OCR Text |
Show FARM RELIEF EFFORTS CONTINUE ! TO GIVE FARMERS FASH BREAK Heavy Burden of Debt Still Hangs Over American Farmer As Income Drops I , cor.snvss. were roughly expressed I in the MeXary-Hauen bill, over 'which legislators fought for half !a dee;ule.. j The essence of the McXary-i McXary-i Hausen bill was a plan whereby i farmers mip,M "dump" their snr-I snr-I plus crops on the foreign marliet ! at a price lowr than that obtained obtain-ed here aiid thus decrease American Amer-ican supplies to the point, where demand would raise domestic prices to an "equitable" level. Farmers would be compensated for the loss of their exports by an "equalization" tax imposed on the transportation, processing or sale of their products here. This plan found strong support in the west, particularly in t he corn belt. Twice U was passed by congress. Both Limes it was killed by I lie veto of president CoolidK1 who, according to popular popu-lar report, v;i,s influenced by secretary sec-retary of commerce Hoover and secretary of treasury Mellon. (Copyright 1930 by "United Press) WASHINGTON. Aug. 19 if.Pi Tho financial collanse of American Amer-ican agriculture which came with the post-war depression has been followed by 15 veaiv of legislative efforts to set the fanner back on ' his feet. And, apparently, the end is not yet. Although prices of staple farm ' crops have risen sharply during the past two years -due largely to drought a heavy burden of , debt hangs over the American 1 countryside. Some experts believe be-lieve the farmer's income has not 'been equalized with that of tho ; city worker. , Harding Conference j First important official notice ! taken of the farmer's post-war ! plight (bis income had been cut from 10 to nine billion in two I years while mortgage interest and i taxes increased) was in 1922 when I President Harding called a confer-i confer-i ence of farm experts and politi-j politi-j cians to consider remedies. Out of the meeting came 37 resolutions resolu-tions or .suggestions. One directed the president and congress to ! "take ' steps immediately to reestablish re-establish a fair exchange value for all farm products with that of other commodities." That phrase has been the rally-in rally-in g-cry of the "farm reliefers" ever since. Little of an effective nature was done, however, as u result of the Harding conference. Congress was induced to hold long hearings on the farm problem. The agriculture agri-culture credit act was passed, easing eas-ing to some degree the plight of debt-ridden farmers. Also, con-gres con-gres sapproved the Capper-Vol-stead act, authorizing associations of agricultural producers, but the cry of the middle west for more effective measures continued. 'Equalization" was the cry of a group of men who laler were to achieve prominence in the early agricultural relief efforts of the present administration, notably i George N. Peek and Gen. Hugh i Johnson. Their ideas, although 1 changed considerably during its i long and stormy course through i |