Evening star., 1926-05-02
CONGRESS FACING
A CRITICAL TEST
ON FARM RELIEF
Continued from First Page)

amounts collected as equalization fees
shall not be available for the repay
ment of any advance to any equallZa-
ton fund made prior to the eXpira-
ton of two years from the date OF
the passage of this act" In other
words, no matter how profitable
transactions under the board might
become later on. excess amounts de-
rived from equalization fees are to be
returned to the holders of equaliZa-
ton fee certificates rather than turned
back to the Treasury to make up for
early losses.
The equalization fee" is device
borrowed from the McNary-Haugen
BILL with some notifications. II Is
supposed to be collected from all pro-
ducers of any crop upon which a
"period Of operation" has been de-
clared by the Federal Farm Board.
The equalization fee is to apply. how.
ever. only to basic agricultural
commodities" which are declared by
the bill to be cotton, wheat, corn
butter. cattle and swine. The fee is
to be fixed from time to time at
figure which, in the judgment or the
board will cover probable losses, ana
is to be collected at the first process
ing or sale of such commodity. except
ton shall not be considered a sale for
the purpose Of fee collection. At the
time of the collection Of the fee a
serial receipt is to be issued to the
nroducer Of the commodity, and II is
i1non the basis of these receipts that
refunds will be made whenever there
Is a iustifiable surplus in the equailza-
ton fund for that particular COM
modify.
Division of the Fund.
The bill provides that of the $50
600 900 to be appropriated, $1OO,O0o.-
600 shall be set aside as an equallza-
ton fund for cotton and that Szoo,-
600 900 shall be available for equall-
zation funds for other basic com
mo6ities. The other $25,000,0OO is
reserved for the purpose OF loans 1or
storage, plant and equipment for CO.
oneratiye associations dealing in
farm products other than basic COM
modities, and such loans are to be
repaid within 20 years at Az per
cent interest. 1t is only this rela-
lively minor sum, apparently, that is
ever likely to find it's way back INTO
the Treasury. While it seemingly is
intended that after two years the
proiect shall be disappearing
through equalization fees. there IS
no requirement that any uneXpended
balances of the original appropria-
tion shall be covered back into the
Treasury. II the entire amount has
been apportioned to the several
Capitalization funds" there does not
appear to be any reason why the
money may not be held there as
sort of insurance against year
when the equalization fees levied
would not prove sufficient to cover
losses.
A good deal of surprise has been
expressed on Capitol Hill that Demo-
cratic members of Congress should
be supporting the Haugen bill. for
it's passage would mark the first
time in history when the protection
afforded by the tariff was an abso-
lutte and positive guarantee of price,
unregulated by domestic competition.
The bill frankly seeks to guarantee
that the world price, plus the tariff,
plus transportation, shall be the
But there is no guarantee that the
maximum price shall be held to this
level.
Conscience Only Guide.
AS said above, after the proposed
Federal Farm Board gets the $780,
900 900 from the Treasury. 1t is to be
guided only by its conscience. This
board, it is to be remembered, is to
be a farm board in fact as well as in
name. It's members are to be select
ed by the President from lists fur
nished him by the Federal farm ad-
visory council, the members Of which
will have been elected by the various
farm organizations Of the country.
The council is required to furnish a
list Of SO names, from which the IL
members Of the board are to be
chosen, and the President will have
no authority to appoint any one
whose name is not on this list.
The Federal Farm Board. i. there.
fore. is to be a body OF. by end Tor