Evening star., 1937-10-24
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
THE text of President Roosevelts
letter to Chairmen Smith and
Jones of the Senate and House
4 Agriculture Committees, re-
spectively, making recommendation
on agriculture stabilization legislation
to be considered at the special session
of Congress:
My dear Mr. Chairman:
You will recall that on July IL
wrote you concerning the need for
further legislation to stabilize agri-
culture and give it added protection
against disaster. My letter pointed
out not only the need for this legis-
lation but the importance of placing
it on the statute books at an early
date so as to give farmers the benefit
of it in the 1888 season.
Since that time, as you are we'll
aware, exceptionally favorable grow
ing weather over most of the country
and falling prices for some COM
modities have brought the surplus
problem once more into sharp focus.
The pressing nature of this problem
was recognized during the closing days
of the last session by both houses of
Congress in Senate Joint Resolution
207, pledging prompt action at the
next session of Congress to meet the
problem.
Help Consumer.
So as to permit early fulfillment Of
this pledge I have issued a call for
an extra session of Congress and to
convene November Is: l know that
your committee and the House Agri-
culture Committee have both been
making extensive inquiries into the
farm situation and will therefore be
in a position to move expeditiously
with the task of shaping the new bill.
The new national farm act should
safeguard farmers incomes as we'll as
their soil fertility. 1t should provide
for storage of reserve food supplies in
an ever-normal granary, so that If
severe and widespread drought recurs
consumers will be assured of more
adequate supplies with less drastic In
creases in price than would otherwise
be the case. 1t should provide for
control of surpluses when and as nee
essary, but at the same time it should
preserve the export markets that still
are open to our farmers. It should
protect both farmers and consumers
against extreme ups and downs in
prices of farm products. 1t should be
financed by sound fiscal methods. Lo-
cal administration should be kept in
tn farmers hands.
I wish to emphasize especially that
any price stabilizing features, through
loans or other devices, should be REIN
forced by effective provision against
the piling up of unmanageable sup
plies. We must never again invite
the collapse of farm prices, the STOP
page OF farm buying and the demoral-
ization of business that followed the
Federal Farm Boards attempts to
maintain farm prices without control
Of farm surpluses.
Safeguards Soil Fertility.
The present agricultural conserva-
ton program, though it is not entirely
adequate to keep farm surpluses from
wrecking farm prices and farm
income, has great intrinsic value as
a a.safeguard Of soil fertility. It's great
value must be made lasting. There
fore, it is my sincere hope that the
Congress, when it enacts new Iegisla-
ton to protect agriculture and the
Nation against the calamity of farm
price collapse, will assure the contin-
uity and permanence. of the agricul-
tural conservation program now being
carried forward by nearly 100000
farmers.
1t is, of course, especially important
that any new legislation should not
unbalance the expected balancing of
the budget. In other words, no addi-
tional Federal expenditures from the
general fund of the Treasury should
be made over and above existing