Evening Star Newspaper, July 12, 1935, Page 12

"A—12 AAA. PERMANENT, | BANKHEAD SAYS 'Alabaman Says Opponents Will Lose Farm Votes Regardless of Party. Opponents of the A. A. A. process- ing taxes will lose the votes of the farmers “regardless of former political affiliations,” Senator Bankhead, Demo- crat, of Alabama warned last night in & speech in the National Radio m. ¥ “With the farmers overwhelmingly lavoring its continuance, the Demo- cratic party favoring it and the first big assembly of Republican politicians acquiescing, it appears certain that the A. A. A. is here to stay,” the Sen- ator declared in an address arranged by The Star and broadcast on a coast- to-coast network by the National Broadcasting Co. Bankhead's mention of “Republican politicians” referred to the recent Springfield, IIl, “Grass Roots Conven- tion,” which, he said, “in effect in- dorsed the Agricultural Adjustment Administration.” Denounces Opposition. He denounced “attempts to array Industrial workers against farm work- ers” to prevent enactment of pending A. A A amendments, which purpose %“to bring the original act clearly and definitely in line with the Supreme Court decision in the N. R. A. case.” “Any investigation of propaganda relating to congressional legislation should by all means include a thor- ough scrutiny of the efforts made and | money expended by interested persons | who have been diligently striving to create adverse sentiment against the amendments,” Bankhead said, and pointed to the effects of the adjust- ment act: “While farmers are still greatly burdened with debts, an overwhelming majority of them are now looking to the future with new hope and splen- did courage. “The Agricultural Adjustment Ad- ministration has pointed the way to a better and fairer part in the na- tional income for the producers of the food and the raw material for cloth- ing all the people of our country. Text of Address. The text of Senator Bankhead'’s ad- dress follows: During this session of Congress the ‘Agricultural Adjustment Administra- tion, familiarly known as the three | *“A’s,” has been under a steady fire from its enemies. A microscopic ex- amination of all phases of its activi- ties has been publicly conducted. An exhaustive search has been made to find weak spots. The public is now hearing much'i about the propaganda engaged in, in | oppesition to the utility holding com- pany bill. It has not been informed about the extensive and widespread propaganda which has been carried on since this Congress met, by han- dlers, processors and distributors of farm commodities. Members of Con- gress know, however, how their mail has been filled with protests from people who knew nothing about the | provisions of the pending bill, but | who had been led to believe that it directl ytouched their business. Any in- wvestigation of propaganda relating to congressional legislation should by all means include a thorough scrutiny of the efforts made and money ex- pended by interested persons who have been diligently striving to create adverse sentiment against the bill amending the agricultural adjustment act. The identity of these persons should be disclosed and the public given full information on the subject. Burden on Workers Charged. Attempts have been made to array industrial workers against farm workers. Partisan critics have in- sisted that the rise of prices in farm commodities which has resulted from programs administered by the A. A. A. constitutes a burden upon indus- trial workers. Farmers have not pro- tested against higher-priced industrial commodities as an improper burden upon them. They demand and are entitled to the same consideration. Farmers realize that industrial -work- ers need good wages to enable them to buy farm products. Everybody understands that shorter bours, higher wages and so-called fair trade prac- tices by industries have increased prices paid by consumers, including the farmers. Without fair prices farmers, constituting 25 per cent of our population, cannot do their nor- mal part in supporting industry and in enabling industry to provide em- ployment at fair wages. The welfare of the farmers depends upon the ability of industrial work- ers to buy farm products. Regular employment of industrial workers at €ood wages depends upon the ability of the farmers to pay for industrial products and services, There is a relation of interdependence between these two major groups of producers. The efforts of politicians, self-styled Pro bono advisers and critics to array farm workers and industrial workers Bgainst each other have miserably failed. It is pleasing to note that the horrible loss, in purchasing and