The Omaha guide., 1935-03-23
ECONOMIC
HIGHLIGHTS
Happenings That Affect the
Dinner Pail, Dividend Checks
and Tax Bills Of Every
Individual.

The Roosevelt Administrations
recovery program is based upon
the work of two major bureaus.
One, the NRA, was designed to
aid indus,ry and industrial work
ers. The other, the AAA, was
created to help solve the farmers
problems and put agriculture OH
a paying basis.
Both bureaus adopted plans for
raising and fixing prices. The
NRA did this by means Of execut-
i've fiat. The AAA, however.
which was dealing with products
largely dependent on the whims Of
naeure, went further. There was
more meat being produced than
people could buy-so it killed off
pigs. There was more cotton than
people were using-so it placed
heavy restric ions on cotton acre
age and paid bonuses to farmers
for not raising a crop. 1t follow
ed a similar procedure with other
basic farm products.
AT he beginning, AAA execu-
tives SAID their purpose was to
bring the farm price index back
to pre-war level-this, they held,
would enable The farmer to make
a profit, and would not impose
an excessive burden on the buy
ing power of the public. Prices
came back, touched the pre-war
figure-and then continued to
soar. The other day the price
level was % per cent over Its
1913 equivalent-and AAA found
itself with a first-claSs consumer
var on its hands. Rumblings of
djcontent are heard from millions
Of homes, where incomes have not
risen anywhere near The extent
of the rise in the cost Of living.
Terrific rises are taking place
IN meat prices. Butter is higher
than it has been for many years.
Even spring vegetables usually
dirt cheap, will, according to fore
casts, be relatively expensive. Of
the major ediblese, only fish,
which is not subject TO AAA con-
troll, is not advancing materially
in cost.
The result of all this is that
AAA is now definitely on the re-
treat. Crop curtailment will
probably be dropped, so that pro-
duction may increase and automa-
tically Stop The present price
trend. Protest is coming in again
st this change, from agricultural
centerS, which can see only the
boom Of high prices, but the
changes are that consumer pres
sure will win out. 1t is probable
that all res, rictions will be taken
eff the farmer until prices return
to the pre-war level, when the
AAA may resume its crop control
policy.
Thus, n of the two basic re-
covery bureaus has been forced
to draw in it's horns. AS for the
other, the NRA, there is plenty
of trouble in the offing. Even
its sponsor, Mr.. Roosevelt, is be-
lieved to be cooling off so far as
it is cOncerned-he wants Con-
gress to continue it, but on a
somewhat different set up than in
the past. Wage and hour pro-
visions will be maintained, and
labor will be guaranteed the right
to bargain collectively if it choos-
es-but many NRA powers over
business management will be
dropped. A strong drive against
NRA price-fixing is developing in
the Senate, led by that old-time
foe of monopoly, Senator Borah.
1t is a safe prognostican that the
NRA will have little or nothing
to say about prices in the future
and there is an excellent chance
that the antitrust laws, which the
NRA made imperative, will be
brought back into play.
As a result, the Administra-
tons price-fixing program in
both the industrial and agricul-
tural fields, can be fairly said to
have collapsed. Best opinion
holds that the Administration is
shifting in it's position, that it will
give industry and agriculture
more of a chance to work out
their own problems, will depend
less on legislative palliatives. 1t