October, 1932 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Nine 



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Republican Party Plank 



On Agriculture 



Farm distress in America has its 

 root in the enormous expansion of 

 agricultural production during the 

 war, the deflation of 1919, 1920, and 

 the dislocation of markets after the 

 war. There followed, under Republi- 

 can administrations, a long record 

 of legislation in aid of the coop- 

 erative organization of farmers and 

 in providing farm credit. The posi- 

 tion of agriculture was gradually im- 

 proved. In 1928 the Republican Party 

 pledged further measures in aid of 

 agriculture, principally tariff protec- 

 tion for agricultural products and 

 the creation of a Federal Farm 

 Board "clothed with the necessary 

 power to promote the establishment 

 of a farm marketing system of farm- 

 J; ;:,' er-owned and controlled stabiliza- 

 isi^v tion corporations." 

 ■-X Almost the first official act of 



•v' • President Hoover was the calling of 

 'sr# i- A special session of Congress to re- 

 i'"^- ^^ deem these party pledges. They have 



- :."5 been redeemed. 



'{o:- Th 1930 Tariff Act increased the 

 v^'v^l^i^ rates on agricultural products by 

 ;?fcvVv> 'thirty per cent, upon industrial 



f-;^ products only 12 per cent. That act 

 ,;'*; ./-equalized, so far as legislation can 



.f^f 'do so, the protection afforded the 



;'r - farmer with the protection afforded 



'; V industry and prevented a vast flood 



' ; of cheap wool, grain, livestock, dairy 



and other products from entering the 



V, ,. American market. 



/'■^: ■/(_■'}■ By the Agricultural Marlceting Act, 



■>;''* the Federal Farm Board was created 



i/':^'' and armed with broad powers and 



-■ : ample funds. The object of that act, 



:l:i-. as stated in its preamble, was^"To 



r-^:'}}:. promote the effective merchandising 



'• of agricultural commodities in in- 



;\' ; terstate and foreign commerce so 



/ ;' that ... agriculture will be placed 



on the basis of economic equality 



> * .< with other industries. . . . By en- 



^ V V- couraging the organization of pro- 



:.' ducers into effective association un- 



,; der their own control . . . and by pro- 



. .^ moting the establishment of a farm 



- '; marketing system of producer-owned 

 .:. and producer-controlled cooperative 



associations." ' 



The Federal Farm Board, created 

 • . ■ ' by the Agricultural Marketing Act, 

 has been compelled to conduct its 

 operations during a period in which 

 all commodity prices, industrial as 

 well as agricultural, have fallen to 

 .. ' disastrous levels, a period of de- 

 creasing demand and of national 

 >•:■ calamities such as drought and flood 

 ■" - has intensified the problem of agri- 

 culture. Nevertheless, after only a lit- 

 tle more than two years' efforts the 

 Federal Farm Board has many 

 achievements of merit to its credit, 

 " ♦> It has increased the membership of 

 .' : cooperative farm marketing associa- 

 tions to coordinate efforts of the local 



associations. By cooperation with 

 other Federal agencies, it has made 

 available to farm marketing associa- 

 tions a large value of credit, which, 

 in the emergency, would not have 

 otherwise been available. Larger 

 quantities of farm products have 

 been handled cooperatively than 

 ever before in the history of the co- 

 operative movement. Grain crops 

 have been sold by the farmer through 

 his association directly upon the 

 world market. 



Due to the 1930 Tariff Act and the 

 Agricultural Marketing Act, it can 

 truthfully be stated that the prices 

 received by the American farmer for 

 his wheat, corn, rye, barley, oats, 

 flaxseed, cattle, butter and many 

 other products, cruelly low though 

 they are, are higher than thfe prices 

 received by the farmers of a/hy com- 

 peting nation for the same products. 



