The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1935-09-27

the motives be proper or improper.
From this point, one may look into
the crystal of the 1886 campaign and
it takes no stretch of the imagination
to visualize what pounding the New
Deal opposition will give the Roose-
welt administration on this question
of spending.
When Mr.. Roosevelt began spending,
he declared it was justified because
hundreds of thousands of citizens were
starving. His next pronouncement on
this subject by way of explaining con-
tinued expenditure was that If the gov
eminent spent freely, it would serve
as a printing of the economic pump
that the circulation of federal money
would allow industry to sell and that
industry would replace by manufac-
ture the things sold. That, too,
brought little or no result. Then we
entered the current stage where the
spending was to be closely supervised
and only projects that held promise Of
actually developing manufacture and
retail selling would be approved and
financed by federal money. 1t is re-
grettable but it is a fact that almost
nothing has come of this program.
And to make matters worse, lately,
Secretary Ickes, public works admin
istrator, and Relief Administrator
Harry Hopkins have locked horns on
the bulk of the projects on which
federal money was to be used.
1t is not strange that these two men
should differ. Mr.. Hopkins, being a
trained, a professional, welfare worker,
sees things only from the standpoint
of the individual who needs food. Mr..
Ickes has a conception of federal
spending that embraces the use of
money in ways designed to start the
great industries in motion. He figures
that If these industries get going, they
will employ workers; the workers
will spend their wages and the retail
ers will profit thereby and, as the re-
tailers sell from their shelves, they
seek requirements from the manufac-
turers. The controversy between Mr..
Hopkins and Mr.. Ickes, therefore, is
not one to be settled by compromise
or by soft words. In fact, 1t may
never be settled until one or the other
gets out of his place in the govern
ment.
The Importance of the Ickes- Hop
kins row to the reader of this column,
however, lies largely
Bre0R FOR in the fact that the
TAXPAYERS particular reader is
taxpayer. The con-
nection is simply this: the last con-
gress appropriated $4,SSO,OOO,0OO for
use by the administration in public
works and relief. If all of that sum
were spent the public debt would be
increased by that amount because in
ternal revenue taxes are insufficient to
offset more than the ordinary govern
ment expenditures. Therefore, if all
of this money is not spent, and it can
not be spent If the Ickes- Hopkins dis
pute continues to hold back admins
tration plans, then the taxpayers will
have just that much less Of govern
ment debt to meet through this pay
ment of their taxes.
So the Presidents order placing all
administrative agencies under the gen.
eral accounting office to see that their
spending is honestly done and the de-
velopments within the administration
over a difference in policy must be
taken together as break for the tax
payer.
Agriculture adjustment administra-
tion officials are about ready to pre-
sent to the farmers
Potato of this country a de-
Control tailed plan for con-
troll Of potato pro-
duction. It will provide means for
boosting the incomes of the potato
farmers something more than 100 per
cent, and will increase the cost of this
item of food to consumers by pro-
portionate amount, of course. Con-
ferences soon will be held between the
AAA and representatives of farmers
organizations to work out phases Of
the plan reqpiring farmer approval.
Various thoughts arise If one reflects
upon potato control. First, control of
potato production marks the four
teenth agricultural crop brought I'M
der RECOMMENDATION and it presents,
probably, the toughest of all of them
in the matter of enforcing its provi-
sions.
Adoption of the potato control pro-
gram represents attainment of a point
liz the life of the AAA where one step
has led to another until control of po-
tatoes was essential, or the whole plan
of crop control fiOps. 1t will be re-
called that the declared purpose of the
AAA at the beginning was only for the
control of cotton. Land withheld from
cotton then was planted to tobacco
and tobacco had to be controlled when
tobacco was controlled. and the land
withdrawn, farmers in some sections
turned to peanuts and peanuts had to
be controlled.
understand the AAA is consider