IN AGRICULTURE

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS

UNITED STATES SENATE

SEVENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

S. 680

A BILL TO PROVIDE NEEDED MANPOWER FOR THE PRODUCTION, CONSERVATION, AND PROTECTION OF FOOD DURING THE YEAR 1943

MARCH 19, 1943

Printed for the use of the Committee on Military Affairs

COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS

ROBERT R. REYNOLDS, North Carolina, Chairman

WESLEY E. MCDONALD, Clerk
WALTER I. SMALLEY, Special Assistant

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
APR 6'43

FURLOUGH OF SERVICEMEN TO AID IN AGRICULTURE

FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 1943

UNITED STATES SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS,

Washington, D. C.

The committee met pursuant to call at 2 p. m., in the committee 100m of the Committee on Military Affairs, United States Capitol, Senator Robert R. Reynolds (chairman) presiding.

Present: Senators Reynolds (chairman), Johnson, O'Mahoney, Austin, Gurney, Lodge, and Revercomb.

The CHAIRMAN. We have for consideration, gentlemen, S. 680. Senator Bushfield is the author of this bill, a bill to provide needed manpower for the production, conservation and protection of food during the year 1943.

(S. 680 is as follows:)

[S. 680, 78th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To provide needed manpower for the production, conservation, and protection of food during the year 1943

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That to meet the existing necessity for labor in promoting, protecting, and conserving the production of food during the year 1943, the Secretary of War, with the advice and cooperation of the Secretary of Agriculture, shall upon the request of the Governor of any of the Several States within the food-producing area of the United States in which the necessity therefor is certified by such governor grant furloughs to a sufficient umber of men in the armed services within the territorial limits of the continental United States to meet such labor requirements.

SEC. 2. Such furloughs shall be granted to men in the armed services for reriods of from one to six months at the discretion of the Secretary of War. Such furloughs may be granted either to individuals or to groups of men under military supervision for the purpose of tending, caring for, and providing for livestock on the farms and ranches in the States from which such requests are submitted, and for the further purpose of planting, tending, harvesting, and marketing the food crops of such States during the present year.

The CHAIRMAN. You may proceed, Senator, in your own way, if you will, please.

STATEMENT OF HON. HARLAN J. BUSHFIELD, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA

Senator BUSHFIELD. Mr. Chairman and Senators, on the 8th day of February I introduced S. 680 in the Senate. It was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. On March 10 the War Department made its report to you stating its opposition to the enactment of this bill. You were kind enough to notify me of this adverse re

port, with the suggestion that if I had anything to submit the committee would be glad to hear me. I appreciate the courtesy of the committee in giving me this opportunity, because I do have something to submit before this bill is finally acted upon by your committee. In order that there be no misunderstanding of what I have to say. I have reduced my statement to writing which, with your permission. I propose to read to you at this time.

S. 680 puts its finger upon the thing of which we are all talkingthe shortage of manpower upon the farms of this country. It provides that the Secretary of War, with the advice and cooperation of the Secretary of Agriculture, shall upon the request of the Governor of any of the several States grant furloughs to a sufficient number of men in the armed services to meet farm labor requirements. This bill only applies to the year 1943. Planting is already in progress in the Southern States. In another week it will be in progress as far north as South Dakota and southern Minnesota. În 30 days, the crop, or most of it, will be in the ground-the crop that is going to be planted. Unless it is planted, all the furloughs and all the excess manpower in the world will be futile, and I am sure this committee recognizes the critical situation in which we are at the present time. That is why I am here urging immediate consideration of this bill, because it is a question of hours and days-not weeks. As Governor of my State, South Dakota, I began early in the year 1942 to attempt to sell the Selective Service organization in Washington with the idea that farm manpower must be considered in drafting our new Army. General Hershey and I had a considerable amount of correspondence about this matter. For some reason or other, the Army men did not seem to be impressed with the necessity of a long-range view of our farm labor situation. While the Selective Service Act itself provides for deferment of essential farm labor, draft boards, generally, paid little or no attention to that regulation, and it is easy to understand why. In most of our communities the population is essentially agricultural. Small town life is close to the farm. Draft boards could see no reason for exempting a farm boy and taking a town boy, and excepting cases of necessity they were right. But we are facing an emergency today. As a result of that view the farms of the grain-producing States were drained of their manpower. It was long months before any action was taken to defer manpower. Food in America has always been plentiful. and it seems difficult to impress upon the minds of those in authority that that condition may be changed very quickly.

It was not until late in 1942 that I succeeded in getting a specific order from General Hershey's office deferring farm labor. This order was sent out. I required the director of selective service in my own State to notify in writing every draft board in the State. From that time on, deferments were made, but it was too late-most of the

men were gone.

When I came to Washington I renewed my insistence to the Agricultural Department, as well as to the War Department, that we give some consideration to the question of food production. As late as February 2, Secretary Wickard stated, according to the local press, that there would be no reduction in agricultural production, or at least not more than 2 or 3 percent.

Surveys made by my office indicated weeks ago that there was going to be a serious shortage in food production. The Weekly Digest of Food Distribution, published by the American Institute of Food Production, in its issue of February 20, made this significant statement:

It is reasonable to assume that per capita crop production in 1943 will be 20 percent less than in 1942.

No one can authoritatively predict the weather, but there is little possibility of repeating the bumper crops of 1942, with odds at least 6 to 1 that this will be a season of less than normal average farm production.

The February 9 report of the Department of Agriculture says that cabbage tonnage is likely to be 32 percent less than last season, cantaloup acreage 41 percent, fresh pea tonnage off, potato acreage in north Florida and lower Texas valley off 20 percent, early strawberry acreage off 25 percent, and south Florida tomato tonnage off 12 percent.

What may happen to crops during January or February is no indication of what weather will do to farm production during the long season between April and October, when about 90 percent of our annual food supplies must be developed, matured, and harvested under conditions fixed by proper mixtures of sunshine and moisture.

For 12 years we have been hearing about our great surpluses of farm products. The only real surpluses of importance have been wheat and a few staples, which we formerly exported. Each year we have consumed more foods than we produced, keeping our food supplies in balance with the imports that have been largely cut off.

In February 1943 we are facing shortages of most foods, after a year of record farm production, because we have become the food supply center for the United Nations.

That, Mr. Chairman, is a rather significant statement. I doubt if the American people themeslves realize that we have been an importing Nation of food products as well as a producing Nation.

Since that time questionnaires sent to county agents through the United States have confirmed these predictions. The proof I think is conclusive that there will be a reduction of at least 20 percent over last year, and that is based upon favorable weather conditions which may not ensue.

Already, Mr. Chairman, the State of Texas is in the grip of an outstanding drought, and it is extending north into Kansas and Oklahoma.

Just as important as weather conditions is the amount of acreage that will be planted in crops. Restrictions by the Department of Agriculture, fear of lack of manpower, inability to get necessary machinery and repairs, uncertainty as to prices, all contribute to a reduction in acreage, and in my State alone, according to letters received from county agents and others close to the farm situation, there will be a reduction of several hundred thousands of acres in the amount of cropland put in.

Now, I read in the Washington Post under date of March 9 that the Secretary of Agriculture says he has a feeling of futility. After reading and listening to his contradictory statements during the last few weeks I quite agree with him.

I offered S. 680 for the purpose of helping out a confused situation so full of uncertainty that we are facing disaster. If feasible at all action should be taken upon this bill now without a day's delay.