Tabor City tribune. (Tabor City, N.C.) 1946-1991, 1946-09-13
Edward A. O'Neill
Urges Farmers
To Join Bureau
Nv EDWARD A. O'NEILL

This is Edward A. O'Nelll, res
ident of the American Farm Bur-
eau Federation, appealing to you
on behalf of the farmers of Ame"-
icaf' The real test of farm bureau
is coming in the years just ahead.
The masses of the population have
eaten better during recent years
than they ever did in their lives
and they have not paid all the cost
of that food. The Federal Govern
ment in the mistaken notion that
initiation can be kept down by pay
ing part of the cost of the food
eaten by every citizen has been
paying out billions in food subsld-
les. The Federal Government has
done this at time when consumer
incomes have been highest in his
tory, when people have been bet
ter able to pay for their food than
ever before. They now seem to
think they should have cheap food
permanently as their natural right.
There are many people in high
places in Government who are
committed to a national policy OF
cheap food. They maintain, OF
course, that they want farmers to
get parity for their food and fibre,
but they don't want to pay for it,
they want farmers to produce all
they humanity can. They want to
let prices seek whatever level they
will fall to as result of abundant
production and then give Federal
money to the farmer to make up
for the price that he should have
received in the market places. In
other words, they want to put the
farmer on a perpetual dole. The
only way that farmers can combat
this idea which threatens the his
toric freedom and independence of
the people of the land is to build
their organization to a position of
such strength and power that they
will stand forever as bastions i'm
pregnable against any possible at
tacks. l am certain that farm
people will not take this challenge
lying down, they have proven what
they can do through organization,
and | am confident they will gath
er recruits from every nook and
corner of the country side and band
them together into an organization
strong enough to meet any opposi-
ton that is thrown at them. We
now face situation identical in
many respects with the situation
that existed when the American
Farm Bureau Federation was form
ed u years ago. We have prosper
ed during the war years because
of the Unsuitable demands of the
war. Farm prices are at parity,
lad prices are soaring, there is
one fundamental difference in the
situation, however, this time we
are protected for at least two years
by Government guarantee against
the sudden collapse of prices that
all but ruined agriculture in twen-
ty. Your farm organization and
sympathetic congress teamed up
this time to enact legislation
which protects our price income
during the years in which we must
adjust our operations from a war;
time to peace time basis. We
won battles in the past because we
had the power and the organization
to do it. | gravely doubt, however,
if that same amount of man power
will be enough to win the battles
that l see ahead. The forces ar
raYed against US are much more
formidable and the stakes are very
large, the issues go deeper, the fu-
ture of Independent agriculture is
at stake. | am certain that our
farm people will not fail, they will
meet the challenge, they will do
their part to assure a measure of
freedom and security for the gen.
erations that will follow them on
the land.