Evening star., 1938-03-06
Farming Leads Industry
in Recovery
BY OVEN L. SCOTT.

Of the worlds most rugged individualists,
supposedly immune to the idea of CO.
operation.
Yet today wheels are turning with
scarcely squeak as the machinery of
government starts to operate vast new
set of controls for those millions of farms
and their individualistic operators. In
cluded are controls over production, con-
trolls over marketing and controls over
price. Chaos appears to have given way
to organization and fear of bankruptcy
to a special confidence.
Even those who now are to administer
the controls that Congress has set up
question whether these controls will be
able to stand the strain to which they
will later be subjected.
But that point is being overshadowed
by what the governing officials consider
more significant. AS they look at it:
Six million individual farm business
establishments are slipping smoothly into
system of overall Government plan
ming, more than 100000 of them as di-
rect co-operators in that planning. This
system is not interfering with democ-
racy Individual farmers are retaining
their essential freedom and even are
gaining some new freedom from the fear
of economic disaster. These farmers
feel as much like rugged individualists as
they ever felt. They retain private own
ership Of their farm property and con-
tinue to be impelled by motives of private
profit.
Yet, at the same time, American farm
ers have gained definite measure of
security. They face today's depression
with much more assurance than many
business men and with far more conf
dence than the average worker in in
dustry.
Farmers who were disorganized and
desperate five years ago now think of
their highly complex industry as unit.
The attitude and calculations of large
numbers OF individual farmers and of
their leaders are in terms of broad ma
tional and international policy. The av-
erage corn grower in Iowa or cotton
farmer in Texas is apt to know more
about the working of the economic ma
chinery and about his place in that ma
chinery than does the average manufac-
turer in Chicago or even the average
banker in New York.
Henry Wallace, the Secretary of Agri-
culture, and his aides in the Agricul-
tural Adjustment Administration have
seen to that.
This all is in sharp contrast to the
situation in industry. Just five years
ago. business men were desperate and
considerably disorganized. They were
operating a quarter of million estab-
lishments- outside of wholesale and re-
tail trade-in place of the 5000 900 farm
units. Fewer than a thousand industrial
units controlled the bulk of the Nations
manufacturing, mining, utility and trans
portation activity. The corporate form
of organization and industrial trade as
sociations offered special opportunities
for planning and intelligent policy for
nation
When N. r. A. was set up, with its
codes. the highest priced executives and
organizers in the Nation went to work
to coordinate this already fairly well
integrated set-up.
Yet today NJ r. A. is memory and
industry is back in a terrible muddle,
disorganized and uncertain of its direc-
ton. There is little evidence that either
business men individually or their lead
ers have thought very deeply of the fun
damentals in their position. There is
no overall planning and little thinking
on broad policies. No consideration ap-
pears to be given to the policy adjust
ments and the shift in relationship be-
tween Government and business that
may be forced by world events.
%x
Daniel Roper the Secretary of Com
merce, felt impelled on March l to re-
port to President Roosevelt that his study
of suggestions from business men for
dealing with the present depression
showed a lack of understanding of basic
problems. After studying plans offered
by small business men, he said:
1T IS an interesting thing that self
help seems to be well-nigh lacking from
the analysis thus far made of their sug-
gestions, and, to my mind, most i'm
portant-yes, vital-responsibility rests
upon the Government and our educa-
tional facilities to impress more definitely
the importance of this upon our business
citizenship"
The result is that American business
finds itself floundering in what its cabi-
net representative discovers to be lack
of understanding of its place and func-
tion in the general scheme of things.
But where N. R. A. left no heritage,
A. A. A. has surmounted Supreme Court
overthrow, two major droughts and now,
in the midst of new depression, is COM
ing back stronger than ever. Agriculture,
as matter of fact, finds itself more
prosperous than industry, for the mo-
ment at least, while, in the past, a
previously disorganized agriculture tend
ed to drag business into depression.
Many important officials are inclined
to read good deal of significance into
this situation.
To then It seems to prove that there
is possibility for cooperation between
Government and important groups of its
citizens to work out broad problems on
reasonable basis and without threatening
the foundations of democracy or of pri-
vate enterprise.
A lesson is learned from the experience
of N. r. A. and A. A. A., which started
out as the twin pillars of the New Deal.
Gen. Hugh johnson and his high-pow-
cred aides set out to remake the world
and to provide all of business with riches
in a day. The general talked about
cracking down." he used ballyhoo, he
tried to force controls on industries that
did not need or want controls. The re-
suit was that when the excitement died
dowp terrific reaction set in that even
today prevents salvaging any good that
might have been found in wiser ad-
ministration of the law.
+
Henry Wallace, on his part, refused to
be rushed. He did the emergency jobs
L.. 1000 that hod to a dopo ord fban