Agricultural relief: Agricultural relief

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Multivolume work

Identifikator:: 1831932415

Document type:: Multivolume work

Title:: Agricultural relief

Place of publication:: Washington

Publisher:: Gov. Pr. Off.

Year of publication:: 1928

Collection:: Economics Books

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Volume

Identifikator:: 1831935066

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-232142

Document type:: Volume

Title:: Agricultural relief

Volume count:: Pt. 7

Place of publication:: Washington

Publisher:: Gov. Pr. Off.

Year of publication:: 1928

Scope:: III S., S. 521 - 590

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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AGRICULTURAL RELIEF 523 I have said that we consider this agricultural problem as partly our problem. We think that a sound and prosperous agriculture is not only basic to our prosperity, but is basic to national prosperity and to the maintenance of sound economic balance between industrial and agricultural production in our general economic structure; in fact, I am glad to go further than that: I think the agricultural problem is not only a national problem which justifies national concern, hut that it is a problem which justifies governmental concern and govern- mental ald and assistance in its solution. [ want to make it clear at the outset that we are not opposed to agricultural relief, and we are not opposed to governmental promotion of or participation in any measures of agricultural relief which may commend themselves as economically sound and commercially practical. [ might interpolate here by saying that an economic theory may be attractive, it may be theoretically sound even, and still be commer- cially and administratively unworkable. This is an important consideration to be borne in mind in con- nection with the problem which confronts us. What we are con- cerned about, therefore, is lest some economically unsound or com- mercially unworkable scheme may be adopted which will hamper the movement of farm commodities and the products of those com- modities in commerce, endanger if not destroy the present organiza- tion for marketing those commodities and ultimately break down, with resulting disaster, not directly to us, but to the farmers whom the measure of relief seeks to help; and, incidentally, as a consequence of that, disaster to the whole fabric and structure of our economic ife. We are not opposed to the setting up of a board soundly con- stituted and appointed to consider these problems in general and specifically, and to aid in promoting and financing the necessary cooperative or commercial organizations for their solution. I do not think that such a board, even if clothed with very modest powers in the first instance, would have nothing to do. The changes which have been made in this bill in the four years or more which it has been under consideration, and in the ideas and theories of its proponents and advocates, are sufficient to illustrate the fact that sound solutions of commercial problems can only be developed as a matter of experience and through trial and error. The business structure which now constitutes the marketing machinery for farm products has been built up over a great many years. It is by no means perfect; it halts and creaks in a good many places. But it is nevertheless the result of sound experience and I think we ought to go pretty slowly in scrapping that machinery, if that is what is proposed, and attempting the setting up in its place of a new and untried erganization, on a vast and heretofore un- thought of scale. We believe that such a board properly constituted could do a great deal in developing the limits within which solutions are possible, and in working out the approaches to the problem, the character of organizations necessary, and promoting and financing the coopera- tive and commercial organizations required. But we think that such a board or such commercial or cooperative organizations would have to creep before they could walk, and that they would have to walk

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