f. 



WW 



• • • 



^lEW OF 

 •OST-WAR 

 OUTLOOK 



xiicii tlic risc 

 nt that has 

 . A lot dc- 

 K h you start 



kincfd that 

 nt in farm 

 ling in the 

 huuld have 

 t assuming 

 called for 

 mind that 

 ir)' workers 

 I were the 

 ) that time 

 he level of 

 prices were 

 and 27 per 



lake tonigiit. 



era! !e\cl of 

 been hi^h 

 inn income 



in dollars as 



V; and I 1.3 



a\crat;e net 

 wc-/) income 

 IS, for 193"*- 

 S6 3 billions, 

 id for 1943 



ig-time farm 

 J increase in 

 prices is un- 

 duction costs 

 rs for their 

 should join 

 eir prices in 

 her increases 

 f inflation in 

 It alreatiy is 



le general 

 ■xibilitv in 

 mmodities 

 it wholly 

 PA-WFA 

 ;tup. Some 

 her than 

 jfoduction 

 returns : 

 ley should 



have been. The jxjiity that attempt- 

 ed to freeze old relationships in- 

 side the farm price structure hasn't 

 worked well; nor will it. 



I he best proUttioii tiic lonsLuiicr i.ui 

 have is an ample supply of essential 

 loods. Some of the support price sub 

 sidics have, in my opinion, contributed 

 substantially to expanded produi tioii. 

 They oui,'iit to be continued, and simi- 

 lar moves sliould not be outlawed in 

 the future if they become desirable. On 

 the other hand, the impulsi\elv xn<\ 

 poorly planned rollbaik' subsidies on 

 meat and butter were iiol intended to 

 iiurease the tout! supply; they were 

 aimed to briny about a sli^-ht statistical 

 lowerini; of the cost-oflivint; index, 

 but they were not well chosen from tlu 

 standpoint of wartime f'ood ni.in.iue- 

 ment. 



Subsidies .ire not lustitied as an end 

 of themselves. A general subsidy of 

 consumer costs contradicts the basic 

 principle of inflation control, which is 

 that consumer buying power must be 

 brought down by taxes and firm sav- 

 ing's until it is in balance with the 

 uoods that are for sale. Neither are sub 

 sillies the only altern.itive to runawav 

 tooil prices. But .i larue part of the 

 i;cneral public is beiiit: led to believc 

 they are. The farm groups which .ire 

 classified by the juiblic in the present 

 sfruyyie as 'op|X)secl to subsidies' h.ivc 

 a real job on their hands, f onsumers 

 are worried: as you listen to the hys- 

 terics of radio commentators and read 

 the editorials, \c)U iinderst.iiic! vvliv. 



Organized aj^riculture, if it is to 

 keep its hold on public confi- 

 dence, must throw its weight posi- 

 tively on the side of assuring them 

 that in opjxjsing broad, general 

 subsidies you do not advocate, but 

 on the other hand are determined 

 to prevent, a general rise in the na- 

 tion's ftK)d costs. To utter a pious 

 hope isn't enough; you must have 

 a program, and convince a large 

 part of the consumer public that it 

 will work. 



.... I have been aina/ed at liow 

 many news columnists, radio coninui! 

 tators, and well intentioned city people 

 believe that the American Farin Bureau 

 IS an ori'ani^ition dominated by l.ir^e 

 commercial farmers who are antago- 

 nistic to the interests of tenants xwA 

 small farm operators. The city press 

 more and more takes it for uranted that 

 this is true. 



... I asked for a spot check of 



the Illinois Agricultural Association. 



the great Farm Bureau of this state 



.... Seven countries were picked be- 



■ cause they represented every geographi- 



Choir irom the Great Lakes Naval Training 

 Station, directed by Ctiaplain H. F. Han- 



sen, sang during Sunday afternoon pro- 

 gram of tfie Associated Women. 



cal setion and every type of farirling in 

 the state Winnebago, La Salic 



Adams, Logan. Ldgar. Ltfingham, and 

 Randolph countries ... Of the com 

 billed membership ot these- seven coun 

 ties (3.2 per cent are tenants. For the 

 entire state of Illinois, including all 

 tanners, the percentage of tenants is 

 (3.1 per cent. . . . Not much support 

 there for the contention that the I'ariii 

 Bureau is not lOncerned with the inter 

 est of the tenant and the sm.ill farmer 



.... A large and import.ml [sart oi 

 our city population is highly emotional 

 on this subject.' and more or less be 

 lieves that the Farm Bureau is on the 

 other side of the fence . . This great 

 organization cannot afford to hold .i 

 negative position; it must not oiib 

 have a positive program tor tenant 

 purchase and rehabilitation, but it must 

 also be able to sell the publie on its 

 sincerity and effectiveness 



.... 1 find myself talking of re.ic 

 tion, a drop from present prices and re 

 turns, as if it is inevitable. One condi 

 rion that could do much to a\ert or 

 temper it materiallv would be a siis 

 tained high rate of industrial emplov 

 ment at good wages. .■\iid that brings 

 me to Point No. .2. 



.... I repeat here tonight that the 

 problem will be largely solved if in 

 dustry and labor will use their fa' 

 tories and <their hours as fully as the 

 farmer have always done. The men and 

 women on the American farms will fit 

 comfortably into any national program 

 of full production 



.... All my life I have preached 

 what you have preached, the- wheile 



some etfect which .1 prosperous ijrni 

 pojMilat :uii has on factory emplovmeiir 

 .ind wages. .\ow I want to preaeh Ms 

 >orollary- to this audience I w.mi in 

 einpliasi/e the etfect which high wages 

 and sustained iiulcistrial production 

 li.ivc on f.iriii income The la, t that 

 our em|sloyable population is now 

 working regularlv. most of u at i,-oo.i 

 w.iges, li.is been I he pruii ipal factor ir 

 building up a high .imi niainlv prom 

 .chle demand tor the prodiuts ol ifie 

 t. inner 



I he challenge that confronts 

 leadership in this countrv as vm- 

 approach the |>ostwar period is to 

 find a way to use our factories and 

 our manpower for the maximum 

 production of peacetime goods . . . 

 Our national economv must be ex- 

 pansive, not restrictive. That con- 

 dition cannot be had hv striving 

 for the highest tH>ssible return for 

 the lowest possible output, as both 

 business management and labor 

 leadership have done too often in 

 the past. 



.... I scibmii thai tills cliallengt tn 

 i:se our resources i-n peace as fully .is 

 we are now using them for war Wil! 

 become, after all, the nation's e-coriomi. 

 problem No I Work it out, and nianv 

 ot the eliffic ulties ot llie larnier will 

 tend to shrink and disappear Ol one 

 thing we can be perfeith sure: Soeliier 

 or later the American |ieof>le are go 

 ing to lose patience '.vith an eeonom\ 

 that can only function fully under the 

 whip of a desperate war; which m 

 peace tolerates unemployment and pov 

 ertv in the midst ot potential abun 

 elaiiie ' 



\. RECORD 



JANUARY, 1944 



13 



