Evening star., 1943-04-06
bark|ey Sees
Hope TO Sustain
Farm Bill Veto
Chances Fairly Good,'
Senator Says After
Visiting President

Senotor Says After
Visiting President
By the Associated Press.
In one of the sharpest battles
Capitol Hill has seen in years the
administration appeared to be
within striking distance today Of
winning Senate approval for
President Roosevelt's veto of the
Bankhead bill.
Majority Leader Barkley expressed
the opinion that chances are fairly
good" for sustaining the veto of the
measure which would prevent the
deduction of farm benefit payments
in computing parity prices. His
statement was made after a con-
ference with the President, in which
Speaker Rayburn, Senator Lucas,
Democrat, of Illinois, acting Presi-
dent Protein of the Senate, and
Majority Leader Mccormack par
ticipated.
Barkley Won't Forecast Vote.
Senator Barkley said he would not
attempt to forecast the vote on the
measure, nor did he undertake to
say who would vote for it.
The Senate Agriculture Commit
tee, meantime, holding hearings on
the House-approved Pace bill to in
clude all farm labor costs In parity
computations, brought Secretary Of
Agriculture Wickard and Price Ad--
ministrator Brown before it under
threat of subpoenas, and after hear
ing briefly from the two, voted to
excuse them until Thursday morn
ing
Mr.. Wickard and Mr.. Brown
agreed to appear after Chairman
Smith described their failure to at
tend the hearing as refusal, and
raised the possibility of subpoenaing
the pair. Mr.. Brown appeared first.
then was excused. Mr.. Wickard was
excused after being questioned
briefly on the letter the price ad-
ministrator sent Congress last week
in which he warned of the imitation
danger embodied in the Bankhead
and Pace bills.
An aide of Mr.. Brown explained
he had sought to have the price
administrator excused today because
Of other engagements and suggested
that he appear later in the week.
Mr.. Wickard, meanwhile, on learn
ing that Mr.. Brown apparently had
been excused, asked the committee
to allow him delay in giving his
! testimony on the Pace bill.
Appear After Subpoena Threat.
The committee then went into
executive session. from which Sen
ator Aiken, Republican, Of Vermont
emerged to say that Mr.. Brown and
Mr.. Wickard had been informed
that if they did not appear they
would be served with subpoenas.
Mr.. Brown arrived on the scene a
few minutes later Mr.. Wickard ap-
peared following Mr.. Browns dis
missal by the committee.
Seeming the possibility OF a major
victory over the farm bloc, leaders
pushed for an early showdown on
the Bankhead bill.
They needed only one-third OF the
votes cast to kill the measure, which
the President said might set off
tornado of infa ton. On the basis OF
last-minute nose counts, the issue
was so close it appeared to hinge
largely on how many pairs could be
arranged for absentees.
Furious Button -holing Campaign.
Senator Smith, an advocate Of
overriding the veto, conceded that
the result was in doubt, thus indi-
eating major shift in sentiment
since the Senate passed the bill orig
inally by a vote of 78 to 2.
That change was attributed In
some quarters to a furious button
holing campaign conducted by both
sides, supplemented with mail and
telephone calls.
AS an instance, Senator Taft, Re-
publican, of Ohio, who has not yet
committed himself on the veto, said
he had received telephone calls from
six Ohio industrialists, all Repub-
licans,, asking him to support the
Presidents position because OF the
psychological damper an administra-
ton victory would place on demands
for wage increases.
On the other side, farm organiza-
ton leaders have been calling in
person on Senators who they felt
might be weakening in their stand
for enactment of the measure. Their
contention has been that rejection
of the bill would be followed by a
program offering Government SUBJ
sidies-something they say the farm
ers don't want
May Kill Pace Bill.
These leaders conceded that death
of the Bankhead measure almost
certainly would presage a similar
fate for the Pace bill
Parity is a price standard calcu-
lated to equalize the exchange Of
farm products with other commodi-
ties)
Mr.. Brown has contended that the
Pace bill would raise living costs
101a per cent, and the Office Of
Price Administration issued
lengthy analysis of the Bankhead
measure last night contending it
would boost retail food prices by 81
(See BANKHEAD BILL, Page A-60
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