Show e e National Topics Interpreted by William Bruckart I National Press Pres Building P. P D C. C Washington The The The wide apprehension sion over the In Increased cost of food rood and the predie- predie New Problem than Uon by Secretary for AAA Wallace of or the Department of AgrIculture Agriculture Agriculture Ag Ag- that food prices will ascend something like 11 per pcr cent more before before before be be- fore July 1 has given gl rise to a n anew anew new problem for the Agricultural Adjustment admInistration It threatens threat threat- ens to be serious as food questions always are serious and as this aspect aspect as ns of the situation becomes become better better bet bet- ter understood Its political Importance Importance Importance tance Is becoming greater grenter There can cnn be no doubt that the New Deal program for raisIn raising prices has had bad its fullest effect on the food tood prices and therein lies Hes the basis for the trouble now brewing To make the problem more serious from the political standpoint Increased Increased In In- creased food prices are ore felt feIt first and most extensively In the metropolitan metro metro- politan areas arens It Is In these same areas arens that the gr greatest number of unemployed live Jive and must be cared for or It becomes plain then that Increased food prices are directly Interwoven with the problem of re re- relief reJet relief lief Jet and It Is difficult to predict what mass psychology may be developed developed devel eJ from such a circumstance There are two sides of ot the problem problem lem from the political standpoint One of them relates directly to the plans for providing food and anit affects directly those persons whoso whose employment has been small ant and who have only limited amounts of money with which to maintain life The second phase Involves the future future future fu fu- fu- fu ture of the Agricultural Adjustment administration 1 and affects directly the political situation that has for some time revolved ed about the focal ocal point of the principle of attempting to mann manage e prices as ns being done under under under un un- der the AAA Connected with the latter tatter phase and likely to suffer from hard riding hard politicians Is the movement within the AAA to broaden Its power It will be recalled that last year Prof Rexford Guy Tugwell undersecretary undersecretary under under- secretary of n agriculture and a leadIng lending lend lead ing brain truster sought to force through congress a series of amendments amendments amend amend- ments to the adjustment Act net which In the view of ot many observers would make the re regimentation of or farmers a compulsory Instead of or a voluntary proposition as Is now the case In other words according to critics of ot the Tugwell plan the amendments that were offered and andI defeated in con congress r s last year would I make the Deportment Department nt of A Agriculture Agriculture ture a n veritable dictator over o the n agricultural ag ag- agricultural Industries In this country country coun coun- try Although Mr Tn Tugwell does not figure fiure In the picture so o much this year the same samp amendments have been put forward and a n considerable considerable consider consider- able amount of pressure Is heln being exerted exerted exerted ex ex- ex- ex to obtain an nn enactment as law lam Having defeated thorn them last year critics of or the pro program ram headed by hv Senator Byrd Bvrd Dem Va are mustering mus In full strength to squelch the amendments again While It Is yet too early to hazard hazard hazard haz haz- ard a n guess concerning the results of this battle attention may mav he called at nt this time to some of the potentialities of or such a n te legislative I fight In these debates lIe lies real danger to whatever er good there Is Ig In the Adjustment act net according to the heat best he Information r I can cnn get et The danger daner is to be observed ed In Inthis Inthis Inthis this direction Those who crIticize e the Tugwell amendments thon though h they do not now hear his name are not going to confine their vernal verbal fire to those proposals They will go as ns they did lid last lost year considerably beyond beyond be- be yond the scope of the proposed 1 legis- legis lation They will attack any and anil andall andall all features of the whole adjustment adjust adjust- ment program and It Is not unlikely that their criticism will result In tearing down dawn some of the admittedly admit admit- good goad features of this phase of ot the New v Deal I have heard considerable comment comment comment com com- ment to the thc effect that If tr the brain who are Question n now o w promoting of Politics Politic the the- revised d AAA amendments would use good political Judgment they would not press for action on their their proposals at nt this time Tn In other I words political commentaries are areto areto to the effect that the brain tru truster ter are diving headlong Into a R whirlpool In which they may mav find Ond them themselves unable to swim It Is plainly a combination of ot circumstances with which they are confronted Those were enumerated above To many observers ers therefore It appears mn most t foolhardy for the of or this flits extreme le legislation to go ge further In their attempt to straighten th the Adjustment act at n a time when plainly Mr Roosevelt does not have ho complete control of congress and at ata ata a ft time when the strongest tide of opposition to rc regimentation Is run run- ning It Is to be remembered with respect respect re re- to the Je legislative situation that there will be opposition as in inde dt de d there already has been heen tJ developed from among the proc proc- It should be