Excitement in Congress over the condition of the farmer perennially arouses curiosity among citizens who depend on the farmer for food. “How,” asked the man-at-the-lunch-counter last week, “is the farmer really fixed? What is the Government doing, or not doing, for him?”
There being no such, thing as a typical farmer; the distances and facilities between farms and markets being so various; the judgment of individuals—and the farmer remains a landmark of Individual-ism—running the scale it does, the first question of the man-at-the-lunch-counter is impossible to answer irrefutably. Some farmers drive Packards. Others ride mules. Some have radios. Others wear patched pants.
Agriculture is now seeking Federal aid in its marketing. Aid in producing has been furnished by the Government since 1921 when post-War deflation hit the farms. The Government has aided as follows:
1) By the twelve Federal land banks. The U. S. started these banks off with $750,000 capital each. They can loan money to help farmers to buy land; to purchase equipment, fertilizer, seed, livestock; to build buildings; to liquidate mortgages. Interest may not exceed 6%. Loans up to $25,000 are given on 50% of the appraised value of land and 20% of permanent improvements. Borrowers have to join local National Farm Loan Associations, buying stock in the banks equivalent to 5% of their loans. In this way, the U. S. has received most of its capital back and the Land Banks’ capital has increased automatically.
From 1921 to April 30, 1928, the Land Banks made 335,000 loans to farmers, aggregating $1,118,000,000.
2) By joint-stock land banks. These are private enterprises, similar to the Federal Land Banks, slightly more restricted in power, chartered by the Federal Farm Loan Board.
From 1921 to April 30, 1918, the 50 joint-stock land banks closed 113,000 loans, aggregating $772,000,000.
3) By the twelve Federal Intermediate Credit Banks. These, established in 1923, capitalized for $5,000,000 each by the U. S., perform rediscounting services for the farmers. Since 1923, their rediscounts have been some $425,000,000, with renewals of $230,000,000.
On April 30, 1928, the cash and credit actually being used by farmers through these Federal agencies totalled $1,863,691,000.
The above figures reflect no particle of what the Government has done in the way of bolstering foreign credits to improve the U. S. farmer’s foreign markets.
When politicians seek to legislate upwards and fix by law the prices of U. S. farm commodities, a man who wonders what price levels the politicians would recommend is Eugene Meyer Jr., the mentally mobile New York banker whom President Wilson called in in 1918 to direct War Finance Corp., whom President Harding called back in 1921, whom President Coolidge reappointed in 1925, and who last May was made chief of the reorganized Federal Farm Loan Bureau. In his inconspicuous office at Washington, he has received malcontents, and their political spokesmen, during three Administrations. His record of financial diplomacy and impartial advice has won him the confidence of all but professional farm agitators. In his opinion, there would have been no Farm Problem this year but for the election. McNary-Haugenites could not, in his belief, have hoped to fix “fairer” prices than the prices currently obtaining. None knows better than Banker Meyer the disasters farmers have faced, but he regards farmers who had not recovered from post-War depression as “the inevitable aftermath.” No price-fixing laws would save them.
A symptom of the status of Agriculture often relied upon by observers are the earnings of the International Harvester Co., whose customers are farmers one and all. Since 1921 and 1922, when it slumped with Agriculture into deficits, International Harvester’s earnings have been:
Year Earned per share
1923 $6.07
1924 $11.34
1925 $15.78
1926 $19.55
1927 $18.83
Last week there was talk of an International Harvester Stock dividend.
To give a broader picture of Agriculture’s recent history, the Federal Farm Loan Bureau was asked last week for index prices on important commodities since 1920. The following average prices at terminal markets for June in the years named, were issued:*
Product, Grade, Market, 1920 1922 1924 1920 1928â€
Corn, No. 3 yellow, Chicago, per bu. $ 1.89 $ .61 $ .82 $ .70 $ 1.03
Wheat, No. 1 Dark Northern Spring, Minneapolis per bu. 3.01 1.53 1.37 1.67 1.63
Rye, No. 2, Minneapolis per bu. 2.14 .86 .70 .89 1.24
Oats, No. 3 White, Chicago, Per bu. 1.13 .37 .51 .40 .63
Hay, Timothy, No. 1, Chicago, Per ton 42.75 23.00 25.20 24.75 18.50
Hogs, heavy, Chicago, per 100 Ibs. 14.67 10.51 7.20 14.00 9.10
Cattle, Beef, Choice or Prime, 1,100 Ibs. and up, Chicago, per 100 Ibs. 15.93 9.50 10.86 10.26 14.58
Cotton, middling, Cash, New York, cents per Ib. .393 .221 .300 .185 .206
*Source: U. S. Department of Agriculture.
†The prices for 1928 are for April.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Introducing the 2025 Closers
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- Why, Exactly, Is Alcohol So Bad for You?
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- 11 New Books to Read in February
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Column: Trump’s Trans Military Ban Betrays Our Troops
Contact us at letters@time.com