Evening star., 1954-08-06
Rigid Price Supports
To Cost $40 Billion,
Bridges Charges
By Allen Drury

day that continuation Of present
farm price support system could
cost the Government $40 billion.
The New Hampshire Republic
can made his prediction as both
opponents and supporters of the
present 80 per cent Of parity
system claimed victory in their
battle over the pending farm bill.
Senator Young. Republican. Of
North Dakota, a leader of the
forces seeking to continue rigid
supports. said 81 think we are
going to win nowhere have
been some switches"
But Republican Leader Know
land. fighting for the administra-
tons proposals for flexible and
lower supports. scoffed at that
and said I'VE have two or three
switches, too"
Hope to Vote Today.
Senator Knowland said he still
hopes for a vote today on the
key issue.
Senator Bridges was the first
of a group of administration
hackers who took the floor in
the third day of debate. He said
continuation of the present sup
port system would perpetuate q
"senseless raid on the taxpayers
to please a vociferous few"
The present 80 per cent of
parity is a formula designed to
give the farmer a fair return
for his crops in relation to his
costs. The administration favors
sliding scale ranging from IS
to 90 per cent of parity.
The House has approved
sliding 82.5 to 80 per cent
scale. A slim majority in the
Senate Agriculture Committee is
backing 80 per cent, and Agri-
culture Committee Chairman
Aiken has offered still another
proposal, setting the scale be-
tween 80 and 30.
Raised Authorization.
Senator Bridges pointed out
that Congress recently had to
boost the authorization of funds
for the price support program to
$8.5 billion.
"And the grim fact is," he
said, I'VE may soon be forced to
raise it again to $40 billion. Our
rent bill-just to pay the storage
is more than 100000 day.
We're spending four times
more for rent to store Govern
ment farm surpluses than the
total Federal bill for agricultural
research"
A continuation of high rigid
support prices would only in
crease the surpluSes, Senator
Bridges said. He said such action
would be the height of ire
sponsibility."
Senator Holland, Democrat,
of Florida also came to the
administrations support with
an attack on rigid supports as
"a SenSeless course of encourag-
ing overproduction."
Holland Hits Dairymen.
Senator Holland centered his
attack in particular on the dairy
industry, which he described as
an inefficient and unambitious
industry"
Dairy price supports were re-
duced by Agriculture Secretary
Benson from 80 to IS per cent Of
parity last April. Dairy State
Senators, backed by a majority
of the Agriculture Committee,
are seeking to bring the supports
back up to IS per cent as OF
September l.
Senator Holland said that In
general the rigid 80 per cent
system is not in the best in
terests of the Nation but instead
encourages a continued surplus
problem that has become a ma
tional scandal"
Senator Aiken agreed with
Senator Holland on the dairy
situation, and argued that the
dairy industry has been regain
ing it's markets through q Ma
tion-wide advertising campaign
since the Benson cut went into
effect. He said if Congress would
just wait a short time instead
of giving the industry new hand
outs, it would soon find itself on
fAAkiNn