Evening star., 1939-08-13

Grapes of Wrath" was published in
April, a number of critics compared it
with Uncle Toms Cabin" They meant
that the book presented major social
problem with the same direct, dramatic
appeal, the same fierce indignation, that
Harriet Beecher Stowe employed in her
world famous work on Negro slavery.
Like the story of Uncle Tom which
stirred whole generation of readers be-
fore the Civil War, the Steinbeck novel
has already become one of the most
talked of books of our time. 1t has sold
more than 100000 copies. 1t has been
bought by the movies. 1t has been the
subject of sermons and speeches.
Just as the earlier novel stirred pro-
found sympathy for the Negro slave so
has the Steinbeck book aroused an in
terest in the problem of the landless
farmer. The author tells the story of
the Joad family, how they were tractored
off the Oklahoma farm and started on
desperate search for work, enough work
to keep body and soul eogether. 1t is the
story of the migratory workers in Cali
fornia's great fruit farms, focused in the
experience of the Joads and the tragedy
which overWhelmS them. In larger
sense this heroic family stands as a SYM
boil of what has happened to people of
the soil in a time of swift and ruthless
change.
Measurable Effect.
Although it has been out only four
months, The Grapes Of Wrath" has had
q measurable, practical effect, and par
ticularly here in Washington. The Farm
Security Administration, the Federal
agency responsible for the migratory
workers in California, was the only re-
lief agency to get larger appropriation
out of Congress than the Budget Bureau
recommended. And Farm Security Of
ficials believe that the Steinbeck novel
was one reason, perhaps the chief rea-
son.
The novel came up for discussion when
the Senate Appropriations Committee
was considering the Farm Security pro-
gram. The witness was w. w. Alex
ander, Farm Security administrator.
Senator Russell of Georgia, ordinarily
rated among the conservative Southern
Democrats, asked Mr.. Alexander whether
Steinbeck had exaggerated the poverty
in which the Joad family and other mi
gratory workers live. Mr. Alexander re-
piled in the negative.
1T was inconceivable to me-" Senator
Russell said, that there could be any
considerable number of people in the
United States that lived under those con-
ditions."
well, there are between 250,000 and
100000 families" Mr. Alexander said.
Mr. Alexander told the committee that
he personally had followed the migra-
tory workers on their search for work
and had observed the conditions that
Steinbeck describes in his novel Nearly
100000 persons are living in the grind
ing poverty that aff1icts the Joad family,
according to Mr.. Alexander.
Want to Anchor Families.
For several years officials of the Farm
Security Administration have been work
ing intensively on this problem. First
they have sought to prevent further MI
grafton to the West. Their effort has
been to anchor farm families to the land
In the Southwest and the Dust Bowl area
and the Dakotas, the source OF most OF
the migrants. F. S. A. has made re-
Mobilization loans totaling nearly $780,
600, 900 to about 100000 borrowers. These
loans make it possible for man to get
back on his feet, buy much-needed equip
ment and get new start. Greater rain
fall in the Southwest in the last year has
aided that process. too. 1t is significant
that of the total amount loaned more
than S85, 100000 already has been repaid.
Other loans have been made to groups
of small farmers who jointly underwrite
the loan. They use the money to buy
tractor, or silage cutter or cold stor-
age plant or some other piece of equip
ment that enables them to compete with
the wealthier, large-scale farmer. Then
they use this equipment on cooperative
basis, turn and turn about. The Joads,
readers of the book will recall, were
''tractored" off their farm, forced to
make way for a large-scale farmer en-
ploying hired hands to run his machines.
Still another program has been started
under which tenant farmers may borrow
Federal funds at low interest to acquire
their own land Thus far 1000 farmers
have borrowed about $1,000 apiece, mostly
IN the South, the funds being allocated in
proportion to the degree of farm tenancy
in the various States. During the present
fiscal year this program will be greatly
expanded.
Decrease in Migrants.
The efforts of F. S. A., plus a favorable
change in the weather, have caused a
marked drop in the number of migrants
who have come to California in recent
months in search of work. In the peak
period of 1886 the Okies-they are SO
referred to in California because great
many are from Oklahoma-were pouring
across the State border at the rate of
10000 month, travelling in the precari-
Gus jalopies that are described in THE
Grapes of Wrath" The total entering