Askov American., 1937-12-16
THE NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT
BY PAUL JOHN KvALE, M. C.

The outstanding news OF the week
in the Capital as far as the agricul-
ture section of the country is con-
cerned was of course the passage
Friday of the House Agriculture bill
1t is farm bill designed to carry
out Secretary Wallace's ever-normal
granary program and provide COM
pulsory control of crop surpluses
The bill passed by vote of 267 to
1870.
Unlike the Senate measure the
House bill is based almost entirely
on the present soil conservation act
It would make permanent and con-
fine benefit payments to those now
being made at the rate of approx
mately $440,000,000 a year for con-
servation and soil building activities
In advance of the planting time
for wheat, cotton, corn, tobacco and
rice, Secretary Wallace is directed
by this bill to make finding as to
the probable foreign and domestic de-
mands for such crops, and after pro-
viding for safe carry-over and re-
serve supplies, to proclaim national
acreage allotment for each crop.
Those cooperating in the conserva-
ton program would be required to
shift acreage of such crops by speci-
fed percentages with view to hold
ing production to the amount eSti-
mated to be needed for domestic con-
sumption and export, plus carry-over
and reserve supply.
BY coupling the provisions for nee
essary reserve supplies with discre-
tionary authority in the President to
direct the making of commodity loans
through the Commodity Credit Cor
poration, a basis is provided for the
ever-normal granary for cotton, corn
and rice, and an ever-nOrmal ware
house in the case of cotton and to-
baccO.
The House bill differs from the
proposed Senate Agriculture bill in
that it makes no attempt to instruct
the President, the Secretary of Agri-
culture or the Commodity Credit
Corporation as to how the loans
should be made. 1t provides that the
agency make loans when instructed
by the President, under terms anc
conditions prescribed by the Secre-
tary of Agriculture.
Marketing quota provisions of the
bill would not operate until surplus
supplies threaten to get out of hano
for the separate crops That point
is defined as 1,O5O,OOO,OOO bushel:
of wheat; 2,859, 100000 bushels Of
corn; 2O,9OO,OOO bales of cotton, 49,
100000 barrels of rice; $4,000
pounds flue cured tobacco, with cor.
responding figures for other tobacco
types.
When such supply levels are
reached the Secretary is authorized
to require the storage under seal O.
varying percentages of the five crops
the amount stored to bear fixeo
relation to normal yields on acres tina
cooperating producers are authorized
to plant under the conservation pro
gram. Commodity loans would b,
made without recourse" against tn,
supply stored under seal in state
having standard Warehousing laws.
The program contemplated by tn,
bill would require the holding of
the market of the store supplies unit
such time as the total available sup
ply dropped below the marketing
quota level as directed by the sec
retary. Loans would be made t.
those not cooperating with the con
servation program at the rate o
80 per cent of that to cooperatives
Once the marketing quotas wer,
made effective cooperators and non
cooperators alike would receive al
allotment of the estimated demand
for the various crops, and marketin,
an excess of such amount would b.
subject to penalty taxes. Thes
would be at the rate of &c pount
on cotton applicable to buyer an,