The Republican Party has also 

 aided the American farmer by relief 

 of the sufferers in the drought - 

 stricken areas, through loaris for re- 

 habilitation and through r<iad build- 

 ing to provide employment, by the 

 development of the inland waterway 

 system, by the Perishable Products 

 Act, by the strengthening of the ex- 

 tension system, and by the ap- 

 propriation of $125,000,000 to re- 

 capitalize the Federal Land Banks 

 and enable them to extend time to 

 worthy borrowers. 



The Republican Party pledges it- 

 self to the principle of assistance to 

 cooperative marketing associations, 

 owned and controlled by the farmers 

 themselves, through the provisions 

 of the Agricultural Marketing Act, 

 which will be promptly amended or 

 modified as experience shows to be 

 necessary to accomplish the objects 

 set forth in the preamble of that act. 



Tariff and the Marketing Act: 



The Party pledges itself to make 

 such revision of tariff schedules as 

 economic changes require to main- 

 tain the parity of protection to agri- 

 culture with other industry. 



The American farmer is entitled 

 not only to tariff schedules on his 

 products but to protection^ from 

 substitutes therefor. 



We will support any plan which 

 will help to balance production 

 against demand, and thereby raise 

 agricultural prices, provided it is eco- 

 nomically sound, and administra- 

 tively workable without burdensome 

 bureaucracy. 



The burden of taxation borne by 

 the owners of farm lands constitutes 

 one of the major problems of agri- 

 culture. President Hoover has aptly 

 and truly said — "Taxes upon real 

 property are easiest to enforce and 

 are the least flexible of all taxes. The 

 tendency under pressure of need is to 

 continue these taxes unchanged in 

 times of depression, despite the de- 

 crease in the owner's mcome De- 



Democratic Party Plank 



On Agriculture 



The Democratic party solemnly 

 promises by appropriate action to 

 put into effect the principles, policies 

 and reforms herein advocated, and 

 to eradicajie the policies, methods 

 and practices herein condemned 



We favor the restoration of agri- 

 culture, the nation's basic industry, 

 better financing of farm mortgages 

 through reorganized farm bank 

 agencies at low rates of interest, on 

 an amortization plan, giving prefer- 

 ence to credits for the redemption 

 of farms and homes sold under fore- 

 closure. 



Extension and development of the 

 farm co-operative movement and 

 effective control of crop surpluses so 

 that our farmers may have the full 

 benefit of the domestic market. 



The enactnient of every constitu- 

 tional measure that will aid the 

 farmer to re(?eive for basic farm com- 

 modities nrices in excess of cost. 



/ On The Tariff: 

 We advocate a competitive tariff 

 fpr revenue with a fact-finding tar- 

 iff commission free from executive 

 interference, reciprocal tariff agree- 

 ments with other nations, and an in- 

 ternational economic conference Re- 

 signed to restore international tr?^de 

 and facilitate exchange. 



November RECORD Will i 

 Carry Voting Records 



Voting records on important agri- 

 cultural issues of members of the 

 last General Assembly many of 

 whom are candidates for re-election 

 on November 8 will be carried in the 

 November issue of the Record to be 

 published and delivered to all mem- 

 bers on the mailing list a week be- 

 fore the election. 



This action was authorized by the 

 Board of Directors at its regular 

 meeting on September 16. 



The statement of policy of the As- 

 sociation wherein it urges Its mem- 

 bers to vote for candidates who de- 

 serve support because of their vot- 

 ing records in behalf of agricultural 

 policies also will be carried in this 

 issue. 



creasing price and decreasing income 

 result In an increasing burden upon 

 property owners . . . which is now be- 

 coming almost unbearable. The tax 

 burden upon real estate is wholly out 

 of proportion to that upon other 

 forms of property and income. There 

 is no farm relief more needed today 

 than tax relief." 



The time has come for a recon- 

 sideration of our tax systems, Fed- 

 eral, state and local, with a view to 

 developing a better coordination, re- 

 (Continued on page 18) 



