Evening star., 1954-10-17

going the other way. It goes
without saying that the victims
Of this big squeeze" are not
happy.
But they give no indication
that they are angry enough to
do anything drastic about it.
Too many remember the dis
NAL days of the early sos. with
their "7-cent wheat and scent
hogs" to feel much upset about
current conditions.
It's No Revolution.
"Sure there's dissatisfaction
but it's no revolution" says an
Ohio farmer evenly.
And that about sums up the
story that has been unfolded to
this reporter on a 3,500-mile
trip, just completed. carrying
from the Eastern dairy and poul-
try belt to the Southwestern
wheat fields. The purpose of the
tour was to get the farmers re-
action to 81 months of Repub-
lican rule. on the eve of the mid
term election.
A lot of curbStore and farm
by-farm opinion sampling was
spread over the route. particu-
larly in New York, Ohio. Indi-
ana, Illinois, Iowa and Kansas.
This area makes up a pretty fair
cross-section Of the American
farm economy. excepting cotton,
rice and tobacco.
The administration has its
critics everywhere. and there is
general agreement in the farm
areas that November will see a
protest vote against the G. o. p.
President Eisenhower, who car
ried all the States traversed in
1852, continues to retain his
personal popularity in large
measure. but there is grumbling
about "the people around him. -
The same refrain was heard in
the days Of Harry Truman.
No. 1 "Whipping Boy"
Secretary Of Agriculture Ben
son has inherited the mantle of
his Democratic predecessor,
Charles r. Brannan, as No. /
whipping boy" in the farm belt.
We've had drought, floods
and low prices, so you just know
that the administration is going
to get some bumps" chuckles a
Kansan who enjoys q high rat
ing at the White House.
This opinion is expressed in
varying degrees elsewhere.
But nobody talks about land
slides. And, on the farms them
selves very few people seem to
be really mad.
This is not to say that there
won't be Democratic gains in
the farmlands. There are plenty
of Republican Gins" in the region
who owed their success in 1852
to the Eisenhower steamroller
and there is no reason for believ-
ing that the Eisenhower pop
ularity is transferable.
But on the other hand, there
are no indications, on the surface
at least. that the unpopularity OF
Secretary Benson is going to rub
of on Republican candidates in
farm States without regard to
any other factor.
In other words, as far as one
can judge from talking to these
farm folk, the farm issue won't
really dominate the election
even in the farm States.
Noticeable Apathy.
Actually. a month before the
election, there was noticeable
apathy in the region toured on
the subject of politics. News
papers were giving it little at
tention. A traveller could &c
hundreds of miles through the
back country without encoun-
tering q single "vote for" ap-
peal.
Roadside questioning more
often than not disclosed COM
plete indifference to candidates.
Farmers who do their own
work don't have time to think
about politics" remarked an
Illinois grower. He was busy
night and day trying to get his
corn harvested before the borer
could get in its deadly work on
a crop that just a little while
before had been saved from
drought. Natures one-two punch
has been tough in sections OF
the Midwest.
Despite the ruckus that at.
tended passage of the legislation