President Smith Keynotes 



Convention 



"^' 



,HEN we adopt policies 

 which will maintain farm 

 commodity prices at fair 

 levels, we will have found the key to 

 national welfare, contentment and pros- 

 perity." 



So keynoted President Earl C. Smith 

 in his address to the 23rd annual lAA 

 convention in Springfield, January 27. 

 "Leaders of America," he said, "are 

 now struggling to find ways out of 

 what is termed a business recession." 

 A disease can be cured only through 

 the removal of the cause. A business 

 recession can be placed in reverse only 

 by the removal of its cause. One, if 

 not the chief cause of the business re- 

 cession, was the sudden and serious 

 break in farm commodity prices. If so 

 why not remove the cause by placing 

 farmers in a position whereby through 

 co-operation they can secure and main- 

 tain control of surplus supplies of basic 

 products of the soil. Only by so doing 

 can the price level of that portion of 

 the production needed to meet market 

 demands bring satisfactory returns. 

 Only through satisfactory prices for 

 farm products can farm income be sta- 

 bilized in fair balance with the income 

 of others. Only by maintaining a fair 

 balance can we have a reasonable de- 

 gree of permanent prosperity for all. 

 So long as we permit a system to exist 

 that results in wide fluctuations of the 

 values of the commodities that largely 

 constitute new wealth, just that long 

 will we have periods of business reces- 

 sion." 



Mr. Smith challenged American in- 

 dustry and American labor to relinquish 

 their controls over production, prices 

 and wages to permit the restoration of 

 free competition. He said : "If Amer- 

 ican business and American labor will 

 relinquish the use of artificial instru- 

 mentalities and permit the restoration 

 of free competition, organized Ameri- 

 can agriculture will no longer request 

 the support and cooperation of the 

 federal government in striving for its 

 chief objectives : parity farm prices with 

 a balance between agriculture, industry 

 and labor. 



"Our battle is not one of aggression," 

 Mr. Smith continued, "it is one of 

 self-defense, of rightful repossession. 

 When completely organized agriculture 

 will still be in the minority but it can 

 be a very powerful minority in pre- 

 serving American institutions that have 



PRESIDENT EARL C. SMITH 

 "Our battle is not one of aggression 

 it is one of seli-defense." 



proved their worth, in putting down 

 special privilege, and in securing an 

 equitable distribution of the national 

 income. 



"Since the turn of the century, both 

 American business and organized 

 American labor, with the sanction or 

 the approval of government, have se- 

 cured an ever-increasing portion of the 

 national income without regard to the 

 relative position of agriculture. We 

 should not forget that maladjustment 

 between agriculture and these groups 

 has resulted in large part from federal 

 laws, tariffs, corporate controls and 

 agreements and labor monopolies or re- 

 strictions. Equitable readjustment must 

 be effected at an early date if any rea- 

 sonable degree of prosperity is to be 

 assured and the essential principles of 

 a democracy preserved. 



"My judgment dictates that America's 

 true interest would be better served 

 through a larger output by industry and 

 such reduction in the price of industrial 

 products and the standards of pay for 

 personal service as is necessary to bring 

 the products of industry, the products of 

 the farm and the personal service of 

 workers into parity position. 



"Knowing something of the tenacious- 

 ness of American industrial, business and 



Copies of Mr. Smith's complete 

 printed address may be had free by 

 writing Department of Information. lAA. 

 608 So. Dearborn SL, Chicago. 



labor leaders in holding to their present 

 price and wage standards, I cannot be- 

 come optimistic as to the possibilities of 

 securing a true balance between agricul- 

 ture, industry and labor in that direction." 



Setting forth the policy of the or- 

 ganization on proposed increases in 

 freight rates and wage and hour legis- 

 lation, Mr. Smith asserted that organized 

 farmers "must aggressively resist all 

 efforts by others that will result in widen- 

 ing the present disparities between farm 

 prices and other prices." 



Referring to the proposed 1 5 per cent 

 increase in freight rates, the full train 

 crew bill and 70-car train limitation 

 legislation, he said, "all of these things 

 and others fall into the category that 

 would widen present disparities rather 

 than bring more closely into balance 

 agriculture, industry and labor." 



Mr. Smith cited the statements of 

 government economists to the effect that 

 if a 40 cent per hour minimum wage 

 were applied to agriculture, only to the 

 hours necessary for production and har- 

 vesting, the cost of producing corn would 

 average around 98 cents jjer bushel; 

 wheat $1.35 per bushel; cotton 22^2 

 cents per lb., and so on. "While we in 

 no way oppose fair wages for labor or 

 the justice of mvestors receiving a reason- 

 able return upon capital, it certainly 

 appears that the very life blood of Ameri- 

 can agriculture depends upon the removal 

 of the present maladjustment." 



Mr. Smith pave four major causes for 

 the present business recession which 

 began last summer. Labor unrest, high- 

 er industrial prices, lower farm prices 

 and congressional neglect, he said, con- 

 stitute the major factor that changed 

 America from a nation with faith, hope 

 and confidence early in the year, to one 

 of concern, fear and disappointment as 

 we approached the close of 1937. 



He asserted that the responsibility 

 for the sharp drop in farm prices and 

 business activity rests with the Agricul- 

 tural Committees of the two Houses of 

 Congress and in a lesser degree with 

 the Congress as a whole. 



"The failure of Congress to provide 

 farmers with the opportunity to with- 

 hold from market and control impend- 

 ing surpluses of basic farm commodi- 

 ties, was followed by heavy declines in 

 the price levels of cotton and corn." 

 Mr. Smith contended that if the Con- 

 gress had acted earlier in 1937 to pass 

 legislation proposed at that time, a 



FEBRUARY, 1938 



