... <l—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 14, 1959 Editorial - - - Some information currently making the rounds of farm magazines and news paper editorial pages refers to farmers' steadily deterioratng posit.cn in the na tion's "expand.ng economy." In a recent issue of the m'd-western "Capper's Farmer I ’, these points were "presented to inform fanners of the truth about themselves. They night do for Lancaster County farmers to study. In 1957 some 60 cents of every Am erican consumpt on food-dollar went to* ."middle-men", buyers, handlers, proces sors and retailers of food. Less than 40 cents of the dollar went jo the farmers, who during the past 18 years, boosted producuve eff.ciency as much as in the preceding 120 years. In 1946, the typical "market basket" of food cost $767, with the farmer getting $397, or 51 per cent By 1957, that same basket cost $l,OlO, but the larmer was strll*g©tf.ng only $4OO, only $3 of the $243 increase, while his percentage share was only 39 5 per cent, an actual decrease of 11.5 per cent. But the real blow comes when you cons.der that ths 11.5 per cent is actual ly one-fifth of the farmer’s share. The m ' crease of "middle-men's" take comes * tom these sources: Labor, $296, up $l3O —or 43 per cent, Transportation, $73, up $33 —or 45 per cent: other costs, $l7B, up $69 —or 38 per cent, and increased fed eral income taxs were unaccountably credited with adding $4, although they are collected on "net." At the same time farmers have been rev.led for "living off the government." The truth is that in the past 50 years, less -05 per cent —that's one-half of one per cent —of federal subsidies went to farm ers. The other 99.05 per cent went to a'r bnes, the petrolum industry, housing, shipp,ng, schools, veterans, industry in general, business m general, railroads, -sh.p lines, etc., etc. Not only that, but half-truths hurled crt the American people concerning the annual "farm budget" of the federal gov ernment overlook such things as inspec tion programs for pure-foods, the crop and livestock reports and estimates that are used more by businessmen than far mers, the federal school-lunch programs, disaster food-iel ef, normal food relief, foreign food relief and even fore.gn agri cultural techncicm serve© admimstered by USDA. In short, even in the .05 per cent sub sidy share, farmers have been charged •with, non-farm programs and, accused with be.ng "un-Amencan" for receiving feder al subsidies. Maybe the accusations are true. Maybe the U. S. farmer is ''un-Am erican." Looking at the record and con sidering the populat on figures, farmers should have"received at least 32 times as much m subsidies, in order to be 100 per son A bill introduced recently by Sen Herman E. Talmadge of Georgia would guarantee every fanner an income up to $25,000 a year in direct payments out of the Federal Treasury. This Utopian pie in the sky proposal has been placed be fore the Senate Committee on Agriculture for study and hearings along with some 200 other farm measures design ed to “cure” the low-income complaint of farmers. The colorful former Geo rgia govenror, in presenting his bill, told the Senate farm ers cannot be the only group placed m the position of hav ing to “root, hog .or die” whi le others have collective bar gaining and protective tariffs. Critics of the bill compare it to the ill-fated Erannan Plan offered 10 year* ago by the then Secretary of Agri culture Charles F. Brannan, but emphatically rejected by THIS WEEK —ln Washington With' Clinton Davidson PIE IN THE SKY Congress and most farm gro ups at that time- It has, how ever, been brought up again in every Congress since 1949. Five-Point Program Sen Talmadge said his plan would “restore Ameri can agriculture to a free-en terprise basis, bolstered by a system of compensatory pay ments limited to domestically consumed basic commodities. The five points of the plan are: 1 B’jni.nate all acreage controls and govern ment loans. 2 Assign each farmer a domestic production quota based on units, (bushels, bales, pounds, etc.) of production. 3. Guarantee and pay to each farmer an income bonus of the difference between the price he re ceives for his quota and 100% of parity. 4 Require each farmer to cent Amercctn'l a e « Copper's goes on to stress that U.S L farmers need to cut production by eight per cer\t to bring it m line with demand. Yet, by the latest USDA figures, our over production is costing many t.mes its val ue, due to sharp price reduct ons for all product on. They ask also, "If farmers 'farmed todgy as they did in'l94o, the consumers food bill would be at least $l3 bllion a year higher than it currently is. Which 's better, to have a surplus cos'ing the con sumer $3 billion to $4 billion a year .n taxes, or to save him $lB bilLon a year on food?" "Farmers realize we live m an era characterized by the m nimurd wage and generally stab lized industrial pr.ces. Farmers want to protect themselves against the increas.ng costs of product on and distnbut on They want to mobilize their strength to bargain on a more equal bass w.th highly organized industry and labor," Capper's concludes. Recently a farmer in Lancaster Coun ty remarked; 1 "With prices of things we buy what they are and manufacturers rot s.ng them every chance they get, the farmers have got to do something. Labor is being given everyth ng they ask for and there seems no stopp.ng them. Far mers have got to start asking for a far shake too." We’ll buy that. With one excep'ion. "Labor" hasn't been given anyth ng. La bor is m the present "top dog" position, because of one thmg. Labor organized and "got lough." . We certainly don't subscribe to some of the methods and practices used m La bor's struggle to pre-eminence, nor can we find sympathy for employers who used the same "unethcal" methods to battle them. As the saying goes, "Mud is mud, no matter whose boots it is on." But we do subscribe to the theory that orgart.zation is the only way Ameri can fanners can-retain the least sem blance of their present society in years to come. Not the box-social type of or gan zation, nor weed-control groups, or even political-study gjpups. For the fad remains, farmers soon will represent less than two per cent of the nation's elector ate and it is doubtful if that small voting power will carry much weight. Big business is well-known for cold blooded, bu 3 ness-hke methods. When you are required to show a profit for ab sentee-owners, the stockholders, it is re quired. There is noth.ng illegal or im moral about this. It is the "free enter pdise" system. ‘ For fam ly farmers fo survive and fhe family farm to remam a basic pattern of American agriculture, control of ther own business is imperatve. How much would such a program cost? Sen Talmadge estimated that the cost would range from $1.5 billion to $2 5 billion a year. Other es timates, however, have ran ged up to $lO billion or more a year. Cheap Food Simihar farm plans over rTum to pase :) Lancaster County’s Own Farm Weekly F. O Box 1524 Lancaster, Penna. Offices: 53 North Duke St. Lancaster, Penna. Phone - Lancaster Express 4-3047 Dan McGrew, Editor; Robert G. Campbell. Advertising Director & Business Mhftager Established November 4. 