questions confronting our country. Need- 

 less to say, this group embodies the 

 American farmer and the other rural peo- 

 ple of America. With this responsibility, 

 it behooves organized agriculture as 

 never before to take careful stock as to 

 its needs and its requirements. As farm- 

 ers we must be particularly careful that 

 we ask or seek nothing beyond the realm 

 of equity, justice and those things that 

 are in the interest of all the people. We 

 must never fail to recognize that any- 

 thing gained beyond this will be only of 

 temporary advantage. This is one axiom 

 organized American business, and a large 

 percentage of labor leaders have failed 

 to recognize. It is because of this over- 

 sight that they cannot continue to exer- 

 cise the influence to which they might 

 otherwise be entitled. ; 



Farmers Must Lead Way 



As the producers of food and fiber, 

 American farmers are a requisite to the 

 first essentials of life. The investment 

 in agriculture is more than the total in- 

 vestment in all of our railroads, all of our 

 utilities, and all equipment in all the 

 mills and factories of the country. Econ- 

 omists generally agree that the products 

 of agriculture constitute a major portion 

 of the new raw wealth produced an- 

 nually. It is an established fact that 

 the level of values placed upon new 

 wealth has a direct and stable influence 

 in determining total national income. As 

 a group, farmers of the country constitute 

 the largest buying unit for the products 

 of industry. Seventeen per cent of civilian 

 labor is employed on farms. There is 

 about 3V2 times as many workers in agri- 

 culture as in the iron and steel industry, 

 the automobile industry and the mining 

 industry combined. Thirty-six per cent 

 of all wholesalers and nearly I/2 of our 

 retail establishments are engaged in the 

 handling of agricultural products and 

 food. They in turn employ about 35 

 per cent of all wage earners in the 

 wholesale and retailing businesses of the 

 country. It is estimated that during the 

 past 10 years rural America has been 

 reproducing itself 136 per cent, while 

 urban America, with 55 per cent of the 

 population, has only been reproducing 

 itself 76 per cent. At this rate, in less 

 than three generations time, more than 

 80 per cent of the total population of 

 this country will be direct descendants of 

 people now living on farms. With this 

 vast interest in America and its ideals, 

 and on a basis of its record, do not the 

 farmers of this country have an interest 

 and a responsibility that entitles them 

 to take a leading part in solving the prob- 

 lems of these crucial days.' 



In the past, constructive organized 

 agriculture has of necessity largely cen- 

 tered its efforts to matters affecting pro- 



duction and fair prices in the market 

 place for farm products. With com- 

 paratively limited experience and means 

 at its command, agriculture has not effec- 

 tively widened its sphere of influence into 

 the broader aspects of government. To- 

 day the condition is changed. The ranks 

 of organized agriculture have been great- 

 ly increased ; its means and its manpower 

 have been greatly increased; its record 

 in never seeking selfish advantage is 

 without blot and its vast interest in a 

 return to the ideals of a true democracy 

 are recognized. If agriculture is to take 

 its rightful position in influencing sound 

 legislative and administrative policies of 

 government, it must get its own house 

 well in order. It must give energetic 

 support to those leaders of government 

 who would balance the national budget. 

 Whether an individual, an institution or 

 a government, this is a requisite to order- 

 ly and successful operation. This can 

 only be accomplished by reducing expen- 

 ditures, without impairing necessary gov- 

 ernment functions. In this, there is 

 plenty of room for action. Bureaucracy 

 should be trimmed to the bone and 

 wherever communistic leanings have 

 found their way into the divisions or 

 bureaus of government they should be 

 immediately, completely and forever re- 

 moved. 



Need Adequate Taxation 



Government should retire . from the 

 field of competition with private enter- 

 prise and confine its functions to impar- 

 tial and effective regulation. By this I 

 do not mean government removal from 

 public building and construction pro- 

 grams that are in the interest of all the 

 people or from functions essential to 

 national stability, but I most definitely 

 do mean its complete retirement from 

 all activities that compete with the every- 

 day lives of citizens in the administra- 

 tion of business, both large and small. 



I have little patience with the efforts 

 of either big business or organized labor 

 to escape in varying degrees from public 

 taxation. If we are to give confidence to 

 the owners of American securities, it is 

 essential that very substantial govern- 

 ment revenues be continued and the bud- 

 get balanced by reducing exf)enses. The 

 budget will not be balanced by any 

 attempt to delude the people as was re- 

 cently done when one high official of 

 the government stated that the current 

 anticipated deficit had been greatly re- 

 duced, and the budget was approaching 

 balance. Soon thereafter another official 

 stated that the reduction in the anticipated 

 deficit was accomplished, not through a 

 reduction of expenses, but because rev- 

 enues were some 4 billion dollars in ex- 

 cess of those anticipated. 



National solvency and credit can only 

 be assured when the national budget is 



balanced by discontinuing every unneces- 

 sary activity of government, maintaining 

 substantial taxation and revenue and com- 

 mitting all surplus income to the retire- 

 ment of interest and principal of the na- 

 tional debt. There is no justification 

 for reducing or revising the tax struc- 

 ture except where such action will stim- 

 ulate business activity to a point where 

 the increased national income resulting 

 therefrom will constitute a basis of tax- 

 ation that will increase federal revenues 

 and thus go even farther than present 

 tax laws in protecting our money, our 

 bonds, our property and the national se- 

 curity. If agriculture is to exercise its 

 full and proffer influence in securing a 

 soundly balanced national budget, it must 

 set the example by getting its own house 

 in order. 



Untold thousands of people are on 

 the payroll of the department of agri- 

 culture who are of no practical value 

 to the people who own the land or who 

 produce the food and fiber in this coun- 

 try. During the depression farmers of 

 necessity had to call upon government 

 for action programs, some of which are 

 today of little value. It would be a 

 comparatively simple process to sift from 

 those needed to those that are not needed, 

 if impartial people were given the task. 

 If this kind of an approach is taken by 

 farmers, they will be in a very good posi- 

 tion to demand similar action from other 

 interests. 



I wish time would permit me to deal 

 at some length with the opportunit)- 

 provided farmers in this field, but I am 

 sure the overall opportunities for a re- 

 duction in government expenses is not 

 only tremendous but obvious to all. 



Next in importance to a balanced bud- 

 get are policies essential to assure a 

 reasonable balance in our national econ- 

 omy. 



Seek Labor Law Revision 



This can never be accomplished with- 

 out a complete revision of our indus- 

 trial and labor relation laws. We are 

 all living witnesses to the unfair and 

 inequitable laws that permitted a debacle 

 of strikes that have so seriously hampered 

 America during the first year of its transi- 

 tion from war to a peace basis. As a 

 result of this calamitous experience, I 

 observe that no one has gained, but 

 all of us have lost. 



A year ago, I stated at our annual 

 meeting, — quote — 



"I would not have you think that either 

 as an individual or as a spokesman for 

 others, I oppose either substantial, regu- 

 lar wages, or the best of working condi- 

 tions for the workers of the country. 

 Neither do I fail to recognize the impor- 

 tance of large scale employment and in- 

 dustrial activity. But I do strenuously 



(Continued on page 43) 



DECEMBER, 1946 



