OCR Text |
Show Sen. Bennett Says Government May Run Agriculture Sen. Wallace F. Bennett (R-Utah) (R-Utah) Tuesday warned against a future "take over" of agriculture agric-ulture by the Federal Government. Govern-ment. The senator expressed !eep concern over farm proposals pro-posals by the Kennedy Administration Admin-istration early in the 87th Congress Con-gress which would have altered ur Constitutional checks and balances. "The bill as submitted by the dministration would have removed re-moved our farm policies from 'he control of Congress and would have placed them in the 'ands of the Secretary of Agriculture Ag-riculture and his advisors. In ather words, Congress was asked ask-ed to abdicate its Constitutional Constitution-al powers over agriculture to "Secretary Freeman. It would ave placed in the hands of a 'ew men one of the most complex com-plex economic activities in the vor'd," Sen. Bennett said. The Senator noted that when Secretary Freeman took office, 'ie made the statement that he did not present himself as an axpert on agriculture. "If this :s true, why would Mr. Freeman "ant power to control virtually every phase of American agric-ilture? agric-ilture? I am sure his statement vas merely a display of hum-Uity hum-Uity and that he is very know-'edgeable know-'edgeable on farm programs and needs. But no man is smart nough, even though he be sur-ounded sur-ounded by experts, to outsmart he market place and the collective coll-ective wants and wishes of consumers con-sumers and taxpayers," Sen Bennett said. Sen Bennett pointed out that Congress was flooded by mail 'rom farmers and others urg-;n urg-;n defeat of this proposal. Acting Act-ing on the will of the people. Congress amended the bill to eliminate Title 1, which would have bypassed Congress and "ranted this dictatorship for agriculture. ag-riculture. "However, the fight is not over," ov-er," the senator noted. "Some in the Administration seem willing will-ing to bide their time until old-r old-r farmers with traditional views on our society are replaced replac-ed by younger ones who have "rown up under quotas, incentive incent-ive payments for not growing crops, and other devices created by bureaucratic minds. Some fee! that if the government can iust wait a little while, the young you-ng farmers who know only the courses of bureaucracy will outnumber out-number and out-vote the old fellows fel-lows who are standing in the way of some of the Administration's Administra-tion's schemes to destroy our individual dignity and initative. Sen Bennett said that a more sound solution t o our farm problem would come about it the nation's law makers would only give heed to the polls which show that the majority of farmers want less, rather than more, government in farming. "It is time Congress gave the farmers what they really want and need," the Senator said. |