NEW DEAL: LATER STAGES 57 



Bryan used to say for the adoption of a "soft money" plank. The reason- 

 ing behind this strange turn of affairs was that the Republicans were so 

 anxious to beat Roosevelt that "they were eager to sacrifice anything 

 almost to be sure of winning. And they had been thoroughly sold on 

 the idea that the West the farm regions would be afraid that a speedy 

 return to gold would work toward lowering farm prices." 1 



As in 1932, the American Farm Bureau Federation supported the New 

 Deal to the hilt and even went to the extent of recommending that crop 

 controls, soil conservation, and a managed currency become parts of the 

 Republican platform. O'Neal, its president, complained that the Repub- 

 lican platform of 1936, as finally drawn up, provided nothing that would 

 enable farmers to control or adjust their production and nothing for the 

 payment of commodity loans that would help farmers prevent surpluses 

 from depressing prices. Earl C. Smith, the Republican element in the 

 Farm Bureau high command, expressed disappointment on some points 

 in his party's platform, yet felt that "a liberal interpretation of the plank 

 . . . under a sympathetic administration" would make possible the de- 

 velopment of an effective national policy for agriculture. 14 



O'Neal, though more enthusiastic about the Democratic platform, had 

 some misgivings over the pledge it had made of "fair prices to consumers 

 at a fair price to farmers." He felt that it would have been more advisable 

 for the platform to promise "ample supplies to consumers with parity 

 prices to farmers." 1 



The Farmers' Union by no means had the influence that the Farm 

 Bureau did in political circles, but in 1936 it came forward with a crop- 

 insurance proposal that was attractive enough to gain the attention of 

 both presidential candidates. Its rival, the Farm Bureau, was sympathetic 

 with the plan but went no further than to recommend a study of it. The 

 demand for crop insurance, in view of the drought that year, was a very 

 timely one. 



Here was but another instance of the farmers' seeking to duplicate the 

 practices of industry and business. Industry, it was apparent, was in a 

 much better position to reduce hazards "by insuring plants and equip- 



13. "Landon's Job To Win The West," Business Wee\ (June 20, 1936), p. 27. 



14. New Yor% Times, June 24, 1936. 



15. Ibid., June 27, 1936. 



