Evening star., 1936-02-17
In the Name of Soil Erosion.

The administration farm bill, with It's
two parts, one temporary and the other
permanent, has been passed by over
whelming vote in the Senate. No one
has the slightest doubt that it will pass
the House by an equally impressive ma
iority. The fact of the matter is that
members of Congress are not willing to
tamper with the flow of Government
checks to the farmers in this election
wear. There is much of the same urge
about passing the farm bill that there
was about putting through the soldiers
bonus bill at this particular period.
1t will be argued that the farmers are
entitled to a Government subSidy-for
that is what the benefit payments to
the farmers are. Perhaps they are. The
subsidy amounts to about half billion
dollars a year from public funds. Under
the new legislation this money will come
out of general taxation. Under the now
dead A. A. A. the money came from the
processing taxes, imposed upon the proc
essors of agricultural products, which
in turn were passed on to the consumers
in higher prices.
The temporary part of the new farm
aid bill is of immediate Importance. 1t
is to run for the next couple of years,
until the necessary laws and machinery
can be built up in the forty eight States
to carry out the purposes of the law;
until something like forty-eight little
A. A. AS can be set up. They will op-
crate later with the aid of Federal funds,
funds which they will receive only if the
Federal Government approves their
plans of operation.
In the temporary part of the bill the
Secretary of Agriculture is given the
broadest kind of powers to make pay
ments to farmers for the prevention OF
soil erosion and for otherwise properly
using their land. That proper use OF the
land may definitely call for reduction OF
crops. But the term crop curtailment
is taboo The Secretary Of Agriculture
is forbidden to enter into contract"
with the farmers. Just how he is to make
payments to them without some kind OF
an agreement, which would in itself
be a contract, is not clear. But that Is
something for the administration to
work out. The Supreme Court has said
he shall not make contracts, so what
ever the plan, the word contract will be
avoided.
If the subsidy is to be half a billion
dollars year to the farmers the country
may as well get used to the idea. The
farmers have had the little end OF the
stick. they say, for years and years. In
dustry and industrial workers have had
the big end, though in recent years in
dustry seems to have had as hard time
as agriculture.
1t may be that the Republicans will
be able to think up better plan of farm
aid than has the Roosevelt administra-
ton. Anyway, they will try to write such
a plan into their national platform next
June. Whatever it may be, there are
Republican members Of Congress from
the farm States of the West who are
likely to insist upon benefit payments OF
one kind or another. They are fearful
that if the flow of Federal money is cut
OH, or if they propose to cut it on, the
farmer voters in their States will prefer
IN stick tn Roosevelt,
There was time when the word sub
sidy was a red rag to the farmers. That
is the reason why ship subsidy bill
could never get through Congress. But
Government payments to the farmers
have changed their attitude, it appears.
1t may be that the general consumers
will raise a howl. The general con-
sumers, however, are not organized. Some
day they may get together and demand
an end of Government gifts for which
they pay. They will have an opportu-
nifty to register their resentment at the
polls next November If they wish. That
they will do so, however, is problemat-
ical. So many people are getting some
thing from the Federal treasury