Evening star., 1932-09-20

As a means Of gaining broader view
OF the present status OF remedies for
depression on the farm, the conference
OF MidWestern Governors, held at Sioux
City, is declared to have been valuable
Its utterance as to strikes and their
lack of effective results is commended,
while the need of tariff equality is
stressed. Some matters before the con-
ference continue to be subjects of de-
| bate.
The conference directed attention
toward the farm problem" says the
! Sioux Falls Argus-Leader. "in a more
effective way than 1t has ever been done
before" That paper advises that lit
brought out the aspects of the farm
difficulties in a dramatic manner that
| has compelled attention" As to the
! series of recommendations, the Argus
Leader remarks: THE various points in
them will be accepted with divided
sentiment. Perhaps the foremost in
public attention at the moment is the
moratorium on farm mortgages The
( Governors requested that the owners
Of farm mortgages refrain from fore
closures during the period of the emer-
gency except in cases where the farmer
showed little inclination to cooperate.
Such an attitude, in effect, is likely to
| be taken by the majority Of mortgage
I holders. In fact. the larger insurance
companies already are following that
program. They are avoiding the ex-
penSe Of foreclosures and feel that IL
Is TO thei- interest as well as that OF
the farmers TO refrain from summary
action except in instances where the
holder Of the land completely lies down
en- the job. The added recommendation
Of Government intervention to force a
tar NV Dc nnt
/ to criticism. That is dangerous busi-
ness. The Governors touched, too, upon
the delicate question Of currency in
| f1ation. They approved sound inf1a-
| tion,' the modifying adjective being all
| important in this case. No one, of
course, can object to a sound imitation
The difficulty lies in discovering it. The
recommendation n1 IN & respect t to tariffs i,1s Is
that the present tariff is unfair to sg-
riculture and that the position Of the
| farmer can be bettered through re-
vision with his welfare in mind"
THE sitting out of the good and the
,, practical from the unwise or the i'm
, practicable" thinks the Des Moines
Tribune. will take little time" That
paper feels that "since some of the pro-
posals made have been advocated for
years by practically all farm leaders. it
is unquestionable that there is merit
in them" Observing that the Gov
ernors. without dissent by any of them,
declined to adopt the idea OF an en-
hargo on movement Of farm products.
the Tribune comments: They en-
phasized the lack of legal precedent for
such a thing, and they emphasized also
| the complications, fnreseen and unfefe-
seen,' that would arise, They recon-
mended that farmers themselves, by
voluntary and lawful cooperation, put
| themselves in position to deliver or
withhold products from market in ac-
cordance with their interest. They in
eidentally stressed the desirability OF
| strengthening and using existing CO.
| operative facilities, rather than proceed
ing to build anew from the ground up
All this may be disappointing to some
of the farm strikers-theugh one or
| two of the shrewdest of the farm strik-
ers' spokesmen indicated at Sioux City
their full realization that forcible with
holding Of products frem market was
| not feasible. It was nevertheless the
only thing the Governors could have
done. The sooner 1t is understood
everywhere that the idea Of an en-
| barge enforced BY troeps-which is
what 1t would come down to-is utterly
impracticshle, the better 1t will be-"