Evening star., 1935-09-08
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

local newspaper, the Record, published
the following narrative Of an episode
In present-day American life:
Roy Grieb, Parshley farmer. set
fire to a stack Of his own wheat Tues
day afternoon, then stepped aside and
said: I didn't want to burn it! Of
fered to give it to the poor, do any
thing except set 1t afire. OF course, I
made a contract with the Agricultural
Committee (Triple AZ but I was in
nocent of any wrong intention. I saw
the county agent (of Triple AZ and
didn't understand from that I would
have to burn the wheat, but after
1t was stacked the committee told
me there was nothing else that could
be done
Fire gradually spread through the
wheat stack which had been hauled
to a field, spread out and fired. Two
members of the township committee
Qocal administrators of A. A. A.
were present to see that it was prop
erly and thoroughly done. They didn't
seem to be enjoying themselves, but
they agreed there was nothing else
to do under the agricultural ad-
iustment act The Government,
Mr.. Grieb said, paid him $3.50 in the
last two years to restrict his wheat
acreage. He thinks he will receive
another payment next year. prob
ably $120. He doesn't understand
it all very well and didn't think he'd
have to burn any wheat. That looked
unreasonable to him, conditions being
what they are, people in want of food
and the Government carrying on
relief.
Nothing Else to Do.
Quickly the flames spread through
the wheat stack, famed by a gentle
breeze from the north. Mr.. Grieb es-
timated the stack contained $50
bushels. Now he was obliged to burn
it after sowing, tending, harvesting,
binding and stacking. Somehow it
didn't look right, but the Agricultural
Committee said there was nothing else
that could be done.
This is the second wheat-burning
incident west of Sarcoxie. James
Bryant, east of Mr. Grieb a few miles.
burned a crop of Of acres about
a month ago. He contracted for 80
acres and found he had exceeded his
quota. His wheat was burned in the
windrow, before stacking. 1t was
worth, Mr.. Bryant thinks, about $40,
not counting the straw"
The incident seemed so extraordi-
nary that I asked representative Of
the Springfield (Mo) Daily News to
check it. From his report and from
information from A. A. A. headquar-
tiers in Washington it is possible to
reconstruct the whole story.
Triple A makes contracts with
farmers. The farmer promises to re-
duce his acreage of wheat, and
Triple A pays the farmer for doing
this. In the present case the farmer.
Mr.. Grieb, contracted to plant not
more than 81 acres. He planted, how
ever. 20 acres more than his allot-
ment. He says he asked the Triple A
agent If he could NOW the extra 20
acres before 1t was ripe and use it
for cattle feed. He says he was per-
mitted to do this with extra acreage
last year. Apparently this year there
was delay in getting q decision on
whether he could NOV the wheat
green for cattle food. Meantime the
wheat ripened and Mr.. Grieb har-
vested it. Subsequently the Triple A
agents seem to have told him that he
would have either to destroy the extra
wheat or return the checks he had
received and forfeit the balance still
due from the Government. Mr.. Grieb
says he suggested giving the wheat to
charity but this apparently was not
acceptable. In the end the wheat
was burned as described by the Sar-
coke Record.
Result Only Logical.
From the point of view Of the farm
er in this case, he seems clearly to
have made q contract and failed to
live up to it. He had received cash
and was to receive more. The con-
clusion that he must either forfeit
his payments or destroy the extra
wheat is logical 1t may be fan
tastic to pay a farmer to reduce his
acreage, and even more fantastic to
burn the excess, but If the underlying
principle Of A. A. A. be granted. the
result is logical.
From the point of view of the pub
lie, Of national policy, it is desirable
to explain briefly how wheat control
works. Wheat control is voluntary
Wheat control is not like potato con-
troll. Potato control is completely
compulsory. In potato control the
farmer must first get a permit from
Triple A. No farmer is permitted to
raise and sell more than bushels
Of potatoes without first getting a
Government permit. Then Triple A
tells him how many bushels he is al
lowed to raise. If he raises more he
must pay a punitive tax roughly
equal to the whole value Of the po-
tatoes. If he tries to sell any Of his
excess without paying the tax both he
and the buyer of the bootleg" po-
tatoes are subject to fine, and for a
second offense, Imprisonment. That