EDITOR I A L 



Prices and Plenty 

 ^^^^ HINKING farmers have maintained for years that 

 ^^— ^ the farm problem can be solved in two ways, 

 ^J either by restoring farm price levels to the posi- 

 tion they enjoyed with respect to non-farm prices before 

 the world war, or by reducing industrial prices, wages and 

 costs to the agricultural price level. 



Because the job of bringing down industrial prices 

 and wages to reasonable levels seemed hopeless, organized 

 farmers began their fight in the '20s to put farm prices 

 up to the levels of industry and labor. The AAA pro- 

 gram is based on this principle. 



While farmers are working under the AAA to secure 

 and maintain an American price for their products, there's 

 at least one branch of government that is doing its bit 

 to help from the other end. That is the trust-busting 

 division of the Department of Justice in charge of Thur- 

 man Arnold. His job is to break up monopolies in re- 

 straint of trade. Just now the Department is after the 

 building trades and building trades unions where high- 

 priced material costs and war time hourly wage scales 

 that few can afford to pay, have all but kept the industr}', 

 including the workers, on relief for a decade. 



The opening gun in the prosecution was fired at 

 St. Louis two weeks ago where four Federation of Labor 

 leaders were indicted for conspiracy in restraint of trade. 

 Attorney Arnold and his battery of government lawyers are 

 reported to be confident of victory. In the Chicago area 

 where some labor leaders, and the building material manu- 

 facturers along with the politicians have stifled the building 

 industry, results of the federal investigation are already ap- 

 parent. Contractors are making deals with union carpen- 

 ters, bricklayers and plumbers to go to work for reasonable 

 wages. 



If the Department of Justice succeeds in toppling 

 the monopolies from their high perches they will have 

 made an outstanding contribution to prosperity in Amer 

 ica. When agriculture, industry and labor find a natural, 

 fair and equitable level for the exchange of their goods 

 and services, there will be employment along with plenty 

 and prosperit)- for all. 



The Answer is Yes 



^N ADDRESSING the annual meeting of the In- 

 nl diaha Farm Bureau Federation two weeks ago 

 \^ President Earl C. Smith posed four questions hav- 

 ing to do with the present program for the solution of 

 the farm problem. 



First, he asked, is a problem not sound which pro- 

 vides an opportunity on a commodity basis for farmers 

 through co-operation to control their respective crop sur- 

 pluses and to the extent excess supplies are available to 

 adjust production in the following years so as to permit 

 their orderly flow to market at reasonable price levels? 

 Secondly, are appropriations for commodity loans 

 and price adjustment payments not warranted and in the 

 interest of the entire country if to provide a fair level of 

 farm income is just and consequent buying power of 

 farmers is as important to the general welfare as we be- 

 lieve them to be? 



34 



Third, the soil conservation features of the adjust- 

 ment act are provided for as a national responsibility to 

 future generations. Is this not a proper function of gov- 

 ernment? 



And lastly, is it not the part of wisdom to place 

 local administration of the act in the hands of farmers 

 selected by their neighbors who have a direct interest in 

 farming? 



"I leave these four questions with all students of 

 the farm problem and friends of agriculture for their 

 careful scrutiny and study," Mr. Smith said. "Unless 

 there can be shown a more workable and effective way 

 to accomplish these results that is equally or more equitable 

 to all groups of American society than the AAA, will not 

 every honest person have to answer these questions in the 

 affirmative?" i 



On Consolidated Schools ^ 



^*^w ROM time to time serious suggestions have been 

 ^*~-^ advanced by professional educators that the one- 

 ^J^ room country school in Illinois be abolished in 

 favor of consolidated sdiools usually located in the smaller 

 towns and cities. Good reasons undoubtedly can be ad- 

 vanced from an educational stand-point for such a pro- 

 gram. When common sense and the wishes of a substan- 

 tial majority of the residents of a given rural community 

 have governed consolidations of country districts, the 

 change has generally resulted in better schools. 



But there are some glaring examples of school con- 

 solidations which have not given general satisfaction. The 

 following letter to the editor of a national farm magazine 

 by a State of Washington woman is a case in point: 



"The school bus is fine for the high school pupils 

 but for the small tots it just doesn't work out. 



"When you live thirteen to twenty miles from 

 town, the children need to leave home at 8 o'clock 

 in the morning. The primary grades are dismissed 

 about 3:30 in the afternoon but the children must 

 wait until 4:15 or 4:30 for the older pupils. Dur- 

 ing this time they have very little supervision. On 

 the way home where they arrive about 5:00 o'clock, 

 they take in all the giddy conversation of the older 

 pupils. 



"The bus is crowded and illy ventilated. When 



one child has a cold all the pupils get it. During the 



cold stormy months the roads are icy and dangerous. 



"My little girl gets home tired, hot and nervous 



and must be rushed off to bed. 



"I wish she were going to school in the little 

 white schoolhouse on the corner. But what can we 

 do about it?" ] 



There are many successful consolidated country 

 schools in Illinois. Invariably one will find that such 

 districts are not too large, the consolidation was approved 

 by a substantial majority of farm voters, and the school 

 itself is located in the country rather than in a far away 

 town. A progressive attitude toward rural school im- 

 provement is much to be desired. But the possibilities and 

 needs of every farming community must be studied in- 

 dividually for lasting and satisfying results. 



L A. A. RECORD 





i 



ifti 



