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'Z-750 THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE IN A livORLD OF PEACE ADDRESS BEFORE THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT GRINNFLL, IOWA FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1942 B3f R. M. EVANS MEMBER, BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM For release i n morning newspapers o f Saturday, June 20, 192*2 'Z-750 THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE IN A WORLD OF PEACE The President has said, "We are i n the war, a l l of us, a l l the way". I f m sure " a l l the way" does not mean u n t i l the f i g h t i n g stops. It means t h a t the end of f i g h t i n g w i l l be only the beginning—the beginning of our opportunity t o achieve what we are f i g h t i n g f o r . War and the peace t o f o l l o w are one s i n g l e , inseparable e f f o r t t h a t must go on w i t h mounting zeal u n t i l a new and b e t t e r world i s created t y f r e e men. Our peace aims provide the d r i v i n g power f o r v i c t o r y on the b a t t l e f i e l d , i n our f a c t o r i e s , and on our farms. We*work and f i g h t l i k e f u r y because o f our f a i t h t h a t the world we are about t o b u i l d w i l l be worth our blood and sweat and t e a r s . The purpose of the United Nations fcan be summed up i n the Four Freedoms expressed t y the President of the United State©, and they c a n f t be repeated o f t e n enough: freedom t o speak, freedom t o worship, freedom from f e a r , and freedom from want. The Vice President of the United States has i n t e r p r e t e d the Four Freedoms i n terms of the e t e r n a l march o f the common man toward a common g o a l . I t was foreseen by the prophets o f the Old Testament. I t l i v e s i n the s p i r i t of C h r i s t i a n i t y and i t s companion, democracy. I t has been fought f o r i n r e v o l u t i o n s and i n war. I t i s spreading over the world as people l e a r n t o read and w r i t e , as they t h i n k and work together, as they use the t o o l s of the machine age t o improve l i v i n g standards. I n the United States the goal w i l l not be reached u n t i l the common man i s f r e e from want, but we are moving s w i f t l y i n t h a t d i r e c t i o n through science and technology, through a strong labor movement, through b e t t e r conditions f o r farmers, through the progress of education, and through the more p e r f e c t f u n c t i o n i n g of democracy. But now, as the Vice President puts i t , the march of the common man i s challenged by the satanic s p i r i t of H l t l e r i s m which seeks t o take the world back t o slavery and darkness. The President and the Vice President have expressed what i s i n the hearts of a l l o f l i s . Now i t i s up t o us t o t h i n k through our common aim, t o apply i t t o our l i v e s as vie f i g h t t h i s war, and t o make i t the guide t o our plans f o r peace. The time t o s t a r t creating a l a s t i n g peace i n a b e t t e r world i s now. I f we had waited t o b u i l d up an arny and navy and a i r force u n t i l we were attacked a t Pearl Harbor, we would already be a conquered n a t i o n i n a slave world. Likewise, i n a g r i c u l t u r e , t h i s country would not be the arsenal of food t h a t i t i s today i f i t had not been f o r a strong and f l e x i b l e farm program which was i n f u l l s t r i d e before the wax* began. Corn i n the EverNormal Granary, f o r example, was abundantly a v a i l a b l e to convert i n t o pork, eggs, and d a i r y products, which were the f i r s t foods requested by the B r i t i s h when the Lend-Lease Act was passed over a year ago. -2- Z-750 When I was i n England l a s t summer, the M i n i s t e r of Labor said t o me, "Send us meat, cheese and eggs, and w e ' l l increase our production 15 t o 20 per c e n t — j u s t l i k e t h a t . " A l l over England I was t o l d , " I f you cut o f f American food tomorrow, Great B r i t a i n i s a t h i n g of the p a s t . " Our food got t h e r e — i s s t i l l g e t t i n g there—and England i s very much i n the war. The record f l o w of food t o the United Nations and t o our own f i g h t i n g and working forces today was made