The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-11-09


The President says the only way
to keep down the cost of living is
through subsidies.
Congress, in its present frame OF
mind, doesn't want anything to dc
with subsidy, which 1t considers a
naughty word.
The solution is to find some other
sweeter name for the thing and call
it that. Or find some orange Juice
to make Congress swallow the cas-
tor oil of subsidies, and like it.
FORBIDDEN WORD
Congress has not always been op-
posed to subsidies. The farm or
CARNATIONS have not always been
posed to subsidies. Subsidies are
admittedly nice things to have when
prices are down. A soil conserva-
ton payment" is acceptable, even
though it is a subsidy. An acreage
allotment benefit payment" Is &C
ceptable, though it's a subsidy.
Crop loans" are subsidies when the
market price goes below the loan
value; parity prices" are subsidies.
They are all acceptable, apparently,
just SO long as they're not called by
the nasty name of subsidy"
Leon Henderson dragged out the
roll back" subsidy and got busted
for it. Claude R. Wickard invented
the incentive payment" subsidy
and got burnt. Congress would have
none of either. Currently, the new
price administrator, Chester BowleS,
has been toying with the phrase
production bonus, but 1t hasn't
been formally presented as yet and
whether Congress would like 1t any
better is a question. The need for
the semantics expert is eyer-pres-
ent.
Before the House of Representa-
tives now is a bill which would ban
practically all food subsidies after
December 81. A similar bill was
passed by Congress last July. only
to be vetoed by the President. If
this second subsidy ban should be
passed by Congress it likewise
would stand a good chance of re-
ceiving a veto, judging from the
sense of the Presidents long food
message. Hence the administrations
concern in finding an acceptable
word or formula to embody the
subsidy idea while still taking off
the curse of the word subsidy itself
FARMERS VIEWPOINT
The reasons or the excuse for the
farm bloc's dislike of subsidies at
the present time aren't hard to find.
In the present favorable farm price
situation. they see a chance to get
the farmer out of debt, in which
sad state most farmers have always
been, ever since the founding of the
country. Farmers today admit they
are making more money than they
ever did, and the figures prove 1t.
Farm income is way up. Rate of
payment on farm loans Is way up.
Savings are up. Farm failures and
forced foreclosures are way down.
Two years more of unlimiated high
prices would put the farmer on easy
street-so the farm leaders think
and SO they talk and agitate.
The threat of imitation apparently
scares no one at all. And there is a
very curious reflection on this bus
mess of the science of precise mean
ing and sense development of words.
If all the distrust and fear of the
word subsidy" could be shifted
over on the word imitation" and If
all the lovely aspects of imitation
could be fastened on to the word
"subsidy"-then there would be no
work for the professor of semantics
to do on this issue In wartime gov
eminent and economics.
What the Presidents food mess
age does do Is draw the line OF bat
tie on the subsidy issue. That 1t is
all the Presidents workmanship is
of course naive idea. This Is the
War Food Administration program,
and II you were to shout a demand
for "Author!" on this message, In
the VIA wings of the Department
of Agriculture buildings, a head
would probably pop out of every
door to take a blushing bow.