The sun., 1918-07-02
SENATE REFUSES
TO YIELD ON WHEAT
Insists on $3.50 a Bushel and
Instructs COnferees
to Hold Out.
Special Despdtch TO THE Sun.


WASHINGTON. July For the second
time this session the Senate went on
record to-day in favor OF fixing the
price of wheat at $3.50 a bushel. II
instructed the Senate conferees on the
agricultural bill to insist upon the pro-
vision 1t had inserted in the bill as 1t
came from the House.
The House conferees had declined to
accept the Senate's amendment. The
bill must therefore go back to confer
ence. The Administration has opposed
the Senate price fixing. and to-day's
action by the Senate was in the nature
OF rebuke to Mr.. Hoover and his
friends.
Before the vote was taken there was
protracted debate and the discussion
reverted time after time to the recent
report OF the Federal Trade Commission
with the purpose OF showing that even
at $3.50 a bushel the responsibility OF
the farmer for the high price of bread
was only a fraction Of the responsibility
Of the millers and middlemen
The vote showed 46 voting to stand
by the original proposal of the Senate
and to reject the provision Of the House
bill that no advance in price should
take place. Only 10 voted against hold
ing out. The Administration. including
the Food Administration. has been
bringing all sorts Of pressure to bear
in the Senate to force recession from the
stand taken last winter. The subject of
the price of wheat has Seen in con-
troversy for months. indeed since be-
fore the planting OF the spring crop.
The Senators voted as follows:
For-Ashurst. Beckham. Fletcher.
Gerry. King. Mcclellan. Martin. PITT
man. Pomerene. Robinson. Sheppard.
Smith of Arizona, Smith (Maryland) .
Swanson. Thomas, Trammel and Under
wood. Democrats-l7. Hale and Suth-
erland. Republicans. Total. 10.
Against Bankhead, Chamberlain,
Gore, Guion, Henderson. Hitchcock. Hol-
lyis, Johnson tSouth Dakota). Lewis,
Movers. Nugent. Overman. Phelan. Rams
dell. Reed. Shafroth. Simmons. Thomp-
son, Walsh and Whitley. Democrats-20.
Borah. Calder. Cummins. Curtis, Dill
lingham. Fall, France. Gronna. johnson
tCalifornia), Jones (Washington), KEEL
logg, Knox Lenroot. Lodge. McCumber,
McNary. Nelson. New, Norris. Penrose,
Poindexter. Sherman. Smoot. Sterling,
Wadsworth and Watson, Republicans
IS Total, 46.
Senator Borah Tdaho) criticised the
whole scheme of price fixing for wheat
as inequtable when other articles OF
use to the producers OF wheat got
free market. In his view there should
either be a general scheme of -rice
fixing upon all commodities and neces-
saries or non-interference with the
laws OF supply and demand
Senator Reed tMissourD took oc-
casion to discuss the effect of the Food
Administrations price cNing plans and
referred perslstent.s 10 the Federal
Trade Commissions disclosures The
subject Of hides was introduced, and
Western Senators detained that even
with the soaring prices for leather and
the products of leather in the country
the producers OF hides were so re-
stricted through the apparently CO.
ordinated efforts of the buyers OF their
by-products that they could hardly
AFFORD TO skin an animal after slaugh-
ter. and this at a time when the de-
mand for leather was higher than II
had ever been known In the United
States
Senator Pomerene tOhio) told the
Senate that while Ohio was a wheat pro-
ducing State to the extent of Al 900, 900
bushels annually, he was disposed to op-
pose $3.50 wheat as an unnecessary
sterilization at an unjustifable price.
He said he would vote against $3.50
wheat.