Evening star., 1933-02-02
HOG RA|SERS SPLIT
!. ON FARM AID BILL
Conflicting Views Given at
Hearing-Easing of Mort
cages Discussed.
BY the Associated Press.

Hog raisers gave conflicting views on
the wisdom Of the domestic allotment
farm price-raising bill before one Sen
ate committee today, while another
heard an appeal for legislation to ease
the agricultural mortgage situation.
Earl C. Smith, president of the Illi-
nois Agricultural Association. Endorsed
the allotment bill in its application to
hogs, saying the increased cost to the
consumer would be slight compared to
the benefit to the farmer.
Several other witnesses including F.
c. Collins of Denver, president of the
American National Live Stock Associa-
ton, took the opposite view, saying
never would it be possible to right the
price discrepancy between agricultural
and other products by any arbitrary
price fixing plan"
Interest Cut Visualized.
and debt relief measures, c. B. Jennett
of Chicago, vice president of the First
Trust Joint Stock Land Bank, said
suspension of mortgage foreclosures by
some insurance companies has been
motivated by business policy" and in
dicated that some of them may be
forced to reduce their interest rates IN
order to collect.
Assailing arguments advanced by the
meat packers, Smith replied to the con-
tention previously advanced by G. F. Swift
Of Chicago, on behalf of the Institute OF
American Meat Packers, that pork
prices would go up 100 per cent under
the bill, causing the public to turn to
other meats and resulting in making
much Of the hog production unsaleable.
Smith asserted the Increase in price
during the Initial marketing period
provided In the bill would be only y
10 az cents per pound. The increased
price. he said, would cost the average
family Of four only $1,000 a year.
Sees Bigger Buying Power.
He argued this would be more than
worth while to bring about an increase
Of 100000, 900 to $3.50, 100000 in the
buying power of farmers.
Asserting IS per cent Of the con-
sumer cost is now being absorbed
somewhere between the professor and
the consumer" Smith said he was mot
ready to admit" the increased price to
the farmer would be reflected in added
cost to the consumer.
Smith said the bill would not cause
hogs to become unstable, contendlng
the 20 per cent production cut required
would bring about adjustment between
supply and demand.
b. C. Harvey, a Wauneta Nebr.,
livestock producer, opposed the bill as
1t applies to hogs.
you can't control production Of hogs
on the farm" he said
He told the Senators the bill would
be a good thing if it would work"
James Allen of Valley, Nebr.. an
other livestock producer, also opposed
the inclusion of hogs, while o. o. Wolf.
of Ottawa. Kans., representing the
National Livestock Marketing Associa,
ton. favored inclusion of cattle and
sheep in the bill along with hogs.
Farm Mortgages Discussed.
The farm mortgage situation was
brought to the fore at another hearing
when Bennett said: there is not any
reasonable institution with times as
they are and the feelings Of the people
as they are, that wants to foreclose."
He said big insurance companies that
have stopped foreclosing have taken
that step because it is business policy
to do So"
want to reduce interest rates, he was
inclined to think they would do SO
rather than have the debt pile up so
high that it could not be paid.
Bennett expressed the view that II
% many mortgages had not been fore
closed in the last year, it would not
have become necessary to grant mora
forums now.
Urges Lower Interest.
"A certain group of insurance COM
panies forecloSed 10 per cent OF their
loans in the first 10 months of last
year." he said. testifying on farm mort
gage debt relief bills before bank
ing subcommittee
He held lower interest rates, scaling
down of debts and higher commodity
prices to be essential to farm recovery.
He made his observations about the
insurance companies when Senator
Walcott Republican, of Connecticut,