Evening star., 1938-02-11
FARM BILL DELAY
RAPED IN SENATE
Conferees Declared Never
Intending to Retain Dairy
Live Stock Amendment.
BULLETIN.

BULLETIN.
The Senate today defeated a
move to delay action on the admin
istration's farm program. voting
down request to send the COM
promise legislation back to confer
.ence with the House, which already
has approved the bill. The vote
was 48 to 81.
BY the Associated Press.
Senator O'Mahoney. Democrat. Of
Wyoming, charged in the Senate TO-
day that conferees on the administra-
ton farm bill never intended" to re-
tain the controversial dairy-livestock
amendment in the measure
The Wyoming Senator urged Vice
President Garner to rule in favor of
point of order raised by Senator
Schwellenbach, Democrat, OF Wasn-
ington, which would send the legisla-
ton back to conference
Senator Schwellenbach had de-
manded that the amendment be put
back in the bill in its original form.
1t would prevent Use of land tax an
from the production of major crops
for the production Of livestock and
dairy products for commercial pur-
poses.
Amendment Held Identical.
The Washington Senator made the
point of order that the amendment
was in identical language in both the
House and Senate bills and thus could
not be disturbed by the conferees.
Democratic Leader Barkley, fighting
that proposal. called the Senate into
session an hour earlier than usual.
He said he would demand a Saturday
session if vote was not reached today.
Mr.. Schwellenbach and his asso-
ciates argued that the confcrees could
reinstate the original dairying pro-
visions in few hours.
Both House and Senate then would
have to vote again on the legislation.
which the House approved Wednesday
by a 2-to-1 majority. A stable group
in that Chamber had demanded re-
insertion of the dairylng section. but
vote was not taken on that aues-
ton.
Farmers growing cotton. wheat. corn.
rice and tobacco would be paid under
the new program to reduce their acre
age of these crops.
The House and Senate bills. as sent
to the Conference Committee. provided
mat II farmers used this diverted
acreage for feeding dairy cattle or
live stock for market. they would lose
Deneflt payments and be ineligible for
loans.
Administration leaders argued 1.
would b. impossible to enforce this
provision without checking every Dig
COW. chicken egg or pound of butter
sold by every farmer.
The Senate House Conference Com
mlttee rewrote the provision so that
farmers could engage in normal
dairy production. even using diverted
acreage. They said that normal
production should be judged on a
countrywide basis rather than by in
dividual farms.
Restrictions Removed.
Restrictions on feeding pigs. cattle
sheep and other live stock and poultry
were removed by the committee. In
stead, the Secretary of Agriculture was
given power to impose restrictions il
ne found income of normal dairy and
live stock production areas was ad.
verselv affected
Legislators from live stock and dair,
regions. however. contended these
changes would remove all protection
and actually would place the Govern
ment in the position Of substituting
competition.
Also involved in the controversy was
the technical question of whether the
Conference Committee had a right IN
change the dairying provision. which
was contained in both Senate and
House bills.