National Affairs: The Farmers' Friends

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New York's pre-starched Governor Ave Harriman, who has never been press-photographed milking a cow (and never will be if his luck holds), planned to make his big pitch for farm support in another fashion at the Democrats' Midwest farm conference in Des Moines over the weekend. Harriman made the trip, his first speaking foray into the Midwest since the political season opened, to outline a farm policy based on price supports at 90% of parity—a figure calculated to comfort farmers and discomfit Adlai Stevenson.

Stevenson, worried by surplus farm production, had a hard time making up his mind on the 90% parity issue in 1952, and wavered again in his recent Green Bay speech (TIME, Oct. 17). With the G.O.P. committed to flexible price supports, and Stevenson uncertain, Ave Harriman decided to take the lead in favor of rigid 90% supports, plus subsidy payments for some perishables, plus programs to stimulate consumption. But the day before Harriman was to deliver his speech, Stevenson stole his thunder.

Since his Green Bay flop, Stevenson has wrestled with his scruples about 90% of parity, and won. In New York last week, he conferred with Minnesota's Senator Hubert Humphrey, a leader of the farm-state Democrats, who hope to organize a "green uprising" against the G.O.P. at the polls next November. The Midwesterners made it plain that their support depended on Stevenson's acceptance of 90% of parity, and he came through.

In a message to the Des Moines conference, read by Humphrey's administrative assistant, Herb Waters, Stevenson came out 100% for 90% of parity, plus subsidy payments for some perishables, plus programs to stimulate consumption. He noted that price supports "by themselves do not constitute a complete farm program. We must face the realities of surpluses and unbalanced production." But cheers drowned out the qualifications.

"This does it," exulted Minnesota's youngish (37) National Committeeman Gerald Heaney. Next night Harriman drew cheers too, but the delegates had already heard it all from Stevenson. His speech, Harriman admitted, contained "a good deal of the same thing."