debt-paying power during the great depression, of 30,000,000 People upon the farms of our country has brought most of our industrialists to an acute Tealization of the sad plight of agri- culture and o° the dire necessity of Temedial measures for the financial Tescue of the farmers. There has not been, there is not now, a complete accord on what are the best methods to accomplish that result. Aid by Criticism Welcomed. Constructive criticism is helptul and welcomed by those in positions of responsibility and power. But de- structive objections are obnoxious, When the agricultural adjustment act ¢ Was passed, there * &ng Thomases, bo'.:e E e Do\:l::.; out. In the entire history of Amer- dca no comprehensive plan had been #endered to the farmers to aid them collectively in adjusting supply to con- sumptive demands. During the World War and the post-war boom period, while credits were being extended to foreign countries to buy our surplus farm crops, cultivated acreage had been ex- panded l{vy the millions of acres, ma- chinery for more production acre had been widely acquired p:rn the farms, and production of basic com- modities largely in excess of normal domestic requirements became the es- tablished order of things. When the cruel crash came in 1929, domestic consumption greatly decreased, and within a few years foreign trade al- most vanished. Farm production, however, con- tinued at capacity levels. By 1932 a carryover of 360,000,000 bushels of Wwheat and 9,000,000 bales of cotton had accumulated. Wheat went from 8125 to 35 cents a bushel, cotton from 20 cents to 5 cents a pound. Corn went down to 10 cents & bushel Six million farmers, scattered over $he hills and valleys, across the plains some years. He felt that he should his farm. He knew his fellow farm- ers would produce all they could for the same reason. There was no way for the millions of farmers to get together to consider the state of their programs. They had no machinery for controlling aggregate farm pro- duction, such as the United States Steel and other industrial corpora- tions have through their stockhold- ers and Boards of Directors and exec- utive officers for the control of their production. of employes and caused them to go on public relief rolls in order to ad- just supply to demand, the farmers continued to toil long hours, produc- ing the full capacity of the farms and selling their year’s yield at pov- erty prices. and faithfulness to their tenants, | culture, and on opposite sides of the great rivers and mountains, were dazed and bewildered. A great financial disas- ter had descended upon them. No Means of Output Control. A wheat or cotton farmer reasoned that all the wheat or cotton his farm could produce at prevailing bankrupt prices would not bring him over 25 per cent of his former income, and his in- come had been entirely too low for produce as much as was possible on affairs and agree upon adjustment While industry discharged millions Landlords, out of a spirit of loyalty continued to advance to them the credit and equipment necessary to make crops. Many farms were under mortgage when the depression start- ed, and mortgages were placed upon many other farms. As a necessary condition for keeping the farms in operation, this widespread financial difficulty applied both to farms occu- pied by their owners and farms oc- cupied by tenants. Everywhere in the agricultural sections, newspapers were filled with notices of foreclos- | ures, and as a result many thousands of farmers who owned their farms were translated into tenants, while | thousands of landlords lost their farms. Agrarian Revolt Loomed. With conditions so alarming, it is| not strange that an agrarian revolt | was in evidence in many sections. The | Government, through the Farm Credit | Agency, saved for the owners several | hundred thousand farms through new | credit facilities, with a lower rate of interest and at generously protracted installment payments. It was recognized, however, that| pay day must come. With the pre- vailing prices of farm commodities, the day of reckoning was meyely be- ing postponed. The fundamental thing to do was to bring about, if possible, an increase in farm prices comparable with the prices of indus- trial commodities, or expressed, in other words, to arrange for parity prices. As the result of such a change in the earning power of the farmers, it was plain that the farmers would be advanced to a position where it could be reasonably expected they would meet their obligations. This administration was convinced from the beginning that the depres- sion could not be overcome until agri- | constituting such a large | part of the consumers of America, had | been financially rescued. Machinery for Co-operation. Then came the passage of the agri- cultural act. and with it the dawning of a new and better day for Amer- ican agriculture. Machinery was pro- vided for effective co-operative pro- grams by producers of the basic com- modities through crop adjustments THE EVENING passage of this . 