4—Lanccartpr Farming, Saturday, March 14. 1959
Editorial -
Included .In "farm 'news" originating
Thorn 'the USDA this year, is word that
the farmers' share of America's food"dol
lar Shrank to 39 cents in 1958. At the
same, time, the processors' and dislnbu
tors' shares increased.
.These same .releases make a major
point of the -fact that .processing and dis
tributing costs are rising,'requirjng a big
ger share of the "dollar" for these mdus
tnes. These people, USDA reports, must
have 'a reasonable profit, or go broke
just-Jike farmers.
- - lYessir, it'gives a farmer a nice warm
- feeling 'to know the .publicity of "ins" gov
' emmental - representative is directed to
justifying profits for other folks in’ the
food business, "while ignoring his -some
what unpleasant predcament. Could it be
that word has not yet -reached' Washing
ton ihcrt farmers' costs cflso axe rising?
- - J Or is-that -important?
There is .a %ontirfuin& and 'growing
clamor 'for farmer control of agriculture.
This is -all well and .good, but 'the-first
logical question is Who will lead in
'.gaining this control?
-• -The relatively, young, but remarkably
,-rrrdture and successful, Commodity Coun
cil and its member groups have gained
considerable backing, 'but still lack -en
ough -active membership to carry weight
needed. .Namely, .among farmers.
"The 'okhlne' farm groups—Grange,
Tam .Bureau ■ arid Farmers Union are
still an there .battling. Only .thing is, the r
most'effective punches often are landed
-an teach -other; although Grange and
Partners Union occasionally work tagefh
ter in Washington on farm 'legislation.
This "big three" of farm political groups
is seldom seen together, unless m regard
to such programs as the "Agricultural
Hall of Fame."
hi fact, rb hasn't been too many years
since a Federal court in Utah -awarded
NFU $25,000 in Uoel judgment from ATB,
as an aftermath of propaganda battles m
the west.
Also, FB now is decidedly cool toward
- commodity organizations, staunchly sup
ported by the Grange, after early claims
that a commodity-by-commodity ap
proach couldn't succeed without FB or
ganization and guidance.
NFU_hcfs had relatively lit le effect on
the present administration's farm pro
—gram, despite the ''fo.mahty'' election of
NFU's president, James Patton to head
‘ the International Federal of Agricultural
‘ Producers (opposed by the single vote
of EB). They reaped publicity with the
Cattlemen's March durng the southwest
ern drought, .'but newspaper clippings
make poor fodder, even mixed with mo
lasses.
Dcvldsan
Agriculture Secretary Ben
son. has told Congress he is
ready to toss' in the towel
and give up, the battle to
support farm prices and con
trol production.
“You must admit,” he told
the Senate Agriculture Coiri
mittee, ‘“that our‘ a'ttempts to
control production have fail
ed ”
“Why”, hw asked, “contin
ue a program that is bank
rupt’”
He says farm products this
year will cost taxpayers al
most $7 5 billion and that all
the country has to show for
that is “artificially high” prl
ces and S 9 billion worth of
excess farm crops in govern
ment storage.
The way to correct the sit
uation he contends, Is to let
farm prices seek their law of
supply and demand level. It
■doesn’t make sense, he says,
to pay farmers to produce
for the government
Kill or Cure
It is bitter medicine that
Henson is prescribing for
farmers It is the kind of
■blunt talk that few farmers
*******
THIS WEEK
—ln Washington
With Clinton Davidson
Time To Quit
ever expected to hear from
a Secretary of Agricultpre.
Benson liold "Congress that
if it will give him a free
hand he will -start slashing
price supports to the point
where production will move
into use ratherlhan into sto-
rage,’ the cost of which is
almost a billion dollars a
year
Hign price supports, Ben- ~~
son says, are the cause of dec i l ?® d , av f r ‘
excessive production. Lower a ® e and that farm in
prices, he argues, would cau- declined by one
se some farmers to quit far
mmg and others to reduce - Thoss ( who disagree with
their production Food prices h jr)a ' cite. USDA figures to
too, woul d go down. show _ .that the average of
Congressmen who are op- f arm income is less than half
posing his proposals argue of that of the average factory
‘hat their adoption would - worker, and that the average
bankrupt at least a million worker can buy 50%
farm famines and drive them hiore food now With pay for'
penniless into cities where an "s work than he could
already there are almost § in 11)40.
million unemployed. They also use USDA figu-
A Difference Opinion - res to «how that only a frac-
Not everyone, and that ‘tion- of the $7.5 billion in
probably includes a major- “farm program costs” -actu
ity of Congress, agrees with ally is received by farmers.
