| Show president hoover offers congress guide for farm and tariff legislation urges urge creation of federal board to cope with agricultural problem executive asks immigration and reapportionment receive notice president hoover informed congress of what he expects the extra session to do in the way of farm relief and tariff revision and also recommended om enactment ot of legislation to suspend the national origins clause of the immigration act to provide for or congressional reapportionment and for or the taking of 0 the 1930 census creation ot of a federal farm board with authority aul funds sufficient to cope with all causes of agricultural distress formed the nudes of his recommendations on the farm problem in his bis first communication to congress which was transmitted by messenger and read in the house and senate by the clerks counseling Counsell ng congress to limit tariff changes to those industries where there has been a decrease of employment due to insurmountable competition in the products of those industries dus tries the chief executive declared trade rela relations tiong with other countries should be taken into account in revising customs duties minority leaders generally gave notice nolice of a light fight over tariff revision and particularly on the proposition of continuing the tariff commission as a rate finding body with its recommendations subject to final approval by the president As outlined by the president the pledged purpose ot of the federal farm board would be the reorganization of the marketing system on more stable and more economic lines it would have authority to assist in creating and sustaining tanner farmer owned and far mer controlled agencies tor for a variety of purposes some of these purposes as envisioned by mr hoover would be the orderly marketing ot of surpluses occasioned by climatic variations or by harvest congestion creation ot of clearing houses especially for perishable products acquisition ot of adequate warehousing and other facilities tor for marketing and adequate working capital to be advanced against commodities lodged tor for storage it also was proposed that the board be authorized to investigate every field of economic betterment tor for the farmer so as to furnish guidance as to need in production to devise methods tor for elimination ot of unprofitable marginal lands and their adaptation to other uses and to develop industrial byproducts the president surprised congress somewhat with a sweeping recommendation for fop a reorganization ot of the tariff commission and the formu formulation latiol of a new basis for its operations go BO that administrative changes in rates of duty may be made in months instead of selars years as has been the case since the flexible provision became effective in 1922 the chief executives recommendations on farm relief in his 1500 word message drew praise from republican leaders in the house and senate were assailed as nebulous by the democratic leaders and proved disappointing to some of the senate group of independent republicans senator brookhart of iowa who made many speeches tor for mr hoover in the farm belt last fall said the presidents position now was with that after the world war when as food administrator he be bought and sold grain through the gran grain corporation po ration a government organization senator norbeck of 0 south dakota said mr hoover shows bhawe as much sympathy tor for the farmer as did president t coolidge and states his position fully as well having reached the senate chamber too late to hear all ot of the message read senator borah of 0 idaho withheld comment he was one of the foremost opponents of the equalization tee fee system of farm relief campaigned through the west for hoover and had a strong voice in the calling of the extra session representative tilson ot of connetti culand senator watson of indiana majority leaders in the house and senate found the recommendations of i i the president to their liking I 1 safeguards should be provided mr I 1 hoovers message to the special session of congress congre I 1 to the congress of 0 the united states i I 1 have called this session of congress to redeem two pledges given in the last election farm relief and limited changes in the tariff the difficulties of the agricultural industry arise out of a multitude of causes A heavy indebtedness was inherited by the industry from the deflation processes of 1920 disorderly and wasteful methods of marketing have deve developed develon lol ed the growing specialization in the industry has tor for years been increasing the proportion of products that now leave the farm and in consequence prices have been unduly depressed by congested marketing at the harvest or by the occasional cas ional climatic surpluses railway rates have necessarily increased there has been a growth ot of competition in the world markets from countries that edjor cheaper labor or more nearly virgin soils there was a great expansion of production from our marginal lands during daring the war and these I 1 TT profitable enterprises under normal conditions connot be maintained meanwhile their continued output t tends e r id s t to 0 ag aggravate g r a va t e t the h e sl situation tu a ti 0 n L local ce e a 1 t jsmes a x es h have a v e d doubled 0 u b le d a and n 1 1 la a so some m cases trebled work animals have been steadily replaced by mechanical appliances thereby decreasing the consumption ot of farm arm products there are many other contributing causes the general result has been that our agricultural industry has not kept pace in prosperity or standards ot of living with other lines ot of industry there being no disagreement as aa to the need ot of farm relief the problem before us becomes one 0 of method by which relief may lied be most successfully brought about because of the multitude of causes and because agriculture Is not one industry but a score of industries we are confronted not with a single problem alone but a great number of problems therefore there Is no single plan or principle that can be generally applied some of the forces working to the detriment ot of agriculture can be greatly mitigated by improving our waterway transportation some of them by readjustment of the tariff some by better au understanding der and adjustment of production needs and some by improvement in the methods of marketing an effective tariff upon agricultural products that will compensate the farmers higher costs and higher standards of living has a dual purpose such a tariff not only protects the farmer in our domestic market but it also stimulates him to diversity sity his crops and to grow products that lie he could not otherwise produce and thus lessens his dependence upon exports to foreign markets the great expansion ot of production abroad under the conditions I 1 have mentioned renders foreign competition la in our export markets increasingly serious it seems but natural I 1 therefore that the american farmer having been greatly handicapped I 1 in his foreign market by such expanding countries should ask that foreign access to our domestic market should be regulated by taking into account the differences in our costs of production duct lon the pledged purpose of such a federal farm board Is the reorganization of 0 the marketing system on sounder and more stable and more economic lines to do this the