The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, May 2, 1936, Page 4

3 | | A Bus Action on Many Fronts Declared Proper Solution Editor's Note: Every so often The Tribune receives sugges- tions as to a farm relief plan. Some of these are well thought out; others show a rather woeful lack of consideration of the factors involved. A good many contend that action along one line alone is needed to end the farmer's troubles. With such ideas The Tribune disagrees. It sees no quick and easy way to farm prosperity. Many things must be done. What some of them are may be gleaned from this statement by a “small, small-town business man” which offers as good an analysis of farm conditions and handicaps as the editor has seen.—And he has listened at one time or another to all the political soothsayers. By R. A. LATHROP Hope, When one attempts to write about the farm problem folks are likely to wonder whether he is at all qualified to do the writing. Therefore, we may as well make our confession and apologies right at the start. As to the “axe,” it may be that in a sense we are an inter- For a good many years we have owned a tenant- operated farm and if it is not soon transferred from the liability to the asset side of the ledger the outcome will be a fitting cli- ested party. max to the economic jolts and that, we think our sympathies run stronger toward our many farmer-customer friends. In any event, we are neither economist, politician nor pro- fessor, from which sources so many of the proposed remedies originate. So this one may have the virtue of being different, in that it is the viewpoint of a small, small-town business man. ‘The only positive qualification we can advance is that for over a quarter century we have been dealing directly ‘This fact, along with the absent-treatment farming already referred to, has given opportunity for observation, coup! times a person watching a checker game from the sidelines sees the moves a little differently than do the players. Sees Some Encouragement in Changed Public Attitude One encouraging sign of these days !s that two fundamental phases of the agricultural problem have finally of the people have come to see that greater problems than most business concerns and that whether or not he is ig is very much the whether: - But when it comes to the remedies, the doctoring seems to be by “spec- dalists” (instead of by the general Practitioner) and they attempt to cure the disease by treating a single symptom. Usually it is to loan the farmer more money, or it is produc- tion control, foreign markets, soil conservation, and so on down the Une. In little of the discussion does there seems to have been considera- tion of the underlying reasons for the difficulties that have afflicted agriculture for many years and of the “many-sidedness” of the program es- sential to the recovery desired. Therefore, the logical thing seems to be to make a careful of the patient’s ills, which involves a study of the “history” and the “symp- toms” of the “case” and then to pre- seribe the “treatment.” i Our hope is that analysis along the; lines suggested may contribute to a better understanding of both the im- Mediate and the long-time problems of agriculture and serve to stimulate early action that will remove or min- imize the handicaps facing our most important industry. The Farmers’ Handicaps There has been no deliberate inten- tion during the past half century to Place the farmer at an economic dis-| advantage but if there had been it is doubtful if greater success along that line would have obtained. Four ma- jor handicaps and some lesser ones have contributed to this result. These four are: Excessive tax, transporta- tion and interest burdens, and being obliged to sell most of his products upon the open world market and buy much of his goods upon the protect- ed home market. Taking these up in detail, we make the following obser- vations: Taxation: Originally property was property, either real or personal. But through the years much of it has been converted into “evidences of ownership.” such as stocks and bonds. ‘We kept multiplying the functions of government and adding to taxes with- out appreciably broadening the base. The farmers’ properties remained in the “visible supply” and his taxes pyramided to the point of confisca- tion. To illustrate: In..a township with which we are familiar taxes dur- ing the five years beginning in 1930 ran from 15% to 25% of the gross value of all the grain grown, includ- ing feed crops. This one single item of overhead consumed about one-fifth Caught Coming, Going Transportation Charges: Agricul- ture has been required to carry an manufacturer of food stuffs and consumer, gets caught coming and going on these charges. A few ex- May reveal this handicap: 1. At the present rate of freight on shelled corn from Macomb, Ill., to about 200 miles. the freight .