The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1937-12-16
FARM LEGISLATION is
PASSED BY HOUSE;
NOW IN SENATE

PASSED BY HOUSE;
NOW IN SENATE
The outstanding news of the
week in the capital as far as the
agriculture section of the country
is concerned was of course the
passage Friday of the house agri-
culture bill. It is a farm bill de-
signed to carry out Secretary
Wallace's ever-normal granary
program and provide compulsory
control of crop SURPRISES. The bill
passed by a vote of 267 to 100.
Unlike the senate measure the
house bill is based almost entire
ly on the present soil conservation
act. 1t, would make permanent ard
confine benefit payments to those
now being made at the rate of APP
proximately $44O,OOO,0OO a year
for conservation and soil building
activities.
In advance of the planting time
for wheat, cotton, corn, tobacco
and rice, Secretary Wallace is dir
ected by this bill to make find
ing as to the probable foreign and
domestic demands for such crops,
and after providing for safe
carry-over and, reserve supplies,
to proclaim national acreage al
lotment for each group.
Those cooperating in the con-
servation program would be re-
quired to shift acreage of such
crops by specified percentages
with view to holding production
20 the amount estimated to be
needed for domestic consumption
and export, plus carry-over ard
reserve supply.
! By coupling the provisions for
necessary reserve supplies with
discretionary authority in the
president to direct the making of
commodity loans through the
commodity credit corporation, a
basis is provided for the ever
normal granary for cotton, corn
ard rice, and an ever normal
warehouse in the case of cotton
and tobacco.
The house bill differs from the
proposed senate agricultural bill
in that it makes no attempt to in
struct the president, the secretary
of agriculture or the commodity
credit corporation as to how the
loans should be made. It provides
that the agency make loans when
j. structed by the president, under
term and conditions prescribed by
the secretary of agriculture.
Marketing quota provisions of
the bill would not operate until
surplus supplies threaten to get
out of hand for the separate crops.
That point is defined as 1885,
100000 bushels of wheat; 1885,
100000 bushels of corn; 20,900,-
900 bales of cotton; 13,3OO,000
barrels of rice; 100000 pounds
flue cured tobacco, with CORES
ponding figures for other tobacco
types.
When such supply levels are
reached the secretary is author
lied to require the storage under
seal of varying percentages of the
five crops, the amount stored to
bear a fixed relation to normal
| yields on acres that cooperating
producers are authorized to plant
under the conservation program.
Commodity loans would be made
without recourse against the
supply stored under seal in states
having standard warehousing
laws.
The program contemplated by
the bill would require the holding
off the market of the store sup
plies until such time as the total
available supply dropped below
the marketing quota level as dir
ected by the secretary. Loans
would be made to those not CO.
operating with the conservation
program at the rate of 80 per cert
of that to co-operatives.
Once the marketing quota:
were made effective co-operator!
and non-co-operators alike would
receive an allotment of the estim.
ated demands for the variou.
crops and marketing an excess O.
such amount would be subject tt
penalty txaes. These would be a
the rate of two cents pound OF
cotton applicable to buyer ane
seller alike; SO per cent of tn,
I parity price in the case of wheat
Is cents a bushel on corn; so pc
cent of the market price in tn,
case of tobacco; and one-half cen
a pound on rice.
. No new appropriation of fund
, is called for by the bill. If passed j
. would continue to be financed b,
: the $500,000,000 a year currentl
available to the soil conservation
I program, together with an estim
, ated $12O,000,000 year from one
!, third of the customs duty collec
l tons authorized to be used 70
r agriculture purposes on a contin
uing basis.
AS passed Friday, the house bi
provisions governing the applica
: ton of cotton and wheat market
4 ing quotas and penalty take
: would not be available for tn
1888 crop year. This is becaus
the dates on which Secretar
e Wallace is directed to proclaim
d national acreage allotment fc
4 such groups already has passed.
: In all probability this bill wi
: be greatly changed when it goe
y to conference, which is inevitabl
after the senate has acted upo
its proposed farm bill. Last wee
we pointed out that while tn
farm bill we have just describe
q is far from what we had hope
d for. in conference it is possibl
: that we will succeed in worlSir
. out something much more prae
: teal.