Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-08
FOR LOCAL FARM AID
Suggestion Eliminates Many Pro-
posals Under Consideration.

TO the Editor Of The Star:
The question of farm relief is one
that has been engrossing the interest
of the country for ages. In the adj
E1inistration o. President Buchanan the
grange movement was started. It was
| thought that would bring about the
desired relief. It has not done It. 1t
was thought that II the farmers we're
better educated that would be their.
relief. Many agricultural institutions
were introduced. That has not brought
| any relief. 1t was thought that when
| the Government established the De-
partment Of Agriculture that would
| bring the desired relief. That has
| practically failed. Relief was sought
through cooperative marketing. That
has failed. President Coolidge an
nounced that the farmers must work
It out for themselves. That has failed.
me McNary Haugen proposition was
vetoed twice.
1t is now proposed by the present
administration, as outlined by Secretary
| Hyde OF the Agriculture Department
before the House committee on agricul-
ture a few days ago, that relief shall
be sought first by adjusting the tariff
on all agricultural products grown in
this country to the point Of giving the
American market to the American
farmer; second, by developing the in
land waterways, so that farm products
from the Middle and Northwestern Sec
tons may find cheaper and speedier
/ outlet for exports; third, by better edu-
cation for the farmer, and fourth, by
appropriating the sum Of $500, 000. 900
toward cooperative marketing, very
much on the order of the equalization
fee plan of the McNary-H augen bill,
though under another name.
| Plans Believed Futile.
am a great admirer of our present
| President: have been a Republican all
Of my life and consequently far be 1t
from me to say anything unnecessarily
| to disparage any efforts that in the
| administrations judgment may be
| thought wise to bring about the desired
| farm relief. But / feel compelled to
! state that while heartily indorse the
| development of the inland waterways,
can see no farm relief in that either
| for present or future needs-nor in
deed anything in the way Of tariff adj
justment. higher education. or in CO.
| operative marketing as outlined. None
of these things can bring anything but
| temporary relief for the reason that
anything that will tend to bring about
better prices for the farmer will at the
same time tend to increase or stimulate
| overproduction and the farmer is soon
then just back where he started. All
prices on everything, farmer products
| included, are in the main higher now
than they have ever been.
Under these circumstances 1t seems
perfectly plain to my mind as to what
| the farmer needs and should have: "a
He should be put in position to get
| the price that the consumer pays for
his products, instead Of the farmer
selling spinach for 10 cents a bushel
and the consumer going to his grocer
and paying 10 cents pound for 1t.
or So per bushel-instead Of him
selling wheat for about cent a pound
and paving his grocer IL cents for
l-pound loaf Of bread.
Viewed from Both Sides.
For my part, and am both farmer
and q consumer, do not want to see the
consumer made to pay anything more
than he now does for any farm prod
| ucts. The consumer always Is the man
that gets the brunt of q rise in tariff.
1t apparently rarely helps the producer
very much. The fight Of the farmer.
therefore, is to get what the consumer
pays for his products instead Of seeing
1t all paid out to parties whose sole
business it is simply to hand it to the
consumer. Under these circumstances
I have devised what has gotten to be
called by some as "the Booth Plan"
,, for want of q better name. This plan
is now under consideration by Congress.
as reported under the head of agricul-
tural relief hearings before the COM
mittee on agriculture, House Of Repre-
, sentativeS, Seventeen session, from Ses-
sions January 80 to February /. 1928,
serial E, part g. by nearly all Of the
governors of the States, by the United
! States Chamber of Commerce by the
| American Federation of Labor, by many
Of the newspapers and private indi-
| vidualS, and have yet to find any
body that does not indorse 1t, at least
| in some measure
I have taken the stand that farming
| is q local issue; that 1t Is worldwide
| in its scope and that Congress cannot,
under any other basis. do anything to
help the farmer. If 1t could it would
i have done so long ago.
| My plan is that every city should
| take care of its own farmers; that
every city have an agricultural board
consisting Of three members; that all
| the farmers around It, for a zone of,
| say. Is miles. be permitted to register
before this board stating just what
| they propose to plant, thus affording
this board the regulation Of the amount
! Of supply for the city. For all that this
board shall approve for any given
/ farmer 1t shall guarantee him mini
| mum price. The farmer shall retain
crop to anybody he pleases either at
higher or lower price than the mini
mum so fixed.
To Sell and Deliver.
The board shall sell and deliver all
! the products SO bought from its farm
| ers to the consumers or to anybody
that desires to purchase them within
| its zone at precisely what it pays the
| farmer for them plus 10 per cent to
defray cost of delivery It shall also
provide carriers cold storage facilities
| and grain elevators for taking care of
its surplusage and sell all to customers
at cost plus extra cost of manufacture
and handling. The details Of this plan
| are fully outlined in q bill drawn for
this purpose and made part OF the
| proposed plan submitted to Congress.
A glance at this plan will show that
1t will be q wonderful relief to the
| farmers to have "a minimum price
| fixed for them as guide to their bust
ness; 10 to have the help of the agri-
cultural board in determining what to
plant; 90 a wonderful privilege for the
consumers to buy at the prices paid the
farmer instead Of paying possibly double
or treble for it elsewhere, as he now
does IN the majority Of his purchases,
and thus having his supplies brought
to his door by this board, doing away
with the long-talked-of middleman
both for the producer and consumer.
Summing this up, It is shown that
this plan viii greatly help both the
| farmer and the consumer and will not
| cost the Government, either of the
United States or Of any State, one cent
beyond Its initial cost. of installation.
EDWARD H. BOOTH.