Evening star., 1950-05-09

nous rise in farm output, even
though fewer people were available
for farm work. The stored-up sur
pluses Of cotton and wheat and
ether crops, which had been bitterly
criticized before the war, turned out
to be extremely valuable.
The price-support system was
adapted to wartime needs. 1t was
used to encourage farmers to in
crease total production and to turn
out the right amounts of each es-
sential product. -.
The tremendous expansion Of
production during the war was
equally valuable when the shooting
stopped. In the years since the
war. literally millions Of people
have been saved from a starvation
diet by the products Of our fields
Today. our farm programs are
undergoing new tests. They have
proved their worth in bringing
about economic recovery and meet
ing the demands of war. During
the last few years, we have been
faced with the problems involved in
readjusting to peacetime needs.
Two Things Made Clear.
/. Two things have been made
abundantly clear. First, that our
programs have served us we'll
have indeed been our salvation-in
preventing the kind of disaster that
followed the first World War. Sec
ond, that there are defects in the
present system which require cor
rection
One of the main reasons we have
had no serious economic downturn
since the war Is the farm price
support system. -.
However, our present farm price,
support program is not fully sat-
isfactory.
In the last two years, farm in
come has dropped more than 20
per cent. That is nothing like what
happened after the First World
War. Nevertheless it is serious. :.
Furthermore, the present law pro-
vides no satisfactory basis for deal
ing with perishable crops. -.
Defects Led to CIamor.
1t is foolish to have the Gov
ernment buy and store food that
people want to eat now. 1t is even
worse to have the Government buy
food and destroy it, but that some
times happens under the present
program.
Everyone knows about the shame
ful potato situation. This can lead
to public resentment strong enough
to diScredit the whole farm pro-
gram. The taxpayers should not be
expected to foot the bill for buying
food which has to be wasted. >.
We must preserve the good fea-
lures of the present program. They
are built on a solid foundation.
They are necessary for our own
welfare and that of the free world.
But We clearly need to improve
and strengthen existing legislation.
This administration has made a
very careful study Of the changes
that are necessary to adjust our
farm support program to present
conditions. A series of recommended
tons were worked out within the
administration and were presented
to the Congress last year by the
Secretary of Agriculture.
Effective Proposal.
No one claims that these rec
concentrations are perfect in every
detail. We are constantly looking
for ways to improve them.
The essential purposes of these
proposals can be very simply stated.
First, they are designed to obtain
the amounts and kinds of farm
products that are needed in an ex-
panding economy, and to assure
farmers the opportunity to earn a
fair income for producing those
products.
Under the proposals we have
made, farmers would be given in
centiveS to make the needed shifts
in production. Farmers would be
assured of support for all the crops
which yield major share of farm
income. At present, some of the
most important ones are left out.
1t would continue to be necessary,
in some cases, to limit production
to genuine consumer demand, in
order to avoid surpluses greater
than amounts which are needed for
storage. ...
The second purpose of the ad-
ministration's proposals for changes
in our support program is to pro-
vide method for using our entire
supply of perishable products, in
stead OF taking part of it off the
market and putting it on the shelf.
Under our method, all direct pro-
duction payments to farmers would
make up any difference between the
average market price and fair
return.
I have heard this system attacked
on the ground that it would cost
too much. Most of the fantastic
estimates of cost you hear are made
by those who don't understand how
it would actually work. When you
study the facts, you will see that
this plan should cost no more, and
may well cost less, than the present
system. And it would have the
tremendous advantage of using
instead of wasting, perishable
products.
Our third purpose is to encourage
the conservation and wise use of
our land and water resources.
A price-support program can do
this in two ways. The first is by
encouraging livestock production. If
we produce the livestock products
that our people want, we shall need
more land in grass and hay. And
that is one of the major things we
need to do in order to conserve our
soil.
The second way is to make soil
conservation practices a require
ment for anyone who wants the
benefit of price support. The whole
Nation has an interest in soil con-
servation and benefits by it, just
as the whole Nation has an interest
in and benefits by a sound price,
support for the individual who is
Selihoro folIy r,,i,,i,,n h;s ~a;1 -