The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1934-12-20
This Is the fourth in q daily
series Of Il articles.

This Is the fourth in 4 daily
series Of Il articles.
(By The Associated Press)
Warrington, Dec. 20.-(AP)-The
American farmer took the most de-
vastating year since 1881 in his stride.
One year ago farm prices had he
sitantly improved, credit was slightly
looser, and cash q little freer, but
back Of such indications lay q fear
that perhaps the bottom Of the farm
depression had not been reached.
Then the spring Of 1894 began
the worst agricultural conditions the
country ever had seen. Heat rose
to record breaking heights while rain
fall declined to nothing over large
areas. Twenty-seven states were At
fected seriously. Grasshoppers con-
sumed thousands Of acres Of growing
crops while chinch bugs sucked the
moisture out Of other thousands.
Yields Of food grains and cotton
were drastically reduced. production
Of feed, forage, and pasture declined
to nothing over q wide area, and q
heavy reduction In livestock numbers
was made necessary.
Farmer5' Income Rose
The drouth, coupled with the farm
administrations acreage curtailment,
brought production down to 497, 00O,-
600 bushels, the lowest since 1883, and
the corn output to 1872 900 900
bushels, smallest since 1881. Most
other crops, except vegetables and
fruits grown In restricted sections Of
the east and south, suffered In SIM
liar fashion.
Despite this calamity cash income
Of farmers totaled about $6,00O, 000,-
600 for the calendar year. an increase
Of 10 per cent over the figure Of IS
O5l .000, 900 for 1888 and 80 per cent
above the low level Of $4,32S. 000, 900
in 1892.
About $3.50. 900. or 10 per cent,
Of this increase came from cash bene-
fit payments OF the AAA In return
for reductions in acreage; slightly
more than 500, 100000 came from
emergency sale OF cattle and sheep
to the AAA: about $loO00,000 came
in payments for cattle destroyed by
the government after they had been
found to be tubercular or infected
with Bangs disease. The remainder
came from the sale Of farm products
and non-farm work done by farmers
and their families.
In - Ia
crease, prices Of farm products spurt-
ed In response. Cotton rose from 0.5
q pound on the farm to 1913 at the
close Of the year. Wheat went up
from 70 cents q bushel to 90, corn
increased from 20 to IS per cent
bushel, and hogs from $3.50 hun
dredweight to $500. Part Of these
increases was attributed to President
Roosevelt's devallation Of the dollar.
Reduction Quotas Whitfield
The index Of all farm prices rose
from 30 to 102, expressed in terms OF
the 1909-l914 average, thus touching
and slightly exceeding the much
talked Of parity" point toward which
the AAA has been driving since It
started year and half ago. These
prices were not truly indicative, how
ever, since prices paid by farmers
went up from 1l6 to 126 and the ratio
Of prices received to prices paid went
up only from SO to 81.
The farm administration, starting
on its permanent program Of adjust
ing production to the level Of dones-
tic demand plus whatever amounts
can be sold abroad. announced for
1895 10 per cent reduction In wheat
acreage instead Of the IS per cent in
force during 1884. curtailment Of cot
ton by Is per cent compared to 10
per cent, slicing Of corn production
BY 10 to 80 per cent instead Of 20
to 80. and curtailment Of hog num-
bers by 10 per cent instead Of Is.
In addition the administration
adopted q comprehensive national
land policy and began its program
Of buying instead Of renting land to
take it out OF production, having
purchased about 100000 acres Of
definitely sub-marginal land. moved
the families living on them to bet
ter areas, and turned the land back
to grass, forests, and game.
An outstanding development was
the trend away from voluntary con-
troll Of production on the part Of
farmers to compulsion under which
cotton and tobacco farmers were CIV
en- definite production allotments and
taxed heavily II they attempted to
market any goods in excess Of their
quotas.
While the new AAA was busy at its
adjustment problems older divisions
Of the department Of agriculture con-
tinued engrossed In their many-sided
activities ranging from predicting to-
morrow,S weather to searching the
Hinyan mountains and the Cobb
desert Of Asia for new grass plants.
The forest service in addition to its
regular work In conservation and
forest management, aided In direct
Ing the civilian conservation corps
in thousands Of far-flung camps and
began work on the SIS ,O00, 900 Can
ada-to- Texas shelterbelt of trees.
In the field Of farm finance the
farm credit administration practical
~ halted the explosive mortgage fore
closures Of 1888 and refinanced ap-
proximately $780,, 926, 843 in mortgage
indebtedness while scaling down
those debts by $4,000, 900.
Senate Upholds Tugwell
A plan which partially solved the
controversial sugar problem Was ef-
fected, dividing the United States
sugar consumption between domestic