Evening star., 1936-06-09
Farm and Gold
Planks sCause
Trouble.
HOPE DESPAIRS
FOR PROPOSAL
Borah Opens War
on Money Views
of Kansan.
gy the Associated Press.

ey the Associated Press.
CLEVELAND. June "a floor fight
over the farm plank threatened at the
Republican convention today as the
Kansas delegations efforts to write an
'all- candidates program" hit snags.
The conferees split on production
control, soil conservation and foreign
trade policies.
Representative Hope, Republican, of
Kansas, whose proposal for a tariff
equivalent subsidy for the farmers
formed the nucleus of the plank sug-
gestions. said the group would be called
into session again, but he seemed
rather doubtful of the outcome
The conferees failed to make any
appreciable headway yesterday, Hope
said. The rift was a distinct surprise
to observers.
Senator Capper Republican, of Kan
sas, described the work of the Prairie
State delegates as an attempt to write
a farm plank which the party could
indorSe regardless of its candidate, but
which any nominee chosen could sup
port.
Belief was expressed in authoritative
circles that if an impaSse persisted in
the delegation the several factions
would magnify their differences before
the Platform Committee, with pos
sibility that the whole farm issue might
be thrown on the floor OF the conven-
ton.
General Battle Feared.
Veteran convention workers hesi-
tated to believe the cleavage would lead
TO a floor fight, but did feel the farm
issue was of sufficient magnitude to
precipitate a general battle among the
delegations unless a satisfactory COM
promise could be reached.
Hope, citing the difficulty faced by
the conferees, said his plan to draw
upon the general revenue to pay SUBJ
sides eoualizing in the farm markets
the tariff benefits of the industrial
markets has been in and out of the
program a half-dozen times and its
future still was uncertain.
Presumably, all reference to produc-
ton control had been deleted, al
though there was understood to be
considerable demand for it as a weapon
against recurring surpluses.
Sections Are Divided.
Western State delegates were report
ed to favor both a soil conservation
program and the tariff equivalent SUBJ
sidy, twin projects unoficially esti.
mated to place approximately $400.-
100000 annually in farm pockets.
Some sections of the East we're un-
derstood to want only q system of
Federal benefits for logically admin
istered soil conservation, while Others
in the same geographical area objected
to everything except the subsidy.
Strangely enough, it was said, there
was Republican sentiment in certain
parts Of the Northeast for most
favored d-nations treatment in foreign
commercial treaties. Because Of low
cred import duties, spokesmen ex-
planned, those regions were able to i'm
port raw materials for manufacture at
greatly reduced prices to the consumer.
Beef, fruit and dairy products in
terests were said to be unalterably op-
posed to multilateral trade pacts on
the ground that imports threatened to
boost domestic supplies TO a burden
some surplus.
They were reported to have stood
out for bilateral agreements over which
the Senate would be given veto power,
which would be exercised on proof
that imports under them were beat
ing down domestic prices.
Still another school of thought was
represented as equally determined the
Senate should be required to ratify all
trade negotiations with foreign coun-
tries.
Controversy Over Platform.
An explosive controversy over the
platform was tossed into the conven-
ton today after Landon leaders had
failed to agree among themselves on
the more troublesome planks.
A series of secret conferences be-
tween Fasteners and Westerners had
failed to produce the formula with
which supporters of the drive to nomi-
nate Gov. ALI Landon Of Kansas
(see PLATFORM, Page A-8)