Evening star., 1948-10-16
The Political Mil
Farmers in Midwest
Due to Vote Republican

Oue 10 Vote kepuDlICon
Dewey Regarded as Friendly, Opposed
To Taxing Co-ops
By Gould Lincoln
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 16-ohio farmers
and farmers in other great Midwest States
will vote Republican in large numbers in the
coming presidential election. Democratic argu-
ments that farmers content with the high
prices they are receiving will hesitate to
change administrations in Washington are not
sustained by actual inquiry OF farmers and
their leaders.
In the first place, Gov Dewey, the Repub.
lican presidential nominee, has convinced
them he is friendly. He Is O farmer himself
and deals through a farm cooperative. He
has spoken out in favor Of the principle Of
farm price supports. Also he has made 1t
clear he will oppose taxation Of co-operatives,
suggested in some quarters.
Fear Attacks in Congress.
While the farmers are apparently satisfied
with the stand taken by Gov. Dewey, they
are watching carefully the attitude Of various
members of Congress. AS one farm leader
puts it:
Both Dewey and Truman have indorsed
the principle of price supports in their CAM
paign speeches. This fortunately kept the
matter from becoming political football in
the present campaign. I am fearful, how
ever, that there will be further attacks on
farmers when the Eighty-frst Congress con-
venes in January. There are same short
sighted interests who believe that the farmers
are getting rich at the expense of other Ameri-
cans"
The same farm leader called attention to
font hat &ha Co.
today ON the downgrade, that farmers are
getting less for soybeans, wheat pigs and
cattle, and that they will probably have to
pay more for labor, machinery, fertilizer and
seed. He added that the farmer is getting
less on his capital investment than are other
interests
Gets Half Of Consumer Dollar.
He cited figures to show that II the farmer
gave away the wool contained in q $50 suit.
1t would still cost the consumer $44.3o; that
If the farmer gave away the hide for $40
pair OF shoes, the shoes would cost 1858; that
If the farmer gave away the cattle for every
SO worth of meat, the meat would still cost
the consumer $40 in the butcher shop, and
that If he gave away the wheat in 16-cent
loaf Of bread, it would cost lat cents.
The point he made Is that the farmer gets
only so cents out of each consumer dollar,
and that it costs too much to make the farmers
wheat into bread to butcher his hogs into
pork chops, and to roll his tobacco into
cigarettes.
What the farmer really fears is a surplus Of
farm products and for that reason demands q
continuance of the price support principle
He wants some form Of production control.
and will ask the Government for some We.
hicle through which to work. At the same time
the farmer Is strongly afraid Of Government
control. A suggestion that food products may
be dealt with as a public utility sends cold
shivers down his back.
Recalls Democratic Controls
While the farmer remembers the tough times
of the early thirties. he also remembers the
controls put upon him by the Democratic
administrations, both before and during World
War II. As of today, the farmer looks askance
at the many different Government bureaus
and agencies, with overlapping functions, to
which he has been compelled to 60 in his own
district-the Soil Conservation Service, Agri-
culture Extension Service and the Farmers
Home Administration. He would like to see
greater coordination, and he is hoping for 1t
If the Republicans take over.
The actual farm population of Ohio Is about
12h per cent Of the total in the State. Pre-
sumably about the same percentage holds in
the potential voting population. However.
the records show that farmers vote in greater
percentage than do the other residents Fur
ther, there is large rural population which
Is closely tied in with the farmer and Is In.
fiuenced> by much the same factors when It
comes to politics. q.
The farm leaders predict q Dewey victory
in Ohio, unless some situation now unforeseen
arises before election day. So far as Henry
Wallace the third party candidate, is con-
cerned, the probabilities are he will get prac-
tically no farm votes.
While the farmers individually know little
about the problems Of industrial organized
labor, they are more in favor of the Taft
Hartley Labor Act than they are opposed to
it. The new law, therefore, will help the
Republicans in the rural counties, not hurt
them