| that will transfer the entire FCA N. D. has “an axe to grind,” or if he jars of recent years. But, at and almost exclusively with farmers. led with some experience. And some- filtered through and a goodly share the farmer does have different and ‘-or-not of our country's prosperity. home, or just a normal business for one elevator in a fair year. Who Gets the Money? ! 4. We do not know the exact figures, but roughly speaking freight on a box of apples from the west coast to the central states just about equals the combined expense and profit (if any) of both the grow- er and the packing house. Excessive Interest: It is common knowledge that the farmer has had to pay double the interest rate paid by moat other industries of equal or lesser importance. Commendable Progress has been made in solution of this problem, but further reductions and equalization need to be effected. More of this later. Other Handicaps: High taxes, freight and interest charges did not affect other industries nearly as seriously as they affected agriculture for they entered into cost and in most cases could be passed on in the price, This the farmer was not per- mitted to do. Further, the farmer not only has the usual business prob- lems of investment, interest, trans- portation, labor, replacement of cap- ital, equipment, etc. but also the hazards that arise from natural causes, over which he has no con- trol. This combination of the farmer's long-time difficulties, coupled with the depression, and the abnormal “act of God” calamities in recent years, has created a situation that calls for both emergency and per- manent consideration. It is on these two phases that we shall offer some definite recommen- dations. Rehabilitation Urgent Due to drouth, hail, wind, floods, Srasshoppers and other pests prevaile ing in recent years in @ large area, many farmers require financial as- sistance in rehabilitating thelr capi- tal equipment, if they are to operate | at all efficiently. In these same areas, due to the! same conditions, thousands of farm- ers face a heavy accumulation of debts for from three to six years’ advances for seed and feed for crop growing (that did not grow) and for feed for livestock. In the same territory the Rural Rehabilitation administration has a) complete organization with a com-, mendable program of helping farm- ers get a fresh start, while the Farm Credit administration has a large and expensive collection force out seek- ing to collect from the same people to whom the RRA is granting additional loans. Assuming normal crops it will take many years to collect the pres- ent emergency loans and if they do “accomplish the impossible” and fin- ally collect them, the expenses of doing so will consume most of the returns, Would Unify Contret When the RRA attempts to give a farmer a fresh start, it is unable to make complete rehabilitation of his indebtedness, as there is no provision of law permitting paluebmeat of the FCA emergency loans. suggests the wisdom of congressional action emergency debt load to the RRA, with [ i a i 5 Hl i att SEE i BBs Cx ieliten EH {has been the trouble inflicted by Na- 1H inessman Looks Two Bismarck Firms Will E BISMAKUK ‘TRIBUNE 5 at the U. S. Farm Relief Problem } Build This Fargo Bridge As Sketched by Engineers fone mortgages upon long time terms, based upon the potential earning ca- Pacity of the debtor. This mortgage would supplement those to the Pro- duction Credit association, as the Commissioner loan supplements the first mortgage on real property. Why Beat Around Bush? The officially-designated ‘“drouth loans,” made in 1934 for purchases of feed to enable farmers to retain a few head of stock were in reality re- ef advances, rather than loans. If the farmers had been compelled to sell their cows, direct relief would have been necessary in an amount equal to or greater than the feed money furnished. These loans seem to stand in the same position as di- rect grants made to urban people whose earning capacity was nil. They | might well be canceled. ; As another measure of relief at ‘this time, allow farmers owing crop- production loans to secure credit against them for work on township roads, water-conserving dams, etc. } The main federal and state highways | are fine, but many township roads ‘re in such shape that rural people cannot use them in bad weather. A little work in grading bad places, cutting weeds, draining wet spots, etc., would complete the “farm-to- market” system. Suggests Four Methods Therefore, to sum up, there are several ways in which the critical emergency situation can be and| should be alleviated: 1, Give consideration to canceling ! that part of the emergency advances shown to be for human relief. This includes at least the drouth loans as distinguished from crop loans. 