GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 86^ 



It should be remembered that all proposed Government money to be set aside 

 for Government payments to farmers is counted as a part of the farmer's net in- 

 come. A very large percent of this money will never reach a farmer at all. A 

 large proportion of this money goes to pay salaries of an army of Federal employees, 

 for overhead, and for other expenses. 



If should also be remembered that of that portion of triple A funds that did not 

 reach the farmer, almost 100 percent of it went into soil conservation and the 

 loss of a portion of his annual crop through reduced acreage. This money was 

 in now way comparable to the net per capita income of persons not on the farm. 

 It should be remembered that out of the farmer's gross sales he must pay for 

 supplies, repairs, fertilizer, labor, and a thousand and one other items, which leaves 

 him only a fraction of his gross receipts as a "net income, comparable to the net 

 per capita income of persons not on the farm. 



It should be remembered that under the rule of the AAA the farmer was com- 

 pelled to spend a large portion of his time at the county AAA office, which seriously 

 interferred with production of crops in this country. 



The reduction of production on American farms, the low prices forced on Ameri- 

 can farmers by the administration, and the regimentation and aggravation in- 

 volved in AAA-controlled farming drove milllions of persons from the farms to the 

 city. This condition was more aggravated by each and every trade agreement 

 entered into by Secretary of State Hull. Indeed, it was the announced policy 

 of the Xew Deal to continue the movement of the people from the farms to the 

 city. 



It was the practice of the Secretary of Agriculture to threaten to dump Govern- 

 ment stocks of farm products on the market every time the market starts to go 

 up. With these trade agreements, the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary 

 of State can threaten our domestic market not only with Government stocks of 

 agricultural commodities in this country, but thej- can dmnp farm crops from all 

 over the whold onto our domestic markets. 



It has been the policy of the Secretary of Agriculture to greatly exaggerate the 

 stocks of farm products on hand. The surpluses we hear so much about were 

 largely fictitious. We do not now have enough cotton of the grade and staple 

 needed to operate our mills imtil the new crop comes in. 



According to press dispatches, ^Ir. Chester Davis annoimced a raise of 5 cents 

 per bushel in the ceiling price of corn in order to insure plenty of cheap meat. 

 Think of anyone believing the public gullible enough to swallow that. Saying 

 we will get cheap meat by raising the price of corn and at the same time the AAA 

 had an army employed to hold down corn production. 



Back of all these ills and back of all this grave threat to our coimtry in this hour 

 of national peril stand the .Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1934 and the Special 

 Trade Agreement Act of 1935. 



If the people of all countries are placed on an equality so that the Mexican 

 farmer will be on an equality with the American farmer, the Chinese farmer, the 

 Russian farmer, the farmer in Brazil and Cuba, the farmer of Haiti and the 

 Philippines, then it is clear that in spite of any sugar-coating by the administra- 

 tion the American farm population will be reduced in their standards of living 

 to the standard made possible in all these other nations. 



It is easy to say that we believe in equality. Some individuals do honestly 

 believe in equality but these are comparatively few. 



Do the industrialist, the newspaper editor, who are urging extension of trade 

 agreements, really seek equalities for themselves with the people of other coun- 

 tries? No. The last thing thev want is the equalitv about which they talk so 

 blibly. 



If the industrialist really seeks equality, let him ask Congress, first, to repeal the 

 tariff laws and put industry on an equality with agriculture here at home. If the 

 newspaper editor and columnist really seek equality, let him add his voice to that 

 of the industrialist in seeking repeal of the tariff'laws and their discrimination 

 against the farmer, the white-collar worker, the business and professional man. 

 Do the labar leaders who now urge reenactment of trade agreements really 

 seek equality? If so, let them disband their unions: let their union members 

 quit paying initiation and union dues; let them surrender union hours and go out 

 on equal terms with all unorganized labor on the farms and elsewhere. 



The industrialist does not actually want equality and every thinking person 

 knows it. The newspaper editor and columnist do not want equality and no 

 one knows it better than they. The labor leader does not want equality —the 

 very purpose of labor organization is to es(;ape the competition of equality in 

 the cheap labor world. 



