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{
    "localId": "269702944",
    "label": "Report, The Road to Tokyo and Beyond, Third Report to the President, the Senate, and the House of Representatives by the Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion",
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    "id": "269702944",
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    "title": "Report, The Road to Tokyo and Beyond, Third Report to the President, the Senate, and the House of Representatives by the Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion",
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            "day": 1,
            "logicalDate": "1945-07-01",
            "month": 7,
            "year": 1945
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{
    "seq": 36,
    "pageIndex": 0,
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    "ocrText": "Congress has taken favorable action on one of these measures. I\nsin-\nPresent legislation provides for maintaining supports under farm\ncerely hope it will approve all of them in the near future.\nI urge also a prompt clearing-up of all foreign government debt to\nprices. How successful these supports are will depend on general\nbusiness conditions and the maintenance of purchasing power. It\nthe United States on a realistic basis. It is most important that we do\nnot enter into the postwar period with the channels of international\nmay well be that price supports might tend to encourage the produc-\ntion of some farm products at a time when this should no longer be\ntrade blocked by controversies over obligations growing out of either\nencouraged. At the same time, price supports might discourage mar-\nWorld War I or II.\nketing of agriculture produce if prices were out of line with consum-\nSOCIAL SECURITY\ners' incomes.\nNevertheless it is absolutely essential that the Government make\nThe United States is a country of enormous physical resources.\nYet its greatest asset-the ultimate source of all its vast wealth-is\ngood on its commitments given to farmers during wartime to encour-\nage production. Justice Byrnes stated in his report of April 1, 1945\npeople. Unless we take proper measures to give every child the right\nstart in life-through education and adequate medical facilities-we\n\"Situations may arise\nin which it would ultimately\nare guilty of wanton waste. Unless we guard the grown individual\ncost the Government less, and be to the long-time interest\nagainst the full shock of the inevitable dislocations of our highly\nof the producers, to permit the prices to decline below the\nmechanized civilization, we are unnecessarily callous.\nauthorized support level, and make up the difference with\nIt is most desirable that the States play their part in providing\ndirect Government payments.\"\nprotection for their own citizens. Because concerted action of this\nI urge that this idea be given most thorough study. The main-\nnature takes time, it is not too early to consider the general structure\ntenance of prices under the present system is in effect a payment which\nof a more adequate social security system.\nthe government requires the consumer to make to the farmer to take\nWe need to consider broadening the coverage of unemployment\ncare of a price situation that would put the farmer at a disadvantage\ncompensation; old-age and survivors' insurance; the provision of sick-\nwith the rest of the population. However, if the Government makes\nness and disability benefits; provision of better medical care; the\nthis payment direct, it has the advantage of permitting the consumer\ninstitution of more adequate grants-in-aid to the States for hospitals\nto get more for his money, thus encouraging increased consumption.\nand health centers; and better equalization of educational\nIt allows farm prices to reach their natural level and thus puts the\nopportunities.\nfarmer in a better position to compete in the foreign market. And\nSocial Security is vital not merely as a humanitarian but as an\nthe surplus payments can be so adjusted that the farmer can be steered\neconomic policy. Adequate protection against the major hazards of\naway from those crops which are not profitable to produce.\nmodern society is a necessary factor in maintaining mass purchasing\nI am attempting to do no more in this report than to draw attention\npower, which in turn is the basis of full employment.\nto the profound problems that will be upon us as soon as the rest of\nFARM PROGRAM\nthe world gets back into farm production. We must be prepared to\nthink and act accordingly. Businessmen must realize that the farm\nDuring the war, agricultural production has increased more than\nproblem is their problem, just as farmers must realize that unemploy-\n30 percent and at the same time, the number of people living on farms\nment in industry inevitably means hardship to them.\nhas dropped 20 percent.\nThis is a record of which to be proud but it suggests that after the\nPUBLIC WORKS AND CONSTRUCTION\nwar there will be a problem of finding markets for farm produce\nWe have a tremendous building job ahead of us. After a decade of\nor of making basic agricultural readjustments.\ndepression and five years of war there is a great accumulated demand\nThe basis of any sound prosperity for farmers must be the mainte-\nfor houses, streets and roads, community facilities and, in many indus-\nnance of our business economy at or near full employment. This is\ntries, new productive capacity. It has been estimated that if we were\nnecessary to provide a demand for farm products and to avoid a dis-\nto supply our population with adequate healthful housing in the post-\nastrous dip in prices which even the supports which the present law\nwar decade we should need 1,250,000 new nonfarm dwellings a year-\nprovides would be hard put to prevent. Conditions of full employ-\none-third more than we ever built in the best year.\nment will also be necessary to allow the excess farm population to\nThe prospect of achieving a high, stable level of total output depends\nfind productive and profitable employment in towns and cities.\nin large part upon the timing and volume of construction activity.\n64\n65"
}