possible l a r g e l y by the EverNormal Granary and by the a g r i c u l t u r a l conservation>program, which has been b u i l d i n g up s o i l f e r t i l i t y year a f t e r year. Under t h e conservation program pastures have been improved and expanded nearly 22 m i l l i o n acresj the s o i l ' has been enriched by commercial f e r t i l i z e r s and by using nitrogenous p l a n t s as f e r t i l i z e r s ; wasteful wind and water erosion has been checked by p l a n t i n g cover crops t o s h i e l d the s o i l and by such practices as plowing on the contour—that i s , across sloping ground instead of up and down grade. Using conservation p r a c t i c e s , farmers are able t o increase t h e i r y i e l d s per acre r i g h t now, t h i s year, and—through the same methods—they are b u i l d i n g up f e r t i l i t y f o r even greater y i e l d s next y e a r , and the year a f t e r t h a t , and so on f o r the duration. I n a d d i t i o n t o the Ever~$ormal Granary and the conservation program, a g r i c u l t u r e i s doing such a splendid war job mainly because of elected farmer committeemen, who are running the programs i n every county and i n every a g r i c u l t u r a l community throughout the land. Last summer, production goals were set up f o r every a g r i c u l t u r a l commodity t o be produced i n 1942. Last f a l l the farmer committeemen of T r i p l e - A c a l l e d upon, personally, i n d i v i d u a l farmers throughout the count r y t o help work out a plan f o r each farm. The farmers of America could never . have been reached—in l i t t l e more than *a month1 s t i m e — i f the T r i p l e A committeemen had not been, on the j o b , ready t o go at a moment's n o t i c e , personally acquainted w i t h the farms and farmers i n t h e i r neighborhoods. What I ' m saying i s t h a t a g r i c u l t u r e ' s war task i s being done so w e l l because farmers had experience i n operating a peacetime program which was put on a war basis long before Pearl Harbor. Unless we have a strong a g r i c u l t u r a l p o l i c y when the war ends, farmers may become peasants, enslaved i n poverty. Unless we have a strong n a t i o n a l p o l i c y when peace comes, t h e American people may lose the war a f t e r gaining v i c t o r y on the f i e l d s of b a t t l e . Unless the United Nations carry out t h e i r peace aims courageously, c i v i l i z e d man may lose what he i s fighting for. The f u t u r e of a g r i c u l t u r e i s of u n i v e r s a l concern, f o r the land i s the u l t i m a t e source of a l l our wealth, of l i f e i t s e l f . Be i t cause or -3- Z-750 e f f e c t — t h e h i s t o r y of the r i s e and f a l l of c i v i l i z a t i o n i s the stoiy of the growth and «decay of a g r i c u l t u r e . Kan was not able t o develop a c i v i l i s a t i o n u n t i l he learned t o farm. So long as man existed by hunting and f i s h i n g * he l i v e d a nomadic l i f e — w i t h o u t a permanent home, without large v i l l a g e s , v d t h l i t t l e m a t e r i a l progress. But when man secured his food supply by the a r t of farming, he could a f f o r d t o set up a permanent home i n one l o c a l i t y . That was the beginning of the town and c i t y c i v i l i z a t i o n , which i n the course of centuries has b u i l t up an i n f i n i t e capacity f o r the creation of wealth through mass production. What we c a l l the "cradle of c i v i l i z a t i o n " was once a " f e r t i l e crescent" between'two r i v e r s i n the Near East, a land " f l o w i n g w i t h m i l k and honey". Now t h i s land has l o s t much of i t s f e r t i l i t y and i t i s no longer the center of c i v i l i z a t i o n . The c u l t u r e of the ancient Greek c i t y - s t a t e was rooted i n a caref u l type of farming marked by attempts on the part of e$ch c i t y t o grow i t s own corn. P o l i t i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s and the struggle f o r food were t i e d up together i n the wars which brought the decline of Greek c u l t u r e . The r i s e of the Roman Eknpire was based on an a g r i c u l t u r e i n which the s o l d i e r - c u l t i v a t o r worked small general farms. Later, i n the luxury stages of