The Republican., 1941-04-10
Biggest in History
Washington, April 5

The largest and most indefensible
farm subsidy in history has just gone
through the Senate Unless the un-
expected happens, the House will con-
cur and the President sign this shock
ing bill, which will cost the Govern
ment 1,340,O00,000. This will bring
the total of Federal funds poured out
on the farms since Mr. Roosevelt be-
gan his first term to about four bill
lion dollars.
The full implications of this latest
farm bill ought to be understood by
the people as a whole, because it will
affect every one of US. On top of what
we are spending to defend ourselves,
no such additional vast expenditure
can be made without weakening the
whole national structure. The bill is
$450,000,000 higher than the House
bill 1t is $304,000,0O0 higher than last
years farm expenditures, which were
greater than in any previous year.
And it is $450,000,000 higher than the
Presidents budget recommendations
The yardstick by which the present
proposal best can be measured is the
total farm expenditures of the last
eight years. For example, it is esti-
mated that since 1888 $2,5OO,00O 900
has been expended for crop parity
payments, loans and subsidies under
the soil-conservation schemes. 1t is
now proposed to spend nearly two
thirds of that amount in addition.
hN%
And this measure is being pushed
through at time when, because of
the tremendous and unavoidable bur
den of defense, it is imperative that
all non-defense expenditures should
be pared to the bone" Mr.. Roosevelt
himself solemnly proclaimed that
necessity. And he has repeatedly in
sisted that every one of US" must
make Sacrifices" in order to swing
the vast defense appropriations with
out rendering insecure the founda-
tions. 1t was in January he made that
statement. A little later he declared
that he had given "orders" to all de-
partment heads to pare to the bone"
Every non-defense activity, he as
serted, had to be cut.
But no one has cut anything-least
of all the President, whose recommen-
dation for cuts was almost unani-
mously commended On the contrary,
the President has put himself person
ally behind bill to increase by one
hundred per cent the appropriation
for the Office of Government Reports,
headed by his aide, Mr.. Mellett, and
which will enable it to expand as a
propaganda bureau, put on several
hundred additional jobholders and eco
ordinate" the army of press agents
and publicity directors with whom the
Administration is thickly cluttered. 1t
is ineXcusable waste on an almost
wholly useless agency. In addition, in
the name of defense, he is about to
urge Congress to appropriate approx
imately $250,000,000 to construct the
st. Lawrence seaway, which is a du-
bious proposal at best and in any
event could not be finished before
1916.
But, clearly as do these projects
clash with his public promises, they
are insignificant by the side of this
vast $1,340,000,000 which is about to
be poured out on the farms in the
name of full parity payments" 4"
When it is considered, too, that the
President allocated in his lease-lend
bill $1,250,000,000 to buy commodities
of all sorts to send to Britain and that
a large part of this will find its way
to the farms-when this is consid-
cred, what it is proposed this year to
do for the farmer is almost incredible.
1t does seem that, under existing con-
ditions, Congress which could enact
such bill and President who could
approve it have lost all sense of pro-
portion and thrown prudence, along
with reason, out the window.
AA&
The bill passed the Senate Thurs
day, with practically no opposition.
True, Senator Byrd, of Virginia, and
Senator Taft, of Ohio, raised their
voices in protest, and the latter even
predicted that the President would
veto the bill For that optimistic view
there seems slight foundation. There
has been no real resistance in any
quarter, including the White House,
to the farm lobby pressure The pub
lie, full Of patriotic fervor about de-
fense and with the war spirit mount
ing, is inert. and unconcerned about
other matters, grave though they may
be. The passage Of this gigantic bill
did not make the first pages of the
newspapers and aroused no radio
comment. To point out the lack of
Roosevelt leadership in matter so
vital, or to comment on the clash be-
tween his words and his deeds, is
construed by his supporters as mag
ging." In their opinion, no matter
what he does now, no word of criti-