Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-17
The Farm Board 20. KID"

So the Federal Farm Board at length
has the august approval Of the United
States Senate, and can now pursue the
more or less even tenor Of its way. Final
action ensued yesterday, when the
advice and-consent-giving branch OF
the Government bestowed It's accolade
upon the eight men appointed by Pres
ident Hoover to administer the 1923
agricultural relief law.
1t can hardly be said that this gesture
Of senatorial clemency was made un-
grudgingly. Chairman Legge's nomina-
ton was confirmed by a vote of 81 to
10; former Gov McKelvie of Nebraska,
wheat's spokesman. by so to ~; and
Mr.. williams of Oklahoma, representa-
tive of cotton, by 81 to 20. The six
other members Of the Farm Board were
"ok'd" without record votes.
Several significant angles, impingins
upon important fundamentals in our
political system, are involved, both In
the manner in which the Federal Farm
Board was formed and in which its
members had, almost literally, to fight
for their public lives. Probably never
before in the whole history of presi-
Dental patronage was there named for
high Office set Of men who were so
meticulously selected and scrutinized as
the eight finally appointed to carry out
the farm-relief system
They were finally and formally sp-
pointed by the President, but long before
he acted each of them had been pro-
posed. Endorsed and eulogized by q host
Of individuals and organizatio quail
fed to speak in agriculture name. Mr..
Hoover. as all the world knows, has
adopted the novel system of disclosing
the character Of support which aspirants
to major Federal jobs command. Chap
ter-and-verse evidence on that score is
sought. and, when obtained and II a
given candidate is nominated. is broad
cast to the country. The purpose is
that all concerned may know that, as
far as is humanity possible, the Presi-
dent is moving with a maximum Of
Judgment and caution in manning the
ship of state.
When the Senate agricultural COM
mittee was asked to confirm Chairman
Legge and his colleagues, q great hue
and cry was raised about the "eliglbil-
ity' of this or that one Of them. The
mountain of first-hand authoritative
backing they had in the farming world,
when Mr.. Hoover drafted them, was
ignored and scorned. The result was a
typical Capitol Hill inquisition, which,
before it burnt itself out, put men mer-
cilessly on the rack. They cut the f1g-
ure. Of citizens on trial for the high
crime and misdemeanor of ccnspiring
to serve their country-that, and moth
ing more.
The records no doubt disclose more
than one instance of an unfortunate
presidential appointment denied con-
firmation for valid reasons. Some cur
rent history in Washington reminds US
that senatorial zeal In X-rayinK certain
nominations to exalted Federal positions
eight years ago might have saved the
Republic much Of its shame and pre-
served from ruin q number Of reputa-
tons. But there Is such q thing as un-
reasonably excessive zeal, and many cit
liens feel that the course just run by
the Farm Board nominations is an ex.
ample Of 1t.
The browning pity of such a system
is that 1t VIGOROUSLY frightens Glass A
men out Of all willingness to place
their services at their Governments
disposal. On occasion, that constitutes
an irreparable loss to the Republic.