Page 4 



r-i-- 



I 



The niinoit Agricultural Asiociation Record 



April 5, 1924 



t- 



r^ 



Since It Will Relieve Him — 



Rainey Asks 25 Questions 

 On Farm Relief Measure 



J (CoRtinurd from pdjw i) 



bill for political purposes only, in 

 the hope that farmers will be 

 fooled into believing they are go- 

 ing to get some advantage out of 

 the passage of this legislation? 

 Hns Farmer Itenefilted? 



11. Inasmuch as Congress so 

 far has passed every piece of al- 

 leged remedial legtslation Farm 

 Organizations have asked, is it 

 not time to inquire into what ben- 

 efits farmers have derived from 

 the legislation, presumably passed 

 at the demand of the Farm Bloc 

 in Congress and Agricultural As- 

 sociations? 



(a I Has the farmer benefitted 

 by the protective tariff Congress 

 has given him or practically 

 everything he produies? 



<bl I notice that liogs are now 

 going up on the Chicago markets. 

 Is this due to the pre tective tariff, 

 inasmuch as there is no protec- 

 tive taritt on hogs? 



(c) Would it not be advisable 

 for the Illinois Agricultural Asso- 

 ciation to advocate a reduction in 

 the tar'ff on all articl?s the farmer 

 buys? I 



(4) Is it the poiition of the 

 lltinoi* Agrlculturall Association 

 that the tariff does njot add to the 

 price the faririer pays for things 

 he is compelled to piirchase? 

 Wiiy Not Havi Kye? 



12. Can you e.\p|ain why the 

 bill does not includq in its provi- 

 sions, rye, oats, and, barley? 



(a) Is it not true that in certain 

 countries to which we export 

 wheat, rye is used interchange- 

 ably with wheat, and the price of 

 wheat is affected veify directly by 

 the price of rye? • 



(b) If the above Is true, and I 

 think you will answjer that it is, 

 then why not inclu4e rye in the 

 provisions of this bill? 



Raiite Commodity Index 



13. If we raise Artificially the 

 price of all farm prcjducts to cor- 

 respond with the leivel of prices 

 of all commodities, ^il' ""^ "<>' ^^ 

 compelled also to raise the all 

 commodity index, and if we do 

 that, how in point of fact can we 

 ever get these prlce» into adjust- 

 ment with the basic ratio price? 



.Vsiu .\bont Ratio Price 



14. Where is the ratio price to 

 be applied? Is it to be based on 

 New York, Chicago, or some other 

 point? 



(a) Will there be different ra- 

 tio prices for all theee terminals? 



(b) How will the ratio price be 

 reflected back to the farmer 

 through the local elevator? 



(c) There are a number of 

 classei of wheat, and a number of 

 grades within each class, and how 

 can the intrinsic vftlue of each 

 class and grade to the miller be 

 controlled by ratio I prices estab- 

 lished by the Government? 



What Will Milfer Do? 



(d) If the miller biiys the grade 

 which represents the best value 

 for the ratio price, {what will be 

 the eBect on the market of the 

 less ralaable grades^ 



(e) Will not the n^iller buy only 

 on a limited basis;: will he not 

 buy wheat only to fit orders he is 

 able to get for floUr at a price 

 which will protect him? 



(f) Is it not true that the miller 

 will be unable to make flour for 

 the export trade at all unless he 

 is assured against loes? 



1 



(g) Is there any authority in 

 the bill by which the miller can be 

 indemnified against possible loss? 



(h) If he is not indemnified 

 against loss, will he not desert the 

 foreign field for his products? 



(i) What effect would this have 

 upon the farmer if the miller re- 

 fuses to take chances and engage 

 in the business of exporting flour? 

 .^.•iks .All .\b«ut Wheat 



15. is it not true that the con- 

 sumption of wheat in the United 

 States fluctuates from one year to 

 another more than one bushel per 

 capita — 110,000,000 bushels a 

 year? 



(a) Is it not true that wheat Is 

 harvested somewhere in the world 

 every month in the year? 



(b) If to each of the above 

 questions your answer is Yes, 

 then, how is it possible to estimate 

 months in advance the questions 

 of production, exjportable surplus, 

 or foreign prices? 



(c) If it is impossible to so es- 

 timate in the above matters, how 

 can a ratio price be established? 



What Will lie Kviiense? 



16. What will be the expense 

 of the operation of the agencies 

 of the Government contemplated 

 in this bill? 



(a) How many employees will 

 there be? 



(b) Will there ,not be many 

 thousand employees? 



Store About "Scrip" 



17. Does not the ultimate 

 value of the "scrip" depend upon 

 the loss made on foreign sales and 

 the e.ipense of operating the Gov- 

 ernment's agencies. If the "scrip" 

 so issued depends on these un- 

 certain elements, and if it can be 

 transferred, does it not present a 

 splendid opportunity for specula- 

 tion and fraud? 



(a) If it does furnish such op- 

 portunities, are the penalties pro- 

 vided sufficient, inasmuch as they 

 are only civil penalties? 

