The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-10-04
The Role of Finance Capital
In American Agric ulture

Then, take the farm debt: One third of all
capital in agriculture is in mortgages, while
ninety percent of these mortgages are,
through local banks. linked up with the great
banks dominated by finance capital While we
see that the total value of capital in implements
and machinery in American farming grew (whie
the area of improved land increased only 775
percent) from 1910 to 1925 slightly over 100 per-
cent, the total farm debt grew nearly 200 percent
from $4,000, 900 to $12,25o, 100000. 1t is said
that this debt has reached around $4,000
100000.
We thus see the parasitic character of finance
capital in agriculture; and it is logical corollary
that it is not progressive that it is not laying
the technical basis for socialism.
The Role of Finance Capital
In this respect we must question the validity
Of the statement made in paragraph of the
Draft Program for Negro farmers on Page 249
of the March Communist, where it says that
American agriculture is to ever larger extent
being brought under the sway of finance capital
and experiences in connection with that tech
nical revolution" 1t is true that agriculture is
under the sway of finance capital; 1t Is true that
there has been a great technical revolution"
We find the term used In point No.
of the Kresttntern criticism of Draft Thesis
where it goes to mention IAN extreme c.
celeraton Of the concentration of capital in agri
culture" which is true; but there is added that
another result of this technical revolution" is
the rise Of large scale agricultural enterprises
and 1t goes on to talk about the tremendous de-
velopments of corporations" in the agricultural
industry. We think that this supposed tire
mendous development is tremendously exag-
gerated
Not So Simple
1t seems that large scale farming and corpora
ton farming is very enhancing to
rades, who think that, as mortgaged farmers be-
come bankrupt, finance capital takes over their
farms and engages directly in production, on
large scale farms with central management and
TT,1A i1
development in this direction, but it is wrong to
exaggerate.
We should say that in the majority of cases
quite another development takes place. While the
land may be taken over by the local banks hold
ing the mortgages and while these banks may
place a supervisor over these farms, in most
cases they remain individual farms being
worked by renters, and certainly upon the old
technical basis of the one family farm.
The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture gives us a
classification of what is meant by large scale
farms: % The enlarged family farm, meaning
the farm that is handled for the most part by
the labor supplied by single farm family. (2)
The factory" farm in which labor is supplied
by wage workers primarily, with an attempt at
division Of labor similar to that Of the factory
industry. CD What is known "chain farm
ing term covering various forms under which
a man or group of men exercise managerial
control over considerable number of family
sized farms. az Managerial service agencies
ment service advice to farmers.
The Role of Finance Capital
Obviously the second category, the factory"
farms is the only category in which may say
that technical advance attains its major effect
An example of the third category in which tech
nica advance may may not develop beyond
that of one-family farm, is given in the "Busi-
Week" for May Z. 1t quotes supervisor of
ST. Cloud Mimi. who looks after twenty five
farms with total of 1000 acres, saying:
I'VE are unable to find co-operators tenants or
managers who are properly qualified to produce
crops and for live stock to get more
than 60 per cent. of the returns which the soil
is able to produce" Can say that this repre-
sents technical revolution? Most decidedly
we cannot.
We do not deny that there is growth in cor
poration farming-in fact, we assert the fact of
technical advance, but both of these develop
ments are limited by the parasitic nature Of
finance capital, by the limitations these de-