Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-23
0verproduction.

Tampering with the law of supply
and demand is tough job. the Federal
Farm Board has discovered. Using the
revolving fund set up by Congress for
the purpose, the board during the last
year has purchased somewhere between
1o0,00o,oo0 and 210,000000 bushels Of
wheat at prices ranging from 10 cents
TO $1.25 a bushel. The effort Of the
board was to take enough wheat off
the market to keep up the prices paid
to the American farmer, when there
was a surplus of the commodity. And
now announcement comes from the
board that this policy must halt; that
there will be no purchases of the new
crop made by the board. The wheat
farmers are warned that they must cur
tail their production If there is not to
be a continued great surplus, with re-
sulting low prices. This is excellent
advice.
Overproduction of any commodity,
agricultural or manufactured, brings
down the price If the commodity must
be sold. Even the knowledge that a
surplus Of the commodity is in existence
and ready to be placed on the market
1t any time is calculated to keep prices
low. As long as the farmers OF the
United States produce great deal more
wheat and a great deal more cotton
than can be consumed In this country,
they must face the fact, with SURPRISES
on hand, that the world price will be
the price for their wheat and cotton.
The tariff wall GARNET protect American
wheat that goes into the foreign mar
kets, and the export wheat will in large
measure set the price for wheat sold
ct home. The buyers Of wheat pay no
more for it in this country than they
have to pay.
The farmer and the manufacturer
alike are out Of luck if they produce
more than the demand for their COM
modities requires. There are those in
Congress who appear to believe that the
American farmer has a right to go
ahead and produce more and more
wheat, no matter what the demand for
It may be. OF course the farmer has
such a right, but If he exercises 1t he
must face the music just as the manu-
Sacturer Of automobiles must face 1t, II
notwithstanding the fact that the
market Is crowded with automobiles in
excess Of the demand, he continues to
produce. II the Government Is to be
called upon to take up the slack or
surplus in wheat, it is just as reasonable
70 hold that it must take up the surplus
Of clothing or automobiles produced in
this country.
There are demands today, however,
that Congress be called into special
session TO pass more legislation TO aid
the farmers. The "debenture" is most
frequently mentioned as the legislative
panacea needed to aid the wheat farmer.
The debenture plan, however, would
merely encourage overproduction OF
wheat, until all the tariff revenues Of
the country have been diverted into the
pockets OF wheat farmers and the
country Is flooded with debenture GER
tifcates which the Government in the
end would be called upon to redeem out
Of the receipts from other kinds of
taxation levied upon the whole people.
Farm relief in this country, which is
generally considered to mean that all
the farmers must be made prosperous,
Is likely to be a serious problem always.
II Is as idle to talk of making all farmers
prosperous as 1t Is to talk Of making
all manufacturers or business men
prosperous. The most that can be done
for them is to give them fair laws and
an even break" Continued over
production Of wheat or cotton by the
farmers cannot fail to bring low prices,
no matter what device the legislators
may undertake to stem the operation
~ the law Of sunrly and demand