Pat on the Back

At Carnegie Hall, that Manhattan temple of classical music, an organ began bombilating a very unclassical tune, and the audience burst into collective song:

Oh, give your friend a pat on the back,

A pat on the back, a pat on the back,

And say to yourself it's jolly good health,

We've had a good day today.

Upon a signal from the stage, the audience turned to the left in unison and each person gave his neighbor a hearty pat on the back. Then they all turned to the right and patted again.

The back-patters were farmers and farm wives, members of the National Farmers Union. They were aging people, mostly--farming has little appeal for young men nowadays, and the average U.S. farmer is about 50. But rarely had Carnegie Hall held a friskier audience.

Plenty of Zing. While the farmers were still thumping each other's backs, a spotlight picked up the evening's star performer, striding down a side aisle. The organ abruptly switched to that old Democratic anthem, Happy Days Are Here Again, and onto the stage bounded Agriculture Secretary Orville Freeman. The farmers cheered, whistled and clapped.

Farmers Union President James Patton, wearing a black eye patch as a result of a cancer operation, introduced "the great Secretary of Agriculture."

Standing beneath a big yellow banner proclaiming FARMERS UNION--ABUNDANCE, PEACE, FREEDOM, Freeman gave his audience some pats on the back: "Most city folks are not aware of the benefits they derive from your success." He gave himself some too: "I am pleased that we have made real progress in the last two years." What he said was the familiar fodder of New Frontier farm speeches, but he said it with plenty of oratorical zing, and his audience interrupted 24 times with applause.

The Future Direction. Liberal Democratic in its politics, the Denver-headquartered Farmers Union counts on its membership rolls some 300,000 families, mainly in the wheat country of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountain states. Of the union's 61 annual conventions, only two have been held east of Springfield, Ill.: one in Washington, three years ago, and last week's gathering in New York.

During their four days in Manhattan, the farmers did a lot of sightseeing, voted numerous resolutions, heard eight speeches plus a recorded message from President Kennedy. What the President stressed was the importance of the May wheat referendum, in which growers will decide whether to accept the Administration program of high price supports and a cutback in production. The outcome may decisively influence the future direction of U.S. agriculture--toward more or less Government involvement.

If it were up to the Farmers Union, the answer would be a clear call for more. Said the convention's statement on the wheat referendum: "We unanimously go on record favoring a 'yes' vote, and urge every effort be made to bring about an overwhelming victory for farmer families."

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