Evening star., 1943-02-15
Committee Kills
S1OO,OOO,OOO
Farm Proposal
Group Votes, 6 to |,
Against Presidents
Incentive Payments

BY the Associated Press.
BY vote of 6 to / a House
Appropriations Subcommittee to-
day turned down a request by
President Roosevelt for $100 O00,-
600 for incentive payments to
farmers to increase production of
food.
The dissenting vote was cast by
Representative Tarver, Democrat,
Of Georgia, chairman of the sub
committee handling agriculture ap-
preparations.
The committee reaffirmed the
policy of Congress against the pay
ment Of subsidy payments as written
into the first Supplemental Defense
Appropriation Act last year.
Representative Tarver said he
concurred in the declaration of pol
icy, but voted against disapproving
the request for funds.
Meanwhile, Senator Hasch. DEM
ocrat, of New Mexico advocated
elimination of farm benefit pay
ments and the fixing of agricultural
prices at fair levels"
Members said the announcement
was made in order to give the Agri-
culture Department and other off,
cials time to work out different
plan to increase production of neces-
sary farm products.
Increased Production Goals.
Last week President Roosevelt
sent to Congress a Budget Bureau
request for the funds to encourage
production of Irish and sweet pota-
toes. dry beans, peas, soy beans,
peanuts, flax and grain sorghum.
"A recent review of the food situa-
ton indicated the necessity of in
creasing the 1943 goals in these COM
modlties," the bureau said.
In order to provide farmers with
the incentives necessary to encour-
age them to reach or exceed the
increased goals, it appears necessary
either to raise general price levels
for these crops or to make specific
provision for offsetting the higher
costs of the additional units of
production
1T is proposed that the increased
costs of the additional production
should be provided for through the
use of direct incentive payments"
The Agriculture Department plan
ned to pay farmers for each acre
''on the basis of the amount by
which the farmer exceeds 80 per
cent of his acreage goal for these
crops up to ITO per cent of the goal"
Fair Return Guaranteed.
Senator Hatch, one of the leaders
of an unsuccessful fight in the last
| session to revise parity prices up
ward to include the cost of all farm
labor, told reporters he had become
convinced that artificial supports for
| agricultural income should be aban-
| doned and prices fixed at a point
where farmers would be guaranteed
fair return.
THE farmers don't want SUBJ
sidies," Senator Hatch declared.
They want fair price for their
crops and I think Congress ought
to do away with all benefit payments
and TX farm prices at parity"
The New Mexico Senator's oppo-
sition to subsidies was shared by
Acting Chairman McKellar of the
Senate Appropriations Committee
who said he believed price controls
could be so administered as to pro-
vide an incentive for increased pro-
duction without voting the 500, ,OOO,.
900 appropriation.
Wickard to Be Heard.
Opposition to further farm SUBJ
sides was decided on last week at
an informal meeting of influential
legislators at the call of Senator
George, Democrat, of Georgia. Sem
ator George said that while no de-
cisions were made, the group was
unanimous in opposing the incen-
tive payment proposal.
If approved by Congress, these
payments would be in addition to
soil conservation and parity price
appropriations voted regularly for
several years.
The whole question of subsidies
and price ceilings is expected to be
| discussed when an Agriculture Sub
| committee calls Secretary of Agri-
culture Wickard before it this week
for an investigation of the food pro-
duction problem.