Evening star., 1944-01-10
Legislator Hits Use
OF Term Farm Bloc;
Calls Il Imaginary !.
By the Associated Press.

~ eoG AooOCi&tcQ 1TeE6.
A newspaper publisher who came
TO Congress a year ago, Representa-
tive Ellsworth, Republican, of Ore
son, today questioned the existence
OF farm bloc in Congress, saying 1t
can be found only "in the imagir1a-
ton OF some writer's and commenta.
tors"
When I came to Congress. Mr.
Ellsworth said, II thought there was
a farm bloc had read about its
activities and had heard them re-
ferred to on the radio. I thought It
must be an evil and a powerful in
nuence in Congress.
SO I came here forewarned. 20
to speak, and, therefore, forearmed.
I sought Immediately to locate and
identify this monster that was
: blocking good legislation and fore
ing the passage Of its own selfish de-
mands.
Il wanted to help strike it down
behead it and rend it asunder-do
away with 1t as an evil and un.
American growth upon our govern
mental system. But cannot find
It,"
Listed in Dictionary.
The statement sent reporter on
a search for the "bloc," and it was
found that many lawmakers agree
with Mr.. Ellsworth. The unabridged
dictionary in the press gallery was
consulted, to determine Just what a
hlON IS ord fhi~
found:
"Bloc-In the United States. a
combination Of members of two or
more groups or parties willing to
make common cause for some def
mite object.
Farm bloc A bloc in the
United States Congress, formed in
1921 by members from the agri-
cultural States to secure agricul-
tural legislation, irrespective of
party lines"
Farm State members did organize
formal bloc in the 192Os, with
officers and a program. 1t en-
countered criticism, and one Sena-
tor said it was composed of "18
lawyers and we'll digger" A Sena-
tor back in that day had written
in his biography: We'll driller by
occupation"
There is not now on Capitol Hill
a formal organization of farm State
members. Frequently, however,
various leaders behind agricultural
legislation will call meetings of
members interested in agriculture. :"
Such meetings often are set by
Representative Lemke, Repubuli-
can, of South Dakota, but he said
today, There's no such thing as a
farm bloc. I know of no such ami
NAL. There is more of corpora
tion bloc than farm bloc, but
nobody ever writes about it,"
No Cleavage Noted.
Mr. Ellsworth, publisher of the
Roseburg (OregD News-Review,
summed up his search for the farm
bloc as follows:
The headlines say that the farm
bloc has done this or that and when
I check the record I find no indica-
ton Of bloc voting. The record roll
lCfCdl lhl III oIoSC SPASONAASeA
tives voting on each side of most
issues Not only that, but the record
of votes does not reveal any sharp
cleavage in the membership on the
subject of farm legislation-or upon
any other legislation. The members
seem to vote as they see fit.
II conclude, after year of search,
that the farm bloc does not exist as
living thing but is only found in the
Imagination of some writers and
commentators.
1T is kept alive in the public mind
solely because the word bloc is
much easier to write than the more
accurate phrase Representatives
from Agricultural States The fact
seems to be that the Representatives
themselves vote as they think best
for the interest of the district they
epresent-and it seems to me that
is their right and privilege"