Milford chronicle., 1949-08-12
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lN WAsNINarnM

- - NV aBPaANilt Al Tie
beleaguered farm organizations
heading up the agricultural indus
try as a result Of the much
discussed and controversial Bran
nan agricultural program.
Three leading farm organizations
oppose the plan; one is for it. But
none are agreed on a program to
take its place. Out Of the maze Of
perplexity has come a dozen farm
billS-the Pace bin, the Cooley bin,
the Gore bill, the Thomas bill and
many others until one farm leader
remarked-'Everybody wants to
get into the act"
The Farm Bureau Federation
and the National Grange are in
disagreement and are backing DIFF
ferent proposals, and both get back
to the defensive statement that
the farmers don't want the Bran
nan PLAN" The National Farmers
Union favors the Brannan plan. At
explosive hearings before both
senate and house committees, the
farm leadership marshalled its
forces bringing into Washington
leaders from throughout the coun-
try to testify against the Brannan
plan. Red-hot statements have been
issued.
The Farm Bureau, usually :
even-tempered and cOnserva-
tive, issued q release called
Washington Ringside," ques-
tiOning the sincerity, the mo
tives, and insofar as this re-
porter can Judge, even the ver-
acity of the secretary of agri-
culture. And in so doing the
Farm Bureau went back to the
1948 campaign issue of grain
storage, taken away from the
CCC by the 8Oth congress. This
congress has written into the
law again the authority Of CCC
to again provide storage for
commodity credit grain ON
loan or purchase.
One thing is certain the whole
question of an agricultural pro-
gram will be a major issue in the
1850 campaign and the Farm Bu-
reau was the first to take off the
gloves and make its fight against
Secretary Brannan and President
Truman, who also called for en-
actment of the Brannan plan in
his message to congress, on a
strictly political basis.
Another thing is certain. The
Hope-Aiken law, with its so-called
flexible provision of go to 90 per
cent Of parity, either will be re-
placed by another law, or will be
so amended as to be unrecogniza-
BILE. So blistering has been the heat
turned on the Aiken law that even
Senator Aiken himself now says
that anything called for in the
Brannan plan can be done under
his law and easier, too with
out going before congress for ar
annual appropriation for direct
subsidy payments to farmers.
Senator Aiken now also
denies that price support under
his law was ever intended to be
operated on sliding scale,
that prices should be supported
at 80 per cent Of parity the
same as now; that the sliding
scale was put in merely to pro-
tect the farmer against sup
ports being dropped by admin
istrative action below a GER
tain point.
The National Council of Farm
Cooperatives after issuing a state
ment that it generally was opposed
to direct subsidies as proposed b.
the Brannan plan, has subsideo
somewhat and is riding out thu
storm, mainly for the reason tha
some cooperatives want the provi
SionS of the Brannan plan.
Mr.. Allan Kline, president of tn,
Farm Bureau federation, who il
an Iowa Republican, and was men
toned prominently during the las
presidential campaign as a prob
able choice of Gov. Dewey fo
secretary of agriculture, has beel
the most outspoken opponent of tht
Brannan plan, and Mr.. Brannal
levelled some rather caustic crit
cism at Mr.. Kline during Bran
mans appearance before a senat
agriculture committee hearing. Th
Farm Bureau declares that unde
the Brannan proposal, ''the onl,
hope for fair income Cfor farm
ers) would depend on governmen
handouts from annual appropria
tions by congress-" That refers O
course to the direct subsidy O
compensatory payments provide,
for under the Brannan propose
and the fact these payments woul
come from the federal treasury
: The question naturally arises a
to whether anyone is naive enoug
to believe that the present subsid
of price support payments come
from any place except the fedora
treasury. Another question natura,
ly arises. If the farmers them
selves don't want the Branna
plan, why all the shooting?
The Pace bill, introduced b