Evening star., 1936-08-23
BY BLAIR BOLLES.

Gambling on the farmers risk Of
going broke through the ravages of
"acts Of God" against his crops and Of
acts Of traders against his market has
excited the sporadic interest Of private
insurance companies for 81 years, but
each Of four attempts at indemnifying
planters for crop losses has failed.
The same actuaries who brought to
scientific perfection statistical tables
on mortality and illness probabilities
In man have been unable to predict
hitherto the dizzy course Of agricultural
production from year to year and the
unpredictable movements Of foodstun
prices.
Now, however, the search for . work
able basis Of repaying farmers who In
vest In premiums guaranteeing them
cash In event Of loss In production has
been intensified by President Roose-
velt's announced interest In crop in
surance. He sees In such an agrarian
security program, conducted by the
Government, buffer against the acute
sort of drought distress now harrow
ing the farmers of the Great Plains.
Insurance Plan Studied.
What form Federally sponsored crop
insurance might eventually take-and
there seems little doubt that within
several years 1t will be sought for at
least two of our major crops-is un-
known. But the Department Of Agri-
culture has been studying since April
the risk involved In insuring the pro-
duction Of ST.. .254 wheat farms
"One OF the major faults with the
information available In the past"
said r. NJ Green. chief Of the Division
Of Finance Of the Bureau of Agricul-
tural Economics. who is in charge of
the studies. els that It offered average
data for counties or average yields Of
States.
Crop insurance, however, to be
practicable must deal with individuals.
The result Of basing insurance on group
farm averages would be to apply the
group insurance principle to farm risk
insurance and thus penalize the good
farmer and subsidize the poor.
fortunately we now have the in
diyidual records gathered under the
operations Of the agricultural adjust
ment act. This is the best informa-
ton that can be obtained, for it comes
from members of local communities
familiar with local conditions.
Reports Being Tabulated
Reports from the half million wheat
farmers who signed contracts with
the A. A. A., tillers of 81 ,40O, 900 acres,
are being tabulated, and for q few
counties in the country. including
Frederick County. Md, and Loudoun
County, Va, preliminary wheat risk
estimates have been prepared.
First steps are being taken for as
sembling the cotton insurance picture,
based on reports Of 1904. .167 cotton
farms comprising 38,210,000 acres
and for corn, which drew 1,l55,300
farmers, cultivating 55.313,500 acres,
into the defunct adjustment program.
This individual farm datum will be
greatly broadened during coming
years through the soil erosion pro-
gram, successor Of the A. A. A., which
proposes blueprinting every farm in
every county OF the United States
Crop insurance. according to Green,
is desirable for two reasons:
1. It will force the farmer to lay
aside some wealth to contribute to
his own relief in years when he Is
unable to take care Of himself.
2. 1t will eliminate to a great ex-
tent the need for the governmental
outpourings Of millions of dollars for
farmers stricken by drought, pests,
flood and other calamities. The
government might still spend an equal
sum Of money after diaster with the
insurance in effect, but the farmer
would be footing some of the bill
for his own relief through his pre-
MUM payments.
Whole Populance Pays
The burden Of payment for poor
crop years descends now upon the
whole populace. Unpaid taxes, I'M
paid loans. resettlement grants-they
all come from the taxpayers pocket.
To permit abandonment Of farms on
. wide scale, instead Of permitting
the taxes and loans to 60 unpaid.
would be even more costly than carry
ing the farmer, for it would narrow
too greatly the productive areas Of
the country.
In his attempt to find a sound actu-
arial basis for crop insurance, Green
has concluded that the insured farmer
should be Unidentified only up to rs
per cent OF his average crop. based on
number Of bushels q year an acre.
This percentage, 1t Is assumed. would