Evening star., 1938-10-16
Sees Planned Economy
In Farm Remedies
By OWEN L. SCOTT.

Agriculture is back on the doorstep of
the Government demanding more help.
Four billion dollars in subsidies in Ave
years, crop control and variety Of other
aids have failed to satisfy.
Prices are low despite the cycp con-
trolls. Income is down even after the
| billions in subsidies. Surpluses are back
near record heights in the face OF cries
| of scarcity. The result is that politicians
| are getting gray hairs, economists are
! puzzled and people generally are Justly
bewildered by what looks like peren-
nial farm problem.
| Some startling plans are taking shape
| to deal with this one situation, which,
more than any other is pushing the
| Government into radical experiments.
That leaves the question: Is there
really a farm problem and If so what
accounts for It? Can the problem be
| solved without a shake-up of the whole
economy? What are some of the new
| and startling plans now in sight?
Facts show that there Is no doubt about
| the problem of agriculture. affecting
about 10000 900 out of this countrys
| 100, 900 900 people. Henry Wallace, Sec
retary of Agriculture. has spent the last
Is years doing his best to warn the coun-
try that the displacement of the horse
by the automobile and the changed world
| situation resulting from the war would
force crisis.
| The automobile gradually removed the
market for the IS 600, 600 acres of grain
once consumed by the horse The
war brought into production the low
cost producing areas of Canada, Aus
tralia, Argentina and Brazil to COM
| pete with American farmers work
| ing higher cost land. The war also in
| duced European nations to drive for self
| sufnciency in farm products. That same
| war turned the United States from
| debtor to a creditor nation, making it
more difficult for foreigners 10 obtain
dollars with which to buy farm products
here.
A violent kick back from those devel-
opments was long delayed and only now
is about to be felt in full force.
Loans abroad during the l920s. which
| turned out to be gifts. enabled foreigners
to continue to buy cotton and wheat and
lard in huge quantities for time. Then
| drought in 1880. 1884 and 1896. coupled
with the Farm Board and with A. A. A.
| controls. kept the problem fairly we'll COW
|
| weather has turned on the crop con-
| trollers and loans to foreigners with
| which to buy American surpluses are no
longer politically feasible.
The result is today's farm problem.
| That problem has two sides.
On one side is the demand of farmers
for a protected income to be obtained
through high prices or through larger
subsidies On the other side is the fact
that even existing prices are too high to
permit the masses OF the people in the
cities to afford an adequate diet or an
adequate supply Of clothes Department
of Agriculture studies hold that there
would be no farm problem If people with
| low incomes-naking up most OF the
population-had enough meat and dairy
products and fruits and vegetables to eat
and enough clothes to wear.
Until now Mr.. Wallace, through the
A. A. A., has sought to provide farmers
with the income they demand by paying
them to keep more Of their land out of
wheat and cotton and corn. The idea
was that the subsidy would compensate
for the idle acres, and the idle acres
would result in lower production o. staple
| crops, thereby automatically bolsteriEg
prices by limiting supply.
The whole method is indirect and the
results-from a farmers standpoint-are
| proving unsatisfactory.
Out of that situation grows the first
rather startling proposal that will COM
mand strong support in Congress because
of its popularity with farmers This pro-
posal is that the Government definitely
fix the price of the portion of farm crops
| that is consumed within the United
| States. The price would be fixed far
above present levels.
But price fixing can be revolutionary
in its implications and its effects.
Rigid licensing of all millers. packers,
| ginners and other professors and han
diers Of farm products would merely be
| the first requisite in order to enforce the
| fixed prices. Either that or the Govern
| ment would need to form its own monop-
| oily for the buying and selling of all af-
| fected farm products, displacing the pri-
vate industry now in that field.
Then fixed prices naturally would be
| high prices. High prices would mean
that low-income groups, even now unable
to afford an adequate diet, would have
even less of the right things to eat. This
would mean lower consumption and big
| ger than ever surpluses
Inc ldea OF farmers is Ln0t the surplus
| farm crops either would be allowed to
decline in price until they would find
| market abroad or that these surplus crops
would be dumped abroad through posi-
| tive export subsidy program. But that
would mean that foreigners would be pro-
| vided with more food to eat and more
clothes to wear at the expense OF the city
| consumers inside the United States
| Congressmen voting for that plan might
soon find themselves blasted into oblivion
| by city voters.
Mr. Wallace is beginning to weaken on
| the idea of price fixing as partial solu-
ton of the farm problem, but he couples
| that idea with another just as startling
| idea.
Ever since 1893 the Federal Govern
ment has been buying up some surplus
| farm products and has been giving those
| products to families on relief as a sup
| pement to tine Other aid that they get
The result is that those on direct relief
have been eating butter and oranges and
| fresh vegetables and many other products
that millions of workers employed by pri-
vate industry are unable to afford. Those
relief clients now are to be given SOC, 900
new suits of clothes and overcoats of a
quality that normally cost up to $50 each
at retail They also are to be given
greatly increased quantities of foodstuffs
With which IN holster their dehtS