the Empire, t h e slave p l a n t a t i o n system developed. Then came the f a l l of Roman c i v i l i z a t i o n . As you t u r n the pages of h i s t o r y , you can see t h a t a stable and abundant a g r i c u l t u r e has enabled men t o s e t t l e down and l i v e and think t o gether, t o gain c o n t r o l of time and space through reading and w r i t i n g and advanced means of communication, and t o b u i l d those other things which, together w i t h food, comprise an abundant standard of l i v i n g . On the other hand, when the s o i l i s devastated by careless 1 c u l t i v a t i o n and when farmers become f o r g o t t e n men, t h a t i s the beginning of the end f o r any n a t i o n . Let*s not overlook the s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t t h a t periods of acute depression i n the United States have been preceded by d i s t r e s s among farmers. Food, and f e a r of hunger, i s the rock-bottom issue of t h i s war. The German people love heavy meals, and H i t l e r has aroused i n them f e a r of s t a r v a t i o n by his l i e s about what he has c a l l e d the e n c i r c l e ment by the democracies. He has persuaded his people t o endure short r a t i o n s w i t h the promise t h a t a f t e r t h e war every t a b l e w i l l be r i c h l y laden w i t h food from a l l parts of the world. One day, when the people under H i t l e r ' s yoke f i n d out about food from the New World, you w i l l see the greatest mass u p r i s i n g i n a l l h i s t o r y . Back i n 1937, H i t l e r ' s c h i e f of s t a f f of the German Supply Department made t h i s statement: "A war begun w i t h bread cards-and t u r n i p s i s already l o s t . " Today, when we hear of food r i o t s i n Nazi-occupied t e r r i t o r y , we are reminded t h a t the Nazi supply chief may have been prophesying the doom of the Na3is. 'Z-750 I n the l a s t war, when the'Germans ran short .of food, the workers c a l l e d a munitions s t r i k e i n February 1918 t o f o r c e the government t o i n crease the food r a t i o n . H i t l e r says i n Mein Kampf t h a t the munitions s t r i k e of 1918 was followed by a collapse of morale throughout Germany. He c a l l e d i t the stab i n the back which made f i n a l defeat inevitable^ Poor d i e t s are wreckers of morale. Doctors have pointed out t h a t one of the f i r s t r e s u l t s of undernourishment i s loss of the w i l l t o s a c r i f i c e , loss of the w i l l t o get things done. Good foods, on the other hand, supply f i g h t i n g power. Vitamin A, f o r example, improves the v i s i o n of our f l i e r s at n i g h t and prevents defects of the eyes, ears and lungs. Vitamin B helps curb seasickness, nervousness and d i g e s t i v e t r o u b l e s . Vitamin C wards o f f scurvy, bad t e e t h , i r r i t a b i l i t y , l i s t l e s s n e s s , and the plagues which cost the l i v e s of more American boys i n the l a s t war than were l o s t on a l l the f i e l d s of b a t t l e . Food i n t h i s war i s on the side of the United ifations—producers of more than f o u r - f i f t h s of the w o r l d ' s corn and c a t t l e and wool, close t o t h r e e - f o u r t h s of the wheat, about t w o - t h i r d s of the hogs and sugar and eggs. I n the end, i t ' s food t h a t w i l l win the war. And when the war comes t o an end, the challenge of a new k i n d of peace w i l l confront us. As Henry Wallace once s a i d , war i s h e l l on . a g r i c u l t u r e . Within a few years a f t e r the l a s t war, farm prices were cut i n h a l f . Hundreds of thousands of farmers l o s t t h e i r farms, and several m i l l i o n farmers became c h r o n i c a l l y p o v e r t y - s t r i c k e n and debt-ridden. Only recently have farmers begun t o recover from the a g r i c u l t u r a l depression t h a t s t a r t e d more than 20 years ago, and farmers should keep t h i s f a c t i n mind. A g r i c u l t u r e 1 s problems a f t e r t h i s war w i l l be colossal, and they w i l l be world-wide. No i n d i v i d u a l farmer, no s i n g l e nation w i l l be able t o solve them alone. The answers w i l l have t o be worked out by a l l nations a c t i n g together. The f i r s t job w i l l be to feed s t a r v i