Evening star., 1935-02-27
BY NICHOLAS ROOSEVELT.


"Are the farmers content with the
A. A. A. policies Of crop control?"
This question put to many per-
sons in the Middle West. The COM
posite answer is They are content to
profit from the payments which the
Government is making to them and
are grateful for higher prices for their
products. But they dislike the inter-
ference; they resent not being able TO
sell more at higher prices, and they
are indignant at the large number of
cl1iselers who are not playing the
game" As the head of one of the
farm co-operatives put it to me: THE
biggest liar gets the most help from
the Government"
Corn Growers Happy.
The region which / visited Is de-
voted primarily to raising wheat, corn
and hogs, dairy products and the les
ser grains The grain growers whose
crops were not destroyed by the
drought profited materially from the
effects of the drought in reducing
crop yields. Some of the dairymen
suffered through shortage of feed and
through having to pay high prices for
the hay which they had TO buy. Most
of the corn and hog growers are happy
because of the three-fold increase in
the price of corn and the 10 per cent
increase in the price of hogs.
In 50 far as 1t Is possible to esti-
mate popular opinion as to the rela-
tive benefits and disadvantages of
crop control schemes, II may be said
that as benefits are listed the higher
prices for farm products and the
checks for production given out
by the Government; whereas, as dis
advantages are noted the failure of
so many farmers to play the game
squarely and the inability of those
who subjected themselves to the con-
troll to make as much more money as
they think they would have made had
they not contracted to reduce their
output
Thoughtful Few See Socialist Trend.
The thoughtful few, however, view
the entire problem differently. They
see that the policy of crop restriction
under Federal direction leads toward
form of state socialism involving
drastic changes In our whole political
philosophy. At the same time they
Nria d.,
run. result in a general lowering of
income and must increase the tend
ency toward economic nationalism in
the United States. They contend that
1t Is to no mere economic bubble to
assert that We are suffering from
underconsurnption rather than from
overproduction. They point out that
In many types of farming-notably
the dairy industry-production has not
kept up to normal domestic consump-
ton. Other crops such as wheat. cot
ton and tobacco, lard and pork, which
We have always exported, are selling
at low prices not because We are
growing more and more. but because
We are selling less and less abroad.
In other words, the drop in farm prices
during the depression is the result Of
the sharp decline in the consumption
capacity of the urban and industrial
workers In the United States and in
the unwillingness of the rest of the
world to buy our surpluses.
Solution in Foreign Market.
In an admirable analysis of this
problem, made two weeks ago by
Dean Christensen of the College of
Agriculture at the University Of Wis
consin. it was pointed out that the
real cure for the troubles Of those
farmers producing exportabie crops is
to be found in enlarging our foreign
market outlets for these crops. and
that to do so necessitates willing
ness ON our part to increase our i'm
ports Failure to do this implies in
evitably a drastic reduction in the
production of agricultural exports and
at the same time a readjustment of
the farm economy of these producers
so as to make up for the permanent
losses of their foreign markets. This,
in turn. involves readjustments by
other farmers with an attendant
lessening of farm income and of the
rural markets for manufactured goods
Danger Of Isolation Pointed Out.
Dean Christensen at the same timt
points out that the effort of the A. A
A. to raise prices through the creation
of scarcity is likely to end up by
making prices higher than world
levels. Such prices could only be
maintained through artificial isola-
ton from world commerce. for the
simple reason that foreign goods
would tend to flood our markets ir
order to benefit by the differential
This, In turn, would nullify efforts tc
create higher prices. If, in order to
check this, We increased the tariffs
on agricultural goods, we would still
further reduce the volume of imports
from abroad and thus make it still
more dif1cult for foreign nations to
pay for our wheat, cotton and other
goods which we seek to sell abroad.
The tendency of the A. A. A. pro-
gram In the direction Of regimenta-
ton or a form of state socialism Is
not yet fully understood. LET the
Government do It" is still the COM
mon proposal for the solution OF ap-
parently insoluble questions. While
many persons believe that some sort
Of planning Is advisable. they ques-
ton the necessity Of placing so much
power In the hands Of the Federal
Government. Furthermore, they are
not satisfied that the basic principles
underlying the A. A. A. are sound.
Even granting the advisability of crop
reduction, many Of them insist that,
instead of individual contracts being
made for individual crops between the
Government and the farmers, involv-
ing close supervision and control. the
whole system should be placed on a
simpler basis.
Interested In Marginal Lands.
If, as Secretary Wallace contends,
It Is necessary to take 0,000. 900 acres
out of production, they would like to
see this done in the first place by
speeding up the policy of acquiring
marginal lands and, In so far as each
individual farmer is expected to take
mart n, q red,,cfior S,roCroyn hv re-