Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-19

exported. Putting It In other words:
The exportable surplus Is offered first
in the domestic market and drags down
the price of the whole crop.
Calls Tariff Imperative.
ut has been abundantly demon
| strated that the tariff. standing alone,
with respect to crops Of which we have
an exportable surplus, does not func-
ton The presence Of the exportable
surplus in the domestic market pre-
vents the farmer from getting the bene-
| fit of the tariff. AS to these COM
modities, the tariff is like an engine
running with no betting to connect it
with the machine 1t is designed to
move.
Under the protective system Of this
country we have interfered with the
| laws of supply and demand for the pro-
| lection of industry and labor. No part
of that protection has been given to the
farmer on his major cash crops: and
when we talk about putting agriculture
on an equality with industry we are
talking primarily about the problem of
making the tariff function for agri-
culture in the way that 1t functions for
| industry.
The leaders of the Republican party
know this. Prominent members of
their own party have made it per-
tectly clear to the leaders. President
Coolidge must know it. and he must
also have known that an increase in
the tariff on wheat was an empty ges-
ture. Yet the Republican candidate
| for President says in his acceptance
speech:
AN adequate tariff is the founda-
ton of farm relief
But he makes no suggestion what
ever as to how the adequate tariff is
| to be made to function and become
effective with respect to the major cash
| crops. He refers to the tariff as
! though it really worked for the farmer
The solution has two parts: First
an adequate tariff; and. second. a
method of making it function. Mr.
Hoover refers to the first part and
ignores the second.
! Discounts Tariff Solution.
Every student of the problem in the
United States today is unanimous in
the declaration that, standing by itself,
the tariff is not the solution. so far
as crops are concerned, of which there
is an eXportable surplus. If the tariff
alone Is the foundation of farm relief,
why not raise 1t some more? The solu-
ZION is not as simple as That.
THE trouble during all these years
lies in the fact that the Republican
party has not been entirely frank with
the farmer. I could go further and
say they have not been honest with
him. Had they been honest and frank
with him. instead of extending sympa-
thy and promising relief through tariff
and promising economic equality they
would have frankly said to the farmer
that the solution lies In providing
mechanism for the control of the ex-
portable surplus, with the cost of that
control imposed on the crop benefited
as the only way to make the tariff
function. AS to that important principle,
the Republican presidential candidate
discloses obvious hostility.
"On that subject the Republican plat
form says nothing.
Lowden's Stand Cited.
But it's convention repudiated the
minority report seeking recognition of
this principle. What that means is best
shown by Gov. Lowden's comment:
II have urged. however, that 1t is
the duty Of the Republican party to
find some way to rescue agriculture !
from the ruins that threaten it. That, |
in my judgment, the convention by It's
platform just adopted has failed to do, |
and ! therefore authorize the with
drawal Of my name from before the
convention
1T would be interesting at this time
to ask the question: Did the Republican
candidate for President ever speak about
this question of surplus crops? He did. !
I'm 1924 he wrote as follows:
That referring to the surpIus) can
only be corrected by prices low enough !
to make production improbable.
What does he mean by that? I can
spell only one thing out of that. He
wants to drive enough farmers out of |
business to pull down the surplus crops. |
THE way he wants to relieve the !
farmer is to destroy him.
Again in 1925 he said:
The fundamental need Is balanc- !
ing OF agricultural production to our
home demand
us that the solution of the farm
problem, to starve the farmer to death?
To drive his prices down so low that
he can have no production for his |
energy? Is the sweat of his brow to
go for nothing and Is he to be eventu-
ally driven out of agricultural pursuits?
las to the balancing of the agricul-
tural production to our home demand, |
that would not be a good thing to nv |
way of thinking, even If you could do |
It, But that it cannot be done is best |
shown by report from the Bureau of
Agricultural Economics, which says:
During the last 20 years IS per
cent of the changes in Spring wheat !
yields. AS whole, perhaps three
quarters of the natural variation in |
crop production is due to yield variances
and lies beyond human control through |
acreage adjustments
Opposes Hoover Plan.
That is in effect to say the solution
OF disposing of the surplus advanced by |
Mr.. Hoover Is impossible and is beyond |
the power of human control.
If the students of the agricultural |
problem understand their business we |
nave put our finger on the sore spot,
we have discovered the primary cause |
OF the illness in the agricultural indus
try. and 1t is now for the doctor to pre-
scribe the remedy.
What does Mr.. Hoover offer? First. |
the tariff. Everybody knows, and he |
knows. himself. that the tariff is not
effective as to the basic cash crops /
without supplemental device to make |
it work
He offers inland waterways. Very
Sooo' Inc democratic party Is In favor |
OF inland waterways. just as strongly |
as the Republican party, but / think !
IL is only fair to say that nobody would
offer that as an immediate remedy. |
The present condition needs remedy
at once and not a time far distant, |
when the improvement in the inland
waterways could be an accomplished
fact. At best, were they with us to-
day, they would not exert sufficient in
huence to solve the problem
He offers sterilization corporations. |
Sterilization corporations made up of
voluntary associations of producers can
no more stabilize agriculture than the
banks Of the country were all volun-
tarllY to stabilize our financial system