Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-15
CAREER HAS BEEN CoLORFUL.
Legge Refuses to Let Accusers Assafl
Him Without Answers.

Him Without Answers.
A tall man with trace Of the plow-
mans Int In his stride called at the
White House and talked for about q
half hour with President Hoover in
June, 1929.
He was Alexander H. Legge of Chi
cago, president Of the International
+ rvester Co., and in that brief confer
ence he agreed to become chairman
Of the newly organized Farm Board.
| With o half billion dollars of Govern
mems money behind it and the admin
istratioSs blessing there were hopes
that it wSIld be agriculture's Moses.
Almost from the day that Legge took
ofhce, in July. 1929, there has been one
long controversy over the boards poll
cies. Il ranged from the Senate and
House floors to goods boxes in cross
road hamlets, but the board has not
lacked defenders, nor has Alexander
Legge suffered in silence.
Has Had Many Fights.
He has been unique in an oficial
world given to weighing phrases. There
has hardly been month when he was
not engaged In q verbal cross-fire, but
ne has held his own, giving lambast for
lambaSt.
Iegge's frankness extends to mistakes
eLtC UOuLu 4Anc MAUI IN november,
1929, 1t had decided that the price Of
cotton and wheat was due to rise. and
his summary Of the situation was that
any one who sold the commodities for
the money offered them was foolish {"
Wheat was almost q dollar and A
half a bushel then, and cotton was
around 10 cents . pound. They have
fallen since then until those prices look
like peaks.
The Farm Board chairman has adj
mitted that he and his fellow members
most brilliant nnanciers did not foresee
the worldwide attack Of economic In.
digestion which came.
Replied to Chamber.
The board within q few months after
1t was formed helped set up giant cor
porations to handle the commodities
they represented. It began to lend
them millions, and as the money went
out the shouts of protest from cotton
factors, grain and wool dealers began to
come in.
The Chamber of Commerce of the
United States made remarks about the
board which brought this comment
from Legge:
THE chamber wants the Farm Board
to hang its clothes on a hickory limb
but not go near the water"
Some Senators attacked him in Janu-
airy, 1880, after conference on cotton,
accusing him of costing Southern cot
ton farmers millions of dollars.
Legge paid his respects to his official
criticizers by terming them "the wild
men Of the Senate"
Wheat went to q dollar in February,
1880, and the Sterilization Board for
that commodity was set up. 1t had
unlimited power of operation, and II
there were losses due to its operations,
the Government was to bear them.
Grain traders led chorus for repeal Of
the act creating the board, but Legge
replied grimly:
1.-THE board is still in the ring and
does not hesitate to face the fireworks"
Preached Acreage Reduction.
The board chose as its gospel acre
age reduction, and Legge was the
prophet. He travelled West, urging CO.
operation and fewer acres.
There has been comparative quiet for
the last few months, although there
was one rather sharp exchange with
John A. Simpson, president Of the Ma
tional Farmers Union. He said the
Farm Board had tried to break the
price Of wheat and had opposed an
advance in cotton.
Legge said Simpson was an "un-
mitigated liar"
Congress recently voted the last
500, 000, 900 Of the original $500, 900, 900.
The Farm Board up until that time had
loaned $442 ,128,096. but $l38.476,125
had been paid back, leaving $283, $751;
970 outstanding. Friends of the board
say the work the board has done in
organizing co-operatitves VIII have its
effect when the depression passes.
Eegge came to Washington ct time
when there was a great furore over So
cial precedence. He 1evers partieipated
in that quarrel, but remark he made
is still remembered. He said If mere
was any trouble about where to place
him at the table that he would eat M