The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1942-05-29
Farmers Union Scores k
A Needed Cleaning.
Feed Grain Wins.
They Went With Him.
How They Voted.

How They Voted.
The agriculture appropriation bill
passed the senate on May 20. The
daily press has intimated that its pas
sage caused bad split in the farm
bloc and that President Roosevelt
gained but half victory for the farm
ers. What the dailies did not tell
was that it was not scrap within
the farm bloc but fight to the finish
between the American Farm Bureau
and the Farmers Union and that the
Farmers Union won most signal vic
| tory. The house of representatives
cut appropriations for the Farm Sc
curity Administration and the Stamp
Plan almost to the point of destroying
those agencies. This made the Farm
Bureau very happy but the U. S. SEN
ate, after careful consideration and
lengthy debate, Overwhelmingly sup
ported the position of the Farmers
Union and restored appropriations for
FSA and the Stamp Plan so that they
can continue to render vital service
to low-income farmers and underfed
school children. The Farm Bureau is
now entitled to retire and repent in
dust and ashes for its attempt to take
over the Department of Agriculture
and to operate it and the govern
ment's farm agencies for the benefit
of the commercial, corporation farmer
as against the interest of the family
type farm.
The U. S. senate increased appro-
priations for these relief agencies by
about 140 million dollars and for this
the Farmers Union is happy that it
put so much energy and money into
the fight but what is more important |
than the mere 40 million dollar in
crease in appropriations is the great |
victory we won in the senate as re-
CARDS the national Administrations |
social responsibilities. By the ire
mendous vote of 4S to 49, the U. S. |
senate supported the Farmers Union |
position. These are most worthwhile |
institutions to support at the cost of |
the tax payer We have had this |
same fight year after and the lopsided |
vote in favor of the Farmers Union /
position ought to at least indelibly |
imprint on the minds of the national
leaders of the Farm Bureau that with
all their boosted power they have lit
tie prestige with the U. S. senate.
DIT hof |
showed the strength of the Farmers
Union with the people represented by
the United States senate, was that on
permitting the sale of 25,000,000
bushels of wheat for feed and seed
purposes at price of So per cent of
corn parity. The vote "for" was 81,
against" was IS. That in the face
Of the opposition of the "reminiscences
1ictators of the Farm Bureau who
were frenzied at the thought of wheat
being sold in competition with corn
he product in which they are vitality
for the excess corn profits.
But the common farmer, who must
nave feed for his livestock and poul-
Try, If the country is to have its meat J
md milk, will find this godsend. (
The Farmers Union supported this /
provision. On May 10, NJ w. Thatch- |
", while at Washington directing the
course of the fight, sent to each of t
he So U. S. senators telegram, 8
which, after pointing out the terrible J
forage conditions for wheat, said, to {
he senator's: {
I'VE urge you to support that APP :
preparation committees recommen- +
dation to allow the sale of 125,000,- 7
900 bushels of loan wheat for feed. =
Any changes should be to give more \
freedom of action to the President 7
and Secretary of Agriculture" I
That vote-62 to 18-was a most !,
response to Mr.. Thatcher's Z
,ire. He had stated, and the sena- \
Drs already knew, that unless plenty y
t feed was available at a reasonable g
rice to livestock producers, the sup Z
ly of meat would diminish, instead Q
( increase as it must in this period q
war. He told those senators: p
Corn surplus is now melted. We r
ace possible meat rationing next +,
ear" They saw it as he did-and Il
rent with him on It,
You want to know how our north t
Test senators voted on the big fight t