Evening star., 1948-09-19

greatest importance 10 tne FARMER.
Originated by Democrats.
The Democratic Party originated
the farm support program. We built
the price support plan out OF hard
experience. We built it for the bene-
fit of the entire Nation-> OF only
the farmer, but the consumer as
we'll.
Republican spokesmen are now
complaining that my administration
is trying to keep farm prices up.
They have given themselves away.
They have given you a plain hit OF
what they have in store for you II
they come into power. They are OBJ
viously ready to let the bottom drSp
out of farm prices.
The purpose of price support is to
prevent farm prices from falling to
runiously low levels. Every consumer
should realize that these supports
apply only when farm prices have
dropped below parity.
The Government Is not now sup
porting the price on major food
items such as meats, dairy products,
and poultry.
The Government has just be-
gun to support the price of wheat,
which has dropped from around
three dollars bushel to about two
dollars.
Nothing to Do With Buyer.
This support price has nothing to
do with the price the consumer is
paying for his bread.
When wheat prices were going up,
the price of bread rose steadily.
It went up from 10 cents loaf to
II cents-to IL cents-to 13 cents
to IA cents.
Now wheat prices have fallen a
dollar bushel. But the price of
bread has not come down one cent.
There you have the policy of re-
dictionary big business. Pay as lit
tie as you can to the farmer, and
charge the consumer all he can
bear. That is fair sample of what
the Republican reaction has meant
to you in the past two years--to
you, and to every consumer, in cities
and on farms alike.
When the Republicans claim that
wheat price supports are to blame
for the high price of bread, they
are trying to stir up the city con-
sumer against the farmer by down.
right dishonesty.
Declares Prices Kept Down.
The truth of the matter is that by
encouraging the record production
of the last few years, the support
program has actually kept consumer
prices down.
Those who are wilfully trying to
discredit the price support system
don't want farmers to be prosperous
They believe in low prices for farm
ers. cheap wages for labor, and high
profits for big corporations.
These are the facts the people
need to know. am going to keep
hammering away at the facts until
the whole country rings with the
truth about these glutton sons of
privilege.
The record of the Republican 80th
Congress is one long attack on the
welfare of the farmer.
Under the Democratic administra-
tions since 1888, the Government
sponsored the great soil conserva-
ton program that helped to lay the
foundations for the present pros
perity of the American farmer. But
the Republican 80th Congress, under
the false mask of economy, cut and
threatened to kill the soil conserva-
ton program. You people here
know best the importance of soil
conservation to American agricul-
ture. You know what the reaction
ary attack on soil conservation will
cost the, farmer if we let the Re-
publicans have their own way.
At every point the Republican
SOth Congress did what the specula-
tive grain lobby wanted it to do.
Wheat Pact Killed.
They killed the international
wheat agreement, which would have
assured American wheat growers a
large export market for five years
at fair prices.
They started a move to put a
death-tax on farm co-operatives.
They ruled out the grain bins that
help make the ever-normal granary
effective.
They have invited q depression
by refusing to curb Initiation.
And now they are attacking the
farm support program.
The Wall Street Republicans are
not worrying about whether you Ike
1t or not. Their political wiseacres
have assured them that the farmer
has fallen back into his old habit
of voting Republican, whatever
happens. The Republicans are say
ing, ""don't worry about the farm
vote. It's in the bag"
!; So long as you had good year
once In a while, you would be salts
fed. So they thought. So they
think today.
|. Mistaken, He Says.
i You and I know they're making
a big mistake. From what I have