Editorial 



How Far From Parity? 



A NUMBER of farm prices such as live hogs, cattle, 

 com, and butterfat have approached or gone beyond 

 pre-war parity during the past two years. But av- 

 erage farm cash income for 1935 at 83 was still 17 points 

 from the goal. And this includes benefit payments esti- 

 mated at $480,000,000 for the year. Net income per person 

 of $159 for the 32,779,000 estimated as living on farms last 

 year is 94 per cent of the income per person available in the 

 pre-war years. But farm living costs were 124 per cent of 

 the 1910-1914 level. To restore the farmer's pre-war pur- 

 chasing power would have required a 32 per cent raise in 

 net farm income last year. There is work ahead not only io 

 achieve parity but also to hold it once made. 



Learned on the Farnn 



OF MORE than passing interest is this comment from 

 a Michigan farm boy who in later life made millions 

 in advertising and selling. Speaking of his early 

 experiences working on a dairy farm, he said: "Work started 

 at 4:30 in the morning. We milked the cows and fed the 

 cattle before breakfast. At 6:30 we drove to the cedar 

 swamp carrying our lunch with us. All day long we cut 

 poles and hewed ties. After supper came another milking; 

 then we bedded the cattle for the night. At nine o'clock 

 we crept up a ladder to the attic and our bed. Yet it never 

 occurred to me that I was working hard. 



"In after years I did the same in business. I had no 

 working hours. When I ceased before midnight that was 

 a holiday for me. I often left my office at two o'clock in 

 the morning. Sundays were my best working days, be- 

 cause there were no interruptions. For 16 years after enter- 

 ing business I rarely had an evening or a Sunday not oc- 

 cupied by work. 



"I am not advising others to follow my example. I would 

 not advise a boy of mine to do so. Life holds so many 

 other things more important than success that work in 

 moderation probably brings more joy. But the man who 

 works twice as long as his fellows is bound to go twice as 

 far, especially in advertising." 



The capacity for and habit of work learned on the farm, 

 this man believes, is the chief reason why so many farm 

 boys succeed. The work habit, not common by any means, 

 is another farm by-product whose value cannot be meas- 

 ured. Individual industry and initiative always will con- 

 tribute more to one's success than the gains realized by im- 

 proving the general welfare of any particular group. A 

 good thing to remember. 



Wronq Aqain 



CONDEMNING the AAA and its influence in raising 

 farm prices, the Chicago Tribune says, "The advance 

 in prices has not been enough to offset the reduction 

 in output, so that farmers are actually receiving less from 

 the smaller crops sold at higher prices than they would have 

 received without AAA with larger crops sold at lower 

 prices." 



The Tribune statement might be given more weight if sup- 

 ported by facts. As applied to livestock, and we believe to 

 most if not all other farm crops, it is dead wrong. The facts 

 are that Illinois farmers received $40,000,000 more, an in- 

 crease of 37 per cent, for 25 per cent less livestock marketed 



34 



in 1935 compared with 1934. Hog prices at Chicago, for exam- 

 ple, averaged $4.65 per cwt. in 1934 compared with $9.27 

 in 1935. These figures are based on U. S. Census reports. 

 They are of public record. The Trib, likewise, fails to con- 

 sider the increased cost to the farmer of producing large 

 crops to sell at a loss compared with smaller ones. If the 

 Tribune can't be constructive it might at least be accurate. 



A Timely Message 



jg^^^LEASE send us the voting repords of our repre- 

 f^sentatives in General Assembly on legislation affect- 

 ing farmers' interests," writes the president of one of 

 our County Farm Bureaus. 



The letter is a timely message. The spring primaries set 

 for April 14 will soon be here. It isn't too early to start 

 thinking about candidates for office. How well have you 

 been represented in the congress, in the legislature, in the 

 county offices? Has there been a proper regard shown by 

 the public office holders of your county and district for you 

 as a taxpayer? Are honesty, efficiency and economy among 

 the attributes of the men and women in public life that your 

 taxes support? 



"Many downstate representatives and senators carry a 

 tremendous responsibility for the failure to solve this prob- 

 lem on a basis of equity, because of their voting with a 

 nearly solid Cook county delegation," says President Smith, 

 "^nraking of the poor relief problem. "I most firmly believe 

 the defeat for re-election of such downstate 'misrepresenta- 

 tives' and senators would soon result in a fair and perma- 

 nent solution of this problem." 



Watch for the April issue of the RECORD. It will be 

 out in plenty of time before the primaries with the voting 

 records of members of the General Assembly on controver- 

 sial legislation. Support those who are worthy of support. 

 Vote out of office those who have misrepresented you. 



A Point Well Taken 



SECRETARY Henry A. Wallace made some pertinent 

 remarks about government responsibility and the 

 farm problem in a recent address before the Indiana 

 Farm Bureau Federation. 



Speaking of the "Food Will Win The War" propaganda 

 r{ the Federal Government in 1917 and 1918, he said, "pos- 

 'f^rs, pep talks, prayers, and the lure of higher prices pulled 

 ihe wheat belt out of shape. Comparing 1914 with 1918, the 

 total acreage of tilled crops was increased about 11 per cent. 

 By the end of 1918 farmers had added an area about the 

 size of Illinois to the farm plant of the United States. 



"Since January 6 I have wondered about this a great deal. 

 It must be that the Federal Government has the power to 

 stimulate production but not to help farmers obtain bal- 

 anced production in the general interest: and that the States 

 reserve the power to control production but not to stimulate 

 it. If this is so. there is more in the Tenth Amendment to 

 the Constitution than meets the eye." 



Secretary Wallace has touched the AAA decision at a 

 most vulnerable spot if justice rather than legal technicality 

 is to be the guiding principle dictating court decisions. 

 Farmers know that the situation confronting them in 1932 

 and early '33 was just as critical as that confronting the 

 nation in 1917 and 1918. They applaud the courage of a man 

 'n a position of great public responsibility who speaks so 

 frankly. 



,:! 



A. RECORD 



