, 1935-10-31
Behind the
Scenes In
Washington
By RODNEY BUTCHER
The Brownsville Herald Washington
Correspondent

Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Oct. 81. The
old question whether tits a good idea
to dump, destroy. or suppress sur
plusesr OF food while millions OF
people are on the edge OF starvation
Il again an issue In New Deal coun-
ellis.
There has been some compromise
In Ro0Sevelt's previous firm deter
minatiOn 20 abolish the Federal Sur
plus Relief Corporation. which has
bought tens Of thousands OF tons OF
foodstuffs In the last two years for
distribution TO families on relief.
The FSRC will BE- transferred from
Harry Hopkins soon-to-vanish
FERA To the AAA and federal pur-
chases for the needy won't be
abandoned - nc least not entirely.
The president. however. still has
the theory that wages OF the work
relief program and the turning OF
direct relief back 20 the states vir-
tually end the necessity or desir-
ability. OF free food for the unem-
ployed And that IA violently dis
puted within both the agricultural
and relief organizations.
II Is contended that WPA wages
usually won't provide adequate
diets for families, especially In face
of rising prices. that the program
OF ending direct federal relief IL
only crawling, and that there viii
still h. plenty OF SURPRISES which
should be bought from farmers to
maintain prices.
To Dump or Not 10 Dump
The issue cones I'd u head through
an amendment tn which Congress
recently appropriated 30 per cent OF
customs revenues To aid In effectu-
ating the AAA program
More than half that amount seems
destined for paying the subsidy
guarantee 10 cotton growers.
That would leave perhaps S45,-
100000 To be spent for disposition Of
SURPRISES - through export or d.
version 70 relief channels. The big
argument now IN aS Cd whether most
or All OF that sum will be spent 70
finance dumping fo0dStuffs abroad
or whether most or all viii be used
for relief purchases.
Present tendency In AAA M to
feed the surplus food To Americans
rather than foreigners, but many
congressman and some farm groups
would prefer to see 1t dumped.
Privately. officials admit that the
amount Of surplus foodstuffs To be
distributed for relief this winter will
depend on the extent To which the
unemployed shout for II and the
pressure which farm groups exert
for purchases, once "a no-dumping
Ia announced.
Spuds vexing Problem
Tons Of potatoes presumably will
De bought by F5RC. cts most re-
cent acquisitions are five million
pounds of butter and ten million
of dried skim MILK.
There are some funny things about
he potato program. which has been
a great source Of grief here.
which the AAA isn't telling anybody.
Believe IL or not. the forthcoming
reduction" program for spuds Is
likely 10 result III lover prices for
potatoes than would the absence VI
any program at all. AAA economists
have advised confidentially that the
sffort 10 penalize cverprodurtion
probably would result in more pro-
duction than they anticipated.
The reason: For m long time DO
tato production has been running
IN two-year cycles. After two years
Of big production and low prices
~ the last two years-p0tato
growers ordinarily cut acreage dras-
~whereupon potatoes become
fewer and higher In price for a
of years. ~Whereupon potato
growers rt-- Wanting big crops
aEain and 50 on.
Next years crop had been expected
10 be- small. but AAA programs pro-
mise OF better prices Il expected to
cause more planting than the cycle
have inspired. So the experts
figure that the price won't rise much
nr~p than ID cents n busheI.
One reason the AAA doesn't X