The Washington times., 1938-10-15
News Behind
The News
BIZ Paul MGLLOn-

(World Copyright, 1888. by Kina
Features Syndicate. Inc. All Rights
Part strictly Prohibited:l
HENRY WALLACE'S grocery
IL scheme for feeding one-third
of the nation at the side door
from q cut-rate price list at Gov
eminent loss may sound like q
timely election promiSe-b u
don't be too sure.
It is Socialism. It would take
an Understandable amount OF
business away from private
business. Congress will certain.
ly not like it. Probably not
enough farmers outside the veg.
etable and dairy areas would be
helped to make it anything like
a national farm program.
Nevertheless, it may be tried
in a moderate way. Remember
Wallace in the role of Joseph
with a coat of many colors
pulled just such an election
promise Of an ever-normal gran
ary in 1886 and fooled everyone
by getting it started moder-
ately.)
COME OF WALLACE'S young
~ thinking helpers with q sue
ceSSful passion for anonymity
have worked out the idea in far
more detail than was announced.
They would have it this way:
Government cards would be
issued to one-third of the nation
Cor maybe one-halD after a
means test. Everyone who
could prove(?) to q Government
board that he earned less than
a thousand dollars last year
would get a card with his
name, number, and picture no
doHbt) emitting him to cut
rates.
The Government would buy
surpluses and either sell these
directly to selected consumers
at Government operated sta
tionS, or would let regular retail
grocerS handle the sales. Some
processing would have to be
undertaken one way or another.
One plan calls for dried milk,
powdered eggs, pork sausage
products and even concentrated
grapefruit juice to be prepared
and sold by the Government.
Under this plan Identification
cards would not have to be is
sued on the theory that middle
and high income groups would
not want to buy the products
anyway.
Two things have not been
charted yet: (a) How much it
would cost, and (b) how much
good it would do.
Those officials behind the
plan are not worried about the
obviously dangerous political OBJ
JectionS to it, but concede it
would not help much the wheat,
cotton and corn farms, where
the major farm problem lies.
MODEL FOR THE SCHEME
AVA is the New York milk plan,
Cut rate grade B milk is dis
tributed there by dairies be-
tween the hours of 6 and Z a. m.
Tor those who have passed a
means test at relief stations and
who will bring their own bot
ties, take the milk home them
selves and pay cash. It sells at
8 cents quart. In Boston sur
plus milk is bought by FSCC
and given to the city which
sells to those on relief for the
processing cost.
Difference between this and
the proposed idea is that here
they are now selling milk to
those unable to buy at regular
prices while there they would
be taking business away from an
existing private market.
A MOTHER new wallace
"A scheme Of developing new
uses for farm products is wholly
on the election-publicity side.
The plan is already in effect
for whatever it is worth. Four
new experimental stations are
being set up in hopes they will
develop new uses for cotton,
corn and wheat, but not even
Wallace seems to believe these
will settle any important phase
Of the farm problem in this gen.
Grafton. (He said at Springfield
yesterday: 1--WE shall not be able
to depend on corn alcohol or
other new uses to make it un-
necessary for us to balance our
corn supplies.)
Natural trend is distinctly the
other way. Flour used to be sold
in cotton sacks; paper sacks
were found to be cheaper,
So also with towels, rayon tires;
even fertilizer containers which
the farmers buy.
Substitute uses developed for
cotton so far have used more
: publicity space than cotton.
THESE and other new fresh
l. farm plans are being juggled
in the air apparently for the
purpose of covering some sort
Of a reorganization Of tie farm
program.
Some who know the Agricul-
ture Secretary very well believe
he has come to the conclusion
that his crop curtailment game
is played out. He has given no
such indication publicly unless
it was at Springfield yesterday
when he protested with SEEM
ing excess about how good the
current program was: c'Best
farm program the nation ever
had" wonder whether so