Word: bensons
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...decades had there been so much furor about the economic situation of U.S. farmers. There were recurring rumors that Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson might be forced out of the Cabinet; there were shouts for a return to the old, rigid, farm-price supports at 90% of parity. Some pundits even began to write about general "poverty" on U.S. farms...
...midst of it all, Secretary Benson last week flew into the plains country, stopped to speak at a Farmers' Day program in Moorhead, Minn. (pop. 14,870), and then flew on to Denver. When he came out of President Eisenhower's hospital room after a 30-minute conference, reporters were ready to ask a pointed question: "Are you or are you not Mr. Secretary...
They never got to ask it. Presidential Press Secretary James Hagerty began the proceedings by reading a statement that placed Dwight Eisenhower squarely behind Benson. Said Ike: "No problem on the domestic front is more demanding of our understanding and best ideas. Still caught under the grinding pressure of price-depressing surpluses, farmers today are not getting a return for their work in line with that enjoyed by other segments of our population. The Secretary and I reviewed what has been done in the past three years. That has been sound. But farm policy is never a completed task...
...past year and show no signs of slump. Farm debts are at record-low levels; seven out of ten farms are free of mortgage; the ratio of debts to assets is only 11%, compared to 19% in 1940. Viewing that part of the picture last week, Ezra Benson could say with a clear Mormon conscience: "The facts are that American agriculture is in sound financial condition...
Because of the prospect for more big pig crops, it looked as if Secretary Benson might be pressured by Congressmen into buying up pork. The program would be applied mainly at the processing level-a limited purchasing agreement aimed at cured shoulders, hams and bacon which the Agriculture Department could quickly dispose of through school lunch programs, hospitals and other charitable organizations...