Evening star., 1955-05-29
BY WILLIAM SHADE

Uncle Sans record farm sur
plus is giving officials increas-
ing headaches and stirring up
q binful of political contro-
versy on the eve of a Con-
gressional review Of the farm
program.
AS the Senate Agriculture
Committee prepares to open
hearings in connection with
the current price-support pro-
gram, one major fact confront
ing 1t is the Governments
peak SIS billion investment in
farm products-a figure which,
despite crop controls, may be
even larger by election time
next year.
Representing the value OF
crops either owned outright or
held under loan, this statistic
is rousing old echoes of farm
bankruptcy and general depres-
sion. Politicians remember
that unmarketable surpluses
broke the back Of farm prices
In the 1920s, and few can ig-
more their present threat to the
Nation.
AS Republicans blame cur
rent surpluses on high props
enacted under Democratic rule,
and Democrats attribute them
to lack of aggressive solutions
by the present administration,
officials wrestling with them
recognize that as long as price,
depressing stocks exist, no price
support program can operate
with full success.
you can't cure the problem
by throwing political brick
bats" says one high Depart
ment Of Agriculture official.
"The basic dilemma is how to
move surpluses as quickly as
possible without disrupting
world markets or resorting to
large-scale giveaways."
Bullying Warehouses
With foreign markets shrink
ing and United States supplies
Of wheat. feed grains, cotton,
rice, fats and oils and other
commodities at record or
l1ear-record levels, this adds
up to a major challenge. Gov
ernment bins and warehouses
now contain. among other
things, / billion bushels of
wheat. 1.748,000 bales of cot
ton, 225 million pounds of
butter, and SGT million bushels
of corn.
Officials estimate that about
half of the total amount of
food and fiber held by the
Government is needed for
normal reserves and emergency
use; the rest is surplus. Bar
ring crop failures or war,
there seems to be scant hope
for quick disposal Of this,
since acreage of key crops has
already been cut back as far
as economic safety will permit.
This leaves distribution at
home and abroad as the major
weapon for immediate dis
posal. Secretary of Agricul-
ture Ezra T. Benson favors
selling through regular chan
nels to the greatest possible
extent. On the foreign front.
reciprocal trade is being used
to export increasingly large
amounts Of farm products at
competitive prices.
Another outlet is provided
by the Agricultural Trade De-
velopment and Assistance Act
of 1854 Public Law 480),
which has broadened authority
for surplus disposal. Under
this law, surplus farm prod
ucts are being sold for foreign
currencies which are used. in
turn, to boost economic prog
ress in friendly nations, and
for other purposes.
II Agreements Signed
Last week the Department
announced that, since July /.
1854, agreements involving
$289 million worth of sur
pluses have been signed with
II nations under PL 480. New
pactS are now being nego-
tiated. increasingly wide use
is also being made of barter
and emergency relief overseas,
through which officials have
disposed of $3.50 million in sur
pluses during the last 10
months.
But these activities are run
ming into a foreseeable snag.
Foreign peoples prefer their
own traditional foods. and
these aren't always the ones
in surplus here. Other ma
tions also fear that our COM
petitive zeal may lead to out
right dumping.
Since exports account for
only 10 per cent of total farm
output, by value, by far the
biggest market for surpluses is
right here at home. However,
sales through regular COM
mercial channels are limited
by a directive that the De-
partment shall not sell any
storable commodity at less
than los per cent Of parity,
plus carrying charges.
Donations of food to schools,
hospitals and other recipients
which have aggregated $130
million between July and
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