Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-05-15
M NARY FARM BILL
DOOMED To FAILURE;
SUBSTITUTE T0PASS
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
y II IJsI v I'D IN w WI ' VI
Especial Leased Wire to The Journai)
(Topvr;nbt 1904

Copyright 1924)
WASHINGTON, May 13.-Con-
gress will not adjourn without pass
ing some kind Of agricultural legis-
.lation and the question of which of
the many bills presented shall be
approved is becoming more compli-
Gated every day.
The McNary- Haugen' bill has the
right of way. A vote on it will be
forced shortly, and until that meas
IRE is disposed Of, all other pro-
9posals must wait. But the outlook
for the McNary-Haugen bills pas
sage is not bright. The opposition
to it is growing, largely because
When all is said and done 1t is an
experimental measure. and the oppo-
nents of it say they do not think
0,000, 900 should be appropriated
at this time for anything which can
not be proved of direct benefit to
the nation as whole.
The bill has the support of the
department of agriculture, but it has
not yet won the approval of Presi-
dent coolidge. It's provisions where
by the price of wheat would be raised
arbitrarily on a basis which bears
a constant relation to the fluctuat-
| ing prices Of other commodities are
Pnot accepted as workable by the
president, but his opposition has not
been put on that ground. He is not
in, favor of 5000, 100000 appropria-
tons when there is divided opinion
as to the merit of the plan itself
among farm interests.
Bipartisan Opposition
The Norbeck,Burgess bill, which
= would have provided funds for d.
versified farming, was a much sim
pier bill, but it failed in the senate.
The same lineup Of conservatives
among Republicans and Democrats
will be sufficient to defeat the Nc
! Nary-Haugen bill, which is not being
supported by any party, but will
/ have to run the gauntlet OF bl-part-
san opposition.
With the McNary-Haugen bill out
! of the way, the administration will
= face the responsibility Of passing
some other. agricultural bill. The
measures which are attracting most
attention as possible substitutes for
the McNary- Haugen bill, though diff
fering materially in principle from
lit, are the Curtis-Aswell and the
Capper- Williams bills. Both are
more or less along the same line,
but they have important differences
. in the control and power to be vest
. ed in the governing commission
which is to coordinate the market
. ing activities of the farmer.
Curtis-Aswell Bill
The Curtis-Aswell bill is based
largely on suggestions made by B.
F. Yoakum, railroad pioneer of the
southwest, who appeared recently at
the hearings here. He describes it
thus:
''The terms of the Curtis-Aswell
+ bill, in nutshell, mean that the
&goyernment will loan to the inter
state farm marketing association a
working fund Of 100000 at ALL
per cent per year; this fund to be
used for organizing market sys-
tenn that will insure to the farmers
an equitable share Of what their
goods sell for to the ultimate con-
sumner. For this loan the govern
msnt will receive ample security
Through a commodity assessment,
the assessments to be against such
commodities as the members desig-
products than the CapperWilliams
hated, assessments and method of
collecting to be determined and fixed
by the state boards of directors elect
ed by the farmers of the different
states. A practical, well-organized
system of marketing by the farmers
is absolutely the only thing needed
to make farming one Of the most
.profitable industries Of the country"
Capper-Williams Plan
The Capper-Williams bill provides
for a $15,000,000 appropriation and
a machinery whereby the sale of the
farmers products shall be accom-
plished through a commission Of five
and under rules made by the depart
ment Of agriculture.
Under the Curtis-Aswell plan the
federal marketing board would be
rs separate from the department of
Sculture as the federal reserve
d is from the treasury board,
gh, working in close harmony
khe government departments.
n Curtis-Aswell bill calls for less
cehnection on the whole between the
government and the marketing of
measure. At this writing, however.
it la not apparent which congress
will prefer, for the situation that
WILL follow the failure Of the Nc
Nary-Haugen bill Is not easy to de-
termine. It's proponents are In ear
nest about the bill, and will not give
up the fight without a struggle, as
there are some sections Of the coun-
try which are so anxious for the
passage of the bill that systematic
campaign for it's Endorsement has
been carried on to influence sena-
tors and representatives to vote for
lit. Most of the farm organizations
favor it, though there are rumors
that the directors here did not like
1t originally, and were compelled to
support it by pressure from farm dis
tricts. The farm bloc is lining up
strongly for it, but that body was
unable to put the Norbeck- Burgess
bill through and may find the same
snag this time.
Sweener I eft Fortune