Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-04-16
FIRST State

<(O~ASA44ACA R0SG O11G.J
nfhere was a great expansion of pro-
suction from u marginal lands
uurlng the war, and upon these
profitable enterprise under normal
conditions can not be maintained.
hleanWhile their continued output
tends to aggravate the situation.
Local taxes have doubled and in
some cases trebled. Work animals
have been steadily replaced by me-
chanical appliances, thereby de-
lcreasing the consumption of farm
products. There are many other
contributing causes.
The general result has been that
our agricultural industry has not
.-kept pace in prosperity or standards
OF living with other lines of indus
Gtry.
There being no disagreement as
ITO the need of farm relief, the
Nproblem before us becomes one Of
lniethod by which relief may be
1most successfully brought aoout.
because of the multitude Of causes
land because agriculture is not M
EtinduStry but a score of industries,
five r confronted not with a sings
'f4pToblem alone but a great number
4 OF problems. Therefore there is no
single plan or principle that ear
ebe greatly applied. Some of the
IforceS working to the detriment Of
Horticulture a be greatly mitigat-
ted by improving our waterway
Transportation; some Of them by
reimbursement Of the tariff; some by
fbetter understanding and adjust
ment Of production needs; and
tsome by improvement in the me-
Jthods Of marketing.
I An effective tariff upon agricul-
tturai products, that will compensate
the farmers higher costs and high
Ger standards of living, has a dual
purpose. Such a tariff not only
protects the farmer in our domes-
tic market but it also stimulates
him to diversity his crops and to
sgrow products that he could not
otherwise produce, and thus lessons
his dependence upon exports to for
leigh markets. The great expansion
OF production abroad under the
conditions I have mentioned rem
sders foreign competition in our ex-
,port markets increasingly serious.
tit seems but natural, therefore,
shat the American farmer, having
been greatly handicapped in his
foreign market by such COMPETE
,tion from the younger expanding
countries, should ask that foreign
access to our domestic market
SHOULD be regulated by taking into
account the differences in our costs
OF production.
The government has a special
mandate from the recent election,
not only to further develop our
waterways and revise the agricul-
ttural tariff, but also to extend sys-
tematic relief in other directions.
I have long held that the multi
ipliclty OF causes of agricultural de-
preston could only be met by the
creatlon OF a great instrumentality
Clothed with sufficient authority
and resources to assist cur farm
ers to meet these problems, each
upon its own merits. The creation
OF such an agency would at once
transfer the agricultural question
from the field Of politics into the
realm Of economics and would re-
suit in constructive action. The
administration is pledged to Gre
ate an fundamentally that will
investigate the causes. find sound
remedies, and have the authority
and resources to apply those rene
dies.
Reorganization
The pledged purpose of such Il
FEDERAL farm board is the reorgan-
lzatlon OF the marketing system on
sounder and more stable and more
economic lines. To do this the
board will require funds to assist
IN creating and sustaining farmer
owned and farmer-controlled apen-
cles for a variety of purposes, suc.l
as the acquisition of ADEQUATE
warehousing and other facilities ~.
marketing; adequate working CAP
ital to be advanced against COM
modities lodged for storage; neces-
sary and prudent advances to cor
porations created and owned DIV
farmers marketing organizations
Tor the purchase and orderly mar
keting Of SURPRISES occasioned by
climatic variations or by harvest
congestion; to authorize the crea-
ton and support Of clearing houses,
especially for perishable products.
through which, under producers
approval, cooperation can be estab-
lished with distributors and pro-
cessors to more orderly marketing
OF commodities and for the clint
nation Of many wastes in distribu-
ton; and to provide for licensing Of
handlers Of some perishable prod
ucts SC as to eliminate unfair a
tees. Every penny Of waste be-
tween farmer and consumer that
we can eliminate, whether it arises
from methods of distribution or
speculation, viii be a gain to both
farmer and consumer.
In addition to these special pro-