Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-09
By WILLIAM HARD.

The President has vnn his first great
legislative political victory and Is about
to face his supreme administrative test.
The farm relief bill as recommended
to both houses Of the Congress by the
conference" between them, and as due
to be accepted by both, is in strict
harmony. on all main points. with the
Presidents preference. The proponents
Of the debenture plan will have sue
cce6ed only in the negative achieve
ment of delaying farm relief by ap-
proximately five weeks. One other plan
inserted into the bill by the Senate
and quietly resisted by the President
and nov eliminated by the conference"
has BEEN almost universally overlooked.
The Senate provided that the new
Federal Farm Board might not only
lend money to sterilization corpora
tionS," but might also buy stock IN
them end become thus part owner
Of them. The United States Govern
ment WOULD thereby have been taken
directly into the business of buying and
selling farm commodities The United
States Government would have been
made into a merchant and a trader.
This provision was wholly contrary
to the Presidents known views of the
proper functions of government He
made no outward move against it. but
advised against it strongly in private
conversation when hts opinion was
sought. The House members of the
conference" between the House and
the Senate found themselves in agree
ment with him. They refused to ac-
cept the provision, and the Senate con-
ference yielded. The bill as reported
back to both houses by the confer
ence" confines the farm board, in its
dealings with rehabilitation corpora
tions." to the lending Of money to them
and to certain other relationships with
them which fall short Of ownership.
Private lnstitutions
The ''stabilizsti ton corporations"
therefore. will remain private inStitu-
tions. The Federal Farm Board will
finance them or not finance them, in
its discretion, according to their merits,
and according to market circumstances.
The Government already does great
deal Of financing Of agriculture through
its Federal Farm Loan Banks and its
intermediate credit banks. II will now
extend that financing through enlarged
dealings with agricultural cooperative
marketing societies and through wholly
new dealings with groups Of agricul-
tUral cooperative marketing societies
organized into 'stabilization corpora
tions," and into clearing house as
sociationS"
That is the essential sum Of the bill,
and that is all that the President
wanted it to be, and that is all that
it is going to be when 1t comes to him
for his signature. The dust having
blown away, he energies with what he
wanted.
He owes this result to three factors
besides his own desires and expressions.
One is the craftsmanship Of the
chairman of the Senate agricultural
committee, Mr.. McNary, who, having
found that he could not get his "equali-
Zation fee" gave himself patiently and
persistently to evolving a bill that the
President could sign. His spirit Of con-
structive accommodation brings his
long labors for farm relief to a prscti-
cal conclusion, which, without him,
could hardly have happened.
The second factor is the behavior of
the Democratic members from the
House of Representatives. of the CON
ference" between the two houses, Mr..
AsweIl and Mr.. Kincheloe. In spite of
the virtually unanimous support given
to the debenture plan by the Democrats
OF the Senate, the Democratic House
conferees held firmly against it in
order to secure farm relief legislation
which would go actually into effect
House Is Uppish.
The third factor is the new uppish-
ness of the House of Representatives
toward the Senate. It is almost as
much as correspondents life is worth
nowadays TO talk to members of the
House of Representatives about the
Senate as the Upper House" Their
uppishness recognizes no upperneSs
anywhere They hold. and quite cor
rectly, to the proposition that the two
houses are constitutionally coordinate.
They despise what they regard as the
legislative tediousness and hardness of
the Senate and they are only too happy
to have any opportunity to evidence to
the Senate their superior cohesion and
will power.
1t would therefore be quite untrue to
say that the Presidents victory in the
matter of the farm relief bill Is solely
his own victory. 1t is victory coming
to him in a large degree from circum-
stances which he did not himself create.
He nevertheless profits from these cir
cumStances and the ultimate outcome
will mean now great enhancement OF
his prestige. He asked for a certain
sort of bill; he gets that sort of bill;
and. roughly and politically speaking, he
is on top.
From that top, Just the same, he looks
forward to a prospect that might we'll
daunt even the stoutest presidential
heart. He must now-and particularly
in the matter of wheat-Atry TO make
this farm bill work.
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