The Sidney herald., 1956-09-20

walton for the farmers. He said lower
prices would clear the markets and
let the farmers grow more.
Benson started the program of
gradually" reducing farmers income
shortly after he % office bv cz,t-
ing the price of cottonseed meal held
by the Commodity Credit Corpora
9on. he u this from $50 a ton
price az the key market for this
commodity. Memphis. Tennessee, by
Slo a ton in n week in the late
spring OF 1853.
The rest was automatic. Flood the
market with a bow cost, high protein
iced. and other feed markets = SOW
Dean meal and grains - were bound
to sag.
When the gradual deflation Jagged
some off grade corn" SUPPOSEDLY in
danger of going out OF condition in
SCC storage. was sold into the mar
ket. SIN hundred billion pounds of
non-fat dry milk was sold to feed
mixers at a bonanza price.
In the midst of this operation. Ezra
Taft Benson declared the official view
should be used only to prevent an
undue disaster" he said.
The problem OF when the Admins
Irauon views a disaster as an "un-
u disaster has been a national
puzzle from the time OF Ezra pen
III ILLS InE
pal OF the Administration, down to
une day when Ike vetoed the Demo-
cratic farm bal last nm
When cattle dipped TO less than
MISREPRESENTATION Administration q
m~eat-ouy1ng program was started. For
a inns 1t appeared that 80 per cent
OF parity might be the level that
~ considered undue disaster. But
that program established no mini
/ mum DTlHRC m nodl - -
meat animals involved. There was a
lot OF Gravy in the deal. but NOT
dor So 1t became clear that
even 30 per cent of parity was not
producers.
Cattle prices were to become even
worse. BY the time cattle prices
dropped to SO per e of parity last
year the public had caught on to
buying program that did not Include
some minimum guarantee of what
ue farmers were 10 be paid. With
catue prices Gown TO 50 per cent OF
parity. the Administration did moth
OF dollars of available funds. hut
nothing was done 30 draw excess beef
om the market. Obviously
even 0 per cent OF parity was not
considered low enough to the disaster
due" III
When hog prices drcpped to SO
per cent OF parity last fab, the Adj
ministration beSt1rred itseM and an
nounced an edsf1ty billion dollar pork
mat this was to be spent over ten
months, JAnd only enouGh pork would
be bosulex IA ne ~sc1ool 1uneh and
ouaer government feeding prorram
OF parity hog prices were not con
s1dereu disaster.
At was not until the farm bdu veto
that we found out what sort OF an
undue disaster" the Administration
was thinking about.
When he vetoed the Democratic
farm bill. President Efsens1ower
C-ounternanded Agriculture Secretary
Bensons announced s18l per busheI
price supports for wheat in 1856 and
or 86 per cent of parity. He ordered
some other supports raised a little
also from the levels originally set.
What undue disaster" caused this
9 action? What happened to
make it appropriate. under the
principles of the Eisenhower Adj
mn1stration to rush in with these
temporarly-increased price supports
for he farmers2
These basic commodity prices were
not down 10 SO per cent of parity.
nor 10 so per sent without arousing
the Administration to come to farm
ers' aid.
The only different disaster" any,
where in sight to account for these
lIberahzed price supports was a Dem
ocratic landslide in the farm states
next November.
The mistake most of us Americans
made was in thinking that undue
disaster refers to some sort of ec,-
non1c calamity bo agriculture. Novv
we know it didn't refer to that al
The only disaster" that could
make the Republicans move was the
prospect of losing the farm belt In
the November election.
My friends, the only way that the
farmers of this country can save
themselves from the disaster of brok-
IN campaign promises and steadily
deepening depression is by returning
the Democratic party 10 power.
We Democrats are pledged to re-
store 100 per cent off parity prices
to the farmers. We mea what we
say. You car coun on Adlai Steven
son to keep his pledge to carry out
the Democratic platform. 1t is a good
platform n our farm plank is the
best of any platform in history.
We are committed to use a full
of price supports, food utili-
sation. production adjustment, and d.
payment methods to accomplish
,ur goal of full parity prices for
And we viii not stop until we
rave achieved a full. fair share of
he nations Incomes for our farmers.