Evening star., 1943-01-17
Parisius Says Belief
In Crop Curbs Prevails
In Agriculture Unit
Resigned Official Declares
Farm GooIs Are Set Too
Low, Lund Improperly Used

Herpert w. PariSiuS, resigned di.
rector of the Food Production Ad.
Hllnlstration, charged yesterday thai
the Agriculture Department was fail.
ing to utilize thousands of under.
productive low-income farm fami.
hes to produce war foods, and thai
unnecessary and critical shortages
were likely to result.
he attributed the asserted failure
TO prevalence of an economy based
on restricted production" and the
lnslstance of groups within agricul-
ture that crop production control
programs be kept in operation. Some
1arm leaders, he declared, do not
want maximum production because
they fear possible postwar surpluses
and depressed prices.
The American people don't know
what they are up against" Mr.. Pa
risius said.
Crop goals for 1943 have been
set only about per cent higher
than last year. But the people are
not told this" he declared, adding
that the l943 crop goals should be
raised 20 per cent more. He hoped
That his resignation would lead to
an immediate increase in the pro.
Jected schedule.
Parisius Plan Rejected.
Mr.. Parisius resigned Friday after,
ne said, Secretary of Agriculture
Wlckard rejected his plan for re-
organizing department units con-
cerned with production. A reor-
ganization was ordered by President
roosevelt when he placed RESPONSE
ollity Tor the war food program
under Mr.. Wickard.
Mr.. Parisius told a press confer
ence his plan of reorganization was
designed to liberalize and unity de-
partment production and credit
agencies and policies with the OBJ
Jective of providing greater credit
ana assistance to farmers who
needed 1t in order to increase their
output and to make maximum use
OF their family labor supplies.
Back of Mr.. Wickard's rejection
OF his plan, Mr.. Parisius said, was a
fear that the Farm Security Ad-
ministration agency, would become
the dominant agency in the farm
program. The key agency under
the present setup is the Agricultural
Adjustment Administration.
THE AAA philosophy" said Mr..
Parisius, SIS pretty much the same
as that OF those who fear possible
surpluses. The FSA, on the other
hand, is anxious to help farmers
produce more.
Some people were afraid that if
I. carried through farm production
would be made program of social
reform. That is not true. My OBJ
Jective was to get maximum produc-
ton needed for the war crisis.
1T is essential that the use of all
agricultural land in America be re-
viewed at once and that it, like man
power, be used for its most valuable
contribution to the war effort. No
land can lie idle. Land must not be
used for unessential purposes"
The restrictions on corn acreage
were taken off this month only after
terrific fight, MrsaParisius said
adding, 1--WE out to take the restrfc- |
tions off wheat. Wheat is food. In
spite of the fact that We will have !
a storage problem this summer and
fall for our 1943 wheat crop. think
we ought to knock off the restric-
tions and grow all the wheat we can
on the plains that are good only for
wheat growing. We will need that
wheat for meat and dairy cattle
feed"
Cotton Producers AssaiIed.
The biggest pressure against con-
version of farm lands to war produc-
ton on the same scale as factory
conversion comes from the cotton
producers, Mr. Parisius declared "Of
course. they would rather produce
cotton for warehouses at 20 cents
pound instead of producing food
for our people"
Mr.. Parisius opposed the $400,000,-
600 budget request for AAA pay
ments for this crop year. He quoted
an editorial in an Iowa farm pub
lication which said the payments
would not increase production and
would only contribute to the infla-
ton problem.
Mr.. Parisius said agriculture
needed additional new farm ma
chinery, but that the War Produc-
ton Board had refused to make
sufficient material available for ma
chinery. He said Mr.. Wickard
should have taken this matter to
MIR. Roosevelt.
A former regional FSA director at
Madison, Wis, Mr. Parisius was sue
ceeded as food production director
by NJ Clifford Townsend, former
Indiana Governor and more re-
Gently AAA administrator.