Evening star., 1936-01-30

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prices have largely been fixed by the
prices bid by our foreign purchasers.
In other words, the surplus has set the
price for the whole crop.
The proper application Of soil con-
servation principles would help ma
terially to prevent the production Of
such price-depressing surpluses. AS I
have repeatedly said, 1t should be pos
sible to develop q national program of
soil conservation on the more than IS
per cent Of the Nations crop land,
which already has begun to lose its
food-producing value.
Equally impressed with the public
interest Is the problem Of flood con-
troll. Flood control fits right in with
the soil program. According to Gov
ernment studies, sound national con-
servation program in itself would re-
duce the damage from floods Is per
cent.
The situation today emphasizes the
urgent need for sound national land
use policy. Our soil must not be ex-
hausted by wasteful methods. The
farmer is entitled to expect for his
crop q fair price comparable to the
price Of the commodities he buys. A
policy that is not limited in its bene-
fits to immediate cash returns. but
seeks as well to rebuild the fertility of
the soil and meets the problem of flood
control flso. is impressed with ma
tional interest and entitled to national
support
Farmer Needs Protection
Through Tariff Equality.
Such a policy would At in with the
demand Of agriculture for equality
with industry. I am advised from re-
liable sources that the costs of about
200 items the farmer has to buy are
increased about one-fourth by the
operation of the tariff. Because the
farmer has been forced to sell on the
world market. is he not entitled to
some countervailing provisions, to
some compensating tariff equivalent,
in order that he may receive an equal
benefit?
The purpose of the tariff Is to pro-
tect workers and industry from the
cheap competition of foreign labor
The farmer should be given this same
protection.
Is it any wonder that the imme-
date concern of agriculture Is tariff
equality with the other groups COM
prising this Nation? There are sup
Elemental factors which would be
helpful to the farmer. such as the
greater industrial use of farm prod
ucts, the rebuilding of foreign mar
kets and. last, but not least. lower
taxes and interest charges. Even more
basic would be an expanding home
market growing out Of restored con-
fldence in our future.
There is no single solution of the
farm problem. The perplexity in
,one part of the country is not always
the same as the problem in the other
parts. A well-rounded farm policy
must take note of agriculture as a
whole. The extensive experience of
these latter years should make it
possible to develop workable measures
which will be better than any hereto
fore tried
Kansas from the first co-operated
with much of the Federal emergency
program. We felt that improved con-
ditions were of greater consequence
than any partisan considerations. In
my judgment, the policy of con-
demning everything the opposition
party does has never produced better
government. Nor am one of those
who believes that the Republican
party has corner on patriotism and
intelligence. We should go into the
campaign prepared to be as fair in
| conceding the good points of the op-
position as we are courageous to point
out what we consider its errors. But
I do condemn half baked legislation.
ma administration and the dangerous
short cuts to permanent change at
tempted in the name of emergency.
No Permanent Solutions
Seen in New Deal.
The administration has presented
no permanent solution Of our major
problems. On the contrary. it has