The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-10-29
Grain Price Crash.
Strange Coincidence.
A Dubious Trade.
How Canada Gets In.
Farmers Were Warned.

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| Farmers Were Warned.
On Wednesday, October Is, an
nouncement was made of the sign
ing at Washington, D. c., of the "Good
Neighbor" treaty with Argentina. On
Thursday, October 16, the price OF
wheat flaxseed and most coarse
grains went down the limit Of days
trading-10 cents a bushel. Thus
wheat, quoted the day before at
s1.10% bushel dropped to s1.00 %
Flax and other grains took like
beating. The loan value of $1.15-
which is figured to be IS percent Of
the parity value-was powerless to
block the avalanche. Only the pro-
Queer, who had his grain stored in
an elevator or on the farm, escaped
the loss, If he had borrowed from the
U. S. government the amount fixed
for it's grade and weight. Thus when
the blitzkrieg came, only those who
had air raid shelters on the farm or
in the local farmers elevator escaped
scath.
Such crash in prices and the sign
ing Of the Argentina treaty may have
been a coincidence. Some say the
drop was speeded up by the Russian
defeats; others attribute the failure
of congress to enact a price-fixing
bill-putting ceiling on all products
had something to do with it. But
such causes seem remote and may
rather be assigned as excuses than
reasons. What hit the market was
the feeling that the government had,
was playing with the industrialists Of
big business who wanted the South
American market now that neither
Britain nor Germany were capable Of
serving it. Hence the tariff duties
on flax, canned and processed meats,
hides, wool, casein and cleo oils and
stearin and other farm products were
slashed almost uniformly so percent.
for instance, which had a
duty of 65c bushel is now admitted
for 321ac a bushel.
In exchange for this, Argentina adj
mits American manufactured goods
filing cases, refrigerators,
machines, the cheaper auto
trucks and buses, radios,
portable electric and pneumatic tools,
l27 items in all-at tariff duty re-
duction varying from 33 to 80 percent.
This has the appearance Of trading
your neighbours best COW for trac-
,or for yourself-which is good if you
can get away with it, but not so good
f the sheriff comes a-calling on you.
Why should treaty with Argentina
nave such an effect? Because, un-
Ter the terms Of the most favored
lation" agreement, Canada will get
he same tariff privilege as has just
,een given Argentina. Canadians can
IMPORT into the United States flax
iced, wool, and the other items at
% percent of the present duty they
low must pay! The dairy farmers
Canadian cheese and casein; the Wyo-
ming farmers are going to feel the
impact of Canadian imports of hides
nd wool; the northwest farmers are
DING to have to battle with Canadian
laxseed on the Minneapolis and Du-
18th markets. Here were the Ameri-
an farmers with no export market
he war had cut it off. All they had
7as the domestic market-and now
70 are sharing it with Argentina, Can
da, Uruguay and all our former COM
etitors for the European market in
asst times.
Certain experts in Washington who
ave studied the situation estimate
lat this little bid for the neighbours
oodwill will cost us s7,000,000,000
ear! The treaty is to last for three
10 cost to agriculture in that period.
or two years this treaty has been
process of making. In all that
me M. W. Thatcher has warned and
'otested against it. He bent every
fort to arouse the farmers of the
Farmers Union mem
RS and those not yet members-to
It them to act and to drown Wash
gton and the department Of state
it'll protests. AS far back as last
me, Mr.. Thatcher was pounding the
ommittee for Reciprocity Informa-
IN, State Department, Washington,
c., to leave the duty on flax as it
Is. You can read his urgent tele-
am on page 10 Of the Farmers I'M
I Herald of July. He was not re-
IS in action. Now he is asking
rmers to put up a battle to get
,bt Adjustment across before the
lapse, that follows the end of the
II, is here. If this is allowed to
ide" as the flax tariff was we
all see the AAA program ended and
leat back to the old price of 25c.
d the almost certain extinction of
3 family type farm. That will
her in the era of corporation farm
10th century model of fuedalism.