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Show National Topics Interpreted dL ' by William Bruckart m. No such tax will be laid on hogs killed for export shipment. The amount of the tax has not been definitely defi-nitely fixed, but Mr. Wallace holds that one-half cent per pound of the live hogs will provide sufficient funds. It must be noted, however, that a tax on one-half cent per pound on the hoof grows to be much more per pound on edible ham for ham and eggs, or In the pork chops that grace the table. Mr. Wallace says with emphasis that this emergency program will not be repeated. He plans to give consideration at once to a definite program of a permanent character that will effect a more substantial reduction In the number of sows that, will farrow in the future, a sort of a birth-control Idea. At the same time and Interlinked with the hog program, he proposes to work out some arrangement that will reduce the acreage of corn. It is quite obvious to anyone that If there was an artificial Increase in hog prices there would be an expansion of hog production in another year. So Mr. Wallace is going to try to defeat that through birth control of hogs and by causing an increase in the price of corn. - Without passing on the merits of this scheme which Mr. Wallace and his advisers have Decrease in worked out fur- Exports thcr tnan t0 say he is being criticized criti-cized vigorously in a good many quarters, it must be remembered there has been a violent change in America's position with respect to its surplus hog products. In recent years, there has been almost annually annu-ally a decrease in the export of pork and Its products because the European Eu-ropean countries, hitherto our great market, have been stepping up their hog production consistently since the World war. More recently most of those countries have sought to protect themselves by establishing high tariffs or limiting the imports from the United States through quotas. quo-tas. As every one knows, much of the corn raisers' success depends upon the extent to which corn Is fed to hogs. This condition Is accentuated accentu-ated these days because not so many years ago about 11,000,000 horses and mules more than now exist were eating corn. That corn has been diverted to hog feed. Students of the problem are saying, therefore, that if there is to be a satisfactory relationship between hog and corn production, the corn acreage must be adjusted downward as the hog production shrinks. Otherwise, the quantity of corn released from hog consumption would cause the price of corn to go to the bottom, and the corn farmer would get it in the neck in that way. It Is an extremely delicate balance bal-ance that Mr. Wallace is seeking. It has never been found in all history, and a rail fence opinion Is that Mr. Wallace won't find it On the other hand, there never has been in history his-tory a situation so complex as that through which we have been passing, pass-ing, and supporters of the idea now being put into operation by the government gov-ernment contend it is the only way out. Since President Roosevelt has been feeling his way in an effort to bring about recovery, observers here seem to be agreed that little more harm can be done by trying out the birth control method for reducing hog production and an acreage reduction re-duction plan for reducing corn production. Washington. Secretary Wallace's plan for sending this little pig and that little pig and TooManyPigs an old sow or two to Market t0 market has caused so many pigs to go to market that the distinguished dis-tinguished secretary has had to Issue Is-sue a warning against shipping so many of them at one time. The markets were nearly glutted in the first few days of operation of the program under which the government govern-ment Is buying pigs and sows, soon to farrow, at premium prices. Secretary Sec-retary Wallace certainly demonstrated demon-strated that he is the nation's champion cham-pion hog caller, especially when the inducement was cash in hand. As soon as the Department of Agriculture Ag-riculture decided that a reduction In the potential marketing of hogs during the coming year was advisable advis-able and made known that the government gov-ernment would buy pigs weighing between 25 and 100 pounds and 60ws, soon to farrow, there was a rush for market Despite the fact that the government is prepared to buy 4,000,000 pigs and 1,000.000 bows, at the premium prices, approximately approx-imately 30,000 pigs and 1,000 sows reached the main markets on the first day. Mr. Wallace watched the pigs go to market for a few days more and then tried to shoo them back a bit, explaining that the farmers farm-ers would have until October 1 In which to ship their pigs and obtain the premium prices. Ey the end of September, It Is figured fig-ured by the experts, the potential marketing of hogs during the coming com-ing year will have been reduced