2. Many feel that cancellation of crop loans also is justified, as some areas have had five or six consecu- tive crop failures. Collection is al- Most beyond possibility. But in any event, these debts should be amortiz- ed over a long period and where necessary for RRA advances they should be included in such amortiza- tion. 3. Allow farmers owing crop-pro- duction loans to work upon public projects and receive credit for their work on these debts. 4. Readjust FCA loaning policies to permit tenant farmers to refinance | debts on a basis comparable to former | land owners’ privilege. Wheat Price History | It will be recalled that under the | “food-will-win-the-war” campaign in| 1917 the wheat price was set at about | $1 below the market. After the war, when government support was re- moved, the price fell an equal amount or more. This caught most of the crop in the northern part of the wheat belt and caused a terrific loss to farmers. There was no intention to inflict injury but the losses inci- dent thereto, coupled with the dis-/| tuption of farming plans during the war, was about as serious a blow as ture and the depression in recent years. Certain it is that the two to-! gether constitute about “the last straw.” When government action works serious hardship to a certain class of its citizens it appears proper that steps be taken to mitigate, so far as possible, the effects of such action. This is a collateral reason why the! suggestions above made seem war-{ ranted. In areas where it has been neces- sary to make loans for from three to six years, the overload of debt, plus need for rehabilitation, has created a most serious condition. The full sum 4s held open for collection annually and the farmer cannot plan for the future with any degree of assurance that he can carry out agreements he makes, Would Dispel Uncertainty The same uncertainty prevails among business enterprises serving agriculture, many of which were hit about as hard as was the farmer. This cannot but make for restriction of credit terms at a time when the need for accommodation is greatest. It is also causing farmers to become discouraged, for when they survey the heavy accumulation of debt, all of it facing them at once, they say, “what's the use?” Some are quitting, othera considering doing so, still oth- ers going forward with a spirit of doubt as to eventual outcome. Realizing that this is an emergency it as herein suggested, Up recovery in @ large por- the farm belt and will prob- government more than der the present sys- EF {cripples not only the farmer but the sure the net cash invested in produc- in chemistry as applied to the uttiliza- sary, we should be able to solve a de- pression of surplusses and hunger in the midst of plenty. In an auto trip last fall, we saw tons of apples rot- ting on the ground within 100 miles of a city with doubtless a million peo- ple unable to secure this healthful food. (Some figures as to freight burdens are given above.) Must Readjust Taxes 2. Revision of Entire Taxing Sys- tem: Taxation must be readjusted to take into account the change of the past half century in ownership of Property and some plan be devised whereby all would pay something to- ward support of the citizenship privi- | leges of which all have benefit. Also @ readjustment of and coordination between direct and indirect taxation. A larger percentage of the taxes ap- Plied directly should help to make folks realize that we cannot get some- thing for nothing in government any more than in other fields. As applied to the farmer, he is both a manufac- turer and a consumer. He pays a sales tax on equipment he buys for his “factory,” and then pays a retail sales tax on some merchandise made from the products of the farm, as well as on the other things he needs, the same as do other consumers. One owning a small farm or business pays @ large tax; another citizen owning intangibles of equal value pays prac- tically no: tax. Both have equal rights and protection of law; both should pay the same rate. 3. Adequate and Low Cost Financ- ing: Progress has been made on this score; it should be followed up and some equalizations made to provide equal rights to all, as suggested in discussion herein, of the emergency phase of the farm problem. Favors Fair Price 4. Protection of Home Markets: There should be agreement between producer and consumer upon a price that is fair to both. This should be high enough to protect American farmers from importation of food stuffs produced by labor that lives upon a scale that no thoughtful per- son would impose upon our agricul- tural population. Such protection will permit the farmer to become a buyer, which in turn will enable in- dustry and labor to carry on profit- ably—an endless but not a “vicious circle.” 