The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-19
GALS Veto OF
FARM Bill. Will
ASSIST LOWDEN
Presidents Action to
Affect 1923 Race

WASHINGTON, Feb. ia foun-
ding has appeared on President
Coolidge's doorstep, and no one knows
whether he will adopt and nurture
it, or kick the embarrassing brat into
the nearest snow bank. Congress
has laid on him the task Of either
signing or vetoing the McNary-
Haugen Farm "Relief" Bill, offspring
Of some of the weirdest political
nliscegenation of modern times.
What Will Cal Do?
Administration supporters were
sharply divided in their predictions.
The majority opinion is that he will
veto the bill. Those who believe in
the veto denounce the bill as a price
fixing measure and a dangerous ,ex-
pertinent which would put the gov
eminent in the farming business.
Sponsors Of the bill, on the other
hand, declared that Mr.. Coolidge had
left the problem to Congress and
thereby was virtually pledged to
sign it.
Political observers saw in Mr..
Coolidge's action an answer to the
riddle Of 1928. Approval of the bill.
they asserted, would be tantamount
to declaration of his candidacy
for the next Republican presidential
nomination.
Veto Aids LOwden.
With the middle west aroused over
the farm relief problem, veto
would boom the stock of two other
presidential aspirants, Ex-Governor
Frank A. Lowden of Illinois, and
Vice-President Charles G. Dawes. it
was predicted.
An alternate course open to the
president is to permit the bill to be-
come law without his signature.
but few believe that he will adopt
so negative a course.
Party Lines Melt.
The bill was passed last night by
the House, 214 to 176, after a spec
tacular fight of nine hours, in which
the farm bloc rode down all oppo-
sition. The margin of victory, Sc
votes, was about what had been an
ticipated, and it is too small to per.
NIT of hope Of re-passage over a
veto.
Party lines were badly split. The
leaders in both parties voted against
it Generally. the lineup found the
agricultural middle west and west in
support, and the industrial east
against it. The south has divided,
hut a majority of the southerners
supported it.
Vote Trade Passes 1t.
The bill came to the House from
fight in the Senate, in which the
so-called farmer" senators made a
deal with the Morgan group to trade
support for the farm bill for votes
to put over the impcrialistic McFad-
den-Pepper branch banking act, cen
Trailing the banking business as
much as Marx ever predicted, and
creating the basis for an interna-
tional Wall Street owned money
trust.
Bankers Cheated Bloc.
After they did it, apparently some
Of them regretted it. A few Gin
surgents" fought the branch bank
ing act. in vain, and the bankers
double-crossed the farm bloc by
having Mellon write a last-minute
counterblast against it. However,
both bills have passed.
Creates Board.
The McNary- Haugen act is brief
~ as follows:
1t creates Federal Farm Board,
appointed by the president from
nominees selected by cooperatives.
banks and state departments of ag-
riculture.
Loans S250,OO0,00O to the Board
from the Federal treasury.
Permits the Board to declare an
emergency exists in wheat, cotton,
corn, rice, tobacco and swine, on APP
proval of more than half the pro-
ducers.
Permits the Board to make agree
ments with cooperatives or process
sors to finance the purchase, stor-
age or sale Of the commodity to re-
move surplus from the market.
Creates a sterilization and for
this purpose. provided by the levy
ing Of an equalization fee upon each
bale Of cotton, each bushel Of wheat,
ETC., which is sold.
BY removing the surplus from the
market, it is contemplated that the
domestic price of the product shall
be higher than the world price.
Permits the Board to insure pro-
ducers against price fluctuations and
loan money to cooperatives to estab-
lish terminal marketing facilities.
President Coolidge has not yet de-
cided whether to veto or sign the
McNary-Haugen farm relief bill, he
told callers at the White House to-
day.
The bill was discussed at today's
cabinet meeting, and will take the
usual course Of being referred to the
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