Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-03
Farm Standards Promise Farm Relief
BY FREDERIC J. HiSKIV.

One of the campaign pledges which
President Hoover can be fully expected
| to redeem u II lies in his power Is tn
bring relief to the farmer An extra
| session OF Congress is anticipated with
farm relief as its principal task. Dur
! ing the campaign. Mr. Hoover made
! it clear that he expects much from
tariff revision in bringing this about
But 1t is worth while 70 glance for
moment at another field. in which
Mr.. Hoover, as Secretary OF Commerce
was intensely interested and is, itself,
! capable of furnishing relief.
/ Almost from the time Mr. Hoover tool;
! over the portfolio of Secretary Of Com.
merce he greatly extended the work OF
| the department in inquiries into stand
! ardization. He set no the Division OF
| Simplifled Practice and also that OF
! Commercial Standards. Parallel with
! this work. the Department of Agricul-
/ ture. through its Bureau of Agricultural
I Economics. was carrying on the work
! Of standardizing products Of agriculture
! 1t now can be fairly said with the
! approval of Department of Agriculture
officials that agricultural standards
! can be made competent measure of
! farm relief through getting better
prices and extending Consumptive mar
/ kets. There is no doubt that Mr. Hoo
/ yer. as President. will push this work
and endeavor to obtain the fullest
/ cooperation of producers of food prod
| uctS in obtaining wide acceptance.
| 1t will be profitably remembered that.
| in vetoing the McNary- Haugen farm
relief measure. President Coolidge found
his main objection in the equalization
| fee, which was. in effect, q guarantee
| that the farmer would receive a sort
of Government price subsidy. Mr.. Hoo
yer also has objected to money subyen-
| tions to farmers. Also it will be re-
membered that President Coolidge urg-
| ed greater and more effective efforts
on the part OF the farmers in acting
comparatively.
The crux of the whole situation is
the creation of a better market for
farm products through increased use
! Of the standards which have been fixed
by the Bureau of Agricultural Eco
Monies and the establishment Of such
additional standards as appear to be
called for.
Many Standards Now Set Up.
More than so standards already have
been set up by the bureau. ranging
from live stock, fruit and vegetables to
already are in use by many farmers
and at many markets. To bring about
the greatest measure of farm relief
the task appears to be to induce more
farmers to take the trouble to employ
them. In every attempt to bring about
farm relief through cooperative eff
fort the prime difficulty encountered
has been the individualistic tendencies
Of the American farmer. 1t has been
hard to make him see the advantages
of using and steadily conforming to
the standards.
The Bureau of Agricultural Economics
is prepared to demonstrate to the food
producer that cash advantages are to
be derived through this medium.
Let us take the apple, for example.
One farmer informs himself concerning
the standard grades into which apples
have been divided. He takes the trou-
BILE to sort out his crop. keeping the
several grades carefully separated.
Commission merchants learn to know
that If they order hundred barrels of
| a certain grade from that farmer they
are going to get them. Jobbers and
retailers buying from the commission
merchant also know that when he Of