Salt Lake Telegram | 1941-01-15 | Page 6 | Merry-Go-Round

Merry-Go-Round By Draw Pearson and Robert S. Allan "WASHINGTON The president's chat with Ed O'Neal, soft-spoken head of the American Farm Bureau federation, was not as harmonious as the impression given when he emerged beaming beam-ing from the White House. On foreign policy the two men saw eye to eye, but it was quite different on the farm question. O'Neal bluntly chided Roosevelt for not giving more consideration to agricultural interests in-terests in the defense program. "We've been hearing how business will prosper pros-per and the rights of labor will be protected," O'Neal said. . "You've had plenty to say about this in your speeches, but you've been silent on the farm question as related to national de- . fense." "Maybe that's because I have no complaint gainst the farmers," said Roosevelt, in effect. "Well, we have a complaint against you," shot back O'Neal, with no trace of jocularity. "All this bickering and indecision in congress about farm legislation to be submitted at this session is due chiefly to the administration's failure to agree on steps that should be taken." O'Neal had no real success in urging on the president the farm bureau'a plan for government govern-ment loans up to 85 per cent of parity on basic crops to keep production up to demand. (Parity loans now range from 52 to 75 per cent.) Acreage control benefits, plus the loan guarantee, he contended, would enable farmers to get full parity, while "dumping" on government ware-nouses ware-nouses of cotton and wheat surpluses could be ' stopped by the imposition of penalties for overproduction. over-production. This plan was a compromise, O'Neal told Roosevelt, between the present loan program and the processing (sales) tax proposal of the Republican backed income certificate plan. Roosevelt agreed that farm prices would have to be jacked up and production restricted, but demurred at appropriating more funds for parity par-ity loans. He argued that the vast expenditures would boost crop prices automatically. But thus line of reasoning did not persuade O'Neal. "Mr. President," he said with a grin, "I'm telling you now that we're going to demand full parity from this congress. Our convention in Baltimore approved the plan I have outlined to you and we won't rest until we get it." United on Aid for Britain The tension subsided when the president and O'Neal got to discussing aid to Britain. The farm leader proudly related how the farm bureau bu-reau convention had indorsed the policy of "all out" aid to the hilt. "There wasn't a peep of opposition," O'Neal said. "I thought some might develop from delegates dele-gates representing parts of the country reputed to be isolationist, but it didn't." Warmly thanking O'Neal for his efforts in putting the resolution over, Roosevelt remarked that no one section of the country could' hardly be considered isolationist, since each was dependent de-pendent on the others in preserving national security." "We're getting letters of support from all over the country' he said. "They're coming in at the rate of more than 1000 a day."