Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1935-05-23
ORIGIN OF AAA


Out i'm South Dakota there has
been Cons iderable d ;cuSSiOn about
the Agricultural Adjustment Act,
perhaps because the farms on the
average are larger there and be-
cause the benefits to the farmers
have been greater.
The Daily Republic at Mitchell
received the following inquiry
from one of its subscribers:
II am doing II good deal of pleading
fol- Il good large vote for the 1885 wheat
allotment or rather Il continuation OF
the triple as Ut affects wheat. IN
this connection | wish to ask question
or two. rather rabid gentleman here
states the National Chamber of Com
merce wrote the whole AAA program.
This would make no difference to me:
/ would consider 1T Il good program II
the devil himself had written 1T, but II
this iS not true. knowledge OF its I'M
truth would help me disarm tins man
every county should send Il delegate 10
Washington when the crowd goes:
Some Information along this line would
he very muca appreciated.
To this the Mitchell newspaper
made reply which may be of in
tereSt to Askov American readers.
1t follows:
As it happens, The Daily Republic
is in a position to answer this ques-
ton authorize tively.
Four days after the inauguration
OF President Roosevelt, Secretary OF
Agriculture Wallace wired invitations
to all farm organizations and few
others who had been working with
the farm groups to bring up prices;
of farm products. All of these were
asked to come to a conference at
Washington This took place six days
after Mr.. Roosevelt became president.
There were As representatives OF
farm organizations, big and little. A
subcommittee was named to outline
n measure to be presented to the Pres
ident, for immediate adoption by Con-
gress to bring up the ruinous prices
OF farmstuffS. The editor of The Dali
Iy Republic was chairman of that
subcommittee. On the subcommittee
was one editor of IA farm paper, Mr..
Cliff Gregory of Chicago, and the
others were representatives of farm
organizations.
This committee reported back 20
the full conference an outline of the
measure which subsequently became
known as the Agricultural Adjustment
Act. 1t was unanimously endorsed by
the conference. Included in the or
sanizations voting for it through Of
fetal representatives were the Farm
ers Union, the Farm Bureau. and the
Grange. the three big farm organiza-
tions.
On the following day the proposal
was presented to President Roosevelt
by this same subcommittee. The
chief executive. after discussing the
recommendation with the committee
agreed to support it. This he did
three days later with a special mes
sage to Congress-. The House passed
it three days later In the Senate
the chairman of the committee OF
agriculture. Senator Smith of South
Carolina. who then and since has
made it evident that he represents the
cotton professors. held the bill foi
two months in committee. But II
went through the Senate changed il
no respect from the form in which Il
passed the House. As it became law
it conceded exactly with the outline
framed at the farm conference. In
fact. the sub-o committee remained ovel
in Washington to go over the com
pleted bill and approved it as carry1n:
out precisely the recommendations o
Pho farm conference
The bill was opposed then. as it Il
now. by the meat packers. the flou
millers. and the textile manufacturer
because they did not like the process
ing tax. out of which benefits were t
be paid to cooperating farmers.
Up TO April 1 of this year. farmer
of South Dakota received as benefit
cut of the processing taxes Sll.446.9
of corn-hog checks. SS.4O4,O26 o
wheat checks and S52.041 of suga
beet payments. And these amount
came to the state in two years OF Gro
failures, constituting crop insurance
In all the years of the United State
nut together no such assistance
farmers has been rendered by all tn
national administrations combined.