n g peoples i n many lands, among both the v i c t o r s and the conquered. Because of the damage of war and the uprooting of f a m i l i e s i n the,Old World, we i n the New World w i l l have t o give food t o those i n need u n t i l they can get i n t o f u l l production. For a b r i e f period a f t e r the f i g h t i n g stops, i t may be t h a t every farmer w i l l have t o s t r a i n t o the utmost t o produce enough food. Following t h a t , a g r i c u l t u r e w i l l f e e l the shock of flooded markets. We know how each country t r i e d t o become s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t during the f i r s t World War and i n the 20 years t h a t followed. But i n t h i s war, w i t h shipping made hazardous by long-range bombers i n a d d i t i o n t o submarines and surface warships, nations have doubled and redoubled t h e i r e f f o r t s t o produce t h e i r own food. Within a short time a f t e r the war, the product i v e capacity of the w o r l d ' s a g r i c u l t u r e w i l l be the greatest i n a l l h i s t o r y . There w i l l be f i e r c e competition f o r markets, especially between new p r o ducers and pre-war producers. I f world trade were permitted t o d r i f t i n t o chaos, one r e s u l t would be t o d r i v e down the l i v i n g standards of farmers i n a l l exporting c o u n t r i e s . # -5- Z-75Q To solve the problems of world commerce a f t e r the war, we must protect producers as w e l l as consumers^ And we must recognize t h a t we can't s e l l without buying, This country c a n ' t expect t o f i n d markets f o r the enormous output of i t s i n d u s t r i e s and farms unless products are taken i n r e t u r n from the countries w i t h which we trade* We can buy many things t h a t we d o n ' t produce i n t h i s country, things t h a t w i l l add g r e a t l y t o the v a r i e t y and richness of our l i v i n g standards. I n the midst of war, one important step i s already being taken t o see t h a t world trade i n farm products i s conducted i n an orderly manner. D e f i n i t e progress has been made i n working out an agreement f o r the i n t e r n a t i o n a l marketing o f wheat i n the post-war world. Such an agreement has been the subject of d e t a i l e d discussions among representatives of the p r i n c i p a l wheat exporting countries—the United States, Canada, A u s t r a l i a , and Argentina—and the c h i e f importing country, the United Kingdom. An agreement of t h i s k i n d would be s i g n i f i c a n t i n many ways. I n the f i r s t place, i t would prevent a chaotic i n t e r n a t i o n a l wheat marketing s i t u a t i o n when the war comes t o an end. I t would demonstrate t h a t both buying and s e l l i n g nations can get t o g e t h e r . I t would recognise the f a c t t h a t stable world trade i s necessarily l i n k e d w i t h o r d e r l y production, the maintenance o f an Ever-Normal Granary, the conservation o f s o i l resources and the d e l i b e r a t e improvement o f l i v i n g standards. I hope t o see more i n t e r n a t i o n a l agreements along t h i s l i n e , and I would not be surprised t o see many other countries adopt the p r i n c i p l e s t h a t guide our own farm program here i n the United States, w i t h i t s s t a b i l i z a t i o n o f production and p r i c e s , w i t h i t s Ever-Normal Granary, w i t h i t s emphasis on conservation, and w i t h i t s features of p r o t e c t i o n f o r both producers and consumers* Last summer I discovered t h a t people a l l over England are g i v i n g much thought t o post-war problems. Farmers are determined t h a t they are not going through t h e wringer again as they d i d f o l l o w i n g the f i r s t World War. One of them t o l d me, "Your Triple—A i s the best program ever worked out, and I t h i n k we should have something l i k e i t i n England a f t e r the war." I n my v i s i t s t o Canada I have also found a great deal of i n t e r est i n the Triple-A, and Canadians are g i v i n g t h o u g h t f u l consideration t o a farm program based on the same p r i n c i p l e s a3 ours. The goal of a g r i c u l t u r e i n the United States- i s a healthy, s e l f r e l i a n t family on every farm, producing