Evening star., 1938-10-09


in 1888, for he repeatedly had told the
farmers that everything was all right
because I'VE are planning it that way
don't let anybody tell you differ
emily" And of course, Mr.. Roosevelt
would not deliberately mislead any one
But it is not surprising that we
should surmise that Mr.. Roosevelt s
first thought was to give the farmer
another shot in the arm, for that is
the way the New Deal has worked
So Doc Wallace grabbed his black bag
and set forth for the wheat and corn
States, again, to tell the farmers how
the New Deal had saved them-that
is, ah, uhnlmm uhmmm-that is
would save them Meanwhile DR.. Key
Pittman, who does not think Doc Wal
lace is so hot. got out his own hypo-
dermic needle and proposed that the
farm patients In the cotton States be
given a little shot of imitation mar
cotics.
But every time the corn and wheat
farmers and the cotton planters looked
at the current price Quotations, they
let out another yell of protest. Not
even New Deal drugs proved very
soothing. Doc Wallace found him.
self proposing remedies which a few
months ago he had denounced as
quackery DR.. Pittman was heard
muttering such words as "hopelessness
of present program" absolute fall
ure." great loss to the Government"
and Continuing destruction of foreign
markets for American cotton"
All OF this would be very funny were
it not for the tragic plight into which
the New Deal has cast American agri-
culture
Here we are, after five years of New
Deal hypodermlc needles, with farm
prices lower than when the schemes
for crop control were placed in effect
with prices for the New Deal period
far below the previous period from
1921 to 1882. For instance, the an
nual average price of wheat from 1921
to Iceland this includes the bottom
of the Worldwide depreSSion-was
SLOT bushel The average annual
price from 1888 to l937-the period
of experimental control-was 85.5
cents a bushel, or 16 cents less When
the 1898 average price can be COM
puted the difference will be much
greater because wheat is now selling
down around so cents a bushel. In
the last year the price Of wheat has
fallen approximately so per cent.
Here we are. after five years OF New
Deal wisdom and crop restriction. with
cotton carry-over of l3.400, 900 bales
100000 of which are under Gov
ernment loans Here we are with cot
ton selling at around cents a pound
as compared with IL cents in July last
year and an average OF 1877 cents dur
ing the ls2l-ls32 period-which again
includes the worst period Of the world
wide depression.
Program Held Futile.
And, here we are again, plowing un-
der notwithstanding cotton when
millions need clothing-in order to
comply with the provisions of a nom
sensical futile farm program. Mr.
Roosevelt in 1885 Indignantly declared
that ''it is high time for you and me
to make clear that we are not plowing
under cotton this year-that we did
not pillow it under in 1884 and that we
only ploved some OF it under in 1933
because the Agricultural Adjustment
Act was passed after a huge crop OF
cotton was already in the ground" Mr..
Roosevelt asserted that any one who
said anything to the contrary was
lying"
Maybe so, but witness this story
which appeared under an Atlanta, Ga,
date line on September last:
Thousands of acres of cotton, much
OF it white with open bolls, ready for
picking, are being plowed under by
Southern farmers eager to qualify for
farm bill benefits and to- escape its
penalties.
ANY accurate estimate Of the num-
ber of acres being destroyed probably
would run high into the thousands. II
might be obtained only by county Is
county study of the area but, ever
then, the percentage of error would be
high. One county in Middle Georgis
has almost 1000 acres subject to pen.
alties if the cotton on them is moi
plowed up.
"It is much like 1884 one county
agent said"
What does Secretary Wallace nov
propose? He has become so confused
1t is a little difficult to tell. He seems
to be floundering around like man In
a daze, stunned over the collapse oi
the Farm Act enacted only last Janu-
ary. One day he denounces export sub
sidies-indeed. none recently has been
more denunciatory of export subsidies
than Mr.. Wallace. The next day he
suggests export subsidies as the solu-
ton. Then he suggests we 60 back tc
processing taxes. Always, he under
takes to give the impression that he
knew what would happen all along.
Can't Fool Wallace, He Says.
For instance, in his speech at
Hutchinson, Kans. he asserted that
"to any one who has watched the
wheat market closely in the last few
years, the fall in the price Of wheat IL
not surprise" and he added: 1T was
bound to come with the return OF ordi-
nary weather" 1t would have been
nice Of him to have let Mr.. Roosevelt
in on that wisdom, for the latter IN the
1886 campaign emphatically declared
that by a program of land use ano
conservation we have ended the pos
sibility of immediate glut."
A few months earlier Mr.. Roosevelt
said that steps like these which we
have taken and are taking will at least
greatly cushion depressions and pre-.
vent the up-curve from rushing to q
violent, mad peak of false prosperity
and prevent another violent, mad de-
scent into another sink of suffering and
disillusionment like the one from
which, for the last three and hall
years, We have been surely emerging.
v,e,,tS v,p4