Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-11
DEBENTURE TEST
Q IN SENATE TODAY
Farm Bill Fate Will Be De-
cided at d O'Clock in
Ballot on Report.
CONTINUED From First Page.)


that the bill including it would b.
Sttoec.
An eleventh hour drive for votes b.
both the friends and foes of the de-
Venture plan was under way when thu
Senate assembled at noon.
If the conference report should be re-
jected by the Senate a motion seeking
expected, with instructions from th'
Senate to its conferees to insist upor
the debenture clause. If it passes. the
measure will be ready for the President
The coalition Democrats have de-
clared that if the House will take 6
direct vote on dcbenture and, Should
it be defeated in that vote. they vii
not longer insist upon holding up the
farm bill but will let 1t go through
without the debenture clause. The Re-
publican leades, ~ the House in the
past, however, ha - fatty refused tt
take the debenture to the House fol
a vote. Some of them insist thai
it does violence to the constitutional
prerogative of the House to originate
all revenue legislation.
Claim Fear of House Test.
The Democrats and Republican in
surgents claim that tie Republican lead
ers of the House are afraid to put the
debenture to the test of a vote in the
House This is fatty denied by the
Republicans, who assert it would be
beaten badly in vote of the House.
The debenture was put into the farm
bill originally by the Senate by close
vote of AZ to A against the solid adj
ministration lineup.
Several switches have been rumored
Senator Trammel, Democrat, Florida
announced today he would support the
conference report. He voted before fol
the debenture. This gave the admins
tration a gain of one sure vote
Senator Walsh of Massachusetts,, one
of the four Democrats who voted against
the debenture clause when 1t was nrS'
before the Senate, announced TO-DAY or
the floor his purpose of voting agains'
the conference report on the Dill. he
said in explanation OF his vote:
From the outset I have been OPP
posed to the debenture plan, because
as is frankly stated by its sponsors, 1t Is
a bounty. This. all agree, to be radi-
cal departure from the policy OF our
Government, but is justified by its ad-
vocates on the theory that 1t puts the
farmer on par with the manufacturer
who is a beneficiary of a protective
tariff.
Sees Debenture Doomed.
"There is little danger. in view OF tle
attitude of the House, OF the debensure
plan being enacted into law at the
present time. My vote and the vote OF
few others, however, may de lde the
tate of the House farm rel.ef bill
Though I am not so strenuously OPP
posed to the House bill as I am TO the
debenture, yet my opposition TO the
House bill is such that do not propose
to aid in its enactment into law.
1.-The provision for the creation OF a
Federal Farm Board in the So-called
House bill sets up bureau to which Is
given a working fund of $500, 600, 900
of public money. 1t places the Gov
eminent in the farming business. I am
opposed to the Government being en-
gagged in the business Of agricultural
production and marketing just as much
as am opposed to the Government d.
recting any other industry or business
I am opposed to the agricultural inter-
estS of the country becoming political
foot bali or being regulated by politi-
cal board.
THAT which is the trouble with the
farm problem is not unlike the difh-
culties experienced by the textile and
coal industries. For several economic
reasons the textile industry, like the
farming industry, is in bad plight:
Why not propose to eQualiZe 1t with all
IldIuIdCIuElGS
sociationS till the price Is rlghp why
not stabilize with Government aid the
extensive unemployment in the country?
"Overproduction, together with the
waste between the farmer and the con-
sumner, due to the excessive freight rates
and profits of the middle man, Is one. II
not the chief, difficulty of agriculture.
Nothing is proposed in these measures
to eradicate these.
Urges Elimination Of Waste.
'The first way to solve the farm prob
lem is the elimination Of every penny
of waste between farmer and consumer,
whether it rises from speculation, haZ-
ard or otherwise. I favor preferential
freight rates for all food products. BY
such method the farmer and consumer
would both benefit, and no bounty ex-
tended that one group must pay to an
other group.
mo governmental agency should en-
gage in buying, selling and price-fxing
of agricultural products. Neither should
any policy be adopted that would in
creas surplus production. The proposed
farm relief measures indirectly do these
things.
why should the farmer become tn,
sole solicitude Of the Government bI
having a board created to nurse his III!
able, which, to my mind, is only thu
beginning OF increased appropriation
by the hundreds of millions of dollar'
from time to time? Does not this NEAR
increased tax burdens, further central
ization of Government and no assurance
of benefits to the farmer?
ITEMS Of thousands Of Independent
merchants throughout the country ar
in dire distress and likely to lose thei
businesses through the cutting of price
by chain stores. Why not organize ont
great chain of marketing agencies ant
put UP a fund of $500 ,000 900 to STABILIZE
these merchants against chain-stor
competition? Such a proposal no on
would dare consider seriously.
Both of these proposals are an in
sidious march toward bureaucracy anC
socialism. AS to the House bill, w
hear it said that there is no pric'
fixing and no bureaucracy. yet 1t pro
poses to loan several hundred million
of dollars to carry crops until they car
be disposed of and at the same tim
create a farm board with small arm!
of employees with tremendous and un
defined powers.
Talk of compromise propose
whereby the export debenture woul'
be put in the farm relief bill for
two-year tryout was heard during TIT
morning.
DEFENDERS OF REPUBLIC