The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-11-03
LIKES ALLOTMENT PLAN

Oct. 81, 1882
Editor Tribune:
Much has been said, of late, about
the tariff not being made TO operate,
or workable as far as farm products
arc concerned. But by what might
be termed. measure or bill provid-
ing for the licensing of farmers or
Domestic Allotment, relief may be
apparent; by this plan it would make
this tariff Immediately operative on
all products of that portion of any
farm products consumed in the
United States: adding for example,
42c per bushel en- wheat consumed;
&c per h. on hogs, SC per ID. on cot
ton and SO on.
1t would thus voluntary contract
with the individual farmers, make it
possible for the administ t n g
agency (some such body as the farm
board to control production and
thus bring up prices of farm prod
ucts to the pre-war exchange value,
and keep them there.
There is this contrast between this
plan and all other cooper at i've
schemes: All cooperatives up to date
have penalized it's members, because
the outsider has shared any benefits
without mourning any of the ex-
penses. Whereas under this plan
those staying out would be penalized
by not receiving the tariff benefits
that would 60 to all who participate;
and there would be no question about
the payment of the money as desig-
mated by the tariff, because the plan
might propose that the tariff be col
lected from the miller. the slaughterer,
the manufacturer, ETC.. in the form
Of an excise tax in the amount of
the tariff. Everybody knows that
the steel manufacturer for example.
adds the amount of the tariff to i'm
port prices. The farmer can't do
that because there are millions of
them. But under this Domestic Al
lotment plan, the internal revenue
department could collect the amount
Of the tariff from the professor, and
it would be added to the price Of
say flour, pork. ETC.. just as the steel
maker adds the tariff to his prices.
In the case of wheat, for example,
the annual human consumption in
the United States is about 5O0,OO0,-
600 bushels On every busllel process
ed for human use livestock feed is
eXempteO the miller would pay 42c
per buShel in excess of the market
price, this excess would raise about
$500 100000 each year. Then this
S2OO,000O00 would be allotted, or
rather the 500,000,0O0 bushels to all
wheat producers desiring to share in
the fund. The 500,000O00 bushels
would be divided in the proportion,
say Of the 10-year average produc-
ton of each; for example if North
Dakota has averaged per cent, that
would give North Dakota $4,000, 900
of the bushels on which the tariff
would be collected. Then If Mclean
county had produced, say per cent
of the wheat in the state in the last
10 years. that would allot 1,000,0
bushels to Mclean county. Then all
of the wheat farmers in Mclean
county would be asked to report their
acreage and average yield of wheat
for five years last past. to county
commission set up, of say five men.
Then the million bushels would be
divided between all those farmers in
proportion of the average annual
production CT each. This, for exam
pie, would give to farmer who had
averaged 1000 bushels an allotment
of not less than GOO bushels, since at
least go per cent of the wheat pro-
duced in the United States IS con-
Sumed iii the United States. Now on
that 600 bushels the farmer would
receive AZ cents per bushel, less the
costs of administration, estimated
not to exceed one cent per bushel,
and the worlds price in addition.
Now to obtain those Allotment
Certificates each farmer must sign
an application In which he will
agree to decrease his acreage or in
crease it in any percentage as re-
n,lired bv the national adminiStra-