APPENDIX IV 

 AN AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL POLICY 



The following note, prepared by Dr. Alexander E. Cance, 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College, summarizes the opinions or 

 convictions of sixty or more agricultural leaders commission- 

 ers of agriculture, presidents and deans of agricultural colleges 

 and directors of experiment stations, economists, farmers, promi- 

 nent leaders in farmers' organizations, bankers, rural journalists 

 and others. In some capacity every man is vitally interested in 

 the agricultural industry. Several are acknowledged national 

 leaders in rural affairs. 



To this group of men four questions were addressed: 



1 i) Has the time arrived to begin the formulation of an Amer- 

 ican agricultural policy ? 



(2) Is it feasible and desirable to relate such a policy to the 

 larger questions of the world food supply? 



(3) What are the main items which should be included in such 

 a policy ? 



(4) How can such a policy best be formulated and all agricul- 

 tural agencies rallied to its execution ? 



Most of the replies indicated a sincere desire to consider the 

 question seriously and thoughtfully. Very few who replied 

 failed to understand the purport of the questions and all ac- 

 cepted them in good faith. Of the whole number only one or 

 two seemed puzzled and failed to grasp their full significance. 

 On the whole the replies .may well be accepted as typifying the 

 best thought of the day on the agricultural problem. 



I. HAS THE TIME ARRIVED TO BEGIN THE FORMULATION OF AN 

 AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL POLICY? 



It is very significant that the response to the first question 

 is almost unanimously affirmative. With two or three excep- 



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