Douglas daily dispatch., 1928-01-28
FARM RELIEF
|ON NEW ANGLE.
is PROP POSED.
Representative * ct C h a m
Prepares Bill On De-
benture Lines
TARIFF SUBSIDY
President Coolidge Says
Views of Farm Relief
Are Unchanged
T TARIFF SUBSIDY

WASHINGTON Jan. 81 tR-With
week end house recess preventing
introduction of the new Ketcham farm
relief bill which is backed by the
national grange, the agriculture COM
mittee plugged along at its most ag-
gravating problem today and heard
the farm bloc favorite of last session
the McNary- -Haugen bill-assailed as
unsound and unsafe by former Repre-
sentative Sydney Anderson of Lanes
boro, Mimi, who appeared as pres1-
dent of the Mills National fedora
tion.
Representative Ketcham of Michi-
gan, republican member of the
agriculture committee, said tonight
that his export debenture bill would
include two principal features.
First, provision for flexible de-
bentures to be applied according to
each commodity situation and second,
surplus control clause to provide
automatic reduction in the debenture
rate based on the increase in produc-
ton Of any commodity.
Under the former, the minimum de-
benture would be equivalent to no al
lowance at all and the maximum
would be the tariff duty on the COM
modify concerned. Under the latter
provision, production increases would
be judged by the average acreage over
five years.
"It is the simplest but most effec-
tive plan yet evolved" said Ketcham,
"and requires a comparatively lnslg-
/ nificant appropriation to finance the
| .s.a:z iT1Nyn1u0H -
The new plan, which is similar 10
that sponsored by Representative
Jones, democrat, Texas, had been IN
dorsed by Louis j. Taber, master OF
the national grange, on behalf OF
his organization.
Explaining it, Taber said that it is
an arrangement whereby importers
of certain agricultural products re-
ceive from the treasury certificates
having a face value established by
congress and intended to represent
the difference in costs of production
here and abroad such certificates be-
ing negotiable and good for their face
value in the payment of import tariffs
on any articles later imported"
Anderson, who was chairman OF the
ioint congressional commission on
agricultural inquiry in 1921 and 1922,
directed his argument at the agr1-
! cultural committee hearing against the
equalization fee provision in the NC
Nary-Haugen bill. This principle, un-
der which levie$ would be collected
from producers to finance surplus
marketing, already has split the house
| farm bloc. Although defections from
the McNary -Haugen ranks on the most
part have been announced to be on
the ground of political expedlency,
Andersons opposition to the fee rested
! on what he termed to be It's uneco-
nornic aspects and it's unWorkabl1Cy.
He approved settlement of the farm
problem by legislation and sanctloneo
an agency similar to the proposeu
federal farm board, but said its &C
tivities should be limited to organlz-
ing and financing agencies to control
production and should not be OF a
| commercial or price fixing nature
The former Minnesota representative
| attributed to Frank O. Lowden OF
illinois the idea that agricultural
needs could be handled by metnoos
sinoi1a,r to those used in the federal
reserve banking system, and agreed W
an extent provided that no price tlA-
ling would be attempted
While efforts continued in congress
to get action on the debenture plan
of the grange as a substitute for the
McNary-H -Haugen bill, President cool
idge let it be known that his views
Lon farm relief remain unchanged
1t was stated at the White House
that the president considers his views
were adequately set forth in his an
nual message and although his atten-
ton was drawn to tn edebenture plan
(Continued on Page Seven)