Can Farmers Get Their 

 Foreign Markets Back? 



I AM especially glad to have an op- 

 portunity for a few minutes' talk 

 with the Farmers of the United 

 States today. Later this afternoon I 

 will go on board a boat, bound for 

 Europe. 



The purpose of my trip, as perhaps 

 some of you know, is to learn what 

 I can about conditions abroad which 

 have a bearing on the problems of 

 American farmers. 



President Roosevelt's letter, in which 

 he suggested that I make this trip, will 

 probably explain best what he and Sec- 

 retary Wallace have in mind for me to 

 do. Let me read a little of the Presi- 

 dent's letter. I am quoting now: 



"As you well know, the fortunes 

 of American agriculture in the 

 next few years are certain to be 

 closely linked with the world eco- 

 nomic situation, and particularly 

 that of Europe. 



"The agricultural industry of 

 this country never could have ex- 

 panded profitably to its present 

 scope if it had not found substan- 

 tial markets beyond our own bor- 

 ders. The shrinkage of these mar- 

 kets following the World War. and 

 particularly following the enact- 

 ment of the Smoot-Hawley tariff 

 of 1930, placed the American farm- 

 ers in a desperate pl'ght from 

 which only such measures as the 

 Agricultural Adjustment Act and 

 the present Soil Conservation and 

 Domestic Allotment Act could par- 

 tially rescue them. 



Changes In Prospect 



"Since T933. there have been ex- 

 tensive changes 'n the economic 

 pohcies of foreign countries and 

 in international trade relationships, 

 and further changes are in pros- 

 pect. Future plans mad'' by farm- 

 ers of this country will depend in 

 large measure on Ihe extent of 

 their outlets abroad. For that rea- 

 s<fn, I believe it would be advan- 

 tageous to them if someone who 

 will have an important part in 

 shaping those plans could survey 

 conditions in Europe at first hand." 

 That ends the quotation from the 

 President's letter. 



Our farm problems, we all know, 

 are not limited to our own borders. If 

 they were, they wovld be much easier 

 to solve. But the economic life of the 



By Chester C. Davis* 



Rep. Marvin Jone$, left, Edw, A. O'Neal, 

 and Chester C. Davis at the Annual lAA Meet- 

 ing, Decatur last January. 



various countries bf the world is so 

 closely interwoven that American farm 

 prosperity is definitely Lnked with con- 

 ditions in foreign countries. We must 

 not forget that. Before 1926. we ex- 

 ported each year the products of be- 

 tween 60 and 80 mllion acres of land. 

 After 1926 those exports began to 

 dwindle away until by 1932 they con- 

 sisted of the products of only 43 mil- 

 lion acres. Supplies piled up and prices 

 went down — well, you remember the 

 rest. 



I am going not as a salesman but as 

 an observer. My job will be to size 

 up in a realistic way just what the sit- 

 uation is over there, and just what the 

 prospects are for American farmers to 

 sell more of the r goods in European 

 countries with'n ♦he next few years. 

 I expect to be neither an optimist nor 

 a pessimist, but simply to report what 

 I learn. 



There is another iob I would like to 

 do while I am over there. You know, 

 most of the European countries have 

 national agricultural programs, just as 

 this country has its program. Con- 

 servative old Fnpland, and Denmark, 

 long recognized as one of the most 

 prosperous and prop-"-s've agricultural 

 countries in the worl'l. have farm pro- 



•From Radio Talk. Mar. 19. on NBC 

 Chain. 



grams — control programs, or call them 

 agricultural adjustment programs, if 

 you like — some of which are much 

 more far-reaching than anything that 

 has ever been tried here. Some of these 

 countries have had such agricultural 

 programs for several years. I would 

 like to see how they work, to compare 

 them with ours — in other words, to 

 learn what can be learned from the 

 experiences and mistakes and suc- 

 cesses of other peoples. 



In the meantime, while I am gone, 

 farmers of the United States will be 

 launching a great new coojjerative pro- 

 gram here, under the Soil Conserva- 

 tion and Domestic Allotment Act. Re- 

 .■^ponsibility for this program, like that 

 '"f the old production control programs, 

 has been given to the Secretary of 

 Agriculture and. through him, to the 

 Agricultural Adjustment Administra- 

 tion. The men who will be in charge 

 of this program from the Washington 

 end are men I have worked with dur- 

 ing the last three years, and I know 

 that it will be in capable and experi- 

 enced hanH^ 



Toiler Will Act 



Howard R Toll?y will be acting a^ 

 administrator in mv absence and the 

 various regional nrograms will be di- 

 rected bv J. B. Hutson. Cully A. Cobh. 

 Gerald B Thorp'^ and George FarrHI. 

 You farmers who have participated 

 in the A. A. A. wheat, tobacco, cotton 

 and corn-hng programs have worked 

 with these men. too, and I believe that 

 you have th° same confidence in them 

 that I myself have. 



Feel ng as I do that th's new program 

 nff-^rs Am<»r-can atrriculture an oppor- 

 tunity to mi* its 'a"d to more valuable 

 uses than evr before, and that the 

 program will be in good hands, I may 

 as well corf"':*: tha* I am taking the 

 boat this af'Tnoon with real zest for 

 mv errand abroad And I hope that 

 w^-^n I reni»-n I will bring back to my 

 'ob here a r-l^arer jjea as to our fu- 

 ture trading re'aMons with Europe 

 than I hav» todav. 



C. E. Carrier, of Maron County, is 



rated one of the best individual solicitors 

 in the State. He is a farm owner and 

 understands the operating problems of 

 n farmer through first hand experience. 

 P'lr'n" th? month of January, this year, 

 Mr. Carrier almost lone-hanHed sienMi 

 and collected for 34 new members. 



APRIL, isse 



ss 