by about 2,000,000,000 pounds. In this manner, it Is claimed by Mr. Wallace Wal-lace and those who sponsored the Idea, the first step will have been taken in establishing and maintaining maintain-ing a balance between production and consumption of hog products. It Is their belief also that this course will establish prices around the level that prevailed between 1910 and 1914. While the potential marketing Is expected to be reduced by about 2,-000,000,000 2,-000,000,000 pounds, the actual live tonnage of the pigs and sows for which the government will pay a premium during the emergency period pe-riod is expected to approximate 050,000.000 pounds. The government govern-ment has not bound Itself to buy more than 4,000.000 pigs and 1,000,-000 1,000,-000 sows, and so Secretary Wallace Wal-lace has suggested that farmers who plan to shop should get in touch with their county agent or some other authority and learn whether they can sell their stock before the little pigs . are sent to market. ' . It might be well to supply here the premium prices which are to be paid for those pigs and sows which will be purchased. The secretary used the Chicago market as a base and the prices which he fixed for that market, therefore, generally will run somewhat higher than the farmer will receive at Interior points, just as they would under normal marketing conditions. The scale of prices per hundredweight, for pigs is as follows : 25-30 pounds, $0:50; 31-35 pounds, $9.25; 3G-iO pounds, $9; 41-45 pounds, $8.75; 40-50 40-50 pounds, $8.50; 51-55 ' pounds, $S.25 ; 56-00 pounds, $8 ; 61-05 pounds, $7.75; 00-70 pounds, $7.50; 71-75 pounds, $7.25 ; 76-80 pounds, $7 ; 81-85 pounds, $0.75 ; 80-90 pounds, $0.50; 91-95 pounds, $6.25; jad 06-100 pounds, $6. For the sows that are soon to farrow and the requirements are that this fact shall be unmistakable the , government will pay a premium pre-mium of $4 per head, but it will buy only those sows weighing 275 pounds or more. Doubtless, noon In Washington Is not greatly different than, noon in a thousand other Washington's American cities, or Time Ball noon on the farm But there Is an "Institution" associated with noon In Washington that probably has no counterpart elsewhere. Where other cities have their factory whistles and bells, Washington has Its time ball. Something more than half a century cen-tury ago, some one conceived the Idea of an official time signal under government auspices. Various methods meth-ods of establishing such a signal were considered. At length, it was worked out and a staff was erected atop the east front of the great State department building and an arrangement perfected whereby a large gilded ball, visible for several miles, would be dropped from the top of this staff on the split-second of noon. The ball is lifted Into position by hand, but the trigger that holds it Is released by an electrical impulse sent at the instant the naval observatory, ob-servatory, through Its star-gazing scientists, decrees that noon has arrived. ar-rived. For many years, an electric wire ran directly from the observatory observa-tory to the state building, but somehow some-how the government forgot about its time ball and allowed a telegraph tele-graph company to take over administration admin-istration of It. The telegraph company com-pany still sees to It that the Impulse Im-pulse goes forward and trips the trigger so that all Washington who can see the state building, will know that it is noon. , 1933. Western Newspaper Union. p The government Is trying, as we said above, to reduce the potential marketing of hogs Raise in Price during the forth-to forth-to Result cmInS marketing 6eason and It believed be-lieved that in so doing several Important Im-portant benefits will accrue to the growers of hogs, and they will accrue ac-crue Immediately. The extent to which purchases are scheduled to be made will mean a reduction of from 12 to 16 per cent In the marketings mar-ketings that are likely to take place otherwise In the 1933-1034 marketing market-ing season, according to the calculation. calcu-lation. The experts who figured out what the reduction will mean also are authority for the calculation that the action will result In an increase in prices of hogs during the forthcoming forth-coming season ranging from 25 to 30 per cent This is the claim, anyway any-way I So It Is " seen that the Department Depart-ment of Agriculture expects to accomplish ac-complish an Increase In hog prices by $1 or $1.50 over the present base price of about $-1.00 per hundred. The first portion of the benefits to come from the plan Is In the form of the premium which we have discussed, dis-cussed, and the second 13 In the form of higher prices for the remainder of the hog crop. . Mr. John Q. Consumer is the one upon whom success of the enterprise depends. Mr. Wallace is going to 4ay another processing tax on hogs that go Into domestic consumption. |