Agriculture Comes First

By Arnold Leese
Describing the ruin of agriculture in Britain in the 1930s. We here reprint the first three paragraphs from the book:

The Neglect of Agriculture under Democracy

The utter neglect of agriculture is, perhaps, one of the worst crimes of democracy, because a flourishing countryside is a necessity for the well being of every nation; upon its rural population, chiefly, depends the nation for balanced judgement and virility, to say nothing of its food resources in times of trouble. However, under democratic government, for one voter whose direct interest is that wheat should fetch better prices, there are one hundred voters who want a cheap loaf and reduction of taxes. For that reason, democracy is quite unable to fulfill the functions of true statesmanship, that is, to make agriculture an aristocrat among the industries.

Few people realise that one third of our arable acreage has disappeared since 1921, which after all, is similar to a reduction of the cruiser strength of the Royal Navy. How has this state of affairs come to pass? In 1920, we had the Corn Production Act which gave a subsidy on arable acreage. This was repealed after only one year of operation instead of the five years guaranteed. JEWS said it was too costly. On the strength of this Act, many farmers bought their farms on overdrafts advanced by Jews. Jews, at that very moment , set about taking half our currency out of print, which drove two thirds of the remainder out of circulation. This Yiddish act of grace drove price levels down out of all relation to costs, with the result that agriculture stands today a ruined industry

What has been done by the "House of Futilities" to correct this cruel state of affairs? Nothing except to give the industry opportunities of becoming further encumbered.