The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1935-04-12
Lem Harris Proves the AAA Is Program Aiming to
Drive Half of American Farmers Out of Produc-
ton for the Benefit of Wall Street

80 AAA@AS @GAe "a y AO~A~AS
it of Wall Street
forced to cut into foundation
GSerds will be in a position to
profit later from higher prices"
We know that these CHEEKY
words only apply to those richer
farmers who, with government as
sistance, were able to ship their
animals out of the territory. The
vast majority of the hard hit cat
tlemen are stuck with dry land,
almost no cash and a few thin
animals.
The benefit payments which
were given farmers could not take
the place of the herds which they
had to sell. And who got the
benefits? The Social Questions
Bulletin, issued monthly by the
Methodist Federation for Social
Service has this to say in its
February bulletin:
''The caIairman of an AAA
allotment committee in a Neb-
raska county who hands out the
AAA benefits checks, comments
Farmers getting the cOn-hOg
checks are broke within "a hours.
Some of the checks never get
any farther than the top of the
stairs to the sax collectors of
flee. The big insurance cOmpan-
les are sitting around like buzz
Yards (Figures bear him out.
Of the various kinds of govern
ment farm relief, only 6 percent
) goes to farmers; 81 percent to
creditOrs.)"
As a browning blow, man
: counties carried thru the rule tha
those receiving benefit payment
: were cut off from other forms {
j relief until it was expended. Tt
farmers were made to account fl
g how they spdnt this benefit none
n and were warned by relief off
: Gals that it must go for "necess
r ties" very carefully included Il
I interest and debts owed to privat
d individuals.
Il Unit Plan
!. Just to insure that all 9th,
n kinds Of farmers as we'll as Gait
e men are brought right down to
d peasant level, the wise men of Il
v AAA invented the unit plan. Fa
J. mers were told that relief for Ii
Is ing necessities would be deni,
S them until they reduced the
n herds down to the famous peasa
p. level of 10 units. No farm
n would accept these terms unIe
e. forced bI hungry children a
8 starving cattle and the Roosevr
r administration has the glory Of I
ing this pressure to force accel
10 ance of these terms. However,
1e usual, rich farmers were in
an way affected by this ruling. 7
ms Methodist Bulletin reports an {
ce ample:
hit ''In Nebraska county, a bi
no farmer with a Federal Reser1
or loan of $4,000 is getting S1,3(
o.. a month ON a feed loan, and
he not required to reduce his stOc
a Another farmer, with a $40
SO mortgage on $50 acres and
in nucleus of milk COWS, 8 steel
ed IL hogs and 20 sheep, got
mt months feed loan of $40 only
gs condition that he let the 8 steer
IN, hogs and a horse go. If
NO applies for family relief he mu
33. reduce his animals to 10 uni
ell, And he must pay cash for 4
ice feed and then work out SIS
ng month on the road at 80 cer
'ic- an hOur-his note is accepte'
ck- But farmers who are dri
rye down to the 10 unit plan find |
at. even this contract is broken
the the government. We have
m example Of the father of one
by the delegates to this confere
be- who is actively farming in B
ock county, Nebraska, who signed '
the 10 unit system after redu,
ese his herd. His contract with
to government authorities guaran
the him feed loans to be worked
in to the amount of SIS a mo
MIN He was paid s25 one month,
rful thereafter s18. The GOVERN
agents Of that county offere,
-ds improve the terms if he would
las duce from 10 to 8 units.
Of Subsistence Farming
IN Now the administration Is +,
he to put the finishing touches
nd this poverty program. The s
hit is being set to move farmers
nal subsistence homesteads where
lot hoped they will exist without t