5. Stabilization of Price Fluctua- tions: There should be enough in- genuity among us to figure out some way to prevent rapid and extreme price fluctuations, which sometimes run several hundred per cent in a single year. For example, barley seed that cost from $1 to $1.35 in March, 1935, sold for 25 cents to 30 cents in September. One year hogs are 2 to 3 cents, a year later maybe 8 to 10 cents, or vice versa. This Processor and consumer, for no one can plan intelligently. Need Crop Insurance. 6. Some Form of Crop Insurance: As suggested elsewhere, the farmer has all the hazards of other indus- tries, plus the unforseen calamities Nature inflicts upon him. Some plan should be developed that would in- tion of the crop up to the date of its destruction. This might offer oppor- tunity for disposition of seasonal surpluses, and possibly might be hooked up with the proposed “ever- normal-granary” project. 7. Federal and State Cooperation: Here we stress the word, “coopera- tion” as distinguished from “regi- mentation.” This cooperation should take the form of extensive research tion of farm products. In this way it might be possible to offset changes in consumption habits, develop new crops and create markets for the by- products of the farm. Another help- ful activity would be assembling world-wide data on _ agricultural trends and crop conditions so that our agriculture would be able to di- rect production into channels by which both over-production and un- der-production might be avoided. In this field falls also the new program of soil conservation, flood control, prevention of erosion and similar activities which affect the general welfare, and which extend beyond the limits of the individual farm and the capacity of the individual farmer to handle. Were AAA Policies Wise? We are tempted to add some ob- servations upon past farm relief ac- tivities, not to be critical, but to analyze the methods used, that in the future we may avoid what appear to be erroneous policies and practices in administering former measures, 4 As to AAA, it served as'an emer- crop in @ period of low prices and crop failures. But as a long-time policy it is quite possible that it would have failed of its purpose. The method of application worked great injustice to many farmers be- Cause it based the acreage ALURDAY, MAY %, 1956 Spanning the Red River of the North will be this new $263,988.81 bridge, work on which will be commenced next week by the low bidders—the Rue Construction company and Megarry Brothers Construction company, both of Bismarck. The new bridge across the only river in the United States that starts on this side of the Canadian boundary and drains into Hudson bay will replace one built more than 50 years ago. The old bridge, closed for three years as unsafe for heavy traffic, long was the main inlet and outlet of traffic over U. S. Highway 10. It links First Ave. S. in Moorhead, Minn., with Front street in Fargo. Once opened, it will eliminate the now tortuous detour through Fargo’s crowded business section. Bismarck Firms Begin Work On Fargo had cooperated over recent years and raised little or no wheat was cut down in like ratio, and estopped from readjusting his wheat acreage up- ward if price or weather conditions seemed to make that desirable. Price-fixing Dangerous Anything that involves price-fixing of farm products by law is mighty dangerous practice from the farmer's viewpoint. The producer has about two votes to his one, and later may say: We paid a premium on our food when you were up against it, now it is our turn.” Human nature is still very human and this may be illustrated by the fact that even though for many years farmers raised hogs and cattle at a loss, the first year they were able to sell them at a Profit buyers’ strikes took place in several cities. Another dangerous theory has been advanced, as it seems to us. That is the idea of arbitrary restriction of production to advance prices. Over the long pull, agriculture must be gov- erned by the same €conomic laws that control’ all business, under which laws success is based upon the abil- ity to render the maximum of service at the lowest possible price. A sys- tem of subsidies and artificial stimu- lus (except in emergency) may tend to cause many to depend too much