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Show Why a Farmer Should Buy and Keep War Bonds - by Gabriel Lundy - I Head, Dept. of Agricultural Economics South Dakota State College I "j' ' '" I J I I ' C t after this war as they did after our other large wars, the farmer with a reserve in Bonds will be in an ideal economic position. Farm buildings and machinery are wearing wear-ing out faster during the present I war period than during normal times due to difficulties in obtaining obtain-ing needed material and labor for repairs and replacements. Farmers Farm-ers should now be putting money In Bonds to cover these costs. About 10 percent of the total machinery ma-chinery Investment and about 4 percent of the total farm building investment should be saved each year to cover wear and depreciation. deprecia-tion. With lower prices, farm equipment, new buildings and new furniture and household equipment will be at the farmer's disposal for less money after the War than now. '" " Furthermore, If he holds Ms .... Bonds until maturity, his money mon-ey will be increased by one-fourth. one-fourth. With more money and 'lower prices, the Bond-lnvest- - lnf farmer will then have cash to make his farm work easier and more productive. Bis money mon-ey will also yield him more In home comforts, education for ' the children, or in the pur-" pur-" chase of a farm for the son. : PATRIOTISM, willingness to , con bat harmful inflation, and "a dasire to build up a reserve of . postwar buying power will impel theifa'rmer to buy and keep War Bonds. . Farmer loyalty will express itself it-self not only in maximum production produc-tion of necessary food and fiber for the winning of the war. Farm, er loyalty will also express itself in the equally necessary and patriotic pa-triotic duty to invest cash with which the government can pur-; pur-; chase both food and war equipment. equip-ment. Fortunately farmers are receiving higher prices and larger incomes. This has enabled many of them to reduce old debts to manageable amounts or to arqulre surplus cash for Bond purchases, ; A sense of responsibility toward the need of the nation for funds with which to carry on the war .JZ will urge farmers to purchase War v Bonds to the limit of their resources. re-sources. . Bothdirect self-Interest' and pa- triotism dictate the purchase at Bonds as a means to prevent inflation. in-flation. During all our large wars we have had high war prices followed fol-lowed by very low prices and de- 4 pression some years later. During World War I many farmers and others unwisely used the enlarged The danger of war-induced ln-flation ln-flation does not end with the actual fighting. Post-war inflation is fully as threatening. Large-scale conversion con-version of Bonds into cash for the purchase of articles, commodities, etc., before industry has had time to convert fully to peace-time pro-' duction, will be undesirable. By holding his Bonds longer, the farmer farm-er or other Bond-holder will con tribute to the elimination of both a wild "boom" and a subsequent depression. Agriculture and industry are Intimately In-timately interrelated and interdependent. inter-dependent. The government is now industry's big customer. After the war, farmers'will be big buyers of Industrial products. If the accumulated accu-mulated purchasing power is released re-leased gradually, and if income is" widely distributed, industry can furnish full and continuous employment. em-ployment. In turn this will give farmers a profitable market for their products. Thus, both patriotism patri-otism and far-sighted self-interest will induce farmers and others to buy and keep their War Bonds until after peace is achieved.-"' " V. S. Treasury Department - income to bid up the prices of farm land; As a result the farm : mortgage debt was more than dou-. dou-. , bled. Then when post-war prices dropped very low many farmers became unable to pay, and lost their farms through foreclosure. ; A repetition of this calamity can be avoided by investing In War Bonds instead of buying land at inflated prices and on credit. The danger of inflation, however, is not limited to land. It is also important not to bid up the prices of other things. Price inflation and price collapse in every line are ' harmful. Such harm can be avoided avoid-ed by diverting surplus funds away from the markets for scarce i commodities and into War Bonds. Financing the war by means of I heavier taxes would be more anti-inflationary, anti-inflationary, but since Congress has decided in favor of Bonds it is our duty and privilege to invest . in War Bonds. Good farm management and self-interest as well as patriotism will urge the farmer to buy and keep WarvBohds. If "prices fall |