Judsonia weekly advance., 1916-03-08
OLDFIELD REFUTES
 CHARGES OF CAMPBELL
Explains Position in Congress by Strong Appeal to
 the People.

To the People of the Second Congress sional District of Arkansas: I Mir. Campbell criticises me because l voted for the Lever Bill l have al ways voted for legislation to absolutely destroy gambling in futures. l repeat, l | voted and worked for tue Scott Bill but it failed in the Senate. voted l for the Clarke Amendment which would have destroyed the cotton eS- | rhanges but we did not have the votes to pass it. The Lever Bill came before the House as a conference report. We had no opportunity to vote on the , ference report-the Lever Bill, or get no legislation at all. 1 repeat, this was an administration bill supported by President Wilson and the leaders
 # our party in both Houses of Con gress. Underwood of Alabama, our leader at the time, voted for it. Garner
 
 Ssson of Mississippi and many other leading Democrats of the cotton grow l ing states. Mir. Eeflin of Alabama, a l member of the Agricultural Committee ] which reported this bill out of Com l Inittee, and man who has given as much thought to this subject as anH i man in Congress, voted for this bill 1 nd made the following speech on tht floor of the House the day the Ltll passed.
 MIR. HEFLIN Mir Speaker, shail vote for this measure. It does not contain all the provisions that l would like to see in bill of this kind but want to say to my good friends from
 Kansas (Mr. Murdock), that I have studied this question a great deal, and this bill has five propositions in il that will be of great value to the cot ton producers; and when it comes to 'he grain bill, I shall try to aid the western gentlemen in getting what they want on the grain proposition. I believe l do know little more about this cotton proposition than does my good friend from Kansas (NIr Mur- l dock). There are five good provis ions in this bill
 First. It requires the cotton ex- changes to use the standard grades Second. It requires a record to be kept of all transactions on the ex change.
 Third. It requires the Secretary Of Agriculture to settle disputes as to grades named in the Contract, and l takes this power away from the com mittee on the exchange.
 Fourth. It requires the delivery of spinable cotton on contracts, and pre- vents the rendering of dog-tail cotton to beat down the price of good cot ton.
 Fifth. It presents the arbitrary fix ed difference now employed OF the New York Cotton Exchange and re- ft'ii S'' 'tiC ollIC1CIlCc. dIi, authorizes the Secretary of Agricul- 1 ture to go to five spot markets in the South to obtain that commercial diff ference. These are all good provisions. and while there are some features of this bill l would change, I am so anx- ! ious to get some of these provisions en- acted info Ia yU fhut I t.n for the measure; and if it does not work as I think it should, I will help to amend it.
 l want to say to gentlemen on this side of the House that if you cast your votes against this bin you are voting to continue the present order of things on the exchange We have now on the cotton exchanges the rottenest rules in the world (Applause) The farmers are being robbed under these condi- tions every year in the South, and beg you, gentlemen, not to oppose leg islation on this question at this time Do not be placed in the attitude of favoring the present conduct of the New York Exchange You had better cast your vote for measure that has some good in it rather than to vote to
 continue the present conditions of i things (Applause.) Gentlemen, men
 from the West will want legislation on i grain pretty soon and hope to help 1 thatn Upt if and tr1sf thof that, xriil
 not stand in the way of cotton ex- change legislation when we come from
 the cotton belt and ask for that regu-
 lation. (Applause) It is not long un- ! til the December term of Congress. i Let us take this long step In the right