Evening star., 1938-02-13
Specter of Nazi Farm Control
Rises Before u. S. Agriculture
Strict Regulation Is Seen Already Fact in Amer.
lea, Although Differing in Kind From
National Socialist Varieties.

estimating When the potatoes start to
grow the supervisors point to empty spots
and order new planting there.
BY decree from Berlin Farmer Hans 10
ordered to SOW IS acres this year in max.
He hates the stuff. Any other crop would
pay him more. But German farmers learn
not to argue with a decree There's a
concentration camp ready for them II
they do.
Every Farm Supervised.
ITO every farm in Germany the govern
ment men come to make sure that the
cisely the amount he draws from his cows.
For the farmer must bring all his milk
to q control station. He cannot retain
even pint to churn butter for the family.
The skim milk he needs for his pigs he
must buy back The price he gets is fixed
for everything he grows. He
bring all his pigs to the Nazi control sta
tion and receives for them the government
price
But many farmers are evading the rigid
system. Gangs or syndicates, operating
strings Of high-powered cars, sell coveted
foodstufis widely, and individual boot
leggers travel about on trains with food
contained in false-bottomed trunks and
suit cases. The penalties are severe-nnes,
prison, and In the case Of large scale oper-
ators, DEATH Yet the minister of agricul-
ture estimates that one-third Of all food
produced is sold surreptitiously. '''
THE owner of farm in Germany may
at any time have his place as operator
taken over at the instance of a supervisor,
and the new man can look into his books;
even his bank book; take over his bank ac-
count to defray expenses, occupy the
owners beds, eat his food and order the
farmer and his wife to render the service
OF hrelinss Disobedient, COM
planning or even discouraged farmers may
at any time be consigned to concentration
camps until such time as they agree to 20
along. ="
That is farm control as practiced by Nazi.
The farm control that is being imposed
upon America differs in kind, but not
greatly in degree. And it is to be remem-
bered that what has been so far done in
America is merely beginning It should
be understood also-though few do un-
derstand-that in the nature Of things the
first step makes the second step inevitable.
and the second makes the third II the
American farmer could realize the fnal
stage of the steps already taken in Amer
lea. he would see that his ultimate state
would not differ materially from that of
the German farmer.
What has already been done in America
goes farther than is generally realized. And
morNhas been attempted than has as yet
succeeded When the present crop control
law, in one of its early stages, was before
the House Of Representatives, the follow
ing statement concerning one part Of the
bill, section 66. was made by Representative
John E. Rankin Of Mississippi. He is
referring to the acreage which is diverted
from the planting Of wheat, corn, rice,
tobacco or cotton.
milk cows into the field or let his chickens
stray onto that ground If it is sowed in
soybeans or peas, because he will be vio-
lating the law If he sells the milk from
those cows or the eggs from those chickens
After the farmer has gathered his crop,
whether beans or peas, and put it In the
barn, the gentleman from Wisconsin would
have to send a Federal agent and park him
in that hay barn to see that none OF
that hay was fed to the cows
and that none OF the peas fell of the
pea vines and dropped through the loft
floor to the chickens or hogs, else he could
not sell the chickens or eggs or the hogs"
Farm Control Already = Fact.
Since Representative Rankin made this
statement the crop control bill has been
modified somewhat. But there is already
in existence-not in the pending legisla-
ton, but actually In practice degree Of
farm control that few persons realize. Very
few persons think there are any condi-
tions under which Secretary Of Asricul-
ture Wallace can regulate wages paid by
farmers to farm hands. Most persons
would deny that the Secretary has any
such power under any circumstances. And
do not myself know clearly how he gets
such authority. But fnd the following
ofiicial announcement handed out by A.
A. A. under date Of January 1:
"The Agricultural Adjustment Adminis-
tration announced today . determination
Of minimum wages to be paid to sugar
beet laborers for the harvesting Of the
1898 crop in order for producers to qualify
for payments under the provisions Of the
Sugar Act Of 1887. The rates in the deter
represent increases over the aver
age rates in effect during the harvesting Of
the 1887 crop.
''The Sugar Act requires a. one Of the
conditions Of payments to growers that all
persons employed on farm in the produce
ton, cultivation and harvesting Of sugar
beets and sugar cane shall be paid In full
for such work at rates not less than
those that may be determined by tho
Secretary to be fair and reasonable. The
determination applies only to labor per.
formed after September /, 1887, the
date on which the new Sugar Act became
effective ."
tcopyrisht. New York Herald Tribune lesSJ