Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-07
BY WILLIAM HARD.

The new Federal Farm board Will
come into active being probably this
week, with every chance that its South
western member, Mr.. Carl Williams OF
Oklahoma, is on his way to an es-
pecially active and perplexing public
| official career.
This is because wheat Is by far the
I largest and most dif1cult problem that
the new Federal Farm Board will con-
| front and because Mr.. Williams Is the
only member of the board so far named
| who has had any wheat cooperative
marketing experience.
Most Republican politicians here cal.
| culate that wheat and other grains are
responsible for the vital bulk OF the
agricultural political storm which has
harassed and devastated the Repun-
lican party In the Northwest for the
last seven years. They care relatively
little about milk. cream, butter. steers,
sheep. tobacco, cotton, fruits, nuts or
vegetables. They leave 1t principally TO
their Democratic colleagues from the
South to worry about cotton; and they
thankfully note that the other COM
modities last mentioned are either In
a fairly prosperous condition or else
at any rate are costing the Republican
party few seats in the Congress and
few pangs of any prospective political
anxiety. Grains-and especially wheat
they look ut with q different eye
They calculate that II the President
could only solve wheat the Republican
party would be paredoX1cally OUT nap
ply In clover.
Prom this point Of view the personnel
Of the new Federal Farm Board Is e&s-
ing the Republican party and the P1 .A-
dent a great deal Of undated distress
of mind. The President has not been
able yet to get any agreement among
Northwestern wheat interests on
would wish to appoint on the board.
It should be understood that in max
ing appointments to the board the
President has introduced O great novelty
into Federal political practice. Instead
of principally consulting political groups
he has principally consulted economic
groups. Instead Of chiefly asking SEN
ators and Representatives and national
committeeman for their views he mas
chiefly addressed his inquiries to the
direct immediate business representa-
tives of the farmers in their cooper
alive organizations
Moreover, he has sent these inquiries
! out on scale so vast as TO De prop
ably absolutely unprecedented. 1t Us
! not an exaggeration to say that thou
| sands of the economic Spokesman OF the
| farmers have been solicited for their
opinions and recommendation;
Out Of this sort of broad referendum
| the President has been able to secure
and to name 0 certain number OF board
members who In all instances have had
practical economic experience with
| farm problems and who have been re-
ceived by most of the country with an
emphatic display Of at least tentative
approval.
can politicians that not one of these
members comes from the grain States
which have tormented the Republican
! party with independent" and "insur-
gent Senators like Brookhart, Norris
Norbeck, Mckfaster. Nye, Frazier, Sehall
and the Farmer-1Aborite Shipstead.
The Pacific Slope and fruits and nuts
league. The Eastern and Southern
growers Of that arduous crop, tobacco,
are represented by MFR. James c. Stone.
The cattle herds of the West and South
west are represented by Mr.. G. D. Den
man. The dairy barns of the whole
country would have been admirably
represented by DR.. w. s. Moscrip II out
of love for private life he had not re-
fused to serve, and will undoubtedly be
well represented by any one of the other
numerous prominent dairy leaders who
can be chosen In his place.
None of these gentlemen, however,
will be accepted by the Northwestern
cooperative grain-selling interests as
being q competent representative and
reformer Of their disordered and baf-
fling situation.
Nor will they In that capacity &C
cept Mr.. Alexander Legge, who is to be
chairman Of the new board. Mr.. Legge,
It is true, has done nothing In business
all his life long but either labor on o
grain farm or else make machinery
used principally In the harvesting OF
grain. He is not, however, a profess
sional agricultural cooperative Market
ing manager of grain, or even q direct
buyer and professor OF grain; and it is
from one Of those two classes Of men,
as well as from the general region of
the Northwest, that the perfectly pos
| itiveIy satisfactory wheat member Of
| the new board must come.
The failure Of the President to find
| that member has puzzled washington,
| but information arriving here from the
| Northwest has now made the reason
fairly clear.
The wheat cooperative movement
seems to be divided into two contend
| ing elements. They are, first. the wheat
cooperative associations which are
based on the ownership and operation
Of local grain elevators. These ele-
vators, together with certain central
terminal commission agencies which