Part: 123456789         Session: 1         Page na123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287288289290291292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307308309310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325326327328329330331332333334335336337338339340341342343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394395396397398399400401402403404405406407408409410411412413414415416417418419420421422423424425426427428429430431432433434435436437438439440441442443444445446447448449450451452453454455456457458459460461462463464465466467468469470471472473474475476477478479480481482483484485486487488489490491492493494495496497498499500501502503504505506507508509510511512513514515516517518519520521522523524525526527528529530531532533534535536537538539540541542543544545546547548549550551552553554555556557558559560561562563 of 564

The first I heard of the distress of the farmers was when we began to set up the agricultural bank, the Farm Credit Administration, to lend money to farmers because they needed it to make the crop and get along on.

However, this is all a part of farming. Then they began to do other things. Lots of people who lived by farming were very poor and were farming very poor land. We all went down to see the Southern cotton crop, with cotton growing right up to the doorstep, growing spindlier and spindlier and spindlier with every year. We saw the exhausted, washed away soil. That was all a farming problem.

It never occurred to me that because they were poor people and lived by farming they were the natural charge of the Departments of Labor, and I'm sure it didn't occur to the farmers, or the people who lived by farming, perhaps not owning any land at all. They were farmers, not laborers. Even the sharecroppers were never laborers. Even the poorest of them considered themselves farmers not laborers.

Agriculture all seemed to me to be one great problem. It had many aspects. You have the land. You have traditional ways of working the land. Then you have newer ways of working the land, which are an improvement over the ways of the forked stick. There's a constant invention in the ways of working the land. There's a constant increase in the