Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1937-12-09
THE NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT
BY PAUL JOHN KvALE, M. C

4 ny K<AOA SOAGV hVfAACS Wa ~
The big news this week for we OF
the agricultural districts is the deter
mined fight of Senators Borah (Rep.-
Idaho), Austin (Rep.-Vt.) and King
(Dem.-Utah). These gentlemen have
all taken up the cudgels in opposition
to the proposed legislation. The re-
marks of Senator Borah regarding
the proposed bill are highly signi-
ficant in view of the fact that he is
generally acknowledged an authority
on constitutional law, and one who
consorted most pleasantly with the
President at Boise last fall.
Proceeding to the Record let us
quote Senator Borah in part: "This
bill will Immediately subject those
who fail to sign contracts to the dis
favor of the government. I say il
is a punishment-a distinct punish
ment-to withhold soil conservation
payments and loans from farmers if
they do not contract under the new
program"
Senators Ellender (Dem.-La.) and
McGill (Dem.-Kans.) argue that the
pending measure is not more COM
pulSory than the present soil con-
Servation program whose benefit pay
ments are conditioned upon farmers
complying with the approved soil
building and conserving practices
Borah replied as follows: 81 do
not think one unconstitutional meas
ure justifies another. 1t is contrary
to the public interest if you are going
to use it as a club to drive the farmer
into this program. The idea of crop
control and the philosophy of the
reduction of food stuffs in the midst
of hunger originated in the previous
administration. Mr.. Hoover was the
author of that doctrine. He was the
first man, not only in the history of
the United States but in the history
of the world, to propose a scarcity
as a remedy for economic ills, while
the whole world for 5000 years has
been inventing machinery and APP
plying itself in every way to produce
more and more in order that the
human family may live in ordinary
peace. If there is any glory in the
philosophy which we are now pro-
posing to enact into law that glory
must be shared with the previous
President of the United States.
was opposed to it at that time; and
1 do not care where it comes from
l am opposed to it now" The Sen
ator then proceeded to predict that
millions of people would go hungry
this winter and millions of children
would be kept out of school because
of insufficient food and clothing.
At this point Senator Barley
(Dem.-Ky.) majority leader, inter
rupted to ask: "Just what is the SEN
ator's program for handling this?"
Borah replied, "Basically 1 would,
in the first place, proceed to legislate
on the theory of separating the domes-
tic needs from the surplus needs.
l would not interfere with production.
l would leave that to the farmer.
But l would, as government,
where it was necessary to assist in
disposing of these SURPRISES, take the
surplus off the market and separate
it from the domestic needs" Sena-
tor Barley then inquired: 'Would
of these surpluses?" Borah, at
might and it might not. In the first
instance we could simply issue GER
tificate to the farmer for the amount
of surplus which was taken off the
market and he would either hold it
on the farm or the government could
hold it. But if we used it for the pur-
pose of feeding the poor, of course, it
would require the government buying
it. The most stupendous fact in real
ity in this country today is the 80 or
40 millions of people which the Presi-
dent says are insufficiently fed. We
cannot permit this condition to con-
tinue. We shall rear a class of
human beings who are full of revo-
luton. That is a fact with which
we must deal regardless of what it
costs. Let the Democrats get back
to their PLATFORM" shouted the Sen
ator from Idaho. Let us get over
this fool idea that the farmers of
the United States don't know how to
run their farms. 1 don't propose to
put over them somebody who knows
nothing about farming.
"The theory here is that this bill
is based upon the Interstate Com
merce clause of the Constitution, but
if we may say in advance of the
production of any wheat or corn,
how much a farmer may sow, we
may say to the shoe manufacturers
of Massachusetts in advance of cut
ting leather, how many shoes he may
manufacture. And under this con-
struction of the Interstate Commerce
clause the Secretary of Agriculture or
any other secretary having jurisdiction
of the subject matter, could fix the
amount of production of everything
that might ultimately be used, and
likely to move in Interstate Com
merce. 1 know of no authority for
that action by the Secretary of Agri-
culture, yet this is the real crux of
the measure"