1t was now in the domain of legislation and of prac- tical administration. I recall that some of my colleagues in the Senate who voted for it did so with great reluctance. Others could not see their way clear to vote for the bill. There existed a feeling that farmers, notoriously individualistic, would not co-operate in voluntary adjustment plans in sufficient numbers to accom- plish the desired results. There was fear of too much opposition from those for whose welfare it was in- tended. Some of these same col- leagues, after observing the operations of the Agricultural Adjustment Ad- ministration for the past two years, are now enthusiastic supporters of the act. If any one doubts the beneficial re- sults of this new lease on farm life, let him examine the record from the standpoint of increased farm income, and from the attitude of the farmers. ‘Wheat has advanced in price from 35 to 90 cents, cotton from 5 to 12 cents, corn from 10 to 80 cents, hogs from 2 to 10 cents, flue-cured tobacco from 11.6 to 27.3 cents, burley tobacco from 12,5 cents to 16.9 cents and rice from 391 to 775 cents. Specialty crops have in the main had splendid in- creases in prices. The Nation's cash farm income rose from $4,328,000,000 in 1932, to $6,090,000,000 in 1934. ‘The attitude of the farmers is clearly demonstrated by votes cast in recent referenda to ascertain whether the producers favored continuance of adjustment program. The votes were as follows: Cotton, 1,361,347 for, 160,540 against, Kerr-Smith tobacco act, 370,907 for, 23,633 against. Flue- cured tobacco program, 184,755 for, 3,408 against. Corn-hogs, 389,139 for, 190,577 against. Wheat, 404,270 for, 62,291 against. Grand total, 2,430,418 for, 440,379 against. Opposition of Processing Tax. ‘The chief opposition to the A. A. A. has grown out of the processing tax. The division on that subject is similar to the controversy that has raged for more than 100 years over the pro- tective tariff tax. The farmers have paid the tariff tax on industrial com- modities, while basic farm commodi- ties have been sold at world prices. The processing tax is a countervailing compensatory tax for the protection of the farmers It now appears clear that any party which favors taking the benefits of the processing tax away from the farmers will not hereafter have their support. regardless of former political affiliations, The recent self-styled grass roots convention evidently granted that fact. The name adopted was an apt one. From newspaper accounts about the volunteer delegates composing the convention, it appears to have been an assembly of politicians who are not acquainted with the practice of destroying grass roots. If left to their efforts grass roots would be the principal crop on all farms. It is certain that the delegates were politicians and good ones. After much preliminary ballyhooing against every- thing the administration has done, the convention, guided by the advice of older heads, in effect indorsed the Agricultural Adjustment Administra- tion. With the farmers overwhelmingly favoring its continuance, with the Democratic party favoring it, and the first big assembly of Republican politicians acquiescing, it appears certain that the A. A. A. is here to stay. Present Law Not Perfect. ‘The present law is not perfect. Congress in framing the act was and for the producers of specialty crops through marketing agreements. | parlance, | There was much resistance to the' plowed. Difficulties and obstructions| a way that has so frequently resulted |tled by the pending bill. Congress | tea. traveling & new road. In farming new ground was being SENATOR BANKHEAD, Warns Processing Tax Foes —Star Staff Photo. | have been encountered in putting administratively practical programs, national and regional, in operation. ‘That was to be expected. No one could anticipate perfection in such a comprehensive and far-flung effort. With all the wisdom accorded by history to the framers of our Consti- tuion, it should be remembered that 10 amendments were shortly adopted and 11 more have been added to meet | the evolution of social and economic | progress. Congress is now considering a bill amending the original agricultural ad- justment act in order to strengthen weak sports that have developed in its administration and to make what- ever changes