The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-03-26
SAYS ATTACK ON SUGAR GROWERS
 UNCALLED FOR
Representative Martin, of Louisiana Defends
 Palmer.

to look into the Attorney-GeneraTs concurrence in fixing a price on the Louisiana sugar crop and to ascertain if the Department of Justice granted immunity to sugar growers of that state from the statutes against profit eering. The charges against the At torpey- General were made by Repre- sentative T3nkham of Massachusetts.
 Speaking on this resolution in the House recently, Representative Mar tin, of Louisiana, declared that it is unnecessary, uncalled for, and is prompted by spirit of political en- mity, coupled with the desire of the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tfnkham) to see his name on the front page of some of the great me- tropolitan newspapers.
 '"The fact that I am cognizant of all the facts in connection with the action taken by the office of the Att torney- General with reference to the Louisiana sugar crop makes me feel that should reply to the charges made by the gentleman from Massa- chusetts, which have no foundation either in law or in fact" said MT. Martin on the floor of the House.
 ''I hold no brief for the Attoryey- General said MT. Martin. Per sonal1y I would have much preferred that the sugar farmers of Louisiana had been permitted to market their crop without interference on the part of the Department of Justice. With out action on the part of the Depart ment, the Louisiana producers would have received from 25 to 27 ccents for every pound of sugar produced by them instead of IT and IS cents, and many of them would have been saved from great loss and disaster"
 Mir. Martin showed that last year, the Louisiana sugar producers suf- fered one of the most disastrous seasons in their history; that with only one-third of a crop which cost more to produce than a normal crop, they could not have been convicted of profiteering even though they sold their product for much more than IT and Is cents a pound, and that at the time their crop began to come on the market, a sugar famine exist ed and that buyers all over the coun- try were willing to pay the Louisiana producers fancy prices, offering 25 and 27 cents a, pound for thUir out put.
 If the Cuban growers raised their price from 1-2 to Il 1-2 and 12 1-2 cents a pound because Louisiana was getting IT and IS cents for her crop,
 
 tin, that they would have raised their price still higher and in tho same proportinn- .ifzI nIrisiana sold at 25. and 27 cents a pound SO that fn- stead of the American people paying $500, ,00O, 900 more for their sugar they would have paid-according to the calculation of the gentleman from Massachusetts 1,S60, ,000,000 more for their sugar if the Attorney-Gen- eral had taken no action at all; or, in other words, accepting the state- ment of the gentleman as true, the Attorney-GeneTa1 saved to the Amer OO0."
 Representative Garrett, Democrat, of Tennessee, pointed5to the sugar in veSigation resolution as illustrating the low estate ~to<whfch. the leadership on the maj jocity side ofrthe House has fallen and the steps it will resort to in it's effort to find something forrn in the fnepndfng political campaign
 MT, Garrett said that when he. first saw the ftremarkabIereso then before the House, he supposed it was one of those tinnumerable~re that fTutter in and flutter out, and are gone and forgotten but that he should have known better; that he ought to have remembered that tho leadership on the Repubhcan-side has reached that point where in order to divert attention from it's hopeless in- capacity and its legislative idocy, 1t greedily seizes upon anything, how ever silly it may be.
 And so we have this resolution g he continued. What does rt mean and what is it for? For Legislative purposes? Admittedly mo- For what
 
 General of the<United States2 If that is the purpose, the brave way to. do it, the right way to do it, if for a gentleman to arise and upon his re- sponsibiIity as a member of the House of Representative impeach the At , torney-GeneEai. I challenge any man . of you1to take that brave coursevand put it to the test The brilliant At , torney- General of the United States in a long and busy political career bhaS accuIuu1atedA a number of enc Eznfe9 political enemies, when he was sa member of Congress; enemies as A AAEtomey-Genera1, enemies while he Twas <he- -Alien Property custodian and kfhese last mentioned enemies of the 4AftDrney-General were also enemies kCf his country. Oh the facts arc SiknoYxn. here There is nothing to- con. tceafe nothing has been concealed The Sprice of sugars in fact, was, reduced 5from 2 5sSto--40' cents a-pound to IT o1 f1S4 cents by reason of action perfectly illegal and wholly proper taken by the Department of Justice after full anG free eonsuftation.'
 Declaring that the chairman of tht Rules Committee, MT Campbell, O. KSnsas, had then in his pocket a rule unauim ously reported out touching {
 bill unanimously reported by tn, aComrnittee- Patents to take up leg kdsiation, urged by the business interest," t0f the country, and with the Demo Icrsts ready to take 1t up, MT. Gar brett declared that with that legisla Ition waiting, we pause in the mids of doing nothing to do something
 worse
 MT. Garrett charged that the edic
 had gone forth from the Republican fsteering committee and that the ma Ejorfty members must fline dp ant Sdo this silly thing, which not a schoo tehfId in America who understood tn tfacts and had a proper sense of pro sportion would think of giving consid eration to- MT, Garrett concluded. %Gentlemen, the power is yours