Evening star., 1932-04-21

agriculture by injecting it full Of the
I opiate of credit You may stimulate 1t
| temporarily. You may later lull 1t to
sleep, but it will wake up next Fail
| with all the painful reactions OF surplus
production and low prices. 1t will be
burdened with an accumulated debt
| which will require years to pay off.
Seed loans may be justif1able and de-
sirable when a visitation OF nature,
such as a storm, food or drought, has
devastated whole counties or States and
bears unequally as between individuals
or groups of farmers. But when the
exigency Is economic and affects every
one of us alike, the experience in
herited by the farmer from his pioneer
ancestors teaches him that the man VINO
lives on what he has and borrows least
will come through best.
Loan Vices MANIFOLD.
The vice of Government loans is
manvfold. The Government cannot
make determinations between the needs
and the merits of individual citizens.
We must loan not only to the worthy
and the industrious, but to the unworthy
and the shiftless provided only tney
come within the scant limitations OF
general act of Congress. Such loans
DEFY the inexorable economic law. Ihey
perpetuate in the competitive picture
submarginal farmers and submarglnal
farms to the detriment of those who
but for the competition thus created
might succeed. They delay recovery.
When the money is going out, all is
we'll But when the attempt Is mace
to collect it back, pandemonium breaks
loose Local interests want to collect
: the nroceeds of the crop themselves.
Political interests wheel into action oe-
manding cancellation Of the debt, or
moratorium, or at least an extension
of time. To the everlasting creolt OF
the farmer be it said that he does very
| little of the bowling. Also be IL salo
| that his own views are so much Sounoer
than those Of his representatives tnaI
during the very time that his repre-
sentatiyes we're dinning it into our ears
| that he could not pay. the farmer went
ahead and paid over 60 per cent OF our
| 1881 loans. ,,
The farmer needs many things mucn
more than he needs loans. He needs
relief from the excessive burden OF TAX
alton which he bears. He knows tnat,
because he is a consumer, much OF the
burden of taxes which is ostensibly
| loaded upon industry comes back 10
him in the price of what he buys.
He needs a consuming population
which possesses a high buying power,
not population burdened with taxation.
The primary needs of the farmer is
not loans, but market where ne can
| sell his products at a fair price. 10
obtain this market, he needs an or
ganization which will represent him.
| To obtain such an organization, the
| Government can help and is helping
through the Farm Board. To hold such
a market he needs the protection OF a
tariff high enough to give him undis-
puted possession of the home demand
| To reap full benefits of such market,
| he needs to control his production TO
such volume as will balance with de-
mand. Governmental funds will be
more wisely employed in relieving the
domestic market from the burden of
existing surpluses than in stimulating
by means of loans a larger production
and an increased surplus.
The statement is frequently made
! that the Presidents program for re-
covery provides ample assistance for
banks, railroads and corporations, but
none for "the little fellow" Such
statements are utterly unfounded. 1t
is true that Reconstruction Finance
Corporation makes its loans to such
| institutions but its primary purpose is
to release the strangle hold which fear
and panic have had upon the credit and
the job of the little fellow"
The extent to which our difficulties
are due to unreasoning fear and panic