Evening star., 1936-03-13
A.A.A. CLERKS
PREPARE TO QUIT
OLD POST OFFICE
Employees to Be Used in
New Set-up or in
Field.
WRITING S296, 900, 900
IN CHECKS FINAL WORK
Immediate Future of Ancient
Building at Eleventh and
Avenue Is Indefinite.
BY BLAIR BOLLES.


As New Deal farm experts made
their first steps toward spreading the
workings Of the new soil conservation
and domestic allotment act through
out the country, l,500 clerical en-
ployes Of the outlawed agricultural
adjustment act began the last month
Of their two-year stand in the old
Post ONCE Building.
The workers tn the Division of Audit
and Control of the A. A. A. have been
operating in three S-hour shifts in
in the ancient gray structure, which
was to have been demolished when
the new Post Office Department Build
ing was constructed across the street
from it.
They are busy now writing 1896 6,000,-
900 worth Of checks representing the
Governments moral obligation" to
corn-hog and cotton farmers who
signed A. A. A. curtailment contracts
on the 1934-35 crop and then were de-
prived of the right to benefit pay
ments by the Supreme Court invalida-
ton January of Federal crop regu-
lation.
Plan to Wind Up Business.
The House today is expected to au-
thorize use of 81 $50, ,025 of that sum,
carried in a deficiency bill approved
February IL. to wind up the business
created by the three repealed supple
mentary A. A. A. laws-the Kerr to-
bacco act. the Bankhead cotton act
and the Warren potato act.
The Senate approved the fund
diversion yesterday at the same time
it made an empty gesture toward A.
A. A. employees by authorizing and di-
recting the Secretary of Agriculture
to use in the administration Of the
new law the same men and women
who worked for the adjustment ad-
ministration, including the 800 fur
loughed from the latter after the
Supreme Court action.
The farm officials ara keeping tho
old employees on the program anyway.
and have rehired rs stenographers
from the group put on furlough.
Abandonment of the old Post Office
Building is made necessary by COM
plete change in method of administer
ing the new crop law. which for two
years provides Federal rewards to
farmers who Cooperate in a soil
conservation movement by planting a
certain percentage of their acreage in
grasses, legumes and hays of no worth
on the market but valuable in re-
invigorating the soil as we'll as pre-
venting the earth from blowing away.
The $500,000,o00 authorized as re-
wards for co-operators in the move-
ment will be distributed regionally,
instead of centrally from Washing
ton as has been the rule, and by the
end of the year only 1000 agricultural
adjustment workers are expected to
be left here.
The domestic allotment legislation
purposes blueprinting every one of the
100000 farms in the country even-
tually and adopting for each a scien-
tiflc crop and soil conservation sched-
ule, with each farmer informed of the
proper acreage to devote to market
commodities and to grasses. After
two years the program will be jointly
operated by the States and the Fed
eral Government.
This work will require widespread
activity in the field, with only admin
iStrative supervision from Washington.
Employees Topped off the Capital pay
roll will be moved to the field if they
wish.
BY September 10 the work in con-
nection with the three repealed laws
is to be finished. This work includes
tabulating cotton tax exemption war
rants and variety Of other clerical
activities.
The Division of Government Space
Control of the Interior Department,
which supervises housing of Govern
ment agencies, had received no word
today of the plan to abandon the old
Post Office Building and was silent
on what use would be made of tn.
massive structure in the future.