Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-12
ENGINEERS TO HELP
FARM RELIEF WORK
Hoover's Comrades" Plan
Five-Year Survey to Find
Agricultural Ills.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

/ Thro,iph their executive body. the
American Engineering Council, which
represents the engineering organizations
of all classes in the United states, they
have just announced their intention 10
make a five-year survey OF agriculture.
The survey will be carried out in CO.
operation with the American society Oh
Agricultural Engineers.
I The close identification OF President
Hoover with the proposed farm survey
Is seen in the fact that 1t is to be
pursued on lines similar to the survey
made by the Hoover committee on
waste in industry. That inquiry was
one of the first instituted by Mr.. Hoo
yer when he became Secretary OF Com
fnerce and lasted roughly from 1922 to
1927. Lawrence w. Wallace, executive
secretary of the American Engineering
Council, who will have active charge
of the farm investigation, was vice.
chairman Of the Hoover waste COM
fnittee.
Specific Objective Ahead.
The engineers have specific objec-
tive. They want to find out what there
Is to prevent agriculture from becoming
a business founded on just as sound and
reliable principles as merchandising or
manufacturing. Mr.. Wallace asserts
that the engineering ideal for farming
will be realized when agriculture has
industrialized itself.
THE farmer he says, eventually
should be in position to produce
enough in one hour to exchange 1t IN
the markets of the world for that which
is produced in the same time"
The engineers have figured out that
under present conditions the farmer
has to exchange his products, requiring
218 hours to produce, for manufactured
commodities made in one hour.
1.-THE proposed analysis of the agricul-
tural situation is designed to point the
way to practical and measurable stand
ards of agricultural management" the
American Engineering Councils an
nouncement states. I'VE seek to arrive
at an understanding of the interrela-
ton and interdependence Of agriculture,
commerce and industry; to better agri-
cultural financing and credits: to i'm
prove marketing facilities and results;
to lower unit costs of production; to
eliminate avoidable waste In farm &C
tivities and products; to improve rural
conditions through greater use OF power
and mechanical equipment, and pave
the way to larger net returns and higher
standards of living for those engaged
in the agricultural industry"
Work Together on Idea.
That the American Engineering Coun-
ell and President Hoover see eye to eye
on the question Of what is fundamen-
tally wrong with agriculture is indi-
Gated by q passage in the councils
statement.
Many are making the mistake OF
considering agricultural as unit,
saws the council. "It is not unit. 1t
is as diverse as industry in its con-
cepts, detectives and problems"
On August II. 1928, in his speech OF
acceptance, Herbert Hoover remarked:
I'm my mind, most agricultural dis
cussions 60 wrong because OF two false
premises. The first is that agriculture
Is one industry. 1t is a dozen distinct
industries incapable Of the same or
ganization"
The other "false premise" to which
the President referred was the belief
that farm rehabilitation viii be COM
plete when it has reached point COM
parable with pre-war Agricultural
conditions were not upon a satisfactory
basis before the war;" Hoover con-
tended.
The engineers say they are convinced
that "the methods of engineering analy-
sis" can be applied successfully to ham
ding the ills of the American farmer.
Every phase of his troubles is to be
tackled, including the economic, social,
financial and marketing phases. Fl
nancing and marketing will receive
particular attention. Apparently the
whole scheme is to convert agriculture
from a mere and prevarious occupation
into business and calling based and
IAG, - 1xy
recognized lines that prevail in the
conduct Of commerce and trade.
tCopyrisht. 1929
STUDYING FARM PLAN.
President Develops Progress for Outline
to Congress.
BY the Associated Press.
with the special session still month
away, President Hoover is turning his
thoughts toward the development of
plans for dealing with farm relief in
his message to Congress when 1t as
sembles in extraordinary session.
Already the President has given
much thought to the problem and his
views largely are being followed by the
committees of the Senate and the
House in planning hearings to work
out the legislation. These will be
opened several weeks before the special
session starts.
Although Mr.. Hoover is reserving the
public revelation of his plans for his
message to Congress, it is known that
the committees are preparing to APP
proach the task largely from the CO.
operative marketing scale.
Text of Summer Speeches.
In several of his speeches last Sum-
ner in which he dealt with farm relief
Mr.. Hoover stressed the part that he
feels cooperative marketing must play
in assuring the farmer proper price
for his product. Along with co-opera-
tive marketing, he placed tariff revision
and the development of cheaper trans
portation to markets.
Many of the witnesses to be heard
by the committees in planning the
farm bill are expected to be persons
who have had experience in dealing
with the marketing Of farm crops, and
the belief has been expressed that the
measure that will come from the COM
mittee win largely hinge around the
development of marketing facilities.
Viewed as Marketing Problem.
Some of those who have been closely
associated with the President and ap-
pear to hold views similar to his own
believe that success in dealing with the
farm problem can come only when the
marketing of agricultural products has
been developed to keep pace with pro-
duction.
They recognize that there are wide
differences in the marketing systems
that must be established for handling
different crops and that methods must
vary among perishable and staple
products.
One of the proposals that has been
advanced for dealing with the problem
has been the creation Of fund to aid
cooperative organizations, but the
method Of promoting the growth OF
these marketing agencies must be