Evening star., 1933-06-16

~ RIvEN by the national desire to
end the depression, Congress
Is .vla leaving 9.csI Washington h gsa latter after
dents hands powers closely ap-
preaching in scope the powers that
Congress gave the President to win the
World War.
In two measures particularly, the
transfer of power is enormous, some
thing touching directly and indirectly
every pocketbook in the land, making
the President master of our agricultural
deStinies, putting the Government Gas
the President himself describes it, into
partnership with all interstate industry
and commerce. and making the Presi-
dent a personal director of the coun-
try's financial policies.
But although the business Of leaning
on the President in an emergency is
familiar, many Of the powers now
turned over to him are the reverse of
those given him during the war, and
are intended for purposes quite the
opposite. During the war there was a
frantic drive for more production and
less consumption at home. Corpora
tions, owned or controlled by the Gov
ernment, sprang up over night for the
building of more ships, more houses,
more everything necessary in the con-
duct Of foreign war. Farmers were
urged to grow more of everything. Con-
sumers were urged-and in some cases
communicable consume less. The
meatless days, the wheatless days, the
rationed sugar-all were symptoms Of
the time and age. Even amateur pro-
residents were urged to plant gardens
in their backyards, in the name of
patriotism.
Less Production Now.
Today everything is backward. Now
the watchWord is: Produce less. Con-
sumo more! And many Of the powers
yielded to the President are directed
toward this end. They contemplate
taking 100000 acres of farm land
out of production by actually paying
farmers not to farm. They contem-
plate the non-enforcement of the anti
trust laws against industrialists who
agree On codes for eliminating cut
throat competition and reducing pro-
duction.
The farm relief act sets about the
business of fixing prices for farm prod
ucts by governmental intervention, and
also gives the President vast powers to
initiate the currency.
There are two salients Of attack on
the problem of increasing agricultural
prices. First, the President, through the
Department of Agriculture, will lease
lands now producing crops and pay
their owners rentals as long as the
owners keep the lands out of produc-
ton.
Secondly, by means Of tax imposed
by the Secretary of Agriculture, prices
to the farmers of the remaining crops,
for list OF staple commodities, will be
directly increased.
If the power to tax in the hands of
the Secretary Of Agriculture has a
strange ring in ears attuned to the
tradition Of taxation without represen-
tation y" the reader Is referred
to the text of the law, duly passed by
both houses and signed by the Presi-
dent.
The act authorizes the Secretary, in
his discretion, to impose a tax on the
first professor of cotton, wheat, corn,
rice, hogs, tobacco and milk, designed
to equal the difference between the do
mestic price now current and the price
at earlier periods when they were
higher and more stable. The Secretary
Is to put this tax up or down as the
prices go down or up, and the proceeds
of the tax are to be turned over to the
producing farmers, thus raising their
revenue from the sale Of their crops
directly by governmental Intervention.
Plan of Counteraction.
But the power goes further than this.
In the case of any of the selected prod
ucts, if the tax on the professors has
the effect Of turning popular demand TO
some substitute or competing product,
pnnnOWerR0
only to alter the tax so as to discount
or discourage the competition, but to
license professors, associations OF pro-
ducers. and other agencies handling the
selected products, or any competing
products, in interstate commerce, to
eliminate what the House report on the
bill calls ANY unfair practices or
charges that prevent, or tend to prevent
the effectuation of II" the restoration
of normal economic conditions In the
marketing of such commodities or the
products thereof and the financing
thereof"
If the licensees refuse to obey the or
ders of the Secretary, then they shall
be fined up to 1000 per day ior tnelr
refusal They must also furnish statis-
tical reports as required by the Secre-
tary.
As to the rental proposition, the re-
port above quoted states that it is
planned to lease some $4,000, 900 or Co.
600 900 Of the 35o,O0o.0oo acres of land
in the country now under cultivation,
paying for them out Of receipts under
the processing tax. There is no limit in
the act, however, as to the amount Of
land to be leased or the price to be paid
for the leaseholds.
The law also embraces specific
method for increasing the price of cot
ton-the so-called Smith plan. Accord
ing to this plan cotton financed in part
or In whole by the Federal Govern
ment and now under the control Of the
Federal Government shall be sold to the
Secretary of Agriculture, who is In turn
directed to sell 1t to cotton farmers at
the present market price in lieu Of their
producing like amount Of cotton In