The Daily Alaska empire., 1944-08-19

than the disposal of surplus federally owned land. Since 1888 the Government has acquired title, or is now in the process of acquiring it, to something like 22 million acres of real estate. It is estimated that close 10 million of these suitable for agri- culture and that the bulk of them, probably seven or eight million acres, will be available for disposal when the is ended They were acquired by the Government, either through direct purchase or by condemnation, for such as training centers ar tlery proving grounds bombing areas or other military needs The manner in which the Government dsposes of this agricultural land cannot fail to have important social and economic consequences.
 We cannot afford to have this land hurriedly or indiscrminatey dumped by the Government. There has been, and will be, plenty of pressure brought to have the director of Surplus Property Disposal w. l. Clayton do just this It will be argued that the Gov ernment ought ito get out of private business" as speedily possible Land spectators and bargain hunters special interest groups will seek quick and prodgious profits through purchase of this land And reports that its disposal is to be handled through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation gives sub stance to fears that they will have their way.
 The essence of a sound policy for the disposal of agricultural lands, in our judgment, is that they be sold to bona fide farmers. It is less important, moreover, that they be sold to small independent farmers and to men, especially war veterans, who have experience in farming and want chance to engage in it after the Such policy would help to arrest the dangerous trend toward absentee and monopoly ownership in our rural economy It would provide channel for demobilization by giving men discharged from the armed services or from war industries grbstake in the national economic future
 But they will need help to acquire such grub stake Not only must they be given preferential opportunity to buy the Governments surplus real estate but they must also have financial aid if they are to make success of their undertaking. Under the Bankhead-Jones Act the necessary financial aid could be made available to them. It enacted for precisely this purpose. Through the credit arrange ments established by it. the Farm Security Admin, istration could enable veterans workers with the know-how for farming to suitable tract and to acquire the tools, seed fertilizer and other equipment needed operate it successfully The FSA is the logical agency handle the disposal of farm land.
 The REC in contrast, is without organization or experience, and indeed without the understanding or will to dispose of the land such basis. It knows only how to sell at auction to the highest bidder And the highest bidder would almost certainly be the speculator or the large corporation farmer with abundant cash Sale of the land in this manner would inevitably entail huge and wholly needless loss to the Government For these would be forced sales at knockdown prices. More serious still, it would entail highly destructive effect upon local realty values. The bottom would be knocked out of farm values in general with dangerously depressing con- sequences for the national economy as whole.
 We believe that the policy to be pursued in the disposal of surplus farm land will be nothing less than one of the vital determinants of our postwar social and economic security These lands, if they are distributed wisely, be bulwark for private enterprise and individual initiative. They are, in a sense, American frontier They must not be thrown away. They belong by right, to the Amer jeans who will live them and use them and make them bear fruit.