1955 Published every -Saturday by Lancaster Farming. Lancaster, pa Entered as 2nd class matter at Lancaster, Pa under Act of Mar 3, 1879 additional entry at Mount Joy, Pa. Subscription Rates: }2 per year, three years 35. Single copv Price submit a bill of sale with his application for direct payments. 5. Impose a maximum of $25,000 as the amount of government payments any one farmer could receive in one year. Lancaster Farming i Newspape tlnn, Natlonn Mon. Bible Material: Mark 12 2S-34 Devotional Beading: 1 John 3 1-11, God and Neighbor Lesson for February >l5, 1959 SUPPOSE the world had grown so wicked that yon. could not find any one who could be guai anteed to keep more than one of -the-Ten Commandments 9 And sup pose you wanted to be married? Which commandment would you feel yoUr future wife or husband simply must k' regardless ? • .answ - that question, y -have answe another quest What, for you, the most ungo; tant commam ment m the of God? It-is “a -AS**' very old question. P l, Foreman Teachers of the Law used to de bate it at length. Jesus himself was once asked the question directly: “Which commandment is the first of all?" My 6od,My neighbor, Myself Jesus did not answer the ques tion by quoting’ a single one of the “Ten Commandments.” He quoted two verses from parts of the Old Testament which to ua are less familiar-. First from Deuteronomy 6:4.5; and second from Leviticus 19:18. (The reader might well look these up and mark them in his Bible; for if Jesus could be said ever to have boiled down the whole Old Testament into two sentences, these are the two.) One command unites the two: LOVE Jesus did not, of course, mean to say any thing so absurd as that a simple command can produce love The sergeant can say, One, two, three, March! The music teacher can say. One, two, three. Play! The lion tamer can say, One, two,'three, Jump! But not even God says, One, two, three, Love! Human beings are not made that way, and no one knows it better than the God who made us What Jesus did mean is that this is what God requires of us,* nothing less. We cannot fulfill his other commands till we have made Now Is TO PROTECT LEGUMES—New s of legumes such as alfalfa, red cloi trefold that failed to get the desired I six inches of growth last fall may fi extreme cold winter without snow injurious; sub-zero temperatures " snow and with strong winds may in]i crowns of,the plant. Winter applicati strawy, well-shredded manure (no lumps) will add some cover and pro! Max Smith TO BEWARE OF INTERNAL SITES IN CATTLE—Excellent care, feeding, and nent will make poor returns if animals are infected .tomach worms or other internal parasites. This't may exist on far more farms than are realized. Tleav i ation for a number v of years accelerates the degree .ection. Manure samples submitted to a local veteii /ill determine the need for treatment. j TO FEED QUALITY HAY TO CALVES - Scien ceding practices have not altered the fact that g f j alves deservfe the best hay in the barn, in most ca‘| alves do better on quality hay and less grain Ibl jorer hay "and more grain. Feed amounts ho developj epth and, capacity. TO EXPAND FARM BUSINESS—With fewer farff mong a growing world population and mounting prod osts 'tfieHrend toward larger units continues. The ' farm isn’t d< e' or passing out of the picture but it nitely is becoming larger. The expansion of all major prises to utilize' more fully present overhead costs set ■e good management. More animals per barn, more 'er tractor, and more output per man reflect a more ole outlook. an honest effort at thiJ Jesus’ selection of i commandments show*, J take of taking either 0( arately. There are the not understand what j means, and so try to r 5 it by loving people. possible to love peopi, Godts children, and 4 time ignore their heaven Also there are those much impressed by the of God and the httlcne the holiness of God and follies of man, that th, loving human beings aiy their affection on God at need Saint John’s remit can a man love God, wi, not seen, if he does not i ( beings, whom he has there are the numerous j love only themselves, p, by contrast the people v, we, should never loi e j (This overlooks the point, neighbor AS thyself If j, self is sinful, so is love bor!) The true ideal is r of these with the other, but'all these three—love to say, concern for the the welfare) of God, om ourselves. How This Works From the humbeiles, turns of this cfentral Va let us select one which J riate to Temperance Sun is a problem: Wfiat shi Christian’s attitude to' liquors? Suppose a mad answer that question on of love to himself alone’ question will be simpd going to do ME any haiJ answer is No (if —!) the] proceed to dnnk like a suppose he tiies to sohe lem on the basis of 1m alone; then he may ask, 1 coholic content of my M or low, going to hurt GO he thinks, of course not] he is mistaken) ; so he ai proceed to dnnk like a suppose' he opens his d enough to take in his nJ his children, his family, oa have weaker will-powei a self, those who look to a example, those who will u hy the clearness or fuzznJ mind as he makes deed then he will look at hi> habits in.quite a different' man lives on an island a| Christian love keeps thaj ways bnghi in the mind (Based 01 times Cbpv the D.vasiO) t* Chris tiir*. National Council of tht 0 Christ i ! the t’ S. A Ilf Comxniixnl} Servict) The Time ... BY MAX SMITH
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers