Evening star., 1942-07-06
Senators Vote
Stopgap Funds
For Agriculture
Measure Provides
$93, 900, 900
During July
Ey the Associated Press.

The Senate Appropriations
Committee unanimously ap-
proved today stop-gap legislation
which would make $93 900, 900
available to the Agriculture De-
partment for July, with the pro-
viso that any amounts spent
must be taken out of the regular
appropriations later.
Majority Leader Barkley said he
expected the Senate to give quick
approval to the measure and send it
to the House, where resolution
varying in form was passed last
week. If approved by both Houses,
the measure would be effective for
30 days, while conferees attempted
to compromise disputed portions of
the $500 100000 farm appropriations
bill.
Just before the committee acted.
President Roosevelt had discussed
the situation affecting the Agricul-
ture Department with congressional
leaders.
The appropriation bill has been in
log jam for weeks because the
Senate wants wheat sold for live
stock feeding at price under parity
while the House had refused to
authorize any sales at less than
parity.
OPA Funds Mentioned.
Senator Barkley said there had
been some mention of funds for
the Office of Price Administration
and also casual reference to the
initiation problem in the White
House conferences, but no discus
sion of specific remedies"
Speaker Rayburn and House Ma
jority Leader Mccormack also at
tended the conference. Vice Presi-
dent Wallace who usually attends,
is out of town.
AS the Senate continued its efforts
to resolve the farm bill controversy.
Mr.. Wallace and Secretary Wick
ard were reported to have taken
opposing sides in the dispute over
measure directing full parity Gov
ernment loans to farmers of s1.34 a.
bushel on 1912 wheat and 81 cents
bushel on corn.
Senate Minority Leader McNarv
was backing the administration on
the issue of permitting below-parity
sales OF grain for live stock feed
ing, bill already approved by tho
senate but opposed by the House.
Mr.. Wallace, who preceded Mr..
Wlckard as Secretary OF Agriculture.
was described by friends as taking a
vigorous stand against the parity
loan bill, which the Senate sched-
uled as its unfinished business TODAY.
Wlckard Favors Measure.
On the other hand. sponsors said
they were informed that Mr.. Wick
ard approved the measure. Passage
OF the bill had been projected as a
possible solution of a quarrel over
the farm bill that has left the Agri-
culture Department without funds
since July i.
In the meantime today. it de-
Veloped that the departments en-
ployes, most of whom are paid on
the 9th, will not go "payless' even
II the stopgap measure isn't enacted
Immediately. If it appears that
there will be long delay, the dis
ourslng Office of the Treasury will
give the workers the money they
earned up to June 80, and which is
cnargeable against the appropria-
tlon for the last fiscal year.
The disbursing Office has the rolls
IN shape to make the regular pay
ment within a day or two after any
appropriation is passed.
Mr.. Wallace was represented AZ
having told Senators he was opposed
to the parity loan bill because he
believed it would place practically
the entire 1912 grain crop under
mortgage to the Government with
loans ranging 38 cents a bushel for
wheat and Is cents bushel for corn
above the average price paid on the
farms for those crops June Is.
Offered by Bankhead and Russell.
The measure, offered by Senators
Bankhead. Democrat, of Alabama.
and Russell, Democrat, of Georgia.
would authorize full parity loans
on corn, wheat, rice, cotton, tobacco
and peanuts.
Parity is a price calculated to
give the farmer the same return
he obtained in past period, usually
l9O9-14. These loans thus would
be sl.34 on wheat, 97.6 cents on corn,
1885 cents a pound on cotton. s1.23
oushel on rice and 7.3 cents a
pound on peanuts. Tobacco types
very so widely, no single parity fig
ure is representative.
With cotton selling at only a frac-
ton OF cent pound below parity
and rice at nearly so cents bushel
above parity, the bulk of the loans
would be made on wheat and corn.
Roosevelt Backs Senate.
On the beloW-parity sales issue,
the Senate has insisted that the
Government be permitted to sell up
to 125,000,000 bushels of wheat for
feeding livestock at about SO cents
a bushel and that no price restric-
ton be placed on Government sales
OF grain for making industrial al
cohol or explosives. .
In advocating below-parity sales.
Senator McNary predicted that
House opposition would collapse in
The face of the Presidents stand.
i think that when the first op-