Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1934-06-21
BILLIONS FOR HIGHWAYS
NRA's NEW PRICE POLICY
TO SPEND MORE MONEY
WALLACE TALKS DRouTH

A three-year road program which
will involve around a billion dollars
If carried out, has been approved BY
Congress, The measure was intro
duced by Chairman Cartwright OF the
| House Roads Committee. and author
| ICES Federal appropriations close to
! $500 900, 900, while requiring the
| states to match expenditures by add
ing another $3.50, 100000.
The original measure did not re
| quire the states to meet Federal con-
tributions at all, but the final Dill
| continued the program through the
1866 and 1887 fiscal years SO that
SIPS, 900, 900 is appropriated for each
| year with the states required TO
match it dollar for dollar. In addi-
ton, there is an appropriation OF
$225, 900, 900 that does not have to be
matched, and this includes 5000 .0OO.-
600 for roads in states. twenty-five
percent OF which must be spent on
so-called feeder" roads, unless state
laws prohibit such expenditures
Something like $50,OOO,0 900 is made
available for national park. reserva-
ton and forest highways
Three airways now under con-
struction will have intermediate
landing fields at fifty-mile intervals,
connected by beacon lights in a df-
rect line. They will be equipped with
miniature radio beac0ns and two
way radio stations, and are the begin
ming OF a new system designed to
increase aerial efficiency The air
ways affected run from st. Louis to
New Orleans. Minneapolis to Seattle,
and st. Louis to Tulsa
The new no~n-pricefixing policy Of
the MIRA resulted in considerable
confusion when first announced, but
the situation has been somewhat
clarified by additional statements.
While hoping that industries under
approved codes may agree to change
the policy does not affect them until
adjustment has been made under code
approval. No imposed change will be
made in any approved code and Gen
eral Johnson insisys that 1t should be
clearly understood that all provisions
of approved codes, including their
price provisions, are in full force and
must be complied with.
These, he says, apply to all retail
trades, including automotive dealers.
bituminous coal, all lumber and tim
Der products and building materials,
electrical, rubber tires, paper indus
tries. graphic arts and printing, bus,
trucking, transport. garment and tex
tile. radio and durable goods indus
tries. He points out that those named
have suffered ron confusion through
misunderstanding and that omission
to mention others does mol mean that
the general statement is not apple
able to them.
Present indications are that the
Governments spending will be en-
larged rather than decreased in the
near future. This Is seen from the
Presidents request for a special fund
of $525, 900, 900 to relieve the drOuth
sufferers. This is apparent when one
recalls that the end OF the present
fiscal year will find about $780,
900, 900 available for direct relief,
not counting the sums available for
PWA, CWA, CCC and various other
forms of recovery enterprises. That
the sum sought for drouth relief up
sets the budget seems plain. but may
not be as bad as some think.
Recently, it Is known that several
~nrnar.iutu altar cfrsdrfnU the cif4x-
alton in the United States, have
endorsed government spending as a
means of gaining recovery. and John
| Maynard Keynes even goes SO far as
to declare that our inflationary ex
| penditures should be augmented to
not less than $500, 900 900 a month
This, he says, would be a good recov-
cry base and carry the load until
business regains its normal conf
dencye.
After inspecting the drouth strick-
an areas, Secretary of Agriculture
Wallace, impressed with the tragedy
for the farmers" Saw a possible
future blessing for the country AZ
a whole through the possibility that
a lev future policy might include a
system whereby the farmers pro
duce in boom years could be stored
on the farm OF the producer or near
by and thus effect a somewhat nor
NAL distribution every year.
sss
Under the plan, the Government
would make loans to farmers o n the
basis OF current prices, with . pro
| vision that when a scarcity caused
prices to go up sharply. the farmer
would have to sell to the Government
at a fixed price. thus preventing
speculative profits but giving to the
farmer an insured profit This, says
the Secretary. would protect the
farmers in years oil bounty and the
consumer In years OF scarcity.
He cited the case Of Ceres wheat,
grown In North Dakota, where. he
said, the farmers will not get enough
this year for next years seed. Under
the old system, the millers would get
the wheat raised and planting next
year would present an i~nsuperable
difficulty. with the farmers bidding
for seed, making nigh prices inevita
BILE. However, through the use o.
$25. 900 900 for the purchase OF seed
farmers will be able to store 1t or
THAR "a rnu ard tahp.c - foU4or ~ That,