Newspaper Page Text
Pres. Hoover's Message to Special Session of Congress PRESIDENT'S FIRST MESSAGE TO CONGRESS MAKES BID TOWARD THE REDEMPTION OF CAM PAIGN PLEDGES Washington, April 16.—President Hoover, in a mess age of unusual brevity and directness, recommended to congress today the creation of a federal farm board with authority and resources to remedy recurring causes of depression in the agricultural industry and a limited revision of the tariff commission. In addition he proposed in this, his first state paper, the completion of legislation initiated at the last ses sion for he suspension of the national origins clause of the immigration act, the taking of the 1930 census and the reapportionment of congressional représenta- ^ tion. While proposing broad powers for the federal farm board, the chief executive suggested no amount for the revolving fund to be furnished by the treasury and proposed safeguards for the instrumentalities and acti vities to be created under the farm relief act. PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE IN FULL To the Congress of the United States: I have called this special session of congress to re deem two pledges given in the last election farm re lief and limited changes in the tariff. The difficulties of the agricultural industry arise out of a multitude of causes. A heavy indebtedness inherited by the industry from the deflation pro of 1920. Disorderly and wasteful methods of developed. The growing spccializa was cesses marketing have the industry has for years been increasing the leave the farm and, tion in proportion of products that now in consequence, prices have been unduly depressed by congested marketing at the harvest or by the occa sional climatic surpluses. Railway rates have sarily increased. There has been a growth of compe tition in the world markets from countries that enjoy cheaper labor or more nearly virgin soils. neces EXPANSION OF PRODUCTION There was a great expansion of production from our and upon these profit marginal lands during the able enterprise under normal conditions cannot be maintained. Meanwhile their continued output tends the situation. Local taxes have doubled trebled. Work animals have been war to aggravate and in some cases steadily replaced by mechanical appliances, thereby decreasing the consumption of farm products. There many other contributing causes. The general result has been that our agricultural in dustry has not kept pace in prosperity or standards of living with other lines of industry. There being no disagreement as to the need of farm relief, the problem before us becomes one of method are by which relief may be most successfully brought Wt are confronted not with a single problem Therefore about. alone but a great number of problems, there is no single plan or principle that can be gen erally applied. Some of the forces working to the detriment of agriculture can be greatly mitigated by waterway transportation; some of them by re adjustment of the tariff; some by better understand and adjustment of production needs; and some by improvement in the methods of marketing. our mg DUAL PURPOSE IN TARIFF An effective tariff upon agricultural products that will compensate the farmer's 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 diversify hi.s crops and to grow products that he could not otherwise produce, and thus lessens his dependence upon exports to for eign markets. The great expansion of production abroad under the conditions I have mentioned renders foreign competition in our export markets increasing ly serious. It seems but natural, therefore, that the American farmer, having been handicapped in his for eign market by such competition from the younger 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. The government has a special mandate from the recent election, not only to further develop our waterways and revise the agricultural tariff, but al so to extend systematic relief in other directions. CLOTHED WITH AUTHORITY, RESOURCES I have long held that the multiplicity of causes of agricultural depression could only be met by the cre ation of a great instrumentality clothed with sufficient authority and resources to assist our farmers to meet these problems, each upon its own merits. The cre ation of such an agency would at once transfer the agriculural question from the field of politics into the realm of economics and would result in constructive •Action. Thr a 'ministration is pledged to create an instrumentality that will investigate the causes, find sound remedies, and have the authority and resources to apply those remedies. I The pledged purpose of such a federal farm board is the reorganization of the marketing system on sounder and more stable and more economic lines. To do this the board will require funds to assist in cre ating and sustaining farmer owned and farmer con trolled agencies for a variety of purposes, such as the acquisition of adequate warehousing and other facili ties for marketing; adequate working capital to be advanced against commodities lodged for storage; ne cessary and prudent advances to corporation created and owned by farmers marketing organizations for the purchase and orderly marketing of surpluses sioned by climatic variations or by harvest congestion; to authorize the creation and occa support of clearing houses, especially for perishable products, through which, under producers' approval, co-operation can be established with distributors and processors to orderly marketing of commodities and for the elim ination of many wastes in distribution; and to vide for licensing of handlers of more pro- / some perishable products so as to eliminate unfair practices. Every penny of waste between farmer and consumer that we can el minate will be a gain to both farmers and consumer. TO INVESTIGATE EVERY FIELD i The board should be organized to investigate every field of economic betterment for the farmer so as to furnish guidance as to need in production, to devise methods for elimination of unprofitable marginal lands and their adaption to other uses; to develop industrial byproducts and to survey a score of other fields for helpfulness. Certain safeguards must naturally surround these activities. Certain vital principles must be adhered n ot undermine the freedom of to -% - * farmers and of our people as a bureaucratic and and interference. We must fee or our governmental domination not undermine initiative. There should be no tax imposed upon the farmer. No governmental agency should engage in the buying and selling and price fixing of products, for such courses can lead only to bureaucracy and domination. Government funds shou d not be loaned or facilities duplicated where other ser vices of credit and facilities are available at reason able rates. No activities should be set in motion that will result in increasing the surplus production, such will defeat any plans of relief. as SUBSTANTIAL BASIS FURNISHED The most progressive movement in all agriculture has been the upbuilding of the farmer's own marketing organizations, which now embrace nearly 2,000,000 farmers in membership and annually distribute near ly $2,500,000,000 worth of farm products. These or ganizations furnish a substantial basis upon which to build further organization. In order to strengthen and not to undermine them, all proposals for government al assistance should originate with such organizations be the result of their application. Moreover by and such bases of organization the government will be re moved from engaging in the business of agriculture. The difficulties of agriculture cannot be cured in a day; they cannot all be cured by legislation; they can not Joe cured by the federal government alone. farmers and their organizations can be assisted to these inequalities. Every effort But of this overcome 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 instru mentality of this character, of a strength and import equal to that of those which we have created for transportation and banking, we give immediate assur of the determined purpose of the government to ance ance create an agency through which constructive action for the future will be assured. NEW DAY IN AGRICULTURE In this treatment of this problem we recognize the responsibility of the people as a whole, and we shall lay 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 find that there have been economic shifts necessitating a readjustment of some of the tariff schedules. Seven years of experience under the tariff bill enacted in 1922 have demonstrated the wis dom of congress in the enactment of that measure. On the whole it has worked well. In the main our wages have been maintained at high levels; our ex have steadily increased; with some exceptions our manufacturing industries have been prosperous. Nevertheless, economic changes have ta ken place which have placed