Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-12

benture plan OF farm rel1ef, which PreSl-
dent Hoover has rejected.
Mexico, urged abolition of the electoral
college in electing presidents. He as
sailed huge election campaign funds
and proposed strengthening the corrupt
practices act to curb them. This act
requires reports to the clerk of the
House on political expenditures.
La Guardia Writes Letter.
Conferences of Progressive leaders in
tive La Guardia, Republican, New York,
in a letter from his sick bed. He also
urged unemployment insurance, study
of interest rates and national system
of unemployment service.
Harold L. Ickes, Chicago attorney.
asserted "a new set Of masters have
set up a tyranny In our land"
THE power interest, the tariff bene-
ficiaries, the money lords and the boot
leggers," he said, to-day sit in the seats
of the mighty"
A committee appointed by the con-
ference to recommend tariff legislation
agreed on a program for rate revision
and condemned the 1880 act as oppres-
sive to agriculture, labor and the con-
sumner.
Their recommendations are estab-
lishment of a peoples counsel before
the Tariff Commission, removal OF pro-
lection from price-flXing monopolies and
the substitution of Congress for the
President in making effective commits
sion recommendations.
Still Favors Debenture.
Senator Borah of Idaho opened the
Progressive conference at its meet
ing yesterday afternoon declaring his
support of the so-called debenture
plan.
Senator Borah said that despite the
promises made during the campaign,
nothing has been done by the present
administration toward permanent so
luton of the farm problem in this
country.
At the outset of his address, Senator
Borah referred to a speech made at the
recent meeting of the Democratic Ma
tional Committee in Washington by
Chairman John j. Raskob. He said:
THE gentleman who\led in the discus
sion led for the rich and the capitalists
and urged that attacks upon them
cease merely because they were rich or
capitalists. To attack q man because
he is rich or a capitalist is unwise and
continued Senator Borah,
but the rich live under the laws the
same as the poor and there should be
q government of laws which covers the
wealthy as well as the poor.
Our own depression has been &C
centuated by a coterie of capitalists
who inaugurated the most remarkable
billions of securities at prices out of all
touch with values. Hundreds Of thou
sands of people were stripped of their
life's earnings, and then we're thrown
back on the world to wander through
life in want or commit suicide"
Lists Stock Losses.
Senator Borah listed a number of
stocks which had shrunk in price with
tremendous loss to the investors. He
mentioned the International Telegraph
g. Telephone stock, which dropped from
l49 to 26, with loss of $500, 600, 900 to
the investors; Montgomery-Ward stock,
which sold at 156 and dropped to 18,
Electric stock, which sold at 101 and
dropped to As, with loss of $50, 000,-
900, and General Motors, which dropped
from 90 to 80, with loss of many hun
dreds of millions of dollars He said
that survey Of rs of the leading secur-
titles showed q loss TO investors of
$4,000, 900 900.
Few governments and communities
could stand such shock" said Senator
Borah. Senator Borah disclaimed any
desire to confiscate property.
THE economists advise us that 8 per
cent of the American people own rs
per cent of the wealth of the country
Let us say that per cent own 80 per
cent of the wealth of the country.
would not take it from them. But
there ought to be political party which
will worry more about the So per cent
than the per cent"
Senator Borah said that it had been
estimated that there were 900, 000, 900
people on the verge of hunger through
out the world. He said that there was
an abundance of food and surplus of
clothing. He said that no one must
underestimate the seriousness Of the
problem of caring for the goo, oo0, 900 on
the verge of hunger.
Promised Relief Measures.
The agricultural situation in this
country, Senator Borah said, presented
a part of the problem represented by
the So per cent of the people who own
a comparatively small part of the
wealth of the country. He said that
the farmers, some 100000 of them. are
in deep distress, distress which Is
deepening with each year. In 1928, he
said, both the major political parties
recognized the situation in which agri-
culture found itself and both pledged
that the inequality of agriculture with
industry should be remedied.
In the last two years." said Senator
Borah, mo permanent step has been
taken to remedy the situation I do not
forget the Farm Board and its efforts.
The Farm Board has failed. It had TO
fail. There was no element in the law
which created it Of a permanent policy.
1t was not adapted to deal with the
permanent problem. The remedy must
yet be devised. The problem is still
before us, calling for the patriotism of
the leaders of the country"
Senator Borah called attention to the
fact that values of farm property in the
last decade have shrunk by sos 600 ,OOO,-
600. He said that there had been a
shrinkage Of IS per cent of the value of
the farm crops during the same period,
and that the population of the Ameri-
can farms had shrunk is per cent.
During the same time, he said, farm
bankruptcies had increased 474 per cent.
while taxes on the farmers had in
creased greatly. He warned that q
paralysis was taking hold of
American agriculture.
Calls Recess Tragedy.
1T is clear as the noon day sun that
some solution must be found" said
Senator Borah. "You do not desire to
see the American farmer pass through
the condition Of a peasant"
Taking up the question of the de-
benture. which he has advocated for
the last two years, Senator Borah in
sisted that there was no difference be-
tween the protective tariff for the bene-
fit Of manufactured goods and the
bounty or debenture on American farm
goods. He said that it was tragedy
while these problems awaited solution
the American Congress had been per-
mitted to go home. He urged the
members of the conference to 60 back to
the country and formulate public opin-
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