Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-18
HAUGEN URGES j. S.
TO TAKE FARM RISK
Government Should Assume
Pioneer Relief, House Agri-
culture Body Told.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
The relief which the McNary- Hau-
gen bill aims to give the farmers is
an experiment in the public interest
and therefore. the Government
should assume the risk Of the pio-
neering work, Chairman Haugen de-
clared today in reporting the measure
for the House agriculture committee.
"The principle is wen esta blished,
he said, that the Government shall
assume the risk Of pioneering and
experimenting in many fields where
the public interest is involved, ma
to do so In behalf of the public well
fare"
The problems OF American agricul-
ture have become so profound, he
added. that they re beyond the
power of individual farmers or their
relatively small organization to
solve" Admitting that the bill car
ries a large iation-$20O,OOO.-
0O0--he held nevertheless. that this
was merely to set the plan in motion
and was not different from advan.
tages the Government had extended
to various lines of industry.
: No Price-Fixing Element.
He explained the provisions of
, the bill which carries the contro-
versial equa lization fee. as compared
with the Curtis Crisp and Aswell
measures. which do not include such
fee to control crop SURPRISES. There
was no subsidy or price-hXing ele-
ment in the McSary- Haugen bill,
he said.
THE equa lization fee" he asserted,
lis simply the contribution each unit
(bushel. bale or pound makes to
common fund for the commodity. This
stabilize ton fund for wheat. for ex-
ample, makes II possible for an
agency set UP and controlled by the
wheat growers. in cooperation with
the Federal hoard, to say how much
of the surplus of wheat shall he re-
moved from the domestic market at
any time.
Within limits dictated by business
sense, it enables wheat farmers to adj
just the supply of wheat to the needs
of the domestic market at an Ameri-
can price. 1t would mean the same
with rice.
American exports are nearly two
thirds of the worlds international
trade in cotton. Such fund for cot
ton would make il possible for cot
markets Of the world as fast as the
world wanted it at reasonable price. >"
Other commodities upon which the
fee would be levied are corn and
swine.
There are differences in operation"
Mr. Haugen said. but the same prin-
ciple applies to each of the five com
modities. Notwthstandin the ire
mendous up-a nd down movement in
In
rage little, ifany, more corn than we
need here. Variation in corn yields
keeps the farmer in the corn belt In
an endless seesaw between corn and
hogs. To help check this ia one of the
purposes of the measure.
Will Provide Necessary Funds.
Haugen held that the $3.50, 900 900
revolving fund liz not different in prin-
ciple from the monetary reservoir
which began the functions of the Fed
eral Reserve Board or that contribut-
ed to the sterilization of railroads.
After the plan liz once set in motion.
he added. the equalization fee will pro-
vide necessary funds TO keep it going.
Haugen gave rs the cardinal objec-
tives of the bill the following:
To give producers of farm crops
power to influence their market as ef-
fectivelv "a industrial groups.
To afford orderly marketing of crops
Of which the American supply is
dominant factor In world price.
To secure a protected market for
crops of which a relatively small sur
plus enters world trade.
To enable meat producers to main
tain a stable level of swine and cattle
population by steadying prices.
To promote cooperative association.