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I. A. A. RECORD— June, 1933 



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We Are Going 

 To Raise Farm 



Pri 



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rices JBrn/"' 



By George N. Peek, Administrator of the Agricultural 



■3:%-'^^^^^^^^^^^ , Act. U. S. D. A. s'-^:!. 



CHAS. J BRAND 



IN ASSUMING responsibility for 

 the administration of the Agri- 

 cultural Adjustment Act, it is only 

 fair to agriculture, to so much of in- 

 dustry as is affected by its operation, 

 and to the consuming public, to state 



the principles of 

 that legislation as 

 I understand them 

 and as it is in- 

 tended to apply 

 them. 



In the first 

 place the sole 

 aim and object of 

 this Act is to 

 raise farm prices. 

 Generally speak- 

 ing, it is to raise 

 them to a point 

 where farm products will purchase 

 as much of industrial products as 

 they did before the war, and to keep 

 farm prices at that level. This is just 

 what farmers through their organiza- 

 tions have been demanding for a 

 dozen years. > : .. : ; 



To agriculture it should be said that 

 the purpose is not to do something for 

 the farmers. It is to enable farmers 

 to do something for themselves that 

 they have been prevented from doing 

 through many long, painful and dis- 

 tressing years, and that they could not 

 do without this law. It is to enable 

 them to do what all other producing 

 social groups do, and that is (approxi- 

 mately and in the long run) not to 

 produce and send to market more 

 ^ goods than consumers at home and 

 abroad want and have money to p^y 

 for. 



Unless farmers will work with each 

 other and with government to do that, 

 government cannot maintain fair 

 prices and restore prosperity to them 

 — nobody can. They must help do this 

 particular job. In adopting the law 

 and through the work that will be 



done under it, the Government goes 

 the limit to help them, but that is the 

 most that it can do or that they in 

 justice and fairness can ask. 



To the food and textile industries, 

 I want to make it clear that the spirit 

 and purpose will be to act with as 

 little interference with established in- 

 stitutions and methods — indeed with 

 as little administration of any kind 

 as is consistent with the fixed purpose 

 of the law; namely, to raise farm 

 prices. It is my opinion that much of 

 that purpose can be accomplished by 

 these industries without anything 

 more than the aid that government 

 and agriculture can and will give 

 them. . ■;,-'■ -■■- ■ -^.' v ■-- - ,"', '-• ^' ' '. 



The first step will be to discuss 

 with industries and trades our pur- 

 poses, to ask them what they need 

 from farmers and from government, 

 and to call upon them, with the help 

 of those concerned, to work out the 

 difficult task themselves in such 

 manner as will least interfere with 

 their business and established meth- 

 ods, with as little government inter- 

 ference in their affairs as is reason- 

 ably possible. But none will be per- 

 mitted to forget the purpose of the 

 legislation — tp raise farm"" prices in 

 the national interest. 



To the consuming public it is un- 

 necessary to say that what is to be 

 done is to bring about economic 

 justice — to right a social wrong — 

 which grew up under our economic 

 system in the false theory that the 

 urban half of our population could 

 enjoy the benefits of an artificial, pro- 

 tective system, leaving the rural half 

 largely outside the benefits of that 

 particular device. It seemed to work 

 all right at first, but lately it has re- 

 sulted in taking the farmer's crop 

 away from him without paying for 

 it. Nobody wants to do that. I am 

 aware of no objection from labor, or 



GEO. N. PEEK 



IIlinolM farmerH rejoice In the aelec- 

 tlon of a fellow IlUnolsan and a real 

 champion of agriculture as admini*- 

 trator of the Bmergency Farm Act. 

 Mr. Peelc, whose home is at MoUne, Is a 

 member of the Rock Island County 

 Farm Bureau alid Illinois Agrrlcultnral 

 Association. His driving force and 

 conrase, displayed during: t^e long 

 flgrht for the McBTary-Haugen bill, 

 promises an able and vlsorons admin- 

 istration of this measure to raise farm 

 prices. Mr. Brand, his co-vrorker, ivas 

 former marketing specialist with the 

 Department of Agriculture. He put the 

 flnishingr touches on the McNary- 

 Hangren bill at the direction of former 

 Secretary of Agrlcnlture Henry C. 

 Wallace, father of Henry A. Wallace. 

 Mr. Brand warn banquet speaker at the 

 10th annua] I. A. A. meetlngr at Cham- 

 paign In 192.1, and will be remembered 

 by many who attended that meeting. 



indeed from anybody, to this attempt 

 to do what is right. 



Agricultural prices are and for a 

 long time have been unduly depressed 

 and ruinously below their fair rela- 

 tion to other prices. Putting them 

 where they belong has the support of 

 all fair-minded people and will not be 

 a heavy burden on any person or class 

 in our country. Agriculture must be 

 restored to its proper place in the 

 Nation's life, not only for the sake of 

 the farmer but for the general wel- 

 fare. 



Upon the request of Secretary 

 Wallace and myself, the President has 

 requested Mr. Charles J. Brand to act 

 with me as co-administrator. Mr. 

 Brand is recognized throughout the 

 Nation by farmers and the food and 

 textile industries as one of our fore- 

 most authorities in the marketing of 

 farm products. 



In administering this Act, we shall 

 draw heavily upon the advice and as- 

 sistance of Frank O. Lowden and B. 

 M. Baruch, who have pledged to the 

 President, Secretary Wallace, and to 

 me their cooperation. 



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