Secretary Benson. They po- A third of that cost goes for
int out that in the past six export of food and fibers to
years prices received by far- (Turn to page 11)
Grange is' still hobbled by its "19th
Century" secret-organization s‘atus .in
many areas, with the ceremon
ies repelling many proppeceive members;
-although the middle-of-fee-road Grange
program is looked upon -with * iavcr fey
many "farmers.
The possibility of - larmer-cooperat.ve
is clouded by the ccrcum stances of -com-.-
petition between 'groups and individual
leaders. Human nature being what it
Is, ’many leaders of minor or splinter '
farm groups are to unite for,
fear of losing power and position. -Em- -v
"ployees are likewise opposed to unity - *
talk for fear of dosing -their jobs and se-.
cuiiey. With so many key
ing personal interests -ahead of the} com-'
men .goal, both Co-ops and , -pbhtical -
groups are handicapped in the Redder- -
ship role, ‘ "
Which leaves us wife "the original
question of leadership for American agri- '}
culture. 1
Despite the miserable chaos., of t- the - : -
federcd "farm 'program," it dtUl . appecfrs .
the USDA must supply unifying leader-'
ship atony time.n the near future.-It'is'
the'only organization with adminislrat ve.
bodies in every rural county of 'the U.'S.,'
providing the framework for -unification.
Such an all encompassing organiza
tion is an absolute necessity for uniting
U. S. famers. It must provide decisive
power, arbitration -systems and admmis
fcatve personnel to coordinate the divid- -
ed..complexities of American agriculture.^
We feel these divisions ’today,''with *
‘Pennsylvania farmers competing with
"cheap" milk, eggs and -meat;' while *
plagued with the "high" pnce of sup
ported feedstuffs. At the same time, for
mers near- major markets are pressured'
by need to expand marginal operations;
while remote farmlands are idled by
acreage allotments, the So:l Bank or
sheer economic necessity.
Eve.y segment of the American econ
omy receives some governmental sub
sidies; be they tanffs, fast tax wrte-offs,
minimum wage laws, public roads, cost
sharing cr cash. Agriculture is "included.
Virtually every segment of the Ameri
can economy is "organized for protection
m some manner, doctors, lawyers, mer
chants, industrials, labor, truckers, rail
roads, airlines, newspapers; the list is
endless and includes all major industries
—except agncultu e.
All of these groups voice objection to
subsid-es for agriculture, while demand
ing more aid to themselves^-The fact re
mains American agriculture as we
know it today, cannot survive, unaided,
unorganized and controlled from outside.
BUT Who shall lead?
.Lancaster County’s Own
Weekly
P O. Box 1524
I Lancaster, Penna.
Offices:
53 North Duke St.
Lancaster, Penna.
Phone Lancaster
Express 4-3047
Dan McGrew. Editor;
Robert G. Campbell, Advertising
Director .& -Business JVfcnager TO SPRAY FOR WILD GARLIC
Esta iiahed November 4 1955 ' , ~ , ~ . , . 4 i„
every Saturday by men should be on the alert for till
Lancaster Farming. Lancaster, Pa; of- wild garlic; in some years the ii
L?ncal'er p\ “** March haS been the time t 0 st3lt '
Joy. 5 Pa ' ,,rilUonal cntrv at l ' To ’ nT weed control with the ester form of 2, 4-D Th’s
Subscription Rates- $2 per year: much easier to kill while young and before pastun
three years $5. Single copy trice
‘ tn '- v gel started.
.!<m , Pa
irs Ax 'tion, National E> i *
lal Association.
Lancaster Farm mg
t 1 "
«lWe Material: Mark 14. SS through.