are deemed necessary to avoid legalistic and technical difficul- ties in line with the recent decision of the Supreme Court. The original under license the handlers and proc- essors of specialty crops such as vege- tables and fruits. The present bill | eliminates all authority in the Secre- | tary to use the licensing power. It | substitutes, in lieu of that plan, mar- keting agreements to prevent unfair trade practices, and authorizes the | now exerciced over industries by the | Federal Trade Commission. Any han | dler or processor who feels that his order is given the right to test the | issue in the courts. Orderly Marketing Aim. Marketing agreements are put in operation only upon the request of | 75 per cent of the producers in the region involved, and may be termi- nated at any time by the request of 50 per cent of such producers. This program is intended to bring about orderly marketing of the crop in- volved. It is intended to avoid an | excessive flow to a given market in —that’s just the 1935 way of saying what Chesterfields have been saying for years . . . Chesterfields do about every- thing a cigarette ought to do. Chesterfields have TASTE —yes plenty of it. But not too strong. And Chesterfields are MILD — but they’re not insipid or flat. Chesterfields “‘go to town” bill authorized the Secretary to put | | in prices insufficient to pay the freight | | or express from the farm to the mar- | ket. This plan has been in operation | | for the last two years and has re- | | sulted, in numerous instances, in| splendid benefits for the producers. | However, the best results in many | cases have not been obtained because | | of the resistance of handlers and dis- | tributors and frequently because of | interference through a resort to the | courts. It is believed by the supporters | | of the pending bill that many of the | | obstructions and difficulties that have heretofore prevailed will be eliminated. j While farmers are still greatly bur- | dened with the debts saddled upon | them by the former loss of debt-pay- | | ing power, an overwhelming majority | | of them are looking to the future with | | new hope and with splendid courage. | We hear nothing now about farmers | mobbing judges when they render de- | | crees foreclosing mortgages. The Ag- | ricultural Adjustment Administration | | has pointed the way to a better and fairer part in the national income for the producers of the food and the raw material for clothing all the people of | our country. | | Those who doubted the co-operation f the effect of the age-old law of | | supply and demand. When given the | opportunity to make that rule oper- | |them, farmers gladly seized the op- portunity and are now moving in har- mony toward a better day in agri- cultural life. I Bill Settles Tax Issue. The bill amending the agricultural | | adjustment act, now pending before | the Senate, has for its primary pur- pose bringing the original act clearly and definitely in line with the Su- preme Court decision in the N. R. A. | case. The question of delegation of power to levy a processing tax is set- | STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., FRIDAY,:JULY 12 in the exercise of its taxing power is now directly levying the tax and rat- ifying what its agent, the Secretary of Agriculture, has done on that sub- Ject. A large number of processors and packers have begun suits to enjoin collection of the tax and are also de- manding & refund of taxes heretofore volunterily paid. It is a well-known fact that the taxes in mnearly all in- stances have been deducted from pro- ducers’ prices or passed on to con- sumers. Representative of some of the pack- ers testified recently before the Sen- ate Committee on Agriculture that the hog tax was deducted from the price paid the farmers for the hogs. The processing tax on cotton and wheat has been generally included in the price paid by consumers. Notwith- standing this situation, a number of processors and packers, after deduct- ing the tax at one end of their trans- actions or collecting it at the other end, are now attempting to enrich themselves by trying to get the taxes as a profit out of the United States ‘Treasury. Be it said to the credit of the big packers and most of the cot- ton and flour mills that they have not attempted a raid of that kind. Bill Would Avoid “Raids.” ‘Those who succeed in getting the taxes back; if any do, may expect the most searching examination of their books and business before any money is repaid to them, and they may also expect countless suits by producers from whom it is claimed to have been deducted, and by merchants who have paid the tax when buying the | processed