The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-08-25


empty shelves, he has to put people
to work to do it. When he hires work
ers. the money they are paid immedi-
ately is spent because tens of thou
sands of them have been out of jobs
and with no money to spend even for
barest necessities.
General Johnson's purpose, there
fore, is twofold. He is driving hard to
get people to buy now If they have
money with which to do 1t that the
cycle of business may be set in motion
full swing again and thus, if success
full, the plan will provide jobs for
workers, profit for the dealers and
manufacturers and markets for the
producers of the raw materials. In
pleading for consumers to buy only
from establishments where the blue
eagle of n. r. A. is displayed, Gen.
effort for recovery and at the same
time repay those who have made the
concessions necessary for such a move
ment by turning the accruing business
to them.
With the destruction of cotton crop
surplus under way in every cotton
growing state, the
Wheat Acreage agricultural adj
PROGRAM justment admins
tration has con-
centrated its attention on getting the
wheat acreage program started, which,
indeed, it has been in more than pre-
liminary way. Previously, 1 reported
that Secretary Wallace figured a wheat
crop of not more than 460,0O0,000 BUSH
els next year was all that would be
necessary. Accordingly, withdrawing of
thousands of acres from planting will
be necessary.
Now, the adjustment administration
has sent out orders to farm extension
agents wherever counties have them
and has appointed temporary workers
where no county agents exist, and
these people are laying the ground
work for wheat farmers to sign con-
tracts with their government. The
contracts will provide for Withholding
of acreage and the farmers will be
paid for giving up that acreage
through the funds obtained by the
processing tax on wheat as it is milled
into flour.
Something like LOO agents, either
permanent county agents or temporary
appointees by the Department of Ag-
riculture, are at work in twenty-three
states. They are taking the initiative
i'll organizing the farmers, explaining
to them what the purposes of the acre
age reduction program are and how
they will be compensated by joining
in the plan.
Chester G. Davis, director of the
wheat production division in the agri-
culture adjustment
Success Is administration, en-
Assured tertains no doubt
at all about the ul-
innate success of the program. Nor
does DR.. NJ. L. Wilson, of the same
group, who has been in close touch
with actual wheat farmers They are
agreed that it will go over Just as rap
idly as the farmers can have the thing
explained to them.
In the meantime, however, the mill
ers of wheat are suffering, and the De-
partment of Agriculture is playing tag
with the grain exchanges and boards
of trade. The millers obviously are
kicking about the burdensome process
ing tax which they say is difficult to
pass on to the consumers fully. The
boards of trade and the Department
of Agriculture are snarling and biting
at each other over a different matter,
but settlement of their differences will
affect the results of the acreage re-
duction campaign. So the whole thing
constitutes one picture.
The grain exchanges have been criti-
cized without end by Secretary Wal
lace and the others in positions of re-
sponsibility on the farm problem.
Secretary Wallace has told the grain
dealers they have to come under
code, like other businesses, and they
have submitted a code for his consid-
Grafton which he does not like at all.
The secretary wants to keep the "little
fellows" out of the grain speculation.
He feels they have no business there
and that their marginal trading has
been the cause of some of the violent
fluctuations in prices because they can
not always put up more money If the
price falls out from under them. The
code submitted by the exchanges
leaves more power in the hands of the
exchange governing boards than Mr..
Wallace wants to leave there, and fails
also to reduce the speculative factors
the secretary thinks necessary.
So the situation is tense. It is
proper to say, 1 believe, that restric-
lions already thrown around grain
trading have virtually abolished con-
tract markets. From what some I'M
biased experts tell me, that develop
ment has done the grain farmer no
good. Secretary Wallace thinks of the
grain exchanges, however, as so many
do, that they are evil things. My re-
search on the question both In the
Department of Agriculture and among
the grain dealers convinces me there
is some truth in the secretary's claims.
On the other hand, the grain dealers
have certain inalienable rights, prop
erty rights, rights to do business. etc.
These ought to be respected, it seems
to me.
Candidly, the thing of which I am
afraid and the thing have heard dis
cussed more and more frequently
around Washington, is that If Secre-
tary Wallace and some of his aides
drive too hard a bargain with the
grain exchanges, they will develop into
nothing more than elevator men with
offices in one building and the grain