The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-10-22


a for example, to direct supplies ava
g from a consumer goods industry t
t one of defense, may mean that Their
: will be little or no farm machiner
5 to buy through your cooperative.
!. will mean that you won't be able t
: get over-alls, as cheaply as you di
before. 1t may even mean that W
shall take most of the cost of the de
: tense effort out of the living standar'
) of the people of America by reduc
: ing our production of consumer good
and putting all the emphasis on wa
materials and defense effort. Thu
choice in America need not be "guni
, or butter" but it may be that Al
intelligent America can have both
an effective defense program and al
adequate living standard.
l am unalterably opposed to price
fixing as principle Yet we are, il
my opinion, going to have price fix
ing. Price fixing will probably affect
farm organizations to some degree as
the fixing of wages affects labor or
CARNATIONS. To put it bluntly, il
farmers prices are fixed, there isn't
very much a farm organization can
do about prices except to use pres
sure to get the prices fixed little
higher. When labor organizations are
ineffective in securing wage increases
and farm organizations cannot favor
ably influence farm prices they lose
their effective appeal to many who
would join if favorable results were
shown or even believed possible. To
have price fixing means that you will
have RECOMMENDATION such as you have
never experienced in past times. The
method which is used for prize fixing
may easily determine the course OF
agriculture for its entire future
The campaign for producing food in
abundance very definitely raises the
choice or the problem of determining
F, the road to the future. The farmers
of America have the will to produce
and they will undoubtedly answer the
challenge of the secretary of agricui
ture and of this nation, to produce
food and fibre in abundance. In ac-
cepting the challenge to produce food
| in abundance, agriculture is in effect
saying that our choice of roaIs for
the future is the road to abundance
and plenty in this country.
Thus, our vote is cast for a future
which says in effect that every man,
woman and child in America shall
have a decent standard of living and
freedom from hunger and want But
the total decision is not agriculture's
decision. Over on the industrial side
and in parts of agriculture, votes are
now being cast for a future of scarcity
and fascism. The terrific fight being
waged against the st. Lawrence Wat
erway is fight which votes for scar
city. The willingness of industry to
restrict it's production of consumer
goods and thus maintain a hungry
market for the time when this emer-
gency is over is a very large vote
for the same old kind of an economy,
which is scarcity, high prices and
want. Yes, the decision is being
made now, is being made daily. 1t is
time now to hope and pray and work
for the right kind of future to de-
clare that America can have an abun-
dance and that agriculture has made
a decision and that the Farmers I'm
ion has made decision long ago that
this future SHALL be an economy
of abundance.
Decisions are now being made in a
step-by-step fifth column" sort of
way through the defense SPENDING
and domestic SAVING philosophy
Those who say that because we have
great national and international
emergency and must spend money for
defense (and l am for defense), but
who in the same breath say, we must
curtail every kind of domestic ex-
penditure, these are the ones who are
voting for future in which the social
and economic mechanisms for which
agriculture and all liberals have long
fought, will not be able to function
The forces of political and economic
reaction are now clothing themselves
in the garments of defense. This dou-
bles our danger.
A cry is already being raised
against "non-defense spending" There
is movement definitely now under
way by the American Farm Bureau |
Federation, and by those profit minded |
economists who would solve all of the |
problems of the masses by having us |
hitch up our belts two or three more /
notches every time we take a step, as
a cure for hunger, to curtail or end |
the operations of every agency Of
government now serving those of low
get rid of, if you please,
to do away with the Farm Security
Administration, the Surplus Marketing
Administration and the National
Youth Administration. Those who are
doing this do not believe in the phi
osophy that says we must provide
ways and means whereby low income
people in the cities and on the farms
may have a little better standard of
living and an opportunity to rehabili-
late themselves. Theirs is the phi
osophy of tooth and claw. Theirs is
! future of scarcity and want for the
wealth and privilege for the
'ew
The cause of the cooperative move
nent is directly at this moment tied
md related to the defense effort in
such a way that it may easily be
injured or indefinitely
'etarded in it's growth.
nh. |
)le-A program with it's emphasis on