Evening star., 1933-04-16
Many Bills Are PiIing Up as
Legislators Fail to
Agree.
FARM RELIEF MEASURE
LATEST TO MEET DELAY
Senator Robinson Unable to Limit
Debate as Fight Goes on
for Amendments,
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

Administration leaders in Senate and
House are faced today with the fact
that the administrations legislative
program is making less speedy progress.
The Senate has had before it the
farm relief bill for more than a week
When that body quit work last night
the prospects for early action on the
measure were not good 1t may take
another week to pass it.
In the House-which was idle yes
terday - the machinery had slowed
down because none of the administra-
tion's more recent proposals were reaoy
for consideration but awaited action by
the committees to which they had been
referred. In this category were the
securities bill, the Muscle Shoals bill,
the Wagner relief bill, the home mort
gage Dill and the bank reform bill, on
which Chairman Steagall has been
working for some time and over which
the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr..
Steagall and the Glass subcommittee or
the Senate Banking Committee have
gone to the mat.
IIOlOnge0 session Seen.
It was frankly admitted that unless
the machinery was geared higher than
IN the last week or 10 days to turn out
the laws proposed by the administra-
ton the Congress might be here until
August.
Senator Robinson of Arkansas the
Democratic leader of the Upper House,
sought in vain yesterday to obtain
unanimous consent to limit debate on
the farm bill, beginning tomorrow, 50
that Senators should be limited to Ia
minute speeches.
Senators Long of Louisiana and
Wheeler Of Montana, who have silver
remonltlzation amendments to the
Iarm Dill pending, took exception to
the proposal, although Senator Robin
son explained that if Senators wished
70 make long speeches on the subject
OF currency imitation they would have
all OF the day in which to be heard
Senator Thomas of Oklahoma has
offered an amendment to the farm bill,
seeking currency imitation, too, which
proposes alternative steps which the
President, In his discretion, could take.
The f1rSt OF these is the issuance of
United States notes In denominations
OF 81, IS, $40. $40, $50, $100, $500,
$1,000 and Sl0,000-fiat money, green
backs or whatever they may be called
with the credit Of the Government
backing them. The second proposal in
the Thomas amendment looks to free
coinage OF gold and silver on a ratio to
be fixed by the President. A third pro-
posal would authorize the President to
reduce the gold content of the dollar,
and fourth would look to the estab-
lishment of dollar stabilization
board to maintain the Stabilized
purchasing power of the dollar"
Defeat Forecast.
Unless Senators sponsoring these
currency imitation amendments are
themselves deceived, none of these
amendments will be added to the farm
bill. They are advancing them at this
stage OF the game with the idea of
writing them into the farm bill. What
they want, however, is a full discussion
of the imitation proposals, hoping to
glin strength through the debate in the
Senate and the consequent publicity.
There IS firm conviction among
many Democratic Senators other than
those now advancing imitation amend
ments to the farm bill that before the
present Congress closes some measure
designed to initiate the currency will be
adopted
1ney expect II TO come, however,
either as separate measure or as part
of one of the bills other than the farm
bill. The farm bill is to be used as the
sounding board for the imitation idea.
While the proponents of silver pur-
chases and the remonitization of that
metal, among them Senator Wheeler of
Montana, insist that their proposal is
the most practical and wisest, there ere
other Senators who hold that the best
plan is the reduction of the gold con-
tent in the dollar.
The big bond issues by the Govern
ment for a public works program and
relief of various kinds, will, it Is in
sisted in other quarters. give consider
able measure of imitation, and some of
the Senators would prefer to confine
imitation to that course
Senator Wheeler, who is strongly
supporting remonitiZation of silver on
the 16-to-1 basis, said yesterday:
"One word from the White House
and we could put through legislation to
remonetize silver"
AS a matter of fact, the Democrats
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