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Show ll' ' -r" '; i Higher Prices Asked for Extra Effort by Farmers Time and a Half for Factory Workers' Overtime, Manufacturers' Cost -Plus, Proves Demands Not Excessive. . i r .v ks ..a. . ... 2 By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator, Not Mr. Wickard's View There are some, of course, who take an extreme view of this subject. sub-ject. They would like to see the government take over the whole processing and distribution industry, at least for the duration. This is not the view of Mr. Wickard. Naturally, there will be strong opposition op-position to increased farm prices from the Office of Price Administration Administra-tion and various other bodies, which are supposed to speak for the consumer con-sumer or which represent the strong anti-inflationist views. The President has made it plain that he will be the arbiter when such conflicts arise. The formula for parity par-ity cannot be altered without legislation legis-lation since it is already defined by law. Even if the senate concurs with the house and agrees to include all farm labor costs in the parity formula, the President would still have the power to veto such a measure meas-ure and the administration could probably muster enough votes to support the veto. Secretary Wickard, who moves slowly and conservatively, has been gaining power as he advanced. There is more and more evidence of a return to influence of the old line departments as against the wartime war-time agencies like the OPA. The former have more influence with congress and apparently the people have more confidence in them. The department of agriculture will be there when the mushroom agencies agen-cies have strutted their hour and disappeared. Japan Must Learn "Japan must not only be defeated but crushed . . . maimed and left helpless for a long period." Speaking not, he says, in the voice of wartime emotionalism nor as the retired colonel or a sedentary editorial edi-torial writer, Nathaniel Peffer, Far Eastern expert, makes the above statement. "Japan," he says, "must be taught a terrible lesson, a lesson that cannot be conveyed by defeat in itself." I know Mr. Peffer, have known him since I heartily disagreed with many of his ideas, clear back in college days. I know the great respect re-spect in which he is held by the wise men of the East and the West WNU Service, 1343 H Street, N.W., Washington, D. C. There is a package in Washington addressed to the farmers marked "Do Not Open Until After Congress Convenes." It may never be delivered, deliv-ered, but the people who are doing it up at this writing think it will be. It will make a nice New Year's present. pres-ent. It is labeled "Higher Farm Prices." I Several straws indicate that the 1 wind is blowing in this direction. The house early this month unanimously unani-mously passed a measure which directed di-rected that the cost of all farm labor la-bor be included in computing parity prices. Since the election is over, nobody can attribute purely political motives mo-tives to the congressmen who supported sup-ported the measure. As nearly as I can find out, the vote reflected the mail the opinions expressed in the letters that the congressmen have been getting since the election plus a belief on the part of many people in the administrative as well as the legislative branch that if we are to ask the farmer to increase his production pro-duction effort from 20 to 50 per cent, we will have to give him the Incentive of higher prices. One official said to me: "When you go to a contractor and say that he has got to double his production or get it out in one-half the ordinary time, you are not surprised sur-prised when he expects a bonus. When you ask the farmer to raise more than he ordinarily does he is usually raising all he thinks he can anyway it is natural that he expects ex-pects some sort of material reward. Time and a half for over-time has not been abolished, manufacturers are guaranteed against loss by the cost-plus system. Why shouldn't the farmer get his share?" These are some of the arguments which you hear these days when the question of raising farm prices is discussed. This is quite a different attitude from the one taken when the country was demanding that something some-thing be done to prevent inflation. Proponents of higher ceilings claim that they are not inconsistent. They say: "There is no danger of uncontrolled un-controlled inflation when you permit a stipulated limit to the rise in , costs." today. I know his hatred and contempt con-tempt for the militarist. So I seized upon the above quotations from his latest book, "Basis for Peace in the Far East" (Harper & Bros.) in the hope that I would be able to tear his new tome to shreds in a pleasurable pleas-urable frenzy of humanitarian sadism sad-ism and delight my pacifist friends. But later on, as I read this highly enlightening book and absorbed Mr. Pefler's program for post-war treatment treat-ment of Japan, I saw I would have to temper my opinion of the author's unchristian preachment in the first chapter. I discovered that Mr. Peffer was merely an old fashioned parent who believes in administering chastisement chastise-ment ,to a bad child. Two sets of obstacles interfere with a healthy Japan that can live peacefully in the family of nations, Mr. Peffer explains. One group are external, one internal, self-made. The external are lack of natural resources of her islands. Therefore, There-fore, he says, after her period of repentance, the opportunity to buy raw materials and the opportunity to sell the finished products must be established. Internally, Japan can-not can-not function like modern communities communi-ties such as Detroit or the Ruhr or Lancastershire, and at the same time operate a system in which people live in medieval villages. The terms under which we will help Japan Ja-pan rebuild the devastation which our bomb and shells will wreak upon her, will be the removal of internal obstacles to a more balanced bal-anced social system. No reviewer can adequately deal with another man's book. If he could he might just as well write it himself. I have offered these brief excerpts in the hope that the apparent appar-ent paradox in point of view will whet your curiosity for-unless you read "The Basis for Peace in the Far East" you won't be able to discuss dis-cuss intelligently the basis for peace anywhere, when the time comes for it to be established. Subsidies Not Popular Already it has been found necessary neces-sary to subsidize the cheese markets. mar-kets. If you expect to get all the dairy and pork products you need, the argument runs, it will be necessary neces-sary to pay the farmer a little bit more for his milk and hogs. Subsidies Subsi-dies are not popular. If another way can be found, so much the better. bet-ter. There is, however, another important impor-tant consideration in connection with the whole food and fiber production program. This is a growing demand de-mand that processing and distribution distribu-tion be strictly regulated. Secretary Secre-tary Wickard, as food administrator, administra-tor, has the power to set up such regulations. Officials who served in the department de-partment of agriculture through the last war will testify that although there was efficient food distribution, a lot of smart processors and middlemen mid-dlemen feathered their nests at the expense of the farmer and the public. pub-lic. Farmers know this. One congressman con-gressman said to me: "The folks out in my district do not object to working twice as hard and producing produc-ing twice as much if they can. They do think, however, that they ought to get a little more money for their extra effort and they also feel they ought to have the guarantee that no speculator is going to make money out of the increased production the way many did in the last war.'.' The appointment of Secretary .Wickard, with his powers over the processing and distribution of food products, was partly a result of opinions such as expressed by the farmer whom my congressman friend quoted. It is argued that since the department of agriculture is responsible for getting enough food and textiles to fill the domestic, army and navy and lease-lend demands, de-mands, this same agency ought to have control over the preparation and distribution of these products as well. |
