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One-fifth of the income of United States farmers cornea from dairy products, but even there the AAA tinkering has caused trouble. A good example ie the Chicago milk strike. Under the AAA fluid milk licenses throughout the country the retail price of milk was Increased and farmers received more money for their milk. As a result consumers used less fluid milk which caused a 15 per cent Increase in the consumption of evaporated milk. Higher milk prices induced farmers to produce more milk, but high prices also caused consumers to buy less milk. The result was a surplus. The difficulty of disposing of the surplus at existing prices resulted in lower prices for the producers. This has caused the milk strike.“Most of the AAA program had little effect in increasing the price of farm products but wherever prices were increased* by artificial scarcity, price fixing or processing taxes, the price level was thrown out of balance with the Incomes of consumers so ttyat consumption decreased, surpluses grew and prices fell again.“For you farmers the most alarming effect of the attempted bureaucratic control of agriculture is the190.000.000 which went to foreign farmers for their competing products imported into the United States during the first eight months of 1935, The scarcity which the AAA added to the drought reduction has resulted in the importation of 253 million pounds of meat products, 255,000 head of live cattle and pork products and live swine equal to a total of170.000 hogs. Other Imported farm products, most of which should have been raised on our own farms, include22.000.000 pounds of butter, 58,500,-000 bushels of grain, 41,250,000 pounds of tobacco and 66,000 bales of cotton.What these Importations mean to American farmers is indicated by the fact that it would have taken nearly14.000.000 acres to produce them. This would have given additional employment to over 500,000 people. Our vice-president, Dr. Burkett, estimates that the AAA reduction program has decreased employment by 2% million,“One of the results of the AAA is to aid foreign farmers. At a congressional hearing last winter I heard Secretary Wallace explain that the increased farm production abroad caused by the AAA program would raise the- incomes of foreign farmers so that they could buy more manufactured exports from the United States. His theory seemed to be that this would Increase our Industrial prosperity and result in greater domestic purchases of your farm products, Perhaps you can figure this out yourselves.It has been clearly demonstrated how Impossible it is for man to control agricultural production so that It will balance with demand because he cannot control the weather, certain crop pests, human nature or wars. Yet a group of inexperienced, impractical bureaucrats assumes that It can control these factors, and insults the Intelligence of our farmers by undertaking to plan and manage their business. The new potato law shows how far this dictatorial control is going.“What is worse is the evident purpose of these new dealers to use the AAA ‘benefits' as bait to lure you into more complete regimentation, with socialism §.8 the next step. The110.000 county committeemen, who have cost the farmers over $25,000,-000, do not originate policies but carry out orders received from the Washington bureaucracy and act as policemen over the other farmers. The catch in the whole rosy scheme is socialism and higher taxes. It substitutes faith in government for faith in God.
Newspaper Details
Chicago Packer
Chicago, Illinois, US
Sat, Nov 23, 1935
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Wendy S.
USA 20 Apr 2025
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