AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION

Evening Star, Issue 19617, 25 July 1927, Page 5

AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION

FELT THE WORLD OVER AN ECONOMIC PROBLEM SPEECH OF MR BALDWIN. (Official British News.) Press Association—By Wireless— Copyright. RUGBY, July 22. The Prime Minister devoted his Lincolnshire speech yesterday exclusively to the Government’s agricultural policy. Referring to criticisms that the policy had encountered, ho said that it must be remembered that agricultural depression was world-wide, and he did not know any country- to-day' where the situation was considered satisfactory. In the United States, in Canada, or the Continent, and even in Denmark, the agricultural industry was passing through difficult times. In the United States, the Government itself had sought to solve the problem, but it was estimated that there, were 3,000,000 fewer persons on American farms today than there were seven years ago. The country which perhaps was most successfully pulling through was Canada.

The experience of these foreign countries and of the dominions was confirmed by the findings of the conference of agriculturists from all over the world which recently sat at Geneva. They reached the conclusion that the depression prevailing arose from the inequality between the prices of agricultural products and of manufacturing products. Mr Baldwin mentioned various way's in which tho British Government had helped farmers, and on the question of credits announced that the Government was working out a scheme which it intended to submit to. Parliament next year. Ho said lie could not anticipate the details, but he believed that it would render farmers real assistance and give them in that direction added security and added c'onfidonce. The problem of relieving agriculture was an economic, and not a political, one, and he did not believe that the agricultural industry would benefit by schemes for nationalisation and control. He expressed the opinion that better marketing was the principal key of the whole situation.