WHAT PEACE CAN MEAN TO AMERICAN FARMERS 27 



Many possibilities exist for expanding private production and trade 

 by encouraging competition. These include a revision of the patent 

 laws, assistance to small business, continued enforcement of the 

 Sherman Anti-Trust Act, progressive reduction of special privileges 

 that flow from excessive tariff rates, encouragement of consumer 

 cooperatives, and many others. 



By extending low-cost Government credit to investors, private 

 enterprise can be encouraged to enter fields that are otherwise con- 

 sidered too hazardous. Low interest rates can also be helpful in 

 supporting farm purchasing power. Through a revision of the social 

 security system to include farmers and others now excluded or inade- 

 quately covered, the program could be improved in its power to 

 encourage private consumption expenditures during periods of unem- 

 ployment. Improved timing and coordination of public expenditures 

 (Federal, State, and local) could make a great contribution toward 

 counteracting the effects of any possible future decline in private 

 expenditures. 



All of these things require advance planning. Their maximum 

 effectiveness cannot be had if they are put into operation only after 

 the depths of a depression are reached. Whether all of them together 

 would maintain full employment depends upon the thoroughness 

 with which they are done. In timing and coordinating public ex- 

 penditures, the practical problem will be one of acting quickly enough 

 and on a sufficiently broad front. The problem of managing the 

 Federal debt is not insuperable if handled properly. This problem 

 further underlines the importance of maintaining low interest rates. 



Agriculture is ready, willing, and able to make its contribution to 

 a full-employment economy, in the form of full production. It re- 

 quires such an economy to provide job opportunities for some of its 

 sons and daughters who are not needed to maintain the farm popula- 

 tion. Full production in agriculture for a people fully employed 

 means high standards for food consumption, health, and nutrition, 

 for the Nation generally. 



But if agriculture is to make its greatest contribution to the main- 

 tenance of full employment and if farm people are to be assured 

 rising levels of living, certain specific lines of action will have to be 

 taken on the agricultural front — action which, in turn, will vary in 

 nature and extent with the level of employment attained. Possible 

 types of such action form the subject of another discussion, but 

 they should include at least measures for encouraging those shifts 

 in the production of crops and livestock which will be required if 

 agriculture is to meet domestic and foreign needs with maximum 

 efficiency. Measures for maintaining agricultural prices and incomes 

 will be required. At the same time, action should be taken to expand 

 consumption of agricultural products by low-income groups. Soil 

 conservation, reforestation, and range-management activities should 

 be expanded. To encourage and strengthen the family-size farm, 

 working conditions of farm labor should be improved, and current 

 rehabilitation and tenant-purchase programs should be expanded. 



If farm people are to enjoy the maximum benefits of a full-employ- 

 ment economy, special attention will need to be given to programs for 

 providing essential services and facilities for farm people on a par 

 with those enjoyed by urban people. These include such things as 

 schools, roads, electricity, housing, and hospitals. The goal of full 