explained that the revived amendments would place all aU the tho processors under li 11 11 I censes ceases from the thc Department of Agriculture Ag Ag- Without such licenses they become the equivalent of bootleggers bootleggers bootleggers boot boot- in the prohibition days and no one can foretell what the reaction reaction reaction tion would be to this My understanding understanding under under- standing Is that there tre something like one hundred thousand of these processors in the various lines of ot agricultural commodities coming coming com com- ing under the Jurisdiction of or the Adjustment Adjustment Ad Ad- act In addition to the processors about nine hundred bundled thousand thousand thou thou- sand retailers handling these products products products prod prod- are subjected to control directly direct direct- ly Iy or Indirectly by AAA licenses Consequently we see more than a n million who could do business only If the Department of Agriculture saw fit lit to grant licenses And when I say the Department of Agriculture ture in law It simmers down to the secretary of agriculture Secretary Secretary Secre Secre- tary Wallaces Wallace's poU policies les and his personal personal per per- attitude I believe e are not such as to give gl cause for alarm respecting respecting respecting re re- administration of these proposed pro pro- proposed posed licensing provisions pro Yet It has been freely suggested that a time may come when the secretary of agriculture will be neither as asgood asgood asgood good nor as wise as Mr Wallace These circumstances and conditions conditions condi condl In the minds of many observers ers here bere point only to one thin thing now the Adjustment act and the program drafted Is not as ns popular as It was before It went Into operation Judging from correspondence correspondence correspondence cor cor- received by representatives j tIes fives and senators the Adjustment program is actually repugnant to some sections I believe It only fair tall to state however that the Adjustment Adjustment Adjust Adjust- ment program Is not blamed wholly for the Increase ase in prices but hut always In times like Ilke these and under circumstances circumstances circumstances cir cir- like Ilke those to which attention attention at nt has been directed there has hasto hasto hasto to be a n goat gont Apparently that goat Is going to be bc the Department of ot Agriculture and Its step step child child the Agricultural Adjustment administration adminis adminis- While all aU of the newspapers are printing many columns in review of or two years vears of ot the Garner Roosevelt admIn admIn- Overlooked and much attention Is being paid to President Roosevelt It seems to me that one stalwart of the administration ad ad- VIce ministration ministration Vice President John N. N Garner Garner Is Is being somewhat over over- looked hooked It seems to me also that this should not be the case because all an observers agree that Mr Garner has placed the Vice Presidency of or orthe the United States on something of or ofa ora a new plane Diane Much levity always has been di directed directed dl- dl at any man holding the Job of Vice President It Is 18 true that the Vice President Is seldom If It ever out front as ns the expression expression ex ex- ex Is la With Mr Garner however how how- ever It has been decidedly different I believe belIe from nil all of the discussions dIscussIons discussions discus dIscus- that I have heard since his election Mr Ir Garner Gorner has filled OIled and andis is filling a very constructive post In InthIs Inthis Inthis this administration It Is not generally known I think how much In Influence Mr l Garner wields In the Roosevelt noose tion He sits with Mr Roosevelt and the other members in the cabinet cabinet cab cab- inet meetings and there Is no doubt among observers here that those men lean lenn upon the lon long experience which the Vice President has had The port of or Baltimore Md JId witnessed witnessed wit wit- an nn unusual sight the other day arrival of a We Import shipload of ot corn Corn t from r 0 I 1 Argentina It was the first full fun cargo ever to arrive In that port and caused some observers to remark remark re re- mark mork that It appeared to be carryIng carry lug Ing coals to Newcastle This would have hac been true under conditions such as we used to have in this country before the inauguration tion of the Agricultural Adjustment administration The AAA has made the difference Last year the A AAA A Aset set about reducing the corn acreage In this country because It was the conviction of ot the New Deal that production production pro pro- had been too great Twenty ty per cent curtailment was decreed de de- creed To accomplish that flint end the tile AAA offered to pay farmers at the rate of thirty cents per bushel for tor i inot not growing corn The plan worked as ns It might naturally be supposed to have ha worked and antI there was the expected curtailment of production But nature took a hand and the drouth settled down over o the vast corn producing areas of ot the Middle West So great was this disaster that there Is not now sufficient corn to meet domestic requirements Importation Im- Im of corn resulted and the port of ot Baltimore had the novel e ex- ex of seeing corn shipped In Instead of ot out t Secretary Wallace has defended the he AAA policies on the ground round that they were exceedingly flexible and could be used to Increase or decrease decrease de dc crease production as conditions r re re- It seems however that flint corn has hns ms a habit of ot growing only during the summer months and If the pro pro- j In that period Is ins Insufficient the winter months must witness a shortage Co rn N aper r UntOlD Union 1 |