 They'd Be Bribed 



18. At the present time, there 

 are frauds in every Department of 

 the Government so far investi- 

 gated, and civic honesty seems to 

 be at a discount. Even Cabinet 

 Members have been bribed. 



(a) When conditions are as 

 above indicated, is it not unwise 

 to create another Department such 

 as is contemplated in this bill, 

 and with a large personnel of of- 

 ficials, all of whom would be sub- 

 jected to unusual temptations in 

 the matter of bribes, etc.? 

 LotA of E.v|ierlnienls, He Thinks 



19. During the period of the 

 World War, and since then, is it 

 not true that every sort of experi- 

 ment in Government control of 

 food prices has been tried in this 

 country and abroad? 



(a) Can you point to any 

 method so far adopted by this 

 Government in the matter of con- 

 trolling food prices which has "been 

 successful? 



(b) Has not every method 

 adopted so far in numerous bills 

 passed by Congress, all of which 

 your organization has advocated, 

 resulted merely in increasing the 

 overhead of farmers by giving 

 them more enticing opportunities 

 for borrowing money? 



(c) Wni yon call my attention 

 to a single instance in the world 

 of a satisfactory maintenance of 



price of food products over a con- 

 siderable period of time? 



20. is it not true that the only 

 way to maintain a price is to have 

 a bu.ver willing and able to take 

 iverything offered at the price 

 specified? 



(a) Will this bill have that ef- 

 fect? 



Will It Increase Acrease? 



21. If the fixed price is high 

 enough to do the farmer any good, 

 will it not have the effect of in- 

 creasing the acreage? 



(a) Your answer to the above 

 must, of course, be Yes; and, if 

 the acreage is increased and the 

 production of the product is con- 

 tinually increased will not the in- 

 creased production make it al- 

 ways more and more difficult to 

 maintain a price level? 



Okhilionia Wheat Growers 



22. In the same mail which 

 brought me your letter this morn- 

 ing, I received information to the 

 effect that the Oklahoma Wheat 

 Growers Association, consisting of 

 11,000 producers of wheat de- 

 nounce the McNary-Haugen bill as 

 a new and dangerous burden to be 

 borne by the farmer. 



(a) Oklahoma is a great wheat 

 producing state. They produce 

 about as much wheat as we do in 

 Illinois. In 1920 they produced 

 over 54,000,000 bushels. In that 

 year we produced in Illinois only 

 45,000,000 bushels. The 1920 

 wheat production in Oklahoma is 

 a larger production than we have 

 ever attained in Illinois from 1909 

 to the present time, except in 1922 

 when we produced slightly more 

 than this. 



Have They Studied It? 



(b) Oklahoma farmers are more 

 vitally interested in wheat than 

 Illinois farmers. Their production 

 of corn in Oklahoma is negligible 

 as compared to our production. 

 They produce usually about l-5th 

 as much corn in Oklahoma as we 

 produce. 



(c) It is therefore reasonable to 

 suppose that the Oklahoma Wheat 

 Growers Association have given as 

 much study to the subject as the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association. 



(d) How do you account for the 

 absolutely different conclusion 

 reached by the Oklahoma Wheat 

 experts as contrasted with the con- 

 clusion your Organization has 

 reached? 



(e) What is a Member of Con- 

 gress to do when two agricultural 

 organizations — equally important 

 and equally interested — reach 

 such absolutely different conclu- 

 sions? 



(f) Under these circumstances, 

 do you think you have the right to 

 demand that a Member of Con- 

 gress from Illinois shall "unquali- 

 fiedly and actively support and 

 vote for" the McNary-Haugen 

 hill? 



Thinks We .Advis«<I liethirtlon 



23. Under the advice of Agri- 

 cultural Organizations in Illinois, 

 including I think the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association, farmers have 

 been urged to restrict wheat 

 acreage and to use wheat land 

 tor other crops, in order to bring 

 up the price of wheat. 



(a) Acting upon this advice a 

 great many farmers in Illinois 

 have sown less wheat. If the 

 position of the proponents of this 

 legislation Is correct, and the Mc- 

 Nary-Haugen bill produces a bet- 

 ter price for wheat, how can you 

 square yourself with those farmers 



1 



who have accepted your advice 

 and who have sown less wheat? 

 (lovernment in Grain Bu.siness 



24. Would not the McNary- 

 Haugen bill put the Federal Gov- 

 ernment actively into the grain 

 business? 



(a) Your answer, of course, 

 must be in the aflirmative to the 

 above question. If the Govern- 

 ment goes actively into the grain 

 business, can you think of any 

 reason why it should not engage in 

 other kinds of business? And. If 

 it engages in other kinds of busi- 

 ness, why not in all other kinds 

 of business? 



(b) Is your proposition, there- 

 fore, not socialistic? Will it not 

 lead to the same results it carried 

 out logically that the movements 

 in Russia have attained? 



Compares It With Bolshevism 



(c) But, the Russian Soviets 

 could not succeed in any measure 

 until they took over also the land. 

 Would you not regard this result 

 as destructive of all our ideals and 

 of civilization itself? 



(d) Fortunately, however, even 

 in Russia the Government has now^ 

 abandoned the control of land and 

 has commenced recently to recog- 

 nize absolute free trade in bread 

 grains. 