commodities. The pending bill, if passed, will avoid unjustified raids on the Treasury and will at the same time prevent a great multi- plicity of recovery suits by producers | and merchants No opposition to the bill from farm- ers has manifested itself. The princi- pal objectors are a vociferous group of handlers of the fruits of the farm- ers’ labor. They are concerned about the quantity handled and object to any restrictions, however necessary they may be, to avoid glutting the markets and destroying farm prices. | Those minorities, whose business is based solely upon handling farm com- | modities, should not be permitted to | wreck or weaken a program which is confessedly highly advantageous to the great mass of farmers and their families. To that group of processors, | packers and distributors, who have | gone along with the program and who | have gracefully submitted to the new | order as presented by the A.A. A, the | farmers owe a debt of gratitude. By friendly co-operation’and mutual | understanding and helpfulness, all interests will in the long run be bene- | | cated that this upriver city of 100,000 | fitted. Mr. Chester C. Davis, administrator | of the A.A. A, is doing a great job | in a splendid way. In a remarkable | fashion, he possesses the confidence | Secretary to issue orders to cease and |of the farmers did not truly appraise | of members of Congress, who have desist. In the same fashion power is | their spirit and their understanding | had contacts with him. | In my judgment the agricultural adjustment act is the outstanding piece of legislation, from the stand- | rights have been violated by such an | ate in their favor, instead of against | point of beneficial administration, that Congress has enacted during my ser- | vice in the Senate. TU. S. Buys Calais Lace. American are now about the only buyers of the famous lace of Calais, France. Urge Indian Tea. Growers of India are trying to in- duce Americans to drink more Indian FLOOD DEAD 2,000 IN' CHINESE CITY Laohokow Is Entirely Sub- merged as Other Sections Are Devastated. By the Associated Press. HANKOW, China, July 12.—Frag- ! mentary dispatches from Northwestern Hupeh Province disclosed today that appalling destruction was being in- flicted there by the Han River flood, with indications that 2,000 persons have perished in inundation of the city of Laohokow. Chinese reports said the entire city was submerged, destroying 3,000 houses and making 10,000 persons homeless. Yangtze Destroys Town. Another report said the town of Chaotien, 50 miles southeast of Ichang, was destroyed by the rampaging Yangtze River when dikes there col- lapsed and only a few families sur- vived, all others drowning. Another report said two unidentified towns on a river above Ichang were destroyed, the waters taking a heavy toll of life. Four hundred soldiers | were reported among the dead. - The floods here took a sudden se- rious turn, increasing the threat | against Hankow, when a small dike constituting the city’s outer defense against the Han River's torrents, col- lapsed. Jt exposed the city’s only re- maining bulwark—the Changkung | dike—to the full force of the flood. Dike Is Strengthened. Hankow authorities took immediate precautions to strengthen the weaker portions of tHe dike and to raise its height. The Associated Press correspondent counted 20 human corpses floating past | the city this afternoon. Reliable reports from Shasi indi- | persons, already torn by the Yangtze's avalanche, faces increasing flood dan- | gers and starvation. Road Building Pushed. Germany expects to construct 2,300 | miles of new highways this year. KIWANIANS HONORED Attendance Certificates Awarded Ten at Luncheon. For attending five meetings in one day, 10 members of the Washington Kiwanis Club were awarded certifi- cates of attendance yesterday at the Kiwanis luncheon in the Mayflower Hotel. Harold N. Marsh, club pres- ident, presented the certificates. The 10 members, who are believed to have estabiished a new record, are Harold G. Kimball, James B. Edmunds, George P. Mangan, Z. D. Blackistone, George C. Shaffer, Wil- liam N. Freeman, George H. Wins- low, Willlam F. Smith, Charles Dowd and Edwin F. Hill. Starting with a meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Arlington County at noon July 3, they attended meet- ings of the Alexandria, ‘Washington, Manassas and Prince Georges County clubs before midnight that same day. Since 1861 We've Been Serving Washingtonians H.A.Linger,925G St. EDDING that gives years of service at modest prices. Progressive FORD Dealers BILLHIMER & PALMER 7 Spencer St. Hyattsville, Md. 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