Evening star., 1953-07-02
The Political Mill
Eisenhower's Aid Plan
Stirs Capitol Tempest
Congress Feels Authority
Is Too Greet for Any Mon
By Gould Lincoln

TIcSLucuL GISeulOWeTS request Oh
Congress for authority to act quickly
and without further reference to Con-
gress-to give or to sell American sur
plus food and other agricultural sup
plies to foreign nations stricken with
famine or having other urgent relief
requirements, has raised a tempest on
Capitol Hill. There are several reasons.
First. Congress likes to have a finger
in every pie. Second, members OF Con-
gress feel that such powers. if given to
the President, would place him in posi-
ton to use American foodstuffs, owned
by the Government through the use Of
taxpayers money, in virtually any way
he saw f1t-provided 1t was described as
an emergency. This, they claim. is too
much power to place in the hands Of
any manor any President.
The huge mass of surplus agricul-
tural products in this country however,
is one OF the biggest problems the Gov.
ernment and the country, and particu-
larly the American farmers. have to
face. The Senate took the bit in its
teeth during yesterdays consideration
OF the Mutual Security Agency
bill, adopting an amendment offered
by Senator Mcclellan, Democrat, Of
Arkansas. directing Mutual Security
Administrator Stassen to use surplus
foodstuffS in a deal for foreign labor
and materials to produce military
weapons and supplies required in
building up defense strength against
Communist aggression. The money for
the foodStuffS is to come out Of the
MSA appropriations.
Proposal Carries.
Efforts of the administration sup
porters in the Senate to defeat the
Mcclellan proposal We're frustrated when
farm bloc Republican Senators jumped
the reservation and voted with the
Democrats for the amendment. Only
five Democrats stood with the admin
istration forces against it. The Demo-
Gratis apparently were glad to support
McClellan-one of their own--in plan
for the use of surplus agricultural prod
ucts, and at the same time take a
crack at the Presidents request for
authority to allow him to dispense sur
plus foodstuffs.
The surplus agricultural products in
the United States are in two categories:
(a) Those products owned by the Gov
ernment and (b) those products on
which the Government has advanced
loans to the farmers but which still
belong to the farmers. In round figures,
the Government-owned products are
valued at something more than 50 bill
lion, and the products on which loans
have been made to farmers, at some-
thing more than 81 billion. Together,
the products probably total $3.5 billion.
That. in any mans language. is not
chicken feed. With the prospect of a.
big wheat crop this season and material
increases in other crops. the situation
SO far as surplus agricultural products
are concerned looks even more ominous.
It's a situation. too. which finds huge
surpluses in the hands of the Gov
ernment, while many people abroad
have too little to eat. Indeed, there also
are too many persons in this country
who do not have sufficient diet.
Eighteen Year Old Program.
The surpluses are the outgrowth Of
the Federal Governments farm support
programs. which have been operating
for 18 years. Mostly the Government
has made loans on farm products, loans
which the farmer does not have to
repay. and the Government pays itself
by holding the food and other agri-
cultural products which have been put
up as collateral
Here are some of the items which
make up the agricultural surplus:
245 million pounds of butter, valued
at $165 million; 172 million pounds OF
cheese, valued at SGT million: 1863 mill
lion bushels Of wheat. valued at 1908
million: $50 million pounds of dried
milk. valued at $55 million: 231 million
bushels of corn. valued at $343 million;
$4,000 bales of cotton, valued at
$33 million; IT'S million pounds Of
cottonseed oil, valued at $140 million.
Various ways are found to dispose Of
surplus agricultural products. Some
of the surplus wheat is expected tn go
out of the country under the new inter-
national wheat agreement. The Gov
ernment turns over surplus butter and
other foods to be used in the school
lunch programs which are aided by the
Federal Government, and still more
goes to poorhouses and other charitable
institutions.
In the 13 years of operation, these
operating through the Farm
Credit Corporation. have cost the Gov
ernment about ST billion, or about $55
million a year. This is lot of money.
Its expenditure, however, acted as in
Surance against perhaps ruinous prices
in the farm industry, which is many
billion-dollar affair. AS a matter OF
fact, the supports given prices of po-
tatoes and eggs were responsible for
about three-fourths of the total loss.
Support of those commodities has been
ended.
The President, in his message to
Congress asking authority to use these
surpluses, made 1t clear he was pro-
posing to use them only in great emer-
gencies. caused by famine, for example.
His desire is to 1oe able TO act speedily.
While Congress has recently put
through r-million-tcn wheat-aid
plan for Pakistan, it took many months
10 provide a wheat loan to India,
suffering from famine, last year. Chair
nan Aiken of the Senate Agriculture