(e) Do you not think the Rus- 

 sian experiment with its dead 

 numbering over 7,000.000 ought 

 to dissuade our people from pro- 

 ceeding in that direction? 



(f) Would we not be proceeding 

 in that direction if we accepted in 

 this particular the advice of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association? 



Wonders If We Know What 

 We* re Doing 



25. I have commenced to re- 

 ceive communications from Farm 

 Bureaus in Illinois, evidently in- 

 spired by your letter to me, which 

 I am now discussing. These com- 

 munications are all couched prac- 

 tically in the same language, and 

 all "insist that our representatives 

 in Congress unqualifiedly and ac- 

 tively support and vote for" the 

 McNary-Haugen bill. 



(a) Do you contend that the 

 Farm Bureau advisers who are 

 now sending these Resolutions to 

 Members of Congress have studied 

 the question; or, have they simply 

 accepted your advice? 



(b) If they have studied this 

 most important question and 

 reached these conclusions for 

 themselves, how does it happen 

 that in their Resolutions they use 

 the exact language you use in your 

 communication to me? 



(c) Do you really think a con- 

 scientious Member of Congress 

 ought to be influenced by propa- 

 ganda of this kind; or, do you 

 think he ought to reason these 

 matters out and study them care- 

 fully? 



(d) Do you think a Member 

 of Congress ought to become a 

 mere rubber stamp to record the 

 impressions of the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association? 



MEMORANDA 



I have suggested hurriedly 

 above only a part of the objec- 

 tions which occur to me now to 

 the legislation you so enthusiasti- 

 cally champion; and I am asking 

 for a full and satisfactory reply 

 from you before I can consent to 

 vote as you have demanded that 

 I vote In this matter. > 



You will pardon me I am sure 

 for imposing upon you the burden 

 of replying to this communication, 

 but. Inasmuch as you "demand" 

 that the Representatives in Con- 



gress from Illinois unqualifiedly 

 and actively support the McNary- 

 Haugen bill, I feel that I have the 

 right to demand and unqualifiedly 

 insist that you, as the head of the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association, 

 which stands for this bill, favor 

 me with a reply to all the above 

 suggestions, so that I can print in 

 the Congressional Record, if poss- 

 ible in parallel columns, this let- 

 ter of inquiry addressed to you 

 and your reply to the same. ,■ 



Deplorable Condition 



I realize that Agriculture is in 

 a deplorable condition, but it can 

 be made much worse than it is 

 by the adoption of dangerous 

 methods of relief. Since the World 

 War many suggestions have been 

 made for stabilizing prices, rang- 

 ing from the commodity dollar of 

 Irvine Fisher (which seems plaus- 

 ible and possible), and the "Bar- 

 ley dollar ' of some of the Balkan 

 states, to the vague and indefinite 

 agricultural "scrip" proposed by 

 this bill. It would be much easier 

 for me in an agricultural district 

 like mine, so far as the next elec- 

 tion goes, to accept your sugges- 

 tions and avoid the implied threat 

 which goes with them, than to op- 

 pose this bill. But, a Member of 

 Congress is required to take an 

 oath and assume an obligation in 

 all these matters; and. therefore, 

 before making up my mind un- 

 qualifiedly to support the measure 

 for which you sta*" x, I am address- 

 ing this communication to you. It 

 your answers are satisfactory and 

 remove the doubts in my mind, 

 I will support it. If your answer 

 is not satisfactory I expert to vote 

 against the bill a;- it stands now. 

 .Answers Will Have Great Weight 



Inasmuch as I have immediately 

 responded to your letter (I re- 

 ceived your letter of March 10th 

 only a few minutes ago), I ant 

 asking you to show me a like 

 courtesy by immediately respond- 

 ing to this communication, so that 

 in reaching my conclusions I ran 

 have the benefit of your reply. 1 

 am assuming, of course, that you 

 have studied the question, and 

 that you are an expert in these 

 matters, and therefore your 

 answers will' have great weight 

 with me, and I am sure with many 

 other Members of Congress. 



It has become the habit in this 

 dangerous period of our economic 

 life as a nation, for Members of 

 Congress to vote for a measure 

 upon the theory that it is the only 

 relief proposed, and that while it 

 is not everything that could be 

 desired, still . it promises some- 

 thing. This is the excuse many 

 Members of Congress make for 

 supporting some of the vague in- 

 definite propositions now sub- 

 mitted. The passage of a mea- 

 sure, howeveiV so revolutionary as 

 this measure, so destructive of all 

 our present systems of exchange 

 and marketing, involving the poss- 

 ible destruction o^the present pri- 

 mary markets for farmers is 

 fraught with grave possibilities, 

 and may result in untold injury to 

 an industry which is now almost 

 Wostrate. 

 Don't Think "Scrip" Will Help 



Farmers of the country are in 

 a desperate condition. I do not 

 think you can allay their suspic- 

 ions nor restore their confidence 

 by handing to them in part pay- 

 ment for things they produce a 

 "scrip" about the value of which 

 we can know nothing except that 

 it will not be worth Its face. With 



(Concluded on page 5) % 



i 



