Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-16


overwhelming vote was to be expected.
The States whose chief industry is
agriculture have a small representation
in the House. A large element In that
body coming from the manufacturing
centers are opposed to any farm relief,
while still larger element is Subservient
to the party whip.
The Senate finally on Friday, the 14th
of June. passed the administrators
farm marketing bill without the deben-
ture plan amendment and substantially
In the original form In which the bill
was introduced in the House.
In the face of the active and bitter
opposition of the President to the deben-
ture plan, and in view Of the conduct
of the House of Representatives, further
effort upon the part OF the friends OF
the farmers seemed hopeless and futile,
so some of these Senators surrendered
their convictions and voted to pass the
administration bill in the hope that ex-
perience will convince the administra-
ton of their error where pledges, rea-
son and logic have failed.
Borah Is Quoted.
And what is the bill and what has
been accomplished by its passage?' Does
1t constitute redemption of the pledges
made by and on behalf of the Re-
publican party? Let us consult the
opinion of Senator Borah for an answer
to these questions. No one can question
that he is friend of the farmer and
that he was the most effective supporter
OF the President during the last cam
paign. He took part in the drafting Of
the farm plank in the Republican plat
form. He understood and he explained
PC 1iYarr fr 20 <,F II
try and won their confidence and their
support for the Republican ticket. In
his speech in the Senate on June TO-
he said, I'VE think we will be able to
show that the debenture is one of the
indispensable steps to placing the farm
er upon an economic equality with the
other industries so long as other in
dustries are enjoying the protection
which we give them through the tariff"
And further on he declared, IT repeat,
as said in the beginning, the real con-
test in this fight Is whether the farmer
Is to be brought within the purview of
the protective tariff system. If he is
denied a debenture, If he is denied ade-
quate duties, then he Is outside the sys-
tenn, its victim and not its beneficiary"
In reply to Senator Allen, he said, II
do not agree with the Senator upon
that matter. I maintain that II the
debenture plan is essential to placing
the farmer upon an economic equality
with other industries which enjoy the
protective tariff, then our failure to do
It would be a profound violation of the
pledge we made" In those words he
reasserted the position that was main
tanned by all of the advocates of the
debenture amendment.
Senator johnson, in his speech in the
senate on June IL, in opposition to the
administration bin in the form that it
afterward passed the Senate, said: You
may take it that in the DAYS gone py
when the Jardine bill was presented to
the committee on agriculture-and 1t is
the bill that Is presented to US today,
minus the debenture provision-that bill
was repudiated by the committees on
agriculture of both houses of the Con-
gress, by the Republican party, and by
the entire Congress- Thus spoke Senator
Johnson, who ran with Roosevelt,
House Passes New Bill.
Not an advocate of such bill denied
such charge. Similar assertions have
been made on the floor Of the Senate
and no denial was ever recorded.
The House of Representatives has
passed an entire new tariff bill revising
upward hundreds of schedules. What,
for the debenture and who are the
proven friends OF the farmers have to
say with regard to this tarif act? I
again quote from Senator Boral1's
speech. A colloquy took place between
the Senator and Senator Edge. Senator
Edge asserted that the new tariff act
to a very decided extent increased the
tariff upon practically all agricultural
products. Senator Borah replied: Does
Iat ha oI.f@P Hi
just passed by the House would afford
protection to American agriculture?"
To which Senator Edge responded: 1.-THE
Representatives of the agricultural
States. members of the Senate in 1922,
practically wrote the schedule for agri-
culture that appeared in that bill" To
this last statement Senator Borah re-
piled: II do not know anything about
that; but II the representatives of agri-
culture wrote the bill which just passed
the House. my conception of protection
of American agriculture and theirs are
widely different. Continuing. Mr.. Borah
said: MT President, 1t Is not enough
that they put duties upon the agricul-
tural products; the important point is
the protection which they give to agri-
culture compared with the protection
which they give industries. He
dhe farmer) is not willing, in order to
get those protective duties, to have en-
bargoes placed upon manufactured
products" Thus spoke Borah, the
avowed advocate Of the protective tarin
policy.
It is clear. in the opinion of the ad-
vocates of the debenture plan in both
parties, that nothing beneficial has been
accomplished so far during the special
session, and that the Republican ad-
ministration has violated its pledges to
the farmers Of the country. in which
| opinion I respectfully concur.