Evening star., 1933-05-02
WALLACE DEFENDS
PENDING BILL
Secretary, in Forum Address
Sees Measure Designed
for Common Good.

Describing the pending farm bill as.
in some ways. perhaps as crude as the
.irst automobile" Secretary Of Agricul-
ture Wallace last night told the Nation
Ne believes 1T is profoundly right in
purpose. for it attempts a reconcilia-
ton between science and social JUS
tice"
Mr. Wallace spoke in the National
Radio Forum, arranged by The Star
and broadcast through WRC over an
extensive network of other National
Broadcasting stations.
His address was the fifth in the cab
met series being presented in the
forum.
Predicts Success.
81 believe it can be made to work. if
jhe rank and file of the people of the
United State5-the men who grow our
food the men who handle and dis
tribute it. the men and women who
consume lt-are genuinely hungry to
distribute the fruits Of science IN a
just way" Secretary Wallace empha-
sized.
Because the farm measure is not vet
law, Mr. Wallace. explaining that de-
tailed discussion would have to wait
a later time, devoted the major part
Of his address to the scientific research
activities of the Agriculture Depart
ment. declaring these must continue
to increase productive efficiency. to
widen markets" Along with this line
of endeavor, he said is a new field for
experimentation--that of social con-
troll which he described as the prln-
ciple Of the farm legislation.
Can we, do you suppose. become as
efficient in our social experimenting as
we have already proven ourselves il
scientific experimenting" he asked.
If this can be done. we can go ahead
into one triumph after another in the
scientific world. If it is not done. 1
fear for the future of our civilization -
The full tsxt of Secretary Wallace s
ADDRESS follows.
In this series of radio broadcasts it
is tie custom. as / understand 1t, Tor
each cabinet officer to do little boast
ing about his own department. l am
more than willing to do my share of
that on behalf of the Department of
Agriculture, but in my remarks tonight
l hope not only to discuss the past of
this department, but also to consider its
future
Necessarily. that involves the new
farm bill. BY tonight I had hoped to
be able to talk in some detail about 1t.
but since the bill has not yet become
law. detailed discussion will have to
wait. In lieu of that. let me discuss
the view that the new bill is the logical
next step in the work of the Department
OF Agriculture, in particular, and of all
government in general.
In order properly TO appraiSe the work
Of this far-fung department of the
Federal Government. suppose We cut
through tedious underbrush of official
and legal language, and set forth, in
plain words. what the Department of
Agriculture was established to do.
II you have thought about mankind's
struggle through the ages to build an
orderly society, you will agree that
there have been two primary problems:
First. to produce enough food and fiber
10 feed and clothe US all: second. TO
divide what we produce as eQuitably as
possible.
Problem of Production.
We have always had to be concerned
With production. Whatever else man
can do without. he cannot live without
food. And that was no simple problem
hack In the days when men lived in
tribes in the forests. and when the
food supply depended upon a mans
skill with crude weapons. When the
first faint STRINGS of commerce and
industry drew men TO live in larger
groups. in cities. the problem of a
food supply became even more acute
Those who lived in the ancient cities
could not grow their own food and fiber
Those who remained on the farm. had
the new job of growing enough not only
for themselves, but for other families in
nearby cities Thus the dependence of
rhe city dWeller upon the farmer is
Overwhelmingly real. 1t is the key log
in this structure We call modern civili-
Zation.
And there were times when the struc-
ture was in danger of collapse, or in
deed did collapse. because the key log
abnormal seasons. drought or flood
famines came and wrecked whole seq
ments Of human society.
1t was customary to blame those catas-
trophies on nature. Man. weak creature
vas poWerlesS if nature chose to Starve
him. or drown him, or otherwise NAL
treat him.
Nature Modified.
Somewhere back in the ages, few in
dividuals. more daring. more imagina-
tive than the rest, began to wonder
whether that was true. They reasoned
that though nature could not be ignored.
it could be modified Man began doing
that when he learned how to make fire
BY rubbing sticks together We have
been modifying the behavior of nature
ever since, TO prevent famine food. and
other disasters. until as Julian Huxley