Evening star., 1932-11-24
DEMOCRATS ADOPT
THREE-WAy PLAN
Beer, Economy and Farm Aid
to Receive First Action
of New Congress.
Continued From First Page.)

California will permit beer to come up
without insisting on light wines"
Representative Smell, the Republican
leader, who returned to the Capital yes
terday, declined to discuss beer legis-
lation, but indicated he would express
his views shortly.
Collier divided the problem of beer
legislation into three parts. He gave
them as:
FIRST, the declaration of alcoholic
content.
Second, determination of the proper
tax.
Third, methods of distribution"
He said the decision on alcoholic con-
tent rested with the Judiciary Com
mittee.
The Mississippian emphasized that
yesterdays meeting dealt only with
procedure and not with merits OF the
legislation.
Questioned regarding a general sales
tax, Collier said it would offer another
source of revenue" but added:
II doubt whether any serious efforts
will be made to press the sales tax this
session"
Collier said he favored repeal of g.
cent first-class postage, repeal OF the
cneCk LAX anu dDdIluUIlIllcAt VI bAiC
Federal gasoline tax.
Committee members present at the
meeting, included: Collier, Rainey,
Douehton of North Carolina, Ragon of
Arkansas and Vinson of Kentucky,
Democrats, and Hawley, Treadway of
Massachusetts, Bacharach Of New Jersey
and Watson of Pennsylvania, Re-
publicans.
Speaker Garner, the Vice President
elect. announced that the Democrats
would seek early enactment of farm
relief bill and expressed the hope that
it would be a non-partisan measure.
Plan to Rush Measure.
Plans to push such a measure were
made following conferences between Mr..
Roosevelt, Garner, Rainey and Chair
man Jones of the House Agriculture
Committee and other Democratic
legislators.
Rainey and Jones were designated to
arrange drafting of bill. Rainey said
he would ask farm leaders to. confer
with him prior to the opening of Con-
gress and that hearings would begin
during the first week after it assemblies.
The basis of the measure will be the
allotment plan, Rainey said. which
would provide at least $250,000,000
year for the farmers.
Three hardy perennials of agricul-
tural leg;slation-farm relief, Philippine
independence and mortgage financing
are expected to come before the lame
duck" session as result of President
elect Roosevelt's conferences.
During his campaign, Roosevelt
stressed the need for making the tariff
effective on farm produce, giving fats
and oils the full measure of protection
and refinancing farm loans at a rate OF
interest sufficiently low to permit dis
possessed owners to regain their lands.
Scope of Farm Relief.
While farm relief" broadly encom-
passes any legislation of benefit to ag-
it has come to represent
within the last 10 years a program to
control surplus production and make
the tariff applicable to agriculture as
we'll as to industry. 1t is regarded as
entirely possible that the proposed con-
ference of farm representatives In
Washington before December will find
the American Farm Bureau Federation
holding out for the old equalization fee,
the National Grange for the export
and the newer school of
thought pulling for the allotment plan
by w. r. Ronald, editor of
the Mitchell, s. OAK, Republican, and
his associates.
1t is conceded no group will oppose
substitution of any one or all of the
plans for the stabilization clause of the
agricultural marketing act as admin
istered by the Federal Farm Board.
Under the allotment plan the Agri-
culture Department would estimate the
probable production of surplus crop.
the probable domestic consumption and
producers would be issued Treasury
certificates for the amount of the tariff
per unit OF measure allotted to them
individually as their share Of the do
mestic production.
Marketing Arrangement.
Thus. If a farmer were accustomed
to. producing ! 1000 bushels of wheat and
the department found that the domes-
tic market could absorb 800 bushels of
his crop he would be given negotiable
certificates of ~ cents bushel on that
amount in addition to the market price,
and the remainder would have to be sold
at prevailing world levels.
The certificates, at first, would be
paid out of a revolving fund estab-
lished for that purpose by appropria-
ton and later out Of the accumulation
CT excise taxes collected from producers
at the point the commodity entered
channels of commerce
The plan contemplates placing a
duty OF cents pound on cotton and
2 cents pound on hogs, and possibly
embracing tobacco, on which a duty
would have to be fixed.