Evening star., 1938-10-30
Roosevelt Popularity Rides Out
Midwest Farm Section Storm
Observer Sees Political Retaliation of A. A. A
Discomfort Failing to Touch Mantle
of President.
By John NJ. Collins.

seeded last fall. The A. A. A. asks the State
to seed 100000 acres. Part Of the reduce
tion is due to compliance with the Govern
ment program, in which the grower is
promised 28 cents bushel on the normal
production OF the acres In his allotment,
part due to dry weather of the last month.
Although subsoil moisture in the winter
wheat belt is the most satisfactory in sew
eral years, the top soil has dried so that
late seeded wheat is not terminating salts
factorlly. End Of the war scare was infiu-
ential In halting any great expansion of
acreage In Western Kansas where the bulk
OF the reduction will come, since 1t is there
the large wheat farms lie which will profit
most from Government payments
Threaten Political Reaction.
Politically the wheat situation and the
A. A. A. are distinct threat in Kansas to
Senator McGll co-author of the A. A. A.
law. The A. A. A. pulled boner when it
announced it would make loans on wheat
and then got its feet tangled up in its own
red tape. The announced loan rate was
about IL cents bushel above the farm
price, but the A. A. A. was so slow in get
ting its machinery in motion and then in
cluded so many bookkeeping requirements,
many farmers, pushed by creditors, had to
sell before they could take advantage Of
the loan
The drastic cut in wheat acreage, 40
per cent for the State as whole, fell most
heavily on Eastern Kansas, where the bulk
OF the rural votes lies. Some Eastern Kan
sas counties must reduce as much as SO
per cent over seeded acreage last fall If they
are to be in compliance with the A. A. A.
and get the benefit payments.
Many OF these farmers, who have laid in
wheat machinery as the result of drouphts
and grasshoppers getting their other crops.
are resentful. This will hurt Senator NC
Gill, although his opponent, Clyde M. Reed.
1ormer Governor so far has carefully re-
trained from making an issue of the A. A.
A. In part, Mr.. Reed is Influenced by the
fact that three leading Republicans of the
State-Senator Capper, Clifford Hope, Rep
resentative from the country's largest
wheat-growing district and ranking Repub-
hcan member of the House Agriculture
Committee, and Representative Frank Carl
son-voted for the A. A. A.
Kansas is being recognized as a battle
ground by both parties. Senator Vanden-
berg appeared in the State recently on
oehaf OF Mr. Reed, urging at Wichita the
enactment OF the two-price system, or
oomestlc allotment as substitute for the
A. A, A. Postmaster General Farley and
secretary Wallace already have been in
the State to speak kind words for Senator
McGlll, and they are being followed by
senator Hatch Of New Mexico, Senator Lee
OF Oklahoma and Senator Barkley of Ken
lucky.
A good many observers believe that il
senior McG4l goes down to defeat, Gov.
Huxman Democrat, will go with him. Hux-
man suffers from low wheat prices, dis
satisfaction with the A. A. A.. the bad oil
situation, the sales tax and other factors
usually blamed, unfairly, on the man in
ONCE. Then, too, many observers see a
trend in the State back to its traditional
Republicanism.
Gillette Has Chance
But in Iowa, while declining farm prices
have harmed the Democrats somewhat the
Glllette-Dlcklnson race for the Senate is
considered toss-up. The A. A. A. is being
used as rallying point for Senator Gillette.
the attention of farmers being called to
the corn loan which, as in wheat, is above
market prices, the favorable livestock feed
Ing ratio and the A. A. A. butter-buyinp
program.
In Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, the
Democratic primaries picked practically all
the candidates who will be elected. Interest
centers in whether Dewey Short, from
southwest Missouri. only Republican men,
Der OF the congressional delegation hom
the Show Me State, will return to WASH
ington.
Senator Bennett Champ Clark of Missouri
is riding the top of the wave. Nominated
this fall for the senior Senate seat bv the
greatest popular vote ever received by a
candidate in the State he was doomed at
Democratic fish fry in Sedalia recently
as 1910 candidate for President. The son
OF the famous Speaker of the House Is
known as an independent, having voted
against several Roosevelt pet measures, in
Guiding the court reorganization bill. His
political adroitness was shown when he
appeared before Bill Hirths Missouri Farm
Association convention. Hirth, chairman
OF the old Corn Belt Committee which tried
to enact the McNary- Haugen bill over two
vetoes by President Coolidge, ran for the
Democratic nomination for Governor
against Lloyd Stark two years ago and
then helped Gov. Stark in the recent pri-
maries against Boss Pendergast of Kansas
City when the boss decided to make an
issue OF Supreme Court nomination Gov.
Stark won. relegating Pendergast to No.
position in the States Democratic leader
ship.
Senator Clark told the farmers he had
voted against, the first A. A. A. and for the
second because of its soil conservation fea-
ture, that the present A. A. A. was in dis
repute because of administration, and that
he was an original McNary- -Haugen man
who believed in the domestic allotment
principle
Explanation Gets Across.
This was rather involved but the farmers
decided Senator Clark was their friend and
gave him an ovation
1t is apparent that new farm relief"
proposals will be made in the coming Con-
gress Already j. E. Mcdonald agricul-
tural commissioner of Texas, has started
sneakinc camnaicp in fovor of III. ,...t, -.