The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1942-03-20

mitted for this department should
| cussed to some degree at least. OBJ
Custer, Mont, March Is, 1912
The Peoples Voice:
In the March 18th issue, E. B. S.
complains about not understanding
how the parity on farm grown COM
modities works.
| First, I can see no reason, other
than another bad fault Of the AAA
program, in making loans on farm
commodities at less than 1909 OF
parity-the practice is economically
unsound. AS in the end the percent.
of parity loan value is the floor and
cealing covering that commodity to
the producer, but l think you will
! find that after the commodity has
been processed, it is priced to the
consumer at a parity price, which
means a net clearance to the process
sor of 1870. So the producer and the
consumer both get gypped.
AS for the practice of $3.50 parity
value loans being economically I'M
sound, we must really understand
what parity is and what parity rep
resents. l am no specific authority
nor expert on parity, but as farmer
understand it to mean an instru-
ment devised which will enable the
| farmer to purchase the implements
etc., in connection to the production
of agricultural crops necessary to the
| livelihood of mankind, retain a decent
living standard and title to the area
upon which he grows these commodi-
ties. To do this he must receive at
least what it costs to do the job
(name it what you please, cost Of pro-
duction, production cost, or just plain
parity, which is easy to say). A
farmers labor is the commodity he
sells. A laborer's commodity for sale,
is his skill and ability to do some
specific job. Dealing in averages, we
will say it costs a laborer $500 per
day to keep himself physically fit so
he will be able to sell his commodity
Some employers tell him they won't
pay him $500 per day but will give
him $500 which is 1928 of the pro-
duction cost or parity, if the laborer
sold his services for 1928 of his pro-
duction cost he will soon be forced
out Of the market or have to get the
1918 from some other source. If he
undertakes to reduce his overhead by
reducing his living standard, he is
drawing upon his surplus capital
stock by reducing his physical condi-
ton. In the end he has an inferior
commodity for sale, and will not find
many willing purchasers. So to re-
tain position whereby he as Ia
borer will have a commodity to mar
ket he must receive at least 1000
parity for that commodity.
This also applies to the farmer and
is quite important to the laborer. For
how can farmers continue to produce
the staff of life all humans must have
if they are forced to do so at less
than 1909 of parity.
In discussing this parity we have
very important factor not often re-
ferred to, that, being the productivity
of the soil and the costs in connec-
ton with retaining that productivity.
All farm commodities are produced
from the soil or the products of the
soil, our grain, feed and cotton crops
represent direct production of the
soil, meats, wool and dairy products,
etc., are indirect products of the soil.
No on eseems to know the age of the
earth, but we do know that nature
is continually striving to build up the
soils fertility and before our age had
built up vast blanket of fertile top
soil necessary to the production of
agricultural commodities, it so hap
pens that these agricultural commodi-
ties in part are terrible depleters of
the soils fertility and without some
fertility replacement, the soil as ma
ture has prepared it will only grow
few annual crops of the same COM
modify as time goes on more and
more fertility is lost unless cropping
and farming practices are rotated.
Soil building and conserving practices
costs the farmer money. And it ap-
pears that down through the age of
time no great increase per acre of any
commodity has been obtained, without
some near prohibitive cost per acre.
So as far as the yields per acre are
concerned, it costs money to retain
the yield of virgin SOIL Dealing in
averages we have no increase in acre
yield, in computing parity prices.
Roo ~, 1Q0Q-1Q1d poyiod
where we all seemed to be going
forward together, things just seemed
to balance out or were on a parity
one to the other. So that is known
as the parity period.
During that period in 1912 l pur-
cashed a small 2-horse grain drill it
cost me 83 bushels Of No. 1 spring
wheat at soc per bushel or $4,000
Today it would take 142 bushels of
the same wheat with a 12c per bushel
increase in price to purchase like
commodity. Now if in 19O9-1914 those
SO bushels equaled 1000 parity and in
1912 the same commodity required 142
bushels at a higher price, then it must
stand to reason that, as it takes So
more bushels, the price for the wheat
must be below parity-for to be on
a parity now 83 bushels should pur
chase the drill and to be on parity
should be able to sell or borrow
$1,000 or $1.57 per bushel. This
higher priced drill does nothing to in
crease the acre yield or lower the
production costs.