thereon and fail to give intensive ap- Plication to the job in hand. Control is Difficult And finally, control of production is a most difficult thing, because the elements take ® hand in it and hu- man nature does not respond well to the “thou shalt not” method. Under AAA, as originally planned, only a few “key” crops were to be regulated and we were told that rise in the value of others would follow as & matter of course. But in practice re- striction of one crop caused increase of others and they in turn had to be included, until we had 15 or more, and others under consideration. Further, restriction in one territory caused farmers in other areas to add to their growings and we are told that in some southern states the acreage of corn doubled or trebled, with re- sultant increase in the raising of live- stock. Therefore, as many observers seem to think, it is entirely possible that the structure of AAA would have broken down of its own weight in the not-too-distant future. And it may be that our farmers owe a vote of thanks to the supreme court, whose decision may serve to get us back to economic fundamentals in the future cooperation that the government and our consuming population extend to agriculture. Should Avoid Errors Emergency Action Important: In injecting this analysis of recent farm relief efforts we are not even infer- ring that it lessens the need or obli- gation for action at this time, merely that the steps taken shall be sound and errors of the past be avoided. The handicaps agriculture has faced in the last decade are in large part due to the “hindsightedness” of all of us. We failed to sense changing eco- nomic and financial trends. We fail- ed to realize that we had passed from the pioneer stage of our country’s agricultural development. We con- tinued to mine rather than conserve our natural resources. Therefore, in mere fairness, all of us should join in As to the emergency angle, action should be taken, even if we violate some orthodox rules of economics and. finance, for, as one former president sald, “It is @ condition which con- e protective 3. Extend ta © pola bas . cooperat a yond individualistic control. Bridge Next Week : ! ‘Contract for Red River Span Largest Ever Let to N. D. Concern Work on the largest bridge construc- tion contract ever awarded toa North Dakota concern will be started Mon- Cay by the Rue Construction company and Megarry Brothers, both Bismarck firms. The bridge is the huge Front street span over the Red River between Fargo, N. D., and Moorhead, Minn. Directing the work will be Milton Rue, young Bismarck contractor, who began building culverts and small bridges 18 years ago with a team of horses and a mortar box as equip- ment. Other big bridge contracts-have been let in North Dakota, the largest be- ing that for the Liberty Memorial bridge over the Missouri river here, but none as large as the $263,938 in- volved in the Fargo-Moorhead job has ever been awarded to a North ‘Dakota, firm. . To Begin Work Monday Rue left. Friday for Minneapolis where he will arrange for the deliv- ery of materials and will return to Fargo Monday to start the job. His first act will be to erect an office at the site of the work and. within 10 days he expects to have the work in full swing. A large number of Bismarck men will find employment on the project, since most of the foremen and super- intendents in the rapidly-growing Rue organization live’ in Bismarck. The average number of men to be em- Ployed from start to finish of the work will be about 60, he said. The contract calls for the bridge to be ready for use by next Nov. 15, al- though certain details may be com- pleted later. Rue said Friday that, Granted good weather and average New York, May of unemployment. luck, he will be able to have the struc- ture ready for use before the time specified. Firms Pool Equipment Under the agreement between Rue and Megarry brothers, the former will be. in complete charge.of the work but the two firms will pool their equip- ment and resources. The bridge will be 56 feet wide with a 40-foot roadway arid two eight-foot sidewalks. It will require 40,000 feet of piling. Some of the larger steel girders will weigh 130 tons and be 120 feet long and 7 feet high. One main pier, located in the center ot the Red River will support the structure with a number of smaller et is nae bridge ugh it e largest for which he has been given a consract, Rue is confident his organization will be able to complete the job in a satis- T iene mamas ad on me, has | ST. a@ num of other portant bridges in North Dakota, Montana '"o°p, United States at One Mechanical 19 inches to 2: ped, to day, May Sentor High School rt from respo! be accepted, and y order oO! Education, Richard Slater, Dec Viola Siater, ve. Anna Welch, Ralph Slat Slater, be Be: of— to reject any or all Bismari Benwarde! CITATION HEARING PETITION FOR Fy. 