Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-12
An Empty Victory.

The senate uSDSAIu4C IOa-AO@o1A S1~
ceeded Yesterday in delaying further
the passage of the farm-relief OIL
which has the backing Of President
Hoover. Doubtless the farmers will be
grateful to them, particularly at time
when farm relief is greatly needed. Every
day of delay in setting up the mach1n-
ery provided in the farm-relief bill and
in providing the $500, 100000 fund for
more orderly marketing of the crops Is
costly to the American farmer.
Members Of the Democratic and IN
surgent Republican groups who voted
down the conference report on the farm
bill and thereby again tied up this I'M
portant legislation take refuge in the
excuse that the House should vote d.
rectly on the debenture plan before they
yield and permit the bill to become
law without the debenture. Indeed,
some of them announce that they will
step aside and no longer delay the bill
after the House shall have taken the
vote. Yet there has never been any
doubt as to the action of the House on
the debenture proposal. Furthermore,
even though debenture should be &C
cepted by the House, there is every rea-
son to believe that President Hoover
would veto the measure If 1t came to
him in that form. The action OF the
Senate, therefore, can only be con-
sidered as postponing the day on which
the Hoover administration, under act
of Congress, begins work of aiding the
American farmer.
President Hoover took cognizance Of
the Senate action. He issued state
ment to the country following the vote
yesterday in which he set forth clearly
the exact situation. He called attention
to the fact that the conferees' bill car
ried out the plans of farm relief advo-
Gated in the campaign Gin every partic-
| ular." Subsidies, he said, were con-
demned in the course of the campaign
and the so-called debenture plan, which
| is a subsidy on exports, was not adj
vanced in the campaign by either party
nor by its proponents.
The Senate will have q hard time
justifying its course to the country and
more particularly to the farmers. The
agitation for the debenture plan has
been here In Washington. It has been
fostered by Democratic leadership in
the Senate which has sought to make
an issue of debenture in opposition to
the Republican administration. 1t has
been fostered by some Republican Sen
ators who were hostile to President
Hoover during the presidential cam
paign and by some who were not hos
tile. Among the last have been Sen
ator Borah of Idaho and Senator Brook
hart of Iowa, both of whom campaigned
vigorously for Mr.. Hoover. It is incon-
ceivable that these two Senators could
be actuated in their stand on debenture
by any desire to embarrass the Hoover
administration. They believe in the
efficacy of the plan. They have not
been willing to submerge their personal
opinions in the interest Of responsible
action by the party in control Of the
legislative and executive branches OF
the Government. They have, by their
stand, played into the hands Of those
who wish either to embarrass the adj
ministration or to prevent action on
any farm-relief agitation.
The House, in all probability, will
now take vote again on the farm-re-
lief bill and reject the debenture plan.
Already leaders of the coalition in the
Senate are hailing this as victory for
their position. At best it will be an
empty victory for which the American
farmers will have had to pay through
the delay in the final enactment CT
farm legislation.