Evening star., 1934-03-20
The Cotton Bill.

Without any great nourlSh OF
trumpets the House has passed the
Bankhead cotton BILL measure to
bring about compulsory restriction
of cotton production. The measure
is limited to cotton. 1t is also limited
in operation to two years. 1t marks,
however, new and drastic step
in the Government dealing with
agriculture. Finally it appears, the
iron hand of the Federal Govern
ment is to be called into play to
restrict production. Heretofore the
efforts of the Government have been
to persuade cotton producers, wheat
producers and the producers of other
crops of which there was a surplus
to contract voluntarily their produc-
ton in their own interest. Last year
the Government went even further
in its efforts to persuade the farmers
to limit production. 1t paid them for
turning under their cotton, for re-
ducing wheat acreage and tobacco
acreage. 1t went into the market
and purchased pigs by the million.
The Government, the present ad-
ministration, has come to the con-
clusion that it cannot go on paying
the farmers for reducing or destroying
their crops indefinitely. The alterna-
tive, if there is to be curtailment OF
production, is compulsory reduction,
with the issuance of Government Ii
censes to grow, for example, cotton;
with severe punishments if the pro-
visions of the law are violated and a
heavy tax upon all excess production.
The supporters of the cotton bill now
passed by the House insisted that 1t
is not intended to be a forerunner
for other measures dealing with other
basic crops. This, quite naturally, is
doubted by many of the members OF
Congress.
The compulsory cotton restriction
bill has received the support Of many
cotton farmers themselves, who have
come to the conclusion that the vast
surplus OF cotton developed by over
production must be dealt with drasti-
cally, who believe that if the produc-
ton of cotton can be reduced by 40
per cent for a year or for two years
this problem of a huge surplus will
have been solved. The opponents OF
the measure say this is an idle dream;
that unless the entire world will agree
to a reduction of the cotton crop
everywhere no solution of the surplus
cotton can be hoped for. They go
further and insist that just as the
American cotton production is reduced,
SO will the cotton production of Egypt,
India and other cotton producing areas
be increased. And to back up this
argument they point to what hap
pened in the rubber world when Great
Britain by law limited the production
of rubber in its rubber producing ter
ritory. What happened was that the
British production fell off and the pro-
duction of rubber elsewhere enor-
mously increased.
In support of the cotton bill it Is
urged that as long as unrestricted
cotton production is allowed the
farmers of the South will be in des
perate condition, owing to the low
price they receive for their cotton.
The price of cotton is made in the
world market, however. 1t will con-
tinue to be made there, unless the
United States undertakes to restrict
cotton production to what can be con-
sumed in this country alone and raises
a tariff wall of tremendous proper
tions against foreign cotton and any
substitutes that may be used for cot
ton.
If the Bankhead bill finally be-
comes law, a new era of reorganization
in this country will have had its
launching. There is no telling how
far this policy will be extended. Up
to the present there has been only
talk of compulsory legislation dealing
with other American production.