board will require funds to assist in creating and sustaining farmer owned and farmer controlled agencies for a variety of purposes such as the acquisition of adequate warehousing and other facilities cili ties tor for marketing adequate working capital to be advanced against commodities lodged tor for storage necessary and prudent advances to corporations po rations created and owned by farmers marketing organizations for the purchase and orderly marketing of surpluses occasioned by climatic variations or by harvest congestion to authorize the creation and support ot of clearing houses especially tor for perishable products through which under producers approval cooperation can be established with distributors and processors to more orderly marketing of commodities and tor for the elimination of many wastes in distribution and to provide tor for licensing of handlers of some perishable products so EO as to eliminate unfair practices every penny of waste between tanner farmer and consumer that we can eliminate whether it arises from methods ot of distribution trib ution will be a gala gaia to both farmer and consumer in addition to these special provisions in the direction of improved returns the board should be organized to investigate every field of economic betterment for the farmer fanner so as to furnish guar dance as to need in production to devise methods for elimination mi of unprofitable marginal lands and their to other uses to develop industrial byproducts by products and to survey a score of other fields of helpfulness certain safeguards must naturally surround these activities and the instrumentalities mentalities that are creat created ed certain vital principles must be adhered to in order that we may not undermine the freedom of our farmers and of our people as a whole by bureaucratic anil and govern governmental menal al domination and interference we must not unde undermine initiative there should be no fee or tax imposed upon the farmer no governmental agency should en gage in the buy ne mg and selling and price fixin fixing of products for such courses can lead orly to bulc baicu u racy and domination government funds fund should not be loaned or facilities dup I 1 licater where other services of credit and facilities are available at reason able rates no activities should be set in motion that will result in in increase ing in the surplus production as such will defeat any plans of relief the most progressive movement in all agriculture has been the ing the farmers own marketing or which now embrace near ly farmers in membership and annually distribute nearly Soo worth of farm products these organizations have acquired ex peri ence in virtually every branch of freir industry and furnish famish a sub basis upon which to build fur ther organization not all these marketing organizations are farmer owned or farmer controlled in order to strengthen and not to undermine themo them all proposals for governmental assistance should originate with such organizations and be the result of their application moreover by such bases of organization the government will be r removed em ov e d f from r 0 m e engaging in the business a s of a agriculture g ri e u 1 tu re the difficulties of agriculture cannot be cured in a day they cannot all be cured by legislation they cannot be cured by the federal govern 1 ment alone but farmers and their organizations can be assisted to over 1 come these inequalities every effort of this character is an experiment and we shall find from our experience the way to further advance we must make a start with the creation of a great instrumentality of this character of a strength and import ampo ance equal to that of those which we have created for transportation and an banking we give immediate assurance of the determined purpose of the government to meet the difficulties of which we are now aware and to create an agency through which constructive action for the future will be assured in this treatment of this problems problem leml we recognize the responsibility of the tha people as a whole and we shall lay 1 the foundations for a new day in agriculture from which we shall preserve to the nation the great values of its individuality and strengthen our whole national fabric in considering the tariff for other industries than agriculture we fqy find that there have been economic shifts necessitating a readjustment of comet some of the tariff schedules seven of experience under the tariff bill en acted in 1922 have demonstrated the wisdom of congress in the enactment enactment of that measure on the whole it haal haa worked kea well in the main our wages mages have been maintained at high levels y our exports abd imports have steadily increased with some excepts exceptions our manufacturing industries have been prosperous nevertheless econom economic id changes have taken place during that time which have placed certain domestic products at a disadvantage and now new industries have come into being all of which creates the necessity for some limited changes in the schedules and in the administrative clauses of the laws as written in 1922 no discrimination against any foreign industry is involved in equalizing the difre difference rence in costs of production at home and abroad and thus taking from foreign producers tha advantages they derive from paying lower wages to labor indeed such equalization is not only a measure of social justice at home but by the tha lift it gives to our standards of living we increase the demand for those goods from abroad that we do not ourselves produce in a large sense we have learned that the cheapening of the toiler decreases rather than promotes permanent prosperity because it reduces the consuming power of the people in determining changes in our tariff we must not fall fail to take into account the broad interests of the country as a a whole and such interests as our trade relations with other countries is obviously unwise protection which sacrifices a greater amount of employment in in exports to gain a less amount of employment from imports I 1 am impressed with the fact thaia we also need important revision in some of the administrative phases of the tha tariff the tariff commission should be reorganized and placed upon a basis of higher salaries in order that we may at all times command men of the broadest attainments seven years of experience have proved the principle of flexible tariff to be practical and in the long view a most imp important octant principle to maintain however tho tha basis upon which the tariff commission makes its recommendations to the president for administrative changes in the rates of duty should be ba made more automatic and more comprehensive to the end that the time required for determinations by the tariff commission shall be greatly shortened the formula upon which the commission must now act often requires that years be consumed III i reaching conclusions where it should require only months its very pw pose posa is defeated by delays I 1 believe a formula can be found that will insure rapid and accurate determination of needed changes in rates with such strengthening of the tariff commission and of its basis for action many secondary changes in tariff con can well be left to action by the commission which at the same time will give corn coln security to industry for w future |
