Evening star., 1937-08-22

Under A. A. A. farmers were REQUIRED
TO raise more hogs in proportion to
the corn they raised.
The crop-control law II America. IN
i1 hrst version will not read like the
Nan one. The flrst version Of the
CROP control law We had before Trtple-
A did not read like Nan. The flrst
A. A. A.. passed tn 1898, was quite
mild. 1t merely provided that the
administration should offer money to
farmers II they would agree to reduce
their acreage. The farmer could take
the Government offer or leave it. the
law was not compulsory But within
year there was . new law putting
teeth into the old one. BY the new
law every cotton farmer was told by
the administration that he could raise
20 much cotton and no more-he was
given q quota. To enforce the law,
he was required to have on each bale
OF cotton he raised q license certify
ing that it was raised within the
quota. If he raised more and tried
to sell 1t without . license he was
subject to criminal penalties
But the criminal provision. the
teeth, tn that second version OF
Triple-A proved to be not enough.
Presently there was yet . third form
Of Triple-A. That was the potato
control, enacted in August. 1895.
The teeth in potato control were very
sharp indeed. Under potato control
the provisions were that:
The farmer had to get license to
raise potatoes-and he wasn't given q
license unless his farm had raised po-
tatoes before.
He Was given . quota and he could
not raise and sell more than his quota
When he sold potatoes he must put
them in . container prescribed by the
Government, and each container had
to bear \ Government license.
II he tried to sell potatoes without
. Government container and q Gov
eminent icense-that is. bootleg them
he was subject TO fine and i'm
prisonment.
Not only the farmer; the buyer OF
bootleg potatoes was also subject to
fine and imprisonment-that went
farther than anything ever attempted
under national prohibition.
II Government snoopers wanted
information about bootlegged pota-
toes, the farmers neighbors and the
buyers neighbors and anybody hav-
ing information, was required to give
1t to the Government snooper under
penalty of fine and Imprisonment.
Thrown Out BY Court
That was the potato control Law.
1t was not Nazi law, 1t was an
American law, At least a New Deal
law. 1t was passed by the American
Congress, in August. 1885. And it re-
manned in effect until the Supreme
Court, the following January. held
it and the rest Of Tripk-A unconsti-
tutional THAT action OF the court
about Triple-A was one OF the rea-
sons why Mr.. Roosevelt wanted 4 new
Supreme Court)
That potato control was passed BY
the House Of Representatives by a
vote Of ITS to 1854 1t was passed b.
the Senate without . roll call. And
OF course, the President signed 1t. II
Congress was willing TO pass that
potato control measure, AS the third
step in the evolution of our early
crop-control bill. TripleA; if. indeed.
Congress was more or less obliged tn
enact that third step, because the frs;
step compelled the Second and the
second compelled the third-if those
things could happen and have al
ready happened. who can doubt what
Is now liable to happen? Who can
doubt that new crop-control Law.
by steps arising automatically on
out of the other. will ultimately g.
the whole length OF Naz crop con-
troll. ell the way to the final step. IL
which the farmer is deprived OF owr-
ership Of his farm. the farm is turnecl
over to public ownership?
The truth is, America already ha
been carried far in the Na7i or Fay
cSt direction. 1t did not start alon
| that path. The path that was IN tho
minds of Prof. Tugvell and some o.
the others who started it was meant
| to be toward communism But what
Is now beginning to appear Is that
communism. and. on the other hand,
nazi-ism and fascisn1. both lead to the
same destination. That destina ton
is the authoritarian form OF govern
ment and society. with individuals
having lost all rights that the govern
! ment need respect, including the right
| to own property And toward tina
destination America is on the way.
Only One New Conception.
incidentally. here Is something
highly important for Americans 10
understand. We have been told that
there is = distinction between nAzi-
ism and fascism on the one hand,
and communism on the other. We
have been told, indeed. that they are
opposites; we have been told that
nan-ism and fascism permit private
ownership Of property. while COM
munism does not.
But when we read about the new
German law about farm Land. what
becomes OF this distinction? Is nazi-
ism permitting and protecting private
ownership Of farm land? Hardly.
communism and na1i-ism together
with fascism) begin as different things
But they become the same thing.
There are not two new conceptions
Of society and government In the
world. and one being communism and
the other naA-ism or fascism. there
is only one new conception.
| Some American farmers and some
farm leaders are beginning to see
what u ahead. When Mr.. Roose-
velt's court measure was before the
Senate Judiciary Committee = few
months ago one Of the witnesses
who gave his views was Mr.. William
Iirth. Mr.. Hirth Is head Of the Mis-
souri, Farmers' Association, one of
the largest co-operatives in the conn
try, and publisher Of The Missouri
Farmer My impression Is Mr.. Hirth
was In the beginning q New Dealer
and supported Mr.. Roosevelt in his
first campaign. But do not remen.
ber surely and 1t does not matter.