Evening star., 1938-03-27
Lo, the Poor Farmer!

The Senate Finance Committee, con-
sidering the new revenue bill, declined
to accept an amendment proposed by
Senator Connally of Texas to impose a
new set Of processing taxes" the rev.
enue from which would go to pay the
farmers and the Federal bonus and
benefits for complying with the crop
control and soil conservation programs
The proponents OF this tax, waving
their demand for the time being, say
that it will be time enough to levy these
taxes next year.
The industrial workers, the general
consumers and the taxpayers of the
country should give careful considera-
tion now. and not later. to what has been
going on in the way of subsidies to the
farmers of the country, paid out of the
Federal treasury. Rather passively they
have turned their backs on this matter
In recent years. And yet the Federal
Government during the four fiscal years
1884 to 1887, inclusive, has paid to the
farmers as cash bonus payments s2,041,-
795ooo. This is approximately one
seventh of all the taxes collected by the
Federal Government, which amounted
to l5,314000,00o. The exact proportion
was 1873 per cent.
This is not all that is being expended
for the benefit of the farmers out of
the Federal Treasury. There are many
appropriations and loans which, it is
estimated, bring the amount which is
being expended for the farmers to
within hailing distance of billion dol
lars year. During 1888 the sum may
60 much beyond that mark. This means
that approximately quarter OF the
revenues of the Government are being
expended for the benefit of one group
of Americans. Much of this money is
handed out directly to the individuals
OF the group.
Not all Of the farmers Of the country
are or have been in desperate financial
plight, although that picture has been
painted. Some of them have been. and
always will be, in financial straits, no
matter how many millions are expended
by the Government. On the other hand,
Government assistance, in the shape of
benefits and bonus payments, is being
given to farmers in good financial stand
ing. They are being paid for carrying
out programs which they would have
followed anyway.
The processing taXes-or tariff equal
1zation fees, as they are more recently
called-are to be imposed on food and
clothing made Of wheat, cotton, corn,
for example. The theory advanced is
that because OF the protective tariff on
industrial products farmers must pay
higher prices for what they buy. The
tariff equalization fees are to offset the
protective tariff. AS a matter of fact.
farmers products are practically all given
protection under the tariff Imagine the
howl that would 60 up if it were pro-
posed suddenly to put all agricultural
products on the free list, including wheat,
which carries duty of forty-two cents a
bushel If imported. The protest of the
agriculturalists would give the lie to
assertions frequently made that the
farmers are not benefited by the tariff.
In the last analysis the farm benefits
paid do not operate uniformly all over
the country. The people of the West
and the South are the beneflciaries of the
contributions of the people of the North
and the East. The State of Maine in
the fiscal year 1885 contributed in
processing taxes paid by its people ap-
proximately S841 for each dollar received
by the farmers of the State On the
other hand, the people of the State of
Iowa paid only fourteen cents for each
dollar handed to the farmers of that
State by the Federal Government.