- IDvrotioaal IKa'dlnf: Psalm 23-1-11.
tens’Trial
.Xt^oqiar MarchUS, 1969 -
r 'npHE CtHTßTrtrles the ,
. ■*• "or io -tt Js.lnteAded. . Sometimes
- Jiiif'story rryertestbe -court's ver
who‘topi?'
tuck *£t 'itWe 'trial 'tin -see that the
court. That la tn. the<eyes
' of posterity j
li'evo) often
levity 'one *
nectfed- sri^n.
trial wtl
- 3ua*^4jyss?
~ titude tcftivfpTi
one'pi. no t '
o t*h ajr
- around. '
m* oIT .
for example, ; had -
* a She was con
fleirtaed'and cru«3Jy .executed, ap
parently “tb every one's approval.
Bilt "today ;she is called a Saint.
Studeiite'-of herdlfe and'times feel
that if-any one m that gnm court
room where her death was decreed
‘ dcserveddo die, it wasnot 8116700111
some,who her, some who
judged her. '.’- f~
The Judje'-slJuosiion
Jesus’ trial before Eilate Js -the
supreme 'example .of such an up
side-down trial. If ..any one hid
asried the' governor that evening
. how he thought history would rank
him and his young.prisoner of ..that
morning, he would have smiled his
grim Roman smile and perhaps
said, “Hmph! History will not -be
interested But if history wants to
.know, it’s on the record. I had the
man executed. That settles it,
doesn’t it?" Pilate could not have
known that his own sole elami to
■fame would be the fact that every
seven days, ail over trie world/ in
hundreds of 'languages, men and
women would repeat the words al
most like a curse ... "and in Jesus
Christ his only Son our Lord, who
~. suffered under Pontius Pilate.”
In the course of that wicked
farce of a trial, Pilate asked a
question which has more echoes
Now Is
Farm
TO GET RitADY—MAKE QUALITY HAY— Spr
came fast one of these 'times and you will be va
Do you have the proper equipment to make top
hay this year? One of the hay conditioners ( cr;
crimper) wLI surely reduce the drying time in the
the mow hay finisher either with or without heat"
cure your hay and maintain feeding quality. Wo 1
anything about the weather at hay-making time t>
practices help reduce the weather risk
TO STOP SOIL EROSION—Spring-time is one 1
good times to establish either straight strips or 1
strips on your farm; if you are still iarming up 3li '
the grade, you might consider the strips and one 1
improve your farm as well as your'farm income ®
vention of soil and water losses from your farm 15
ant; don’t think that it is not happening to you ®
difficult to recognize on some farms.
*** 4 * > -C.
The Time ...
BY WAX SMITH
TO USE X.AMB AND PIG BEOfl
These brooders that furnish additt
and dryness are very good, mam
have been saved through their use,
is bad for any new-born creature!
is one way to get them started ml
way. Should he a good investment
worked for others.
’than he,guessed ■
1 do with J c , u
question by vihici.
In that'trial v.< Qft
question that i„
What will y 0„ d J 0 "
Anj» t|
dilate asked n
what ko do with i
judge, -he 1 lied
He never would {
■asking a Jewish
on statesmanship,
Yet "he goes thr (
farce of-asfcing tl
bloodthirsty mob,,
this innocent prjjj
thought'they w e ,
fence;,but they
sentence on- thenu,
'of the people i S no
history, it is not a,
nor the -voice oi {
it'is; apt-then,
Jera&iiem. Mobs
have wills, they ft
'Orth; .'one this
have W
The yerdlct of hist
God.is seldom in j,
T|*faflt*Flni»n
y Of course, even i,
some twain* behind
. thit dignia
' of' chfief-priesti t
- scribes/ These w«i
Pilate wi
-Roman; 'he cared
’ -for,’-local customs,
notion#. He did not
derataad-why this ]
tne object of so mu
Pilate mid, "Whai
. donc?' r tt is very p
• was hot "stalling
really was puzzled
, scribes and'the «ld«
priests "were his u
r,esearoh'team whet
out of tfifeir court
, occasions were rati
quirmg reporter h
of-those chief pn«
_ noon of Good Fn-i
they had in the tm
perhaps have said i,
were there. We mill
-suit. We were const
the advice that chai
emor’s mind. That
have been at large!
it had not been fori
- But .is was murdet
For thepe fact-finders
All .they .had was pi
tion, name-calling Ti
- the result; but not *
"we never]
crime?
- (Based on outline*
the Division of Chra
National Council ot i
Christ in the X T . S
Community Press Sen