The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-10-29
Address of James c. Patton President National Farmers Union
Concluded from last week.

(ConCfuOcO from laSt WCSNsJ
Needs for the Future
After the Defense What?
1t would of course be futile for me
to define the vital fields in which
think determinations are being made
without stating what l consider the
needs for the future to be and with
out at least attempting to analyzt
what we can do after defense or wal
is over
America has never had land pol
ICY We have had, according to one
student on the land question, SO diff
ferent pieces of legislation nationally
affecting our lands, ranging all the way
from the large railroad grants to the
homestead and grazing acts. But as
/ pointed out we are now rather rapid
ly determining what our future land
policy will be. 1t is therefore urgent
ly necessary at this time that Farmers
Union clarity it's thinking and state
more specifically it's detectives and
its proposals as to just how we expect
to maintain our stated principle of
family type or family sized farming.
Everyone who has had much, to do
in public life has given lip service
to the ideal of the family sized farm.
The three major farm organizations
have talked a great deal about the
family sized farm. Two of them seem
fairly content to have as members
mainly those who still hold a SEM
blance, at least, of farm ownership,
and to hope for the best in the face
Of conditions which make that best
impossible. The Farmers Union has
been able to do too little about it.
Readily admitting that any objec-
tives which we adopt will need revi-
sion and enlargement and that accom-
be easy l believe that we should now
seriously consider and adopt objec-
tives which involve the following prin-
ciples:
l. Devise ways and means for a
more equitable distribution Of the
farming population to the land. To
do this it would be necessary to
(a) Make it easy for farmers in over
populated areas, particularly in the
deep south, to find room elsewhere,
so that those families who are left
in those areas have an opportunity
to become self-supporting.
(b) Determine economic farm units
for given area and encourage
trends which will create them by
combining units that are now too
small to maintain family on a
decent standard or level of living.
(c) Divide up large holdings which
are capable of supporting larger
number of families with decent
level of living. The Farm Security
Administration has done this in sew
eral instances by purchasing large
plantations in the south.
gram in areas where good agricul- |
tural land which is not now utilized |
can be reclaimed or can be rendered |
much more productive by irrigation, |
clearing or drainage.
(e) Seriously adopting a policy in |
of leasing or purchasing large tracts
of cut over land and enabling farm
ers who are now on unproductive
land to move to those tracts to en-
gage in forestry.
2. To set up controls designed to
keep land prices and rentals consist
9nt with the use value of the land as
,ontrasted with the speculative value.
The Farmers Union debt adjustment
bill very definitely recognizes this
principle. We should establish safe
guards against capitalization of earn
ngs into increased land price rather
han into increased living standards
If those who till the soil. In this
connection it seems to me that the i