Evening star., 1932-12-08

sole purpose Is TO reduce production
| and to wfittle away the present huge
| surplrses without cutting the farmers
| income. Prices paid ON our markets
| would keep their usual relation to world
| markets. The payment OF BENEFITS to
farmers would be independent OF the
| world market price.
Gov. Roosevelt's fourth point Is:
"It must make use Of existing agen-
cies and so far as possible be decen-
tralized in its administration so that
the chief responsibility for its opera
ton will rest with the locality rather
that with the nswly created BUREAU
| cratic machinery q Wasnmgton.
does lust that says Prof. Wilson.
RESPONSIBILITY for administration OF the
plan will be placed upon State, county
and township committees, composed OF
local representatives"
Gov. Roosevelt's fifth point is:
1T must operate as nearly as poSSi-
BILE on a cooperative basis and its
effect must be to enhance and
strengthen the cooperative movement.
It should. moreover, be so constituted
that it can be withdrawn whenever the
emergency has passed and foreign
markets have been re-established."
Says Prof. wilson:
'The voluntary farm allotment plan
puts premium on cooperation among
the farmers. Those who cooperate
get the tariff benefits, while those who
do not cooperate do not get the bere-
fits It is not hard to see that If
adopted and farmers learn to work to-
gether in planning their production,
it will be natural for them to work
together in selling their products as
well. Cooperative marketing will thus
be stimulated. When world conditions
change, and the need for the plan
has passed, the operation OF the plan
could be changed by the farmers them
selves"
In his final point, Gov. Roosevelt
says:
sible, voluntary"
No Compulsion in Plan.
And to this Prof. Wilson answers:
There is no compulsion on any in
diyidual farmer to join in the plan;
those who do not elect to share in the
benefits are free to produce as much
as they please"
The greatest difference between the
voluntary domestic allotment plan and
other plans proposed for farm relief,
Prof. Wilson pointed out, Is that this
one does provide definite control Of
production, to correct the surplus stu
alton by striking at the real heart Of
the difficulty. In this connection he
called attention to the fact that the
Farm Board, in its annual report to
Congress on Wednesday, stated that
the reason for the failure Of its huge
stabilization operations was that sta
bilization would not work in the face
of a continuous excess of production
above consumption, and continuing de-
clines in demand" The recmmenda-
ton of the board to Congress that some
legislation be passed which would pro-
vide an effective system for regulating
in line with the thought that Prof.
Wilson has had in working out his
proposals.
Prof. Wilson emphasized that the
tariff charge, under his plan, would be
paid at the point of process, or manu-
facturer, the charge to be paid on each
unit of each specified commodity, wheat,
cotton, hogs and tobacco, processed for
human consumption, this tariff to be
passed on to the consumer or absorbed
by the manufacturer. On expectation
of a processed article, the charge would
be refunded.
With respect to cotton, hogs, and
maybe tobacco, acreage probably would
not be the basis of allotment for the
regulation of production, but instead
cntracts with producers would limit the
quantities to be sold.
Further explanation of the plan Is
contained in a speech Of Representa-
tive Clifford Hope, delivered in the
closing days of the last Congress. He
said, taking wheat farmer for an ex-
ample, and using figures which are not
accurate, but illustrative:
Take a man whose average acreage
for the last five years has been 100
acres, and whose average yield was 20
bushels an acre. His base production
would be 2,C00 bushels. If the domestic
allotment to his county was equal to go
per cent of the base production for all
the farmers of his county, this farmer
would then receive an allotment of
1000 bushels as the amount on which
he would receive payment Of the tariff