Evening star., 1948-09-05
Farmers Share of Food Dollar
Increases F rom 40 to 81 Gents

appeared III LnOSe Gays is best eX-
pressed, perhaps, In the words of
President Roosevelt, when he trans
mitted the proposed bill to Congress
Il tell you frankly that it is a
new, untrod path; but tell you with
equal frankness that an unprece-
dented condition calls for the trial
of new means to rescue agriculture. u
Millions of farmers agreed to limit
acreage in surplus crops in return
for benefit payments. At first
these payments were financed
through processing taxes on the
various commodities. But the Su-
preme Court in 1896 ruled such q
scheme unconstitutional. Then be-
gan payment by direct appropria-
ton, the system still in use.
The law was altered and broad
ened, but its principle remained the
same: The Government must use
its total resources to bring some
reason into farm prices so there
will be no burdensome surpluses or
ruinous prices.
Over the years. additional COM
modities were brought under the
support principle, and all sorts of
schemes, among them the famous
stamp plan, were used to help dis
pose Of the surplus of food and thus
keep prices from collapsing. There
was no problem of how to get lower
prices.
War Changes Problem.
The war changed the problem.
Increased demands growing out
of defense mobilization in 1910 and
l941 relieved the situation greatly"
says farm legislation history, pre-
pared last year for the House Agri-
culture Committee. 1t went on:
Without this or some similar in
crease in demand substantial ad-
justments in farm programs would
have been required. Stocks of wheat,
corn and cotton had filled all avail
able permanent and great deal of
additional temporary storage space
Clearly without the wartime or
some other pickup in demand, ad-
ditional production control restric-
tions or more extensive subsidized
distribution programs would have
been required to maintain farm
prices at current levels"
War demand for agricultural
commodities outstripped supply.
Prices naturally rose. The Govern
ment paid a subsidy of more than
81 4,000,000,000 to hold the line at
OPA levels, and it paid additional
amounts to farmers to grow more
food, not less.
But the biggest encouragement to
the farmer was the price support
program-the knowledge that 1920
couldn't happen again; that this
time the Government would buy up
his crop, if he suddenly found short
ages turned into surpluses.
"Steagall Commodities"
When the war began, only the
so-called basic crops were receiving
Government aid or support.
In 194l an amendment, which
bears the name of the late Repre-
sentative Steagall of Alabama, was
added to a bill extending the life of
the Commodity Credit Corp. This
amendment added the many pro-
ducts now known as "Steagall COM
modities" to those eligible for price
support, once the Secretary of Agri-
culture or War Food Administra-
tor determined expanded produc-
tion was needed to help win the
war. Included were hogs, eggs,
chickens and turkeys. milk, dried
peas, potatoes and so on. Others
could be added, If the Secretary Of
Agriculture so decided.
Before long some $50 farm pro-
ducts were under price support,
down to black-eyed peas and Sea
Island cotton.
The basic price support legisla-
ton provided the supports must
continue until two years after the
war. The theory was that it would
take about that long to get over