Evening star., 1932-09-14

Of farms to their owners. And hand in
hand with this we must adopt the
definite policy Of giving those who
have aost the title to their farms, now
from governmental agencies, the pre-
ferential opportunity Of getting their
property back.
Would Readjust Tariffs.
The second immediate necessity Is to
provide a means of bringing about.
through governmental effort, q substan-
tial reduction in the difference be-
tween the price Of the things the far
mer sells and the things he buys. One
way Of attacking this disparity Is by
restoring international trade through
tariff readjustments.
The Democratic tariff policy consists.
In large measure, Of negotiating agree
ments with individual countries permit
ting them to sell goods to us in return
for which they will let US sell to them
goods and crops which we produce. An
effective application Of this principle
will restore the flow Of international
trade; and the first result of that flow
lean farmer in disposing of his surplus.
1t is recognized, however. that to take
up the slack until international trade is
sufficiently restored, we must devise
means to provide for the farmer q ben
est possible time the equivalent of what
the protected manufacturer gets from
the tariff. You farmers put this well
in single phrase: I'VE must make
the tariff effective"
In the last few years many plans
have been advanced for achieving this
object. None has been given a trial
The circumstances are SO complex that
no man can say with assurance that
one particular plan is applicable to all
crops, or even that one plan is better
than another in relation to a particular
crop.
One fact I want to make clear, with
all possible emphasis There is no rea-
son to despair merely because defects
have been found in all of these plans,
discarded by responsible leaders IN
favor of new plans. The fact that so
much earnest study and investigation
of this problem has been made. from
so many angles. and by SO many men
is. in my opinion. ground for assur-
ance rather than despair. Such q
wealth of information has been ac-
cumulated, SO many possibilities ex-
plored. so many able minds enlisted.
and, more important still, so much ed
ucation on the subject provided for
and by the farmers themselves. that
the time has come when able and
thoughtful leaders who have followed
this development from the beginning
are now focusing on the basic elements
of the problem and the practical ma
ture Of its solution.
Charges Lack OF Leadership.
Within the past year many of our
principal industrialists also have come
to the conclusion that since the great
decline of our export trade the chief
hope for industrial rehabilitation lies
in some workable method Of dealing
with farm surpluseS.
Support for the trial Of some plan
to put the tariff into effect seem to
be found everywhere except in the
administration at Washington. This
official lack of sympathy has probably
done more to prevent the development
of concrete, generally acceptable plans
than any single force. To me 1t ap-
pears the administration takes a wholly
unfair attitude. 1t says, in substance,
that since a perfect plan has not been
developed nothing can be done. and at
the same time 1t takes position wholly
infmical to every effort made during
the past II years to provide workable
means of relief. This negative position
taken by the administration is more
than mere failure to assume leader
ship. 1t Is an absolute reputation Of
responsibility. This negative, even hos
tile, position has included disposition
on the part Of the administration to
set proponents of one plan of against
another. the apparent object being to
create a situation in which it Is posi-
BILE for administrator leadership to
say: How can we do anything for
agriculture when 1t Is not agreed within
itself as to what 1t wants to do?"
1t Will be my purpose. my friends, to
compose the conflicting elements of
these various plans: to gather the bene-
f1t of the long study and consideration
OF them; to coordinate efforts to the
end that agreement may be reached
upon the details of a distinct policy,
aimed at producing the result to which
all these efforts and plans are directed
the restoration Of agriculture to eco
nomic equality with other industries
within the United States. I seek to
give to that portion of the crop con-
sumed IN the United States benefit
your farmers an adequate price.
I want now to state what seems to
be the specifications upon which most
of the reasonable leaders Of agriculture
have agreed, and to express here and
now my wholehearted accord with
these specifications.
The 6-Point Program.
First. The plan must provide for the
producer of staple surplus commodities,
such as wheat, cotton, corn Gin the
form of hogs) and tobacco, tariff
benefit over world prices which Is equiv
alent to the benefit given by the tariff
to industrial products. The diferential
benefit must be so applied that the in
crease in farm income, purchasing and
debt paying power will not stimulate
further production.
Second. The plan must finance itself.
Agriculture has at no time sought and
does not now seek any such access to
the public Treasury as was provided by
the futile and costly attempts at price
stabilization by the Federal Farm Board.
with tariff protected industry.
Third It must not make use OF any
mechanism which would cause our
European customers to retaliate on the
ground of dumping. It must be based
upon making the tariff effective and
direct in its operation.
Fourth. It must make use OF existing
agencies and so far as possible be de-
centralized in its administration SO that
the chief responsibility for its operation
will rest with locality rather than with
newly created bureaucratic machinery
in washington.
Fifth. It must operate as nearly as
possible on a cooperative basis and Its
effect must be to enhance and strength
en- the cooperative movement. 1t
should, moreover, be constituted so that
it can be withdrawn whenever the
emergency has passed and normal for
eign markets have been re-established.
Sixth. The plan must be, In so far as
possible, voluntary. I like the idea
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