Evening star., 1933-08-20
GEORGIA COTTON
FARMERS TO ASK
ROOSEVELT'S AID
Gov. Tamadge Will Lead
Delegation to White House
to Present Plea.
BY EDWIN CAMP.
,ecial Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch 10 The Sth.
ATLANTA, Ga, August 19.-Iha
Georgia congressional delegation, with
Gov. Eugene Talmadge as coach and
cheer leader, hopes to appear this week
before that most eminent OF Georgia
farmers, President Franklin d. Roose-
welt, and reveal to him their views OF
the plight of his fellow agrtculturists
with a plea for instant and enectlVe
action. 49,
They hope they will be joined In the
proceedings by the Governors OF o1hGf
cotton growing States, to whom TAI
madge is addressing invitations.
Senior Senator Walter F. George ana
Representative Emmett Owen OF the
fourth district were appointed at tne
meeting of the delegation held In Az
lanta this week to arrange fof tne
White House audience.
The meeting here was called oStenSl-
bly to devise means of putting pressure
on the Federal Government, which mas
been withholding the allotment to the
State Of $4,000, 900 for highway con-
struction under the public works Dill.
Those funds remain in Washington. al
though nearly all the other States nave
begun construction with their proceeds
from the same appropriation.
Probe Status Of Board.
The officials Of the Department OF
Agriculture and the Bureau Of Public
Works have looked with cold eye on the
election Of Georgia's Highway Comms-
sion by martial law at the order OF Tai
madge, and say they have been invests
eating the status of the new board
which he appointed. Until they have
become convinced of the legality OF the
de facto commission they saS there Will
be no Federal aid despite the appropri-
alton.
The upshot of the discussion of this
situation, which has proved the one
embarrassment Gov. Talmadge has
drawn from his spectacular recourse
to military force, was that the congress
sional delegation decided to appeal di-
rectly to President Roosevelt.
Then 1t decided that getting higher
prices for farm products, especially cot
ton, was more important than $40 000,-
900 for road work, and thus the dele
cation amplified the scope of its appeal.
It was agreed by all the speakers at
the meeting that the slump in the price
of cotton from q peak Of IL cents a
month ago to about cents now had
been . blow to the South's agricultural
recovery pfU6pcCtS. IL NdS 1ul IilC1
agreed that Representative Carl Vim
son was correct when he said mo farm
er can live on the present price Of cot
ton"
Want Prices "Pegged."
So the delegation agreed to ask the
| President to block the downward trend
of the prices Of major products, par
tfcularly cotton, tobacco, peanuts and
corn, by the imposition Of processing
taxes, with compensating taxes on COM
peting products, such as jute and other
fabrics competing with cotton in textile
manufacture"
The loss Of cents q pound In the
market price of cotton during the past
month has of course. been disappoint-
ing to Southern business, as well as to
the growers themselves. yet it remains
an inescapable fact that the price now
! is 80 per cent higher than when the
crop was planted and when it must be
assumed, the farmers were reconciled
to Q 6-cent price, since there was then
no valid reason to expect an improve
ment.
The crop will be grown at the lowest
cost in 40 years, the acreage was ex-
panded tremendously, the growing sea-
son has been ideal and despite the
Government bounty for plowing under
] 80 per cent Of the crop, the yield In the
Eastern belt will be extraordinary.