'Bisle irvine. Howsrd Howry sie Irvin Since Biater, Bridge Builder __ MILTON 3,084,300 Jobless in Industry, Paper Says) 2—()—The New (States ersyritaeed epetcocore and transportation—whic! newspaper's survey said covered 58.7 per cent of all fields of employmént—amounted to 3,084,300 persons. The paper’s survey of 3,000 com- panies did not include such cate- gories as agriculture, public service and professional’ service. attempt to calculate the total amount It did not The National Industrial Confer- lence board, a statisicial organization supported by corporations, has esti- mated total unemployment in the 9,649,000, and the bids for Scrubbing thi lered at Board Tues: its room in ti 0 Fat Only le. par wi pou Ze reserved o} f The Board of ck, N. Clerk. Petitioner, Eftie lst ty Martha Marvel, hi 4 Jacobson, tte Gre- later, Francis Elme: minor, Marian Si: borrowed father, J. J. Rue, 711 Ave. A, ® mor- tar box and a few shovels they en-| Leo tered the contracting business, build- ing. 9 cement sidewalks and small cul- ind each one of you ar ou by cited and requ! tore ti rh, in sal tat by sald Count; i BE ge i ibe donnie o ol url Baxote. é e E 3 juired by lat “pated this 18 Ege jack gE it te d to her, said Viola Siat Court, should granted and allowed. ~ i Th dence of said the owner o! ie time of his death, Morton in and 8 Let service be made of this citation ired to app County Court of the id State, x it at thi 2] "Ene right ts resecren er, in and ry B. R. ft said ie Count Oe Sots y of May, A. D, BY THE COURT: 5 1-C. Davies, wu, Base, of said County Court. 10. ister, of said petitioner, Bismarck, N, Dak, BUDWEISER Now l5c No Charge for the Bottle Brush, | Mets 1 inches, fully Bie ye used in maintenance o! Bismarck public school system, Said bids to be opened, and co! regular meeting of this 12th, 1936. American Federation of Labor has placed it at 12,184,000, ZIONCHECK ARRESTED AGAIN urday by three days for speeding. He was re- leased later. a ____—_—_— SUMMONS STATE OF NORTH. DAKOTA, COUN- IN_DISTRICT COURT, FOURTH JU- . DICIAL DISTRICT Mra, H, Wadeson, Piaintitt, ceased, cutrix of th ment of Fi known. as ceased, Helen M. D, Register, Helen Dill B Regist Richard Land Company, a corporation of Marshall County, Towa, and all other persons un- known and the unknown heirs and devisees of any eased pér- son claiming any estate or inter- est in or lien or incumbrance uj on the property described in t! complaint in this action, fendantes. THE STATE OF NORTH DA! ae T ae ABOVE NAMED DEFEN a) of you .are hereby iswer the complaint ntitled action, a Fg +4 of eto attached and here- a jr to the said com. upon the subscribers hereto, at their offices in the Little pelicing, in the City of Bismarck, County of Bur- leigh North Dak wit rvs or 111 m against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. Dated at Bismarck, North Dakota, this 3ist day of March, 1936, O'Har x & Cox, Attorneys, for ‘the Piatt. ftice and Post Office Ad- dress: Little iding, Bi marek, ‘North ta Bu Dal NOTICE To THE ABOVE NAMED DEFEND- notice that the above entitled action fs brought to quiet title in thé ‘plaintif? to those tracts and parcels of land lying and sityste in the County of Burleigh and State of North Dakota, and described as follows, to-wit: Lots Fifteen (15) and Sixteen (28) Block Sixty | (60) Kenzie and Coffin’s Adaition to the City of - Bismarck, North Dakota, and that the complaint in said.action will be filed in the office of the Clerk of the District Court of Burleigh County, North Dakota on or before the 10th day of April, 1936, and that no personal claim is made by said plaintiff herein a this dist day of Bl 8 31s of Marc O'Har, REQUESTS FOR DEPARTMENT OF STATE HIGHWAYS pe rts and Reinfo: Concrete Culverts, will be receive d by th ate Highway onminges: er in tl office of Department of State Highways at Bismarck, North ere not r than 9:00 o'clock A. M., May 20, Dincs’ they “will Be publiiy’ tested ii rt 0) and read. vs ss The proposals must be mail otherwite deposited with: th Senate ment of 8! Highways at Bism: - ye Seer \ i) rugat forced Concrete Pipe the case may be. A. certifi with a bidde: pany each pro; 10 Motor Pat 5 Crawler T; “+4 ‘Tracto: 1 Center ‘Line tripin "Mach: Grader Blades required for tise yaa of May ia 1936 to May 20, Corrugated Metal Pi \~ wired for the fiscal Yous ot May 36, Reinforced Concrete Pipe Culverts equired for the fiscal to May 30, rr he Gdiiead dders are invited to be pres- is reserved to Soe the best inter-