$ 1 Corn

The Administration finally last week summoned its courage and imposed an approximate $1 ceiling on the nation's biggest single farm commodity--corn.

The action made sense even to the greedy Farm Bloc. For by holding corn around its present price, the Administration aimed also to maintain the current corn-hog ratio at a point which encourages turning corn into hogs instead of into cash.* Since 80% to 90% of the corn crop normally goes into hogs on the farm anyway, most farmers will not be penalized by the new ceiling because hog prices are pegged so high that corn-on-the-hoof sells at around $1.50 a bushel. Corn itself has not sold that high since 1919.

But the Farm Bloc also sees the ceiling as an attack on its definition of parity prices. The Administration claims that parity has been achieved as soon as the price of a commodity to the farmer, plus all Government benefits, equals the 1909-14 average price, adjusted for living costs. But the Farm Bloc maintains that anything the Government pays him to conserve his soil, limit his production, etc. has nothing to do with the price of corn, or oats or any other commodity. On that basis corn should still go some 12-c- higher.

If it follows this metaphysical reasoning to the bitter end, the Farm Bloc will try to smash the new ceiling to bits. Best augury for its enforcement is the fact that the Farm Bloc is to some degree split: livestock producers perhaps can be played off against grainmen. On the rule of divide and conquer, the Administration may win.

*The "normal" corn-hog ratio of 11-to-1 (i.e., 100 lb. of hogs is equal in price 11-to-1 bu. of corn) is just enough to keep hog production on an even keel. Today the ratio is about 16-to-1.

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