid.
ing q practical method of controlling
the agricultural surplus, which lies
at the heart OF the whole problem. In
the matter of controlling output the
farmer is at a disadvantage as com.
pared with the manufacturer. The
latter is better able to gauge his mar
ket. and in the face OF falling prices
can reduce production. The farmer,
on the other hand. must operate over
a longer period of time In producing
his crops and Is subject to weather
conditions and disturbances in world
markets which can never be known In
advance. In trying to find a solution
for this fundamental problem of the
surplus, the present bill offers no con.
structive suggestion. 1t seeks merely
hv-f
sumner. with the inevitable result OF
stimulating production on the part OF
the farmer and decreasing consump-
tion on the part of the public. It
ignores the fact that production is
curbed only by decreased, not in.
creas sed prices. In the end the
equalization fee and the entire ma
chinery provided by the bill under
consideration will merely aggravate
conditions which are the cause OF the
farmers present distress.
I've must be careful in trying TO
help the farmer not to JeopardiZe tne
whole agricultural industry by SUD
ieotine IL to the tyranny of beaucratic
SeorIation and control That is what
the uresent bill will do. But, aside
from all this, no man can foresee what
the effect on our economic life VIII De
of disrupting the long established ana
delicately adjusted channels OF com
marce That it will be far-reaching Is
urieniable nor is il beyond the range
of possibility that the present bill, II
enacted into law, will threaten the
very basis OF our national prosperity,
through disiocation. the slowing up OF
Industry, and the disruption of the
farmers home market, which absorDs
30 per cent of his products.
Guaranty Of Profits"
"yvub the limited number of farm
co.oneratives with whom contracts
NAV he made for surplus disposal and
the fact that farm cooperatives are