Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-12
BAN ON SURPLUS CROPS
ONE AIM OF RELIEF BILL
Farmers Expected TO Raise Only as
Much Food as United States
Itself Needs.

LECTURERS. The contrasting treatment u
not deliberately devised by ANYBODY; u
is the fruit of conditions at least two
generations old 1t began when we
adopted the policy OF protective tar1h
to stimulate manufacturing. Also. the
writer III other articles has explained
that manufacturers can practice mass
Production, while farmers cannot. AND
mass production makes 1t easy Tor
manufacturers to have an export sur
HIilS successfully.
Let us now see where the American
farmer will END If these two principles
are followed Out--limitation of exports
for the farmer, expansion OF exports
for other industries, non-eXport Tor the
farmer, aggressive export for the manu-
facturer. Let uS examine the ultimate
outcome of these two policies running
parallel
Farmers and their families compose
about one-fourth of the population Of
the United States-abOut 28,000,000
persons on farms. out of a total popu-
lation OF about 5000, 900. Two or
| three generations ago, before we began
to stimulate manufacturing by means
of the protective tariff and otherwise,
the farmer was more than half the
, total population.
Farmers Status I'm United States.
The farmer is now about 25 per cent
of The Nation. lie has that percentage
Of standing. of prestige that share IN
the cOuntry'S economic structure. Also,
lac has that proportion OF pohCcal
power that measure OF capacity 10
have his way.
Nv lS4O the total population Of the
United States as the ordinarily accepted
rate OF increase, should be about lSo,-
900 900. All this increase OF 18,OO0,UOO
il tisa 1lrzSEnt n0lirV continued. Will
have gone into manufacturing and
trade, INTO industries other than farm
ing.
one can count on this because the
farmer is told to keep his business down
To where it will supply merely the
domestic American market. To be sure,
the increased 1900 900 of population
will consume that much more wheat,
corn and other farm goods, but there
will be no increase III the number OF
farmers. This is true, first because the
present export surplus which the farmer
Is now counseled 10 forget and dismiss,
will be enough to feed much OF tne
added population in America; second,
because methods of farming always are
being improved and the improvement
in methods will increase farm produc-
ton sufficiently to take care of the
greater population without any increase
in the number of individuals employed
In the industry of farming.
Meantime the entire increase OF popu-
lation will have gone into industries
other than farming The farm populs-
zion will be stationary The industrial
population will be increasing rapidly.
Ten years from now the farmer will be
! less than 25 per cent of the total popu-
| lation.. The farmers share OF popula-
! ton, the farmers share OF the total
voting strength, the farmers proper
ton of influence III politics, ms place
in the whole economic and social struc-
ture will be steadily growing less. Inc
farmers economic status and his social
status will tend to become that OF gar
dener to an immense manufacturing
and business community.
Changes Are Forecast.
Presently we shall reach a point
where the farmer will be only, let us
say, one fifth Of the total population,
where the farmer will have only one
vote, while the other industrial interests
will have four votes. About that time
something may happen. About tnat
time the manufacturers and all those
engaged in other industries may say
their food is costing them too much.
They will run into period where 1t IS
difficult to sell American manufactured
goods abroad because OF the compe-
tition OF other countries. They will
encounter obstacles To carrying out the
srandiose advice about flooding the
world with American exports OF manu-
features.
At that point the manufacturers may
say that America must reduce its manu-
featuring cost Among the first things
10 occur to them will be the thought
that Americas food is costing too much.
the employees and everybody engaged
in other industries Will say the same
thing. Under the pressure of diminish
ing wages they will hook about and
say:
The gardeners pay is too high-our
food Is costing us too much. Let us
take the tariff of farm products. We
must buy our food as cheaply as posi-
Bile. II Australia or South America or
Canada is willing to produce food more
cheaply we must buy from them"
This would be the logical course of
country in process of becoming mainly
manufacturing country. If manu-
featuring and export is the main indus
try. agriculture must become Subordi-
nate That is what happened to Eng
land when she became q manufacturing
nation.
This definite subordination of farm
ing to other industries would seem
likely TO be the ultimate outcome OF
these two policies running parallel, the
policy OF non-export for the farmer and
aggressive export for the manufacturer.
The farmer. relative to the rest of
the population, Is ia current similar
to what has happened as between the
horse and the automobile. In the be-
ginning the automobile had to conform
to the horse. Legislation took care of
tie horse and the driver OF horseS-at
one time some State laws required the
automobile driver 10 stop until the
horse driver should pass him. AS the
automobile industry grew stronger, leg
lslation took increasing care of it, To-
day, III several cities. the horse is actu-
ally ruled on some streets.
Al this, of course. Is about the future,
and may turn out 10 be wrong. Other
forces. not now possible to foresee, may
come into play. One thoughtful farm
leader admits all that is said here about
the present. AS to the future how
ever, he enviSageS q different outcome
He says there will be, so to speak. o
merger between much of manufactlr-
ing and much of farming. There will
be a decentralization of industry. He
thinks that much manufacturing, now
carried on in cities. will depart from
the high taxes. high wages and other
wise high costs of the towns. They will
go ont To the villages. Farming COM
will be dotted with factories.
Some farmers will become part-time
farmers and part-time workers in
industry.