The people's voice., 1958-03-28
Repr. Leroy Anderson
Reports To You From
The Nations Capitol

WASHINGTON, d. C.-The Con-
gress has made major effort to
relieve the agricultural depression. A
bill to ''freeze" 1858 price supports
and acreage allotments at not less
than the 1857 levels passed both
House and Senate, and has gone to the
President for signature. Included with
sections on other crops are the main
provisions of my bill HR 10193, which
restores wheat supports to 1857 lev
els. This will raise wheat prices in
1853 to % cents above the levels
Secretary Benson has announced. For
Montana this will mean an additional
twenty or twenty-five million dollars
on wheat alone.
Recently Montana has had years
of better than normal rainfall, and
extremely high production, which has
gone long way toward offsetting
the ever-lowering crop prices. Thus,
Montana does not yet have the ghost
towns and the Main Streets with ev-
cry other building vacant that | have
seen driving through so many of the
country's farm areas. The 1858 crop
prospects are for high yields in Mon
tana again, but the potential shot-in-
the-arm of good crop will be partly
npllified if wheat prices are driven
down another % cents.
Secretary Benson is so sure he can
get Ike to veto the bill that he has
already announced another cut in
dairy supports for April 1. Of course,
he can't make it stick if the bill be-
comes law. If the President vetoes,
and he may have done so by the time
you read this, then the last chance
% give the farmers any real help in
1858 will be lost, and the money Mon
ana farmers have to spend on Main
Street next year will be cut by at
east $25 million.
Overseeded Wheat-The House has
passed bill to freeze wheat allot-
nents at the 1858 level for one more
rear. This removes severe penalty
eductions in base acreage which the
JSDA announced would be enforced
gainst those farmers who overseeded
heir 1858 allotment. Most congress-
nen felt that the Department ruling
nd the law on which it was based had
ONE so late, after most fall seeding
ad been done, that it was almost ex {
ost facto and therefore unfair.
Postal Pay-Government classified =.
nd postal workers are almost sure
} get their pay raises this year, but ,
inal enactment of legislation, ac-
ording to most observers here in
is not expected until ,
lay or early June. Reason for this
rolonged delay is not tied to the pay
aise in itself, but rather to postal
ate increases which are involved in =
lie pay picture. Large mailers and 9
5hers affected by the rate increases
ave been hard at work behind the =
.enes in efforts to get the most fa- q
orable bill possible out of the House :,
enate conference. These include the :.
,ers of the mail who have burdened =
lie backs of our mail carriers and the .
nptiers of our waste baskets for :,
ears on end. =
Easter Recess-Congress is expect il
to adjourn April 8 for Easter week, Il
Id | plan to return to Montana for e
n speaking engagements scheduled Il
: the State Central Committee dur d
G that time. IL
Mail Change? Automatic ma R
ines to speed postage cancellation h
ID delivery of mail may necessitate
e of standardized envelopes, ac- G.
riding to the House Committee of A
'st Office and Civil Service. The o.
ogram now under study will take m
out two years, possibly effective tt
ter July, to implement if the legis- st
ion is approved. m