I 





4 



President Smith's Address 



(Continued from page 9) 



on the proposal. The General Assembly 

 also should provide that in considering 

 the Gateway Amendment, the party circle 

 would be counted for the position taken 

 by that party on the proposed amendment 

 unless the voter indicates otherwise. 



It certainly is time that leaders of the 

 State, and thinking citizens generally, 

 provide a method for the constructive 

 amendment of our State Constitution. 

 Attempts to amend the constitution 

 should not be longer thwarted by that 

 percentage of the people who are not 

 sufficiently interested in matters of such 

 vital importance to even vote. 



In the field of Public Relations there 

 is no more difficult period for an or- 

 ganization such as ours, or for its leader- 

 ship and others who speak for an organ- 

 ization, than during a presidential cam- 

 paign year. This has been particularly 

 true during 1944, because of the nature 

 of the campaign, the issues involved, and 

 the tempering influence of wartime con- 

 ditions. There were few, if any, issues 

 presented during this campaign that were 

 not of direct interest to the farmers of 

 the country. But as in former years, pol- 

 icies of the organization were strictly fol- 

 lowed, and those speaking for the or- 

 ganization confined their statements to 

 the records of men and women in public 

 life, and partisan interest or attitude was 

 not permitted to influence official state- 

 ments of any character. 



Recommendations to Both Parties 



As during former presidential cam- 

 paigns, representatives of the American 

 Farm Bureau Federation presented their 

 views and recommendations on national 

 agricultural policies to the platform com- 

 mittees of both major parties. Immedi- 

 ately after announcements were made by 

 both the Republican and Democratic na- 

 tional conventions on matters directly af- 

 fecting agricultural interests, I stated pub- 

 licly "that the platform commitments of 

 each of the major parties were reasonably 

 satisfactory, but that a careful re-reading 

 of both party commitments to agriculture 

 was convincing that it behooved farmers 

 to organize as never before, both for the 

 purpose of securing and limiting agri- 

 cultural laws and administrative policies 

 to the real needs of agriculture." I still 

 stand on that statement. 



These and other broad national issues 

 were freely discussed by candidates of all 

 parties throughout the summer and fall. 

 The election is over and the American 

 people have made their decision. Let us 

 now all recognize that our first and su- 

 preme duty is to continue making our 

 greatest contribution toward achieving 

 complete victory in war. Reports from 



DECEMBER. 1944 



the battle fronts everywhere are encour- 

 aging and convincing. American sons 

 and daughters are invading the countries 

 of the enemy on every front, but the road 

 before them is long and arduous. All 

 that we possess in productive capacity, in 

 the strength of our hands and minds, and 

 in patriotic zeal must be consecrated to 

 the end of sure and final defeat of the 

 enemy, and the establishment of a just 

 and durable peace. Overwhelming is our 

 desire for that happy day when American 

 boys and girls return to their homes in 

 the full realization of a job completely 

 and well done. 



Fully cognizant of their responsibil- 

 ities, farmers have, throughout the war, 

 demonstrated their fidelity and their de- 

 votion to their country. In spite of con- 

 tinued, and at times almost insurmount- 

 able difficulties, farmers have met every 

 call of their government for food and 

 fiber. Rural young people are serving 

 in the armed forces in numbers at least 

 equal in proportion to that of any other 

 group, and thousands have made the su- 

 preme sacrifice. Farm families every- 

 where have not only bought, but are 

 holding war bonds in volume that leaves 

 no question of their devotion to the cause 

 of freedom. All of these things farmers 

 are continuing to do. 



Must Prepare for Successful Peace 



Regardless of obstacles already con- 

 fronted or others yet to be met, farmers 

 will neither slow up nor let down in 

 their support of the gallant American 

 men and women in uniform until their 

 glorious achievements have been climaxed 

 by the unconditional surrender of the 

 enemy in both Europe and Asia. But we 

 must not let our zeal for the defeat of the 

 enemy becloud the responsibility of those 

 of us on the home front in preparing for 

 a successful peace. 



It is high time that we recognize that 

 while no country in the world can destroy 

 us, we could commit national suicide. 

 We must face the grim reality of a na- 

 tional debt approxinuting three hundred 

 billion dollars. This is almost the equiva- 

 lent of the total value of every kind of 

 property in the United States. We al- 

 ready have those among us who are say- 

 ing it will be impossible to meet this na- 

 tional obligation. We are already hear- 

 ing suggestions as to the necessity of re- 

 financing, of frozen or delayed payments, 

 and some even suggesting a degree of 

 repudiation. To adopt any of these 

 courses is to invite disaster. I am one 

 who believes that if we all face our re- 

 sponsibilities fairly and squarely, the pro- 

 duction resources of the United States are 

 of a size and character that will permit us 

 to meet and discharge this national ob- 

 ligation with comparative ease. As a na- 

 tion, we have surprised the world with 



our capacity in every field of endeavor in 

 meeting the requirements of war. In the 

 light of these accomplishments, how can 

 anyone deny our capacity to meet the 

 problems of peace? We have the raw 

 materials. We have the skill. We have 

 the reservoir of purchasing power and we 

 have the need. The real nub of the ques- 

 tion is — has experience yet taught us 

 that only through a spirit of fair play and 

 fair interchange of the commodities of 

 our total productive capacity can the job 

 be done. 



Agriculture Must Have Recognition 



What part, or rather I should say, what 

 responsibility do farmers have in meeting 

 and solving this over- all problem? Peo- 

 ple generally recognize and are increas- 

 ingly appreciative of the ability and ca- 

 pacity of farmers to produce food and 

 fiber, but there is yet altogether too little 

 understanding of the important place 

 agriculture occupies in our national eco- 

 nomic life. In other words, I believe 

 that the masses yet think of farmers as 

 those who provide food, but they do not 

 realize the importance of sustaining farm 

 prices and farm income and farm buying 

 power as a requisite to large scale produc- 

 tion of other industry and to mass em- 

 ployment. 



For twenty years those in public life 

 have spoken frankly of agriculture as the 

 basic industry, but I ask — has it been 

 treated as such? Throughout the years 

 every recognition given agriculture, and 

 every advancement made by agriculture 

 has been secured as a result of organiza- 

 tion argument and pressure. With lim- 

 ited exception, every consideration given 

 has been in the nature of a compromise. 

 Never in my experience has the agricul- 

 tural problem been met squarely from the 

 standpoint of the importance of a pros- 

 perous agriculture to the welfare of every 

 man, woman and child in the United 

 States. 



Agriculture Source of Raw Wealth 



These experiences dictate the impor- 

 tance of reviewing the place agriculture 

 occupies in the economic life of our 

 country. The record discloses that the 

 total investment in agriculture now ap- 

 proximates eighty-three billion dollars. 

 This is more than the investment in our 

 railroads, all of our utilities, and all of 

 the equipment in all of the mills and 

 factories of the country. In fact, total 

 investments in the business of farming 

 now approximate, if not exceed, the total 

 of investments in all other American in- 

 dustries put together, outside of non- 

 agricultural real estate. Economists gen- 

 erally agree that the production of agri- 

 culture constitutes a major portion of the 

 new raw wealth produced annually. It 