abundantly and s e l l i n g at prices t h a t are f a i r both t o farmers and consumers. .To reach t h i s goal a g r i c u l t u r e must have protected s o i l , stable supplies, adequate income, and a high degree of operator ownership. The present, farm program, as i t i s being s t e a d i l y improved and strengthened, can enable farmers t o reach these objectives i n the post-war world* I n order t o take care of the land more thoroughly, I would l i k e t o see the development of a systematic conservation plan f o r each i n d i v i d u a l farm, growing the r i g h t crops on each p l o t of ground, f o l l o w i n g proper r o t a t i o n systems, applying conservation practices according t o the most e f f i c i e n t use of ev&ry acre, N a t u r a l l y , such plans should be worked out f x r s t f o r the farms t h a t need them most, but i n the long run every farm i n -6~ Z-750 the country should be operated t h a t way. This conservation type of farming w i l l mean a l a r g e r percentage o f our crop land i n grass each y e a r , espec i a l l y a f t e r the war when the demand f o r many of our war products w i l l be m a t e r i a l l y reduced. Every a g r i c u l t u r a l college should be studying the use of grass as a crop so they can help the farmer make t h i s fundamental change• Our Ever-Normal Granary, I am convinced, w i l l go down i n h i s t o r y as one of the most outstanding a g r i c u l t u r a l achievements of t h i s era. More than two b i l l i o n bushels of corn and other grains have been handled i n the l a s t few years w i t h the loss from d e t e r i o r a t i o n of no more than a small f r a c t i o n of 1 per cent—and even t h a t was insured. The cost of handling the corn which has been stored under loan averaged less than 3' cents per bushel. This includes a d m i n i s t r a t i v e costs, storage handling, insurance costs, and subsidised exports t o Great B r i t a i n . The Ever-Normal Granary has a splendid record f o r econony and e f f i c i e n c y . More than t h a t , i t i s now helping us t o win t h i s war* r I n rry day, I hope t o see i n t e r n a t i o n a l Ever-Nosraal Granaries f o r the major export crops. I n f a c t , I see no reason wty t h i s common-sense p r i n c i p l e should not apply t o other s t r a t e g i c materials as w e l l . Surely we would have been b e t t e r prepared f o r war i f we had b u i l t up f u l l "granaries 11 of rubber, t i n , aluminum, and other v i t a l materials t h a t can be stored up i n reserve. An important p a r t of a g r i c u l t u r e ' s f u t u r e i s crop insurance, which at present guarantees producers of wheat and cotton a crop return despite such unavoidable hazards as drought, f l o o d s , h a i l , and f i r e . It would not be s u r p r i s i n g t o see the insurance p r i n c i p l e extended eventu* a l l y t o a l l of our major crops• The p a r i t y o b j e c t i v e i s another standard I hope w i l l p r e v a i l , n a t u r a l l y w i t h improvements i n the formula from time t o time. P a r i t y i s simply a y a r d s t i c k t o measure f a i r prices—a. f a i r balance between what farmers receive and what farmers pay. P a r i t y " f o r farmers i s a p r a c t i c a l embodiment of the American p r i n c i p l e of equality of opportunity, f o r farm f a m i l i e s simply d o n ' t have a chance without something more than a mere subsistence income, The fundamentals of a post-war farm program are the same as they are today, the same as they were before the w a r — s o i l conservation, t o i n sure an adequate and e f f i c i e n t production f o r t h i s and f u t u r e generations (a l a r g e r share of the appropriations should be used f o r t h i s part of the program)—an adequate Ever-Normal Granary protected by crop loans and mark e t i n g quotas—insurance, t o guarantee the farmers a crop—parity—and the production t o supply everyone w i t h a well-balanced d i e t . I wish I could say t h a t e x i s t i n g measures w i l l guarantee, f o r every one of the.6 m i l l i o n farmers i n America, the o b j e c t i v e of a healtl^y, s e l f - r e l i a n t family owning i t s own farm. As a matter of f a c t , however, somewhere around 2 m i l l i o n