Evening star., 1933-05-14
FARMERS ESCAPE
FEDERAL CONTROL.
Most Other Lmes'of Business
to Be Under Government In.
fIuence if Plans Carry.
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

As President Roosevelt signed and put
In effect the farm relief bill he, with
his advisers, began completing his draft
of the bill for government partnership
in control of industry. At the same
time there is pending in Congress the
measure co-ordinating railroads. The
sum of these three will bring under va
rying degrees of government control
substantially every industry in the
United States. The largest exception
remaining most nearly free of Govern
ment regulation will be agriculture.
Contrary to common assumption, 1t Is
not farming that is brought under Gov
ernment control by the farm relief bill;
only those farmers need submit to
Government regulation who choose to
enter into contracts to limit their pro-
duction.
1t is the professors" Of farm crops
the purchasers and manufacturers, spin
ners of cotton, millers of wheat, pack
ers of stock and the like who are re-
quired to get licenses from the Federal
Government and are subject to having
these licenses taken from them without
appeal by the Secretary of Agriculture.
BY the measure for what President
Roosevelt calls partnership Of the Gov
ernment in control of industry, practi-
cally all indutries other than those al
ready covered by the farm relief bill
will be brought under somewhat the
same type of control, although milder.
BY the railroad bill, transportation is
brought under analogous control.
Coincide With Recovery.
Discussion of these measures deals
mainly with two fields. The first IS the
effectiveness of these steps to achieve
the object intended. which is to over
come depression. AS to this there is
general assent that these measures.
even in anticipation, coupled with
other conditions, are coinciding with
business recovery. Those who prefer
to think the present recovery would
have come, anyhow, are few in num-
bers and are engaged in profitless dis
cussion of an If"
The other line of discussion deals
with control of industry as an innova-
ton in the American conception OF gov
eminent and the American social sys-
tenn. As to this it is to be observed
that on nearly all these measures there
is a time limit The railroad bill Is
limited to one year. with possibility OF
renewal for an additional year by a
presidential proclamation. The bill for
control of industry in its present form
is limited to two years. Many OF the
powers conferred on the President by
the farm relief bill are limited to one
year, with possible renewal Tor another
wear. About the farm relief bill as
whole Mr.. Roosevelt has said that he
regards it as an experiment" and that
If it does not succeed he will be the first
to recommend repeating 1t.
This limitation of time is important
as bearing on the spirit in which the
bills are written and on the degree to
which these innovations are serious.
Had there been intention to make a
permanent change in the American sys-
TEN the bills would not have been
limited in time AS it now stands most
of the powers conferred on the Presl-
dent will come automatically to an end.
If they are to be renewed the renewing
must be done by new Congress reflect
ing whatever are the conditions two
years or thereabouts from now. There
is vast difference between conferring
powers with time limit and without.
As to most of these measures, the
powers conferred by Congress will come
back to them automatically. The inno-
vations will cease automatically.
Sees Act as Primer"
1t is also a fact that in each case a
majority of those who are brought under
control welcome the new status. In
each group of industries affected some
70 to so per cent welcome what is being
done. The new measures convey some
government control over industry, but
they also confer a valuable privilege IN
the form of permission to suspend COM
petitive practices. This permission is
essentially suspension for the time of
the Sherman antitrust act.
The control given the Government is
very drastic, but also elastic. In exer-
else it can be onerous or easy. Much,
therefore. depends on the officials in
charge George Peek, chosen to admin
lister the farm relief bill, is business
man who does not see this measure as
one in the class interest of farmers as
against business. The conception rather
n that purchasing power put into the
hands of farmers will act as primer"
"a start the whole economic structure
al tna country inward.