Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1939-03-23

cabinet he has negotiated something
like 18 trade treaties with other
countries and in each and everyone
of them we have made substantial
concessions, to the injury of Amer
lean agriculture and industry.
The depressing effects of these
treaties are daily becoming more
crushing as the American farmer,
workingman and manufacturer are
increasingly exposed to the COMPETE
ton they inflict.
On January 80, introduced H. R.
1877 to increase the processing tax
on all imported vegetable oils from
three cents to six cents per pound,
and another bill introduced by me
on January 8, Oh. R. 170) would
impose an import tax of 10c per dozen
on eggs in the shell and Sic per pound
on dried whole eggs.
In view of the serious situation of
the dairy and poultry industries I
thought it was going to be COMPARE
lively easy to get these measures be-
bore both houses of Congress, the
necessity of such taxes being so APP
parent. My readers can imagine my
surprise when l read in a Washing
ton paper last Wednesday that the
President had announced his opposi-
ton to efforts on Capitol Hill to in
crease the excise taxes on vegetable
oils. Last year there was shipped
into this country, in round figures,
about a thousand million pounds of
vegetable oils, nearly all of which
were used in butter substitutes and
soaps. These imports are in large
measure responsible for the switch
from the use of butter to substitutes
and as result the amount of but
ter now in storage is far above what
it was year ago. The dairyman is
now forced to meet an overloaded
market and lessened consumption.
The result is that butterfat is down to
new levels and experts tell me that
we may look for zoe butter in the
near future, and lard as low as five
cents.
We are never going to get out of
this depression until the farmers
buying power has been restored and
it is not going to be restored by
taking his market away from him.
Some day MessrS. Roosevelt and Hull
will learn that free trade and pros
perity for the American people do
not 60 together.
Would Speak for the Farmer.
The Ways and Means committee
is closing the sixth week of hear
ings on the Social Security law and
in that time we have heard a hum
dred or more witnesses who ranged
all the way from men like Gerard
Swope, president of General Electric,
to crackpots who would do all bust
ness with printing press money. All
in all it has been as good as a COL
lege education.
Several days ago there appeared
before our committee a chap who
represented the United Cannery,
Agricultural, Packing and Allied
Workers of America, an affiliate of
the c. I. o. This organization claims
something like 81 thousand members
who pay Coo a month dues. Under
questioning by me, he stated they
hope to organize every farmer and
processing worker in the country
which would give them an annual in
come of fifteen million dollars This
man had a Sure-fire plan for solv-
ing the agricultural problem but I'M
der questioning he admitted that he
knew little about it. Under the plan
proposed by the witness every farm
er would have to keep a set of books
showing the number of hours that
his help works and the amount paid
them. The same requirement would
be called for from employers of
domestic servants. The witness was
quite frank in admitting that the
aim of his organization is to make a
<'closed shop" of every farm, which
would give them complete control
of our food supply. l do not think
we are ready for anything like that
in the United States.
For the information of those who
are particularly interested in Social
Security let me say that it will
probably be month or six weeks
before the committee can go over the
mass of testimony and be ready to
report out bill. What is done will
depend altogether upon the President
and his majority in Congress.
To Maintain Present Debt Limit.
For some time the Administration
has been contemplating asking Con-
gress to increase the national debt
limit from As billions to SO billions
because the national debt is now about
40 billions and in addition the gov
eminent has guaranteed about five
billions of obligations contracted by
various governmental agencies. OPP
position to increasing the national
debt limit rapidly developed among
the members of both parties in Con-
gress. Therefore, the Administra-
ton has decided to postpone its re-
quest for an increase until next year.
Members of Congress believe that
the time is here to drastically reduce
expenditures. Increased spending
means increased taxes and that is
one of the items holding back re-
To- L; 10 ic