The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-01-26
Seeks to Correct Fault In the Agricultural Bill #
 .3S
IMPORTANT CROP REPORTS
New Bill Is Deficient in That Provision For Crop Reports Is Left Out and This Mir. Hefln Seeks
 To Have Corrected.
BY PATTERSON sTEALEY.


 Washington, January 25.-(Special.)- Representative Hefin of Alabama has oiscoVered In the annual agricultural
 appropriation bill reported by the com ;; mittee on agriculture, a matter of great i importance to the farmers of the coun- ' try. especially the cotton growers. He l finds that the new bill just reported
 does not contain the provision for ob- | taining crop reports from farmers as 1 was provided for by MT. Heiiu.s 1 amendment in the bill passed in the l last Congress. It is contended by MT. l Hef1in that under his amendment near
 " lo.coO farmers in the cotton produc-
 ing section were added to the crop re- l porting force of the agricultural de- partment last year, and that these re- ports were more accurate and more re- 1 liable than any ever made.
 Crop reports have been gathered for
 years by different classes of men. but while member of the agricultural committee in the last Congress Mir.
 He1in insisted that the farmer knew : more about crop conditions than any
 -hers and he amended the law so that ] it read: Which shall be gathered as far as
 possible from practical farmers" Here
 is the provision which was left out of l the agricultural bill: "Provided that
 the monthly crop reports (which shall
 be gathered so far as practicable from 1 practical farmers) and which shall be
 issued on or before the 10th of eacIi month, shall embrace statements of the conditions of crops by states in the
 United States with such explanations. comparisons and information as may be l useful for illustrating the above mat ter and that it shall be submitted to ! and officially approved by the Secre- l tary of Agriculture before being issued
 or published. Provided. further, that
 the condition reports of the cotton crop shall be issued on the same day in Oc- 1 tober each year as the first ginners' report of actual cotton ginned." i In discussing the matter tonight MT ! Hefiin said: This matter is surround ed with mystery. The members of the committee to whom have talked. know nothing about why this provision was stricken out. They say the matter was
 never discussed at all in the commit tee. Since farmers have been con
 suited about crop conditions and crop
 prospects we have been able to get the 1 truth regarding the cotton crop, and l by reason of this the bear specula- ] tors has been unable to deceive the pub l lie as to the size and condition of the cotton crop
 "The farmers reports showed that ! the crop would be short and the ac- 1 tual production bears out the truth of l LAS,- Ht.4I | certain interests opposed to having the
 farmer make these reports. I shall try
 to amend the bill by putting the pro- l vision back and will at least inouire l why it was taken out and ct wh ose in- l stance"
 l The slump in the stock market today forced the President to give out state l ment that there would be no indis- l criminate prosecution of important in- dustries. This morning the newspapers l carried sensational stories to the effect 1 that as soon as the Standard Oil and l tobacco cases were decided fin the gov 1 ernmerits favor by the supreme court l there would be immediate wholesale pro- ceedngs against other corporations l framed along tho same lines.
 1 In the first place, the supreme court may decide for the government but it's always risky to make a prediction l the highest court. There is Just suspi- cion here that some of the administra- | tions newspaper friends realized that 1t needed something to take the peoples 1 mind off Ballinger and Cannon and there was accordingly put in circulation the story that the President was going to | out-Roosevelt Roosevelt in trust warfare. Wall street declined to allow tho story | to go uncontradicted and after J. J. Hill had paid visit to the White House 1 the formal denial was forthcoming. Representative Burnett of Alabama seems to be the only member of the immigration commission who has been trying to bring the work of the commits sion to q conclusion. He tried to close up the work on the 1st of December and failing in that on the 1st of Jan : uary. Regardless of the fact that the l commission has expended nearly $700,0O0 more money is wanted.
 :! Representative Dent of Alabama has introduced a bill to amend the section 1! of bankruptcy law making exceptions to section r and adding this sub-division l For any debt created for the necessaries | of life within six months prior to the in- l stitution of bankruptcy proceedings whether voluntary or involuntary" The condition of A. H. Plant, controller of the Southern railway, who has been | seriously iu at his home here. 1t was | stated today is satisfactory and his re- icovery is practically assured. It h pos | ible he will again be at his duties in l the local Southern railway offices by 1 the first of next week.
 Representative Heflin intended leav- 1 ing for Birningha mthis afternoon to witness themarriage of his brother, So- | licitor H. P. Heflin, to Miss linley Gra-
 
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