u n i t s c l a s s i f i e d as farms are not r e a l l y farms -7- Z-750 at a l l . They simply do not contain enough good land t o support the fami l i e s l i v i n g on them. This unhappy t h i r d of a g r i c u l t u r e contributes only about 10 per cent of the n a t i o n a l output of food and f i b e r . There are about 8 m i l l i o n men, women and c h i l d r e n on such uneconomic u n i t s who are not i n a p o s i t i o n t o do t h e i r best f o r war production and who w i l l never be able t o enjoy s a t i s f a c t o r y l i v i n g standards as long as they stay where they are* X hope the war w i l l open up work f o r many of these people o u t side of a g r i c u l t u r e . I hope the so-called farms whiph they are working t o death now w i l l be consolidated i n t o l a r g e r , more e f f i c i e n t u n i t s ca-^ pable of supporting farm f a m i l i e s on an adequate basis. A f t e r the war we must recognize t h a t fewer people can be supported "on the land d i r e c t l y . Opportunities outside of a g r i c u l t u r e must be created f o r many of the people who f o r years have been t r y i n g t o eke out a bare subsistence on small p l o t s of ground which c a n ' t r e a l l y be c a l l e d farms • I n the 9 years of i t s existence, through many adaptations t o changing c o n d i t i o n s , the T r i p l e - A has moved c o n s i s t e n t l y i n the d i r e c t i o n of greater abundance f o r a l l . Surplus crops have been held down so as t o avoid u t t e r waste. But they have never been l i m i t e d below the Nation's requirements f o r home consumption', f o r export, and f o r ample reserves. Today a g r i c u l t u r e i s more abundant than ever before i n h i s t o r y . Production goals c a l l f o r increases i n every major commodity except wheat. And the l i m i t a t i o n s placed on wheat, adopted by a vote of more than f o u r f i f t h s of the producers v o t i n g i n a popular referendum, are part and parcel of a g r i c u l t u r a l abundance. Excess wheat would take land away, from necessary war crops. I t would use up precious machinery and time and l a bor. I t would clog our t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and storage f a c i l i t i e s , already overstrained and overcrowded. With a two-yea* supply of wheat on hand and no place t o put a l l of the 1942 crop, c o n t r o l l e d wheat production and mark e t i n g i s simply a common-sense necessity t o give other war crops a chance t o expand as needed. A g r i c u l t u r e has always been b o u n t i f u l . I t i s now more b o u n t i f u l than ever, i n t h i s f o u r t h consecutive year of record output. And a f t e r the war a g r i c u l t u r e w i l l continue t o be b o u n t i f u l , always. But post-war America cannot be h a l f abundance and h a l f s c a r c i t y — any more than a nation can be h a l f slave and h a l f f r e e . A l l - o u t abundance requires f u l l production i n industry as well as In a g r i c u l t u r e , and f u l l consumption on the part of the e n t i r e population. Farmers can produce a l l we can eat but there must be markets f o r the things farmers grow. Those markets must come from people w i t h enough income t o buy what t h e i r famil i e s need. Z-750 -8- I n recent years more and more land has been: put i n t o legumes and grasses, and t h i s i s going t o continue. Bigget and b e t t e r pastures have enabled a g r i c u l t u r e t o produce the d a i r y and l i v e s t o c k products we now need f o r Lend-Lease and other war purposes. The expanded output of such h i g h - p r o t e i n foods i s j u s t what the doctor or&fers f o r b e t t e r d i e t s i n America, both now and a f t e r the war. So a g r i c u l t u r e i s moving i n the d i r e c t i o n c a l l e d f o r by improved n u t r i t i o n a l standards. But, again, I repeat t h a t people must have the income t o buy the H g h t foods, and t h a t applies t o farm as w e l l as c i t y f a m i l i e s . s The Food Stamp Plan and d i r e c t d i s t r i b u t i o n t o r e l i e f f a m i l i e s o f f e r splendid emergency methods f o r improving the d i e t s o f people who could not a f f o r d them otherwise. As a permanent answer * however, we must arrange things so t h a t those f a m i l i e s can a f f o r d t o buy the food they need—with t h e i r own money, earned w i t h t h e i r own l a b o r . f Our ancestors d i d not come t o t h i s country j u s t t o struggle along between one emergency and the n e x t . They came f o r the opportunity of earning w i t h t h e i r hands and brains a b e t t e r l i v i n g f o r t h e i r f a m i l i e s . And so we r e t u r n t o the Four Freedoms, as i n e v i t a b l y we must whenever we speak of war aims and peace aims. I wonder i f we r e a l i z e how those freedoms depend upon freedom t o eat? Hunger brings desperation, and desperation opens the door t o d i c t a t o r s h i p . I n a d i c t a t o r s h i p there i s freedom only f o r one man. The d i c t a t o r cannot t o l e r a t e opinions d i f f e r e n t from his own. The d i c t a t o r cannot endure the r i v a l r y of allegiance t o God. And the d i c t a t o r r u l e s through f e a r . Hunger and f e a r of starvation—these are the elements t h a t produce d i c t a t o r s h i p and war f a s t e r than anything else. Unless there i s freedom t o eat, there cannot long be freedom t o t h i n k and t a l k , freedom t o worship, and freedom from f e a r . The Lord's Prayer asks f o r only one b o d i l y necessity: "Give us t h i s day our d a i l y bread". Food i s necessary t o nourish the mind and the soul. Freedom from want i s the foundation of the other three freedoms, and the most c r u c i a l want i n the world i s lack of food. Can we create a world t h a t i s f r e e from want and therefore safe f o r the-growth of the soul of man? Can we have t o t a l abundance a f t e r the war? I t a l l depends on two things—land and men. Human labor applied t o the richness of the earth i s the source of everything we have. The earth i s b o u n t i f u l . I t contains enough of everything t o s a t i s f y every man, woman and c h i l d l i v i n g on i t s surface. So i t a l l depends on man—his s k i l l and resourcefulness, his o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a b i l i t y , and, above a l l , h i s d e t e r mination and d r i v e . I f men and machines are going t o create f u l l abundance, there must be organization. We have learned how t o organize the techniques of 'Z-750 using machines t o transform n a t u r a l resources i n t o f i n i s h e d products. Now we need t o organize f o r the abundant use of goods and services bya l l of the people. I n other words, we need t o l e a r n how t o d i s t r i b u t e the abundance which we know men and machines can produce. Down through the cent u r i e s , before the i n d u s t r i a l age, man's labor w i t h the p r i m i t i v e t o o l s at hand could not produce a l l t h a t human beings needed or wanted. The new day of which we speak i s possible because, as the war has shown, men and machines can produce an abundance undreamed of before the i n d u s t r i a l era. There i s no reason they should not be able t o produce even more r e a d i l y i n peace than i n war, t u r n i n g out things t h a t are constructive instead of d e s t r u c t i v e . We w i l l emerge from t h i s war w i t h the greatesjb army of s k i l l e d workers the world has ever seen, and w i t h v a s t l y expanded i n d u s t r i a l f a c i l i t i e s . The peace we mean t o have w i l l release n a t u r a l resources f o r human betterment i n a l l parts of the world. To d i s t r i b u t e the p o t e n t i a l abundance t o a l l who would share i n i t i s p r i m a r i l y a matter of i n t e l l i gent management* We w i l l have the man power, the n a t u r a l resources. There i s no reason why the production and. d i s t r i b u t i o n cannot be safely financed. The only r e a l waste comes from f a i l u r e t o produce, f a i l u r e t o use i d l e l a b o r , i d l e resources and i d l e money. That waste i s i r r e p a r a b l e . Today we have v i r t u a l l y f u l l employment and n a t i o n a l income i s already at unprecedented heights. I t i s c u r r e n t l y running at a r a t e of some $30 b i l l i o n s higher than the previous peak year of 1929 > I t i s s t i l l increasing. That $30 b i l l i o n s could be c o l l e c t e d i n taxes and s t i l l leave our people, a f t e r paying taxes, w i t h more money than they had i n the boom of the l a t e 2 0 ' s , before they paid taxes. Why should we not continue t o have f u l l employment and a high nat i o n a l income i n peacetimes? I t w i l l then be* possible t o manage our economic a f f a i r s without many complications t h a t are unavoidable i n a war economy and without the necessity f o r continued budgetary d e f i c i t s and expanding public debt. Mar^y farseeing men are convinced t h a t peace w i l l l i b e r a t e forces f o r human betterment beyond anything we have ever known and t h a t we w i l l l e a r n t o adapt our f i n a n c i a l mechanisms f o r d i s t r i b u t i o n of the p o t e n t i a l abundance without destroying the p r o f i t motive or the incentives f o r human progress t h a t are inherent i n our economic system, Chairman Eccles of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, i n a speech p r i o r t o Pearl Harbor, emphasized t h a t today the r o l e of finance has been subordinated t o the a l l - i m p o r t a n t o b j e c t i v e of f u l l production. To t h a t end, democratic governments have asserted t h e i r sovereign power over t h e supply and cost of money. I want t o quote the f o l lowing from what he said: -10- Z-750 ! ! I t seems t o me t o be wholly i n accord w i t h democratic p r i n c i ples t h a t elected governments s h a l l have command over the most important functions e s s e n t i a l f o r successful a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . I t can hardly be denied t h a t c o n t r o l of the supply and cost of money i s one of the most v i t a l of a l l f u n c t i o n s . Those of your generation and mine are hardly i n a p o s i t i o n t o argue t h a t governments w i l l be less enlightened, less capable of successful and proper management of t h i s f u n c t i o n than p r i v a t e i n t e r e s t s have been. And t h e r e i s always the redress i n a democracy of supplanting any government t h a t misuses or abuses such v i t a l powers. "But beyond t h i s trend—the subordination of finance t o economics—it seems t o me t o be s i g n i f i c a n t and f o r t u n a t e f o r democracy t h a t the new emphasis i s on production. I t i s , of course, t r a g i c t h a t the world thus f a r can only gear i t s e l f t o f u l l u t i l i z a t i o n of i t s man power and m a t e r i a l resources i n the making of war or the implements of war. I t w i l l be a world tragedy i f , when peace i s restored, we revert t o the doctrine t h a t we cannot a f f o r d t o employ our human and m a t e r i a l resources i n f u l l production." There i s no reason wty those whose l i v e s are devoted t o product i o n , whether i n a g r i c u l t u r e or i n d u s t r y , should not welcome the adaptation of our system and i t s modern organisation t o achieve what we now know can be a t t a i n e d without s a c r i f i c e of democratic i n s t i t u t i o n s . I f e e l , as Chairman Eccles does, t h a t i n these grim days we need t o keep before us the l a r g e r v i s i o n of why we are f i g h t i n g and what we are f i g h t i n g f o r . As he put i t r e c e n t l y : "The v i c t o i y w i l l give us the opportunity t o tu3?n promise i n t o r e a l i t y , t o make the f i n e words and phrases we use i n speeches come a l i v e as p r a c t i c a l r e a l i t i e s . We i n the United States have an i n s p i r i n g , a challenging opportunity and a tremendous r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r leadership i n the creation of a modern world i n which the vast productive resources at our command are l i b e r a t e d f o r the b e n e f i t of a l l humanity, and the machine t h a t man has invented i s turned from, destroying him t o providing him w i t h the abundance which we know i t can produce—the abundance which we must l e a r n t o d i s t r i b u t e t o a l l who would share i n i t . " I n the dark hours through which we must pass on the road t o v i c t o r y , l e t us keep before our eyes t h i s v i s i o n of the new and b e t t e r world t o be created by and f o r f r e e men.
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