WANTED: A RURAL POLICY 95 



forts at cooperation often fail because of personal or 

 institutional conservatism or jealousies, or natural limi- 

 tations of either vision or power. Congress and the 

 legislatures frequently quite ignore expert advice. 

 Public funds, great as they have been, have been grossly 

 inadequate for the full measure of the task. 



The war has forced the issue. American agricul- 

 ture must be 100 per cent, efficient. It must be treated 

 as a unit. We must plan for its best interests as a 

 whole. We must have a rural policy. 



THE ELEMENTS OF A TRUE POLICY 



What do we mean by a real policy? What are its 

 tests? How may we recognize it when we see it? 

 What are the elements of a " policy "? 



I. A Body of Principles. A policy, first of all, 

 must consist of a body of principles which are funda- 

 mental in determining the direction in which efforts are 

 applied. Some of the things that we must definitely 

 determine before we can have a real agricultural policy 

 are such items as the following: 



i. Shall we attempt to grow practically all of our 

 own food and other soil grown products, or shall we 

 permit other countries to export to us such products 

 even though we can grow them here? Shall we seek 

 to grow a surplus from our soil to sell abroad? In 

 both cases, the answer will come only in connection with 

 a national policy concerning economic relationships 

 with other nations. Can we grow these products as 

 cheaply as can other countries and if we can, what 

 effect will this low cost of production have upon our 

 farmers? If we desire to sell our manufactured 

 products in foreign markets, shall we take food prod- 

 ucts in exchange? 



