Evening star., 1933-09-22
Another Bold Experiment.


The White House statement explain
ing the new plan to buy from tne
farmers SIS, 100000 worth of cotton and
foodstuffs for distribution among the
unemployed In the form OF clothing and
food suggests that this move constitutes
zone of the most direct blows at the
economic paradox which has choked
farms with an abundance of farm prod
ucts while many of the unemployed
have gone hungry" The same thought
Is emphasized elsewhere in the state
ment. which describes the plan as
program to help correct one OF the
most fragrant Embellishments OF Amer
lean vell-being," and again when 1t Is
said that "in this way two major
objectives Of the recovery program Will
be romoted-feeding and clothing the
unemployed more adequately and mas
tening the agricultural recovery
Seventy-five million dollars, even In
these DAYS of billion dollar disbursements
for relief of one sort ard another, is
still large amount Of money. 1t repre-
sents three-ifths Of the budget
balancing savings under the economy
act, fcr instance, which resulted from
the fifteen per cent salary cut But the
expenditure Of this money would not
be burdensome, and the results would
be cheap at the price, If such eX-
penditures as proposed really proved to
be a direct blow at the economic
paradox" which the White House state
ment describes.
viii it assume the Importance OF
blow? Will it represent anything more
than drop in the bucket? Will 1t show
its effects either as fastening agri-
cultural recovery or greatly mitigating
the suffering of the unemployed?
Yesterday the delegation of cotton
growers who called on the President
asked that the Government buy up half
the years cotton crop at fifteen cents
a pound-cotton now selling around ten
cents a pound-at cost of about S375,-
100000. This step has been asked to
augment the benefits accruing to the
cotton growers who, before the middle
of this month, are expected to receive
about s11OO00,0O0 for ploWing under
100000 acres Of cotton and reducing
the crop by about 4,26O, 900 bales. Those
benefits are already being condemned
as insufficient.
A part of the s75,o00OoO for purchase
of food and clothing for the unem-
plcyed will, of course. go to buy cotton
The price at which it will be bought is
not stipulated. But only part Of the
SIS 5O000O0 Will buy cottor-and that
part, judging from the demands from
the cotton growers, will be just about
enough to whet their appetites for
more. The same thing, more or less,
is true of the surpluses of other
diminished by the Governments S75,-
100000 purchase.
AS to relief of suffering among the
unemployed on the relief rolls, the food
d4Lu S4Ol1llIlS WILL, VI NO-t-S 14C1N. IL
will be added to the 100O00,OO0 pounds
OF pork which the Agricultural Adjust
ment Administration is distributing in
its pig-buying campaign to reduce the
Under the relief act Of 1892 the Recon-
struction Finance Corporation dis
bursed S295, 503 in the form of loans
to the States. But the inadequacy of
such funds in meeting the demands for
relief led to enactment of the Lewis
Wagner bill in the past Congress, which
authorizes the distribution this year of
$50O000 900 for direct relief. In the
Illinois, California ard Michigan-al
received about S747000J0 in Federal
grants, and loans which will doubtless
turn out to be grants. The States
including their Federal grants. Will
$75 100000 worth of food and clothing
make much Of a dent in the relief
needs, when such needs are measured
by the money now being spent to meet
them?
This plan becomes another of the un-
usual experiments now in process, where
hope of success is represented as burn
ing so brightly in the beginning that
failure Immediately to achieve its pur-
pose results only in greater and more
unreasonable demands for experiment.
ing on even larger scales.