Evening star., 1924-09-28
WHAT THE FARMER ASKS
AND WHAT HE MAY GET
Apparently Slight Chance for Any Such
Legislation as the McNary.
Haugen Bill.

and most of them never were taken
up in committee
Now it appears as il the first thing
farmers will ask for when Congress
gets back on the job is relief in the
matter of freight rates. The presi-
dent of the American Farm Bureau
Federation in a speech at the Iowa
State Fair led the way for a move
ment to revise the tariff rates on
agricultural products. 1t is very evil
dent, however. that the McNary-
Haugen bill. or the substance of it,
will be revived.
The argument for this is to get the
farmer off the world market because
as long as any exportable surplus of
his products goes on the world mar
ket the price he receives is fixed
abroad and he has to compete with
foreign countries where the standard
of living is not as high as in the
United States. If he is forced to sell
on the world market the tariff cannot
1become wholly effective, they argue,
because he will be forced to sell for
the same prices as the foreign crops
bring, but when he is taken of the
world market the protective tariff
will operate.
Claim Tariff Is Unfair.
There is an element among the
farm leaders that will oppose the pro-
tective tariff on the assumption that
it is unfair to him in that it protects
the goods the farmer buys, but not
the products of his farm. and that the
protective tariff cannot become wholly
effective until the farmer is taken off
the world market ~
The McNary- -Haugen bill was
framed to use the existing marketing
system, while the Norris-Sinclair bill
goes a step further and, assuming
there is something wrong in the pres
ent marketing system, provides for a
finance corporation with authority to
buy, lease, build and even operate
storage facilities.
Its defeat at the last session not
withstanding, there is a determined
effort to bring the McNary Haugen
bill or its substance up again in the
coming session.
There was recently formed in Chi
cago the American Council of Agri-
culture, organized to secure and
maintain equality for agriculture"
The president of this association is
George N. Peek, president of the Mo-
line Plow Company, who happens to
be the man who originated the idea
back OF the McNary -Haugen bill and
the prime mover in its behalf, who
was in Washington and appeared be-
1ore the congressional committee.
Other officers are: Vice president,
Carl Gunderson, lieutenant governor
OF North Dakota; treasurer, John r.
Mitchell of st. Paul, chairman Of the
ninth District Federal Reserve Bank;
secretary, Robert A. Cowles, director
OF finance, Illinois Agriculture Asso-
citation, and the executive committee
contains such men as o. E. Bradfute,
president of the American Farm Bu-
reau; John G. Brown, president Of the
National Live Stock Producers Asso-
citation, and l. J. Tabor, master of the
National Grange. With these presi-
dents of three of the largest farm
organizations arn 10 other prominent
representatives o{ other farm organi-
cations.
In reality these men are, in the main.
the prime movers behind the McNary-
Haugen bill. and there is every reason
to feel that this new Council was
formed, perhaps not wholly, but prin-
cipally with the idea Of pushing the
same old bill, or at least the substance
of it, when Congress gets back
They have prepared a map which
shows in red the solid area, which is
the battle-ground Of the present cam
paisn. where the McNa1y-Haugen bill
had its support