The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-06-04

sized farm. With the prospect
being requested by congressme
ture. the Farmers Union declares that
the time has come when the Congress
must decide what type Of farming fed
eral policies should favor, and radical
ly revise the present program II the
aim is to restore and maintain the
faInily-siZed farm If, on the other
hand, after such study of the effects
of the present program in destroy
ing the famiIy-sized unit, the Con
gress decides that that should be the
national policy, then present federal
subsidies to corporation farms and to
large commercial producers should be
eliminated as unnecessary eXpendl-
lures for the national welfare. Such
an investigation, if begun now could
be finished in time for preparation
of permanent legislation early next
year.
Bio Business Oppose Subsidies
Meanwhile a fierce battle has been
raging in Washington between farm
groups and big business spokesman,
over the program for the coming year.
A great attack has been launched to
prevent increases in farm appropria-
lions and in the loan rate on basic
commodities. Leading industrial and
financial journals have called such
increases "inexcusable handouts
claiming that farmers are well off and
have improving prospects, where such
federal payments, anyway, go to the
larger operators. Joining them has
been Secretary Morgenthau who
termed agriculture ''non-defense in
dustry" and asked that a billion dol
lars be cut from soil conservation,
parity and other agricultural funds,
as well as from the CCC and the
NYA, while opposing any taxes which
would increase the cost of the poor
mans food budget
Opposing Secretary Morgenthau and
the anti-labor, anti-farmer group are
the majority of the Congress, who are
angered at this attempt to make agri-
culture foot the bill, while giving in
dustry billions in cost-plus contracts,
and guaranteeing labor minimum
standards Talk of protecting the
consumer" particularly has fallen flat
with Congress as an excuse for deny
ing farm parity, since no such excuse
was even advanced when the huge
defense program was requested, and
in the many other recent decisions
which will make for a shortage of
consumers goods. Likewise, the de-
partment of agriculture in announcing
minimum prices for pork, dairy and
poultry products as part of the Lend
Lease program, made the sole excep-
ton from cost-plus basis used for
all other government contracts by
setting these prices below parity.
The Farmers Union Legislative
Committee believes that the funda
mental aims of federal aid need thor
ough denomination, since contin-
uation of the present trends Will UNI
doubtedly be the end of family farms
for hundreds of thousands during the
next few years, with the impact of
the war speeding up the effects of
big government payments to larger
operators. In testifying for the In
come Certificate Plan as better
method than high loans, our commit
tee was the only group to point out
that achieving parity prices is not the
basic problem before the Congress |
and American agriculture, although it |
may be the chief problem facing large
commercial operators. Unless there |
is in the next year or two thorough |
overhauling of the federal programs |
to stop discrimination against family |
type farms, and stop federal aid to I
larger operators, with the necessary |
encouragement to the former and just |
burdens for the latter, support for fed |
eral programs will continue to fade |
away and the public will turn against
are already in the income-taxp paying |
class.
Farm Bureau President Opposes
Although there is sentiment among ,
cotton, wheat and tobacco congress- |
men for the Certificate Plan, the OPP |
position of the Treasury against food |
price increases, together with that of |
corn hog farmers and the national |
farm organization which they domi- |
nate, makes it likely that no action |
will be taken until next year on them. |
Corn producers are afraid they will
be left out on the limb without sup
port for parity appropriations if a
certificate plan is applied to wheat or
cotton or tobacco, and President |
O'Neal, cotton planter himself, of the |
Farm Bureau, so testified in oppos-
ing a Certificate Plan for cotton or
wheat.
New Debt Adjustment Bill
The attempt to draft the Debt Ad- |
justment Bill satisfactorily to the OPP
ponents of last years measure has
met with only partial success and in
PRODUCTION Of the bill in Congress will
not be held up longer. Opponents of
this years revised measure will want
above all else TO retain the 5 percent
stock feature, although they are will
ing to shift SURPRISES from well-off
associations to busted ones in order,
they hope, to put the Land Bank sys-
TEN back ON its feet. Such shifting .
Of assets, however, would be an il
L L -.