Evening star., 1942-12-01
Relief for Farmers

Relief for Farmers
The decision to remove the CELL
lngs on the pay of agricultural work.
ers and to endow Secretary of Agri-
culture Wickard with broad author
ity to handle the farm problem
marks belated effort to rectify Sc
rious mistakes of judgment on the
part of official Washington. 1t is
to be hoped that this corrective &C
tlon is not too inadequate and does
not come too late to compensate for
the blunders of the past.
At the moment, the agricultural
outlook for next year is decidedly
unencouraging. During 1943 the
farmers, in addition to meeting do
meStlc requirements, will be expected
to double their production of foods
for export to our Allies. And thew
will have to do this without the serv-
ices of about 100000 workers who
left the farms in 1912, not to men
ton depleted stocks of farm ma
chlnery, fertilizer, etc.
OF all the problems facing the
farmer, the labor shortage seems to
be the most serious, and has re-
celVed the least consideration to this
time. There are two principal ex-
plantations of this Shortage-one, the
drafting Of agricultural workers
without proper regard for the con-
sequences to food production, and,
second, the lure Of high wages and
relatively short hours, sponsored by
the Government, in the war manu-
featuring industries. Now, when
crisis Is imminent, the administra-
ton is attempting to stop this de-
cline OF manpoWer on the farms
the first step contemplates higher
farm wages, under the direction and
control of Secretary Wickard. This
probably is essential, for it is not
going to be possible to hold the men
still on the farms, nor to attract new
workers to the farms, while the great
disparity between farm earnings
and industrial earnings persists. 1t
should be clearly recognized, how
ever, Ahat the solution to the prob
lem is not simple matter of author
lzing higher farm wages.
In the first place, many farmers
are going to be disturbed by what
seems to be an administration pur-
pose to boost farm wages to an ap-
proXlmate parity with those prevail
Ing in industry. This is going to
boost farm production costs tremen-
dously, and it will not be easy to
bring them down again after the
war. The farmers know this. and
it is to be expected that they will
wonder what the end result of such
a policy will be.
Furthermore, unless the added
cost of production is to be met
through Federal subsidies at best a
temporary solution), the higher
wages paid farm help probably will
W 4NAioSCSu III IllSilcl pi lCtS W COIL
sumers. And if the cost of food
and other farm products goes up,
what is to become of the price-con-
troll structure as a whole? On these
questions, the announcement of the
lifting Of farm-pay ceilings is vague
But no one seriously supposes that
they can be long ignored.
This entire matter narroWs down
to the fact that the logical conse-
quences of faulty policy or no pol
icy, are beginning to assert them
selves. The period OF compromise
and improvisation has about run its
course, and we are being compelled
to face the fact that the workings
OF fundamental economic laws can
not be thWarted by any program
which is based on expediency. This
latest step, like others before it..
seems to be of the stopgap variety.
If so, its inadequacy soon will be
demonstrated.