The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1935-03-14
New Problem for AAA

ascend SOHlS LufiIS Inc Ii pCiSCue
more before July 1, has given rise
to a new problem for the Agricul-
tural Adjustment administration.
It threatens to be serious, as food
questions always are serious, and
as this aspect of the situation be-
comes better understood its politi-
cal Importance is becoming great
er.
There can be no doubt that the
New Deal program for raising
prices has had its fullest effect on
the food prices and therein lies the
basis for the trouble now brewing.
To make the problem more serious
from the political standpoint, in
creased food prices are felt first
and most extensively in the metro
politan areas. 1t is in these same
areas that the greatest number OF
unemployed live and must be car
ed for. It becomes plain then that
increased food prices are directly
interviewer with the problem of re-
lief and it is difficult to predict
what mass psychology may be de-
veloped from such circumstance.
There are two sides of the prob
lem from the political standpoint.
One of Them relates directly to the
plans for providing food and at
fects directly those persons whose
employment has been small and
who have only limited amounts OF
money with which to maintain life.
The second phase involves the fu-
ture of the Agricultural Adjust
ment administration and affects
directly the political situation that
has for some time revolved about
the focal point of the principle OF
attempting to manage prices as be-
ing done under the AAA.
Connected with the latter phase,
and likely to suffer from hard-rid-
ing politicians, is the movement
within the AAA to broaden its
pewer.
It will be recalled that last year
Prof. Rexford Guy Tugwell, UNDER
secretary of agriculture and a lead
Ing brain truster, sought to force
through congress series OF
amendments to the adjustment act
which, in the view ow many observ-
ers, would make the RECOMMENDATION
OF farmers a compulsory instead
of a voluntary proposition as is
now the case. I'm other words, ac-
cording to critics of the TugweH
plan, the amendments that were
offered and defeated in congress
last year would make the Depart
ment of Agriculture a veritable
dictator over the agricultural IN
dustries In this country. Although
Mr.. Tugwell does not figure in the
picture so much this year, the
same amendments have been put
forward and a considerable amount
of pressure is being exerted to OBJ
tain an enactment as law. Having
defeated them last year, critics OF
the program, headed by Senator
Byrd (Dem., Va.), are mastering
In full strength to squelch the
amendments again.
While it is yet too early to haz-
ard a guess concerning the results
of this battle, attention may be
called at this time ito some of the
potentialities of such legislative
fight. In these debates lies real
danger to whatever good there is
in the Adjustment act, according
to the best information I can get.
The danger is to be observed in
this direction: Those who criticize
the Tugwell amendments, though
they do not now bear his name,
are not going to confine their ver-
bal fire to those proposals. They
will go, as they did last year, con-
siderably beyond the scope of the
proposed legislation. They will at
tack any and all features of the
whole adjustment program and it
is not unlikely that their criticism
will result in tearing down some of
the admittedly good features of
this phase of the New Deal.
Question of Politics
I have heard considerable COM
ment to the effect that if the brain
trusters who are now promoting
the new or revised AAA amend
ments would use good political judi
gment, they would not press for
action on their proposals at this
time. In other words, political
commentaries are to the effect that
the brain trusters are diving head
long into a whirlpool in which they
may find themselves unable to
swim. 1t is plainly combination
of circumstances with which they
are confronted. Those were enum-
Grated above. To many observers,
therefore, it appears most fool
hardy for the supporters of this
extreme legislation to go further
in their attempt to "straighten the
Adjustment act" at time when
plainly Mr.. Roosevelt does not
have complete control of congress
and at time when the strongest
tide of opposition to RECOMMENDATION
is running, es
1t is to be remembered with re-
spect to the legislative situation
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