European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 2, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse 10 the stars and stripes sunday february 2,1886 columns James Kilpatrick in the Days of the Golden West so the stories go saloons and fancy houses hired local musical Talent to amuse the customers. Oscar Wilde observed in Leadville a Colorado mining town a notice to this effect Don t shoot the piano player. He s doing the Best he week in Washington they shot a piano player. Farewell John Block you done the Best you Secretary of agriculture for the past five years Block occupied the hottest seat in town. His resignations a loss to the administration and to the country As a whole but the loss was politically say of Block that some Anonymous they shot him Down is not to imply a White House conspiracy of the kind that toppled Margaret heckler and Alexander Haig. Through no fault of his own Block became liability he had come to symbolize All the grief or. The midwestern Farmer. He had to go. Who said life is fair consider the unhappy record. Farm debt in 1980 was $182 billion in 1984 it was $214 billion. In 1980 the census Bureau counted 2,433,000 farms Over the next four years 100,000 farms were 1.6 million farm families in 1980 there Are 70,000 fewer farm families now. Farm assets Fig ured in constant dollars dropped in these four years from $615 billion to $428 billion. Farm income in 1983was half of what it was in 1979. A few More figures in South Dakota Farmers have debts equal to about 28.4 percent of their assets. The ratio is 27.3 in Indiana 24.6 in Idaho 24 in Iowa,23.3 in Kansas 20 in Oklahoma. That is an awful lot of Money that is owed. In each of these Stales a Republican senator is up far re election in november. The angry and dispirited Farmers Are in a Rump kicking mood. Bend Over of this can be blamed on Ronald Reagan or Block. The producers of wheat porn and Dairy products Are in a bind for a combination of reasons. Fifty years of contradictory governmental policies going Back tothe depression Days of Franklin Roosevelt Bear a Large part of the blame. Worldwide economic forces beyond the control of any american official have priced Domestic Grain out of world markets. Bad judgment on the part of Farmers injudicious Loans by Bankers High m Filion rates in the late 70s All had a the record discloses most clearly is that the trends now evident in american agriculture Are nothing new. The notion that Reagan and Block somehow Are responsible for the gradual disappearance of the family farm is preposterous. Family farms have been gradually disappearing for 50 1935, some 32 million people lived on farms they composed 25.3 percent of the total population. These Days Only 5.5 million people live on farms they rep Mary Mcgrory Secretary Block did the Berdjhe i 4mk to Iron resent 2.5 percent of the total. The number of farms has dropped every year for the past 20 years and the aver age size of a farm has steadily increased. No one wants to face the hard unpalatable truth in certain areas of american agriculture we have Loo Many Farmers too Many farms and More production than the Market profitably will support. It Supply could be brought closer to demand in these Fields Foo prices would go up and the surviving Farmers could make a decent living. Nothing so sensible is in sight lock did his Best to draft a farm Bill that would make a significant Start toward a free Market. He made some headway but not much. Political realities were More than political principle could overcome. Rewound up with a five year program of subsidies that will Cost the taxpayer an estimated $70 billion Over the next five years. The whole bewildering Structure of tar get prices loan rates and deficiency payments has not been much affected. The sugar program it worst of the rip offs of the taxpayer has been. A _. In. Of at _ a ,. Mrs Ronald Reagan Washington . Dear mrs. Reagan Washington is always awash in rumours and one or the most persistent and mysterious of them is that you Ardour one Hope for arms control. They seriously believe that you have in mind posterity and want the wore peacemaker carved on your husband s Tombstone. Why they think so is not dear to All of us. You have no spoken out on the subject. Nothing that has transpired in the five years since your husband took office would suggest that you have persuaded him that he should go Down in history As a hero of the Ages As a world Leader who reduced or even ended the tire atom nuclear War. But hardheaded politicians among them Republican senators who have the most aching concern to believe what is so for myth argue that you Are the White House Dove. The concede there is not a shred of evidence on the Point they Start with the unarguable proposition of your Devotion to your husband and reason like this he can t say he s reduced the size of government us bigger than when we took Over. He can t say he s balance the budget. He s got the biggest deficit in history. So what s left Are they right where some of us have the most trouble believing that you Are nudging him toward glory As the Man who made the world a safer place is frankly his Summit meeting with Gorbachev where no Prog Ress was made on arms control and one Summit meet ing to come. It s not much. Put updates it to be called it is in fact nothing. The strategic defense initiative May not be Foolhardy As some scientists say but your husband admits he won t be an umbrella for the world s children and their parents. But i would Cost a trillion dollars and take 20 Yean. Where s the Money coming from in the Gramm Rudman Era and any successor to your husband could cancel it with a stroke. If he persists with Star wars he goes Downs a spendthrift visionary. It s better than the warmonger charge you fought so Long but not much. Mikhail Gorbachev has now Given you your big Chance. I you say take it Ronnie it could happen. If you Don t we Settle Back in the dreary round of threats and can Tell him that Star wars is not Worth a Chance for immortality As a Man of peace. We Don t know what you thought of Gorbachev when you met him in Geneva. You. Have a shrewd instinct for sensing men who can help or Hurt your husband. Maybe you thought he was like All the rest of the soviets out to con Europe and Lake Over the world. But maybe you found out from him or his wife that he has his eve on history too. And wants to go Down As the first soviet Leader to make the system work. If he really wants to show communism As something other than repressive Conr maybe his offer is a Slicks some of your husband s helpers evening news shows the Day it the fact is that Gorbachev band s Bluff. You remember thaw Abou elimination of nuclear Gorbachev says that s what he wants too Ihas delivered a blueprint it s not Good a Nobel Spond As several have that the president said it this is a Chance to go about it or at Lear tone As we Are Likely to get in our time. You can be sure nobody else will push for by around your husband were distinctly miffed it w. Came out of the Blue at them with a dramatic continue the test ban and reduce nuclear weapon. Thought he was too Busy getting ready for his a Gress to drop something this big on them. Secretary of state George Shultz said the shave made the offer in Geneva. Secretary of "T�3i Weinberger says there s not much new in them snare a restatement of other you can be sure that Richard perfect sense department watchdog against arms Busy right now tearing it apart word by word Shultz could t be enthusiastic. Arms control a the right which is after him anyway. Weta Bergitt Bon any subject but the soviets he s convinced the of you can Trust them Todo is to Cheaton Congress would ratify a treaty your Lui but if Congress leans on him to take i Jnai info the uni u m us it Josh. It i"5 Back up. He does t like Public to f so there s Only you. At least that s the Flun us Hope you la confirm Trmal pm so Khz it
