The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1938-01-06
THE GREAT
GAME OF
POLITICS.. . .
Copyright by the Baltimore Sun and
reprinted in The Republican by
special permission.
By FRANK r. KENT

Copyright by the Baltimore Sun and
reprinted in The Republican by
special permission.
An Interesting Agreement
While it is not possible to predict
what this Congress will or will not
do, it is certainly safe to say that in
its range, its cost and its departure
from the accepted American doctrine
of individual freedom, the Crop Con-
troll bill, passed by both branches in
the extra session and now scheduled to
emerge from the conference committee
some time this month, easily stands
alone.
The more this extraordinary meas
ure is considered the more clearly it is
revealed as the greatest of Admins
tration adventures into the field of
planned economy. The complications
of the proposal are such as to battle
general comprehension and it is en-
tirely accurate to state that it is as
little understood by the men who voted
for it as any piece of legislation that
ever came before Congress. Nothing
showed that more clearly than the
brief debate that took place in Deem
Der and which, as it is reviewed in the
Congressional Record, seemed to reach
the high-water mark in confusion.
Men who laboriously have read and
carefully studied the two proposals
now in process of being welded into
one by the House and Senate con-
ferees, some of whom have expressed
violent distaste for the whole business,
are unable to explain or understand
many of the more intricate provisions.
However, they are agreed upon two or
three basic facts. One is that the bill
will give the Government a power SO
complete over all farm operations as
to deprive the individual farmer of
any freedom of action and render it
impossible for him to use his land
except as the Government directs.
Ordinarily, such a proposal would
be extremely abhorrent to the Ameri-
can farmer. Ordinarily, there would
be revolt against comforting such inn
mense power upon the Government
1t is proposed, however, to pay the
individual farmer so much money for
putting himself under Government
control that he will not only acquiesce
in the exercise of this authority but
like it. The avowed purpose of the
Administration is to improve the con-
dition of the farmer by raising the
price of farm products through cur
tailment of production. This, of course
clashes with the present Administra-
ton drive against monopolistic price
fixing, but it is none the less the fact
Almost as astonishing as the things
put into these bills is the thing left
QUITO wit, any provision for raising
the enormous sums which must be
expended In neither bill is there any
method for raising money so much as
suggested. That little detail is left up
to the Committee on Appropriations,
which, up to date, naturally enough
has not even considered the matter, ii
being entirely unknown to anyone
what the cost will be. The lowest estl-
mate is half billion year, but, it Is
admitted, it may run as high as a
billion and a half. Accepting the low
est estimate, the total for farm sub
sides, loans and other activities OF
the Department of Agriculture fol-
1888 will be S1,035, 100000, not count
ing in the normal departmental eX-
penses.
1t seems incredible that in the pres
ent state of national affairs Congress
should enact so drastic and confused a
proposal, the expense Of which can
only be guessed and the effect OF
which would be not only greatly to
enhance the bureaucratic power of the
Government but establish govern
mental machine of vast potential
power, financed by Federal funds. Yet,
despite the fact that some of the
strongest of the Senatorial friends of
the farmer oppose it and great farm
organization like the National Grange
is hostile, that-unless there is an
awakening such as occurred last year
on the court bills exactly what is
! about to happen.
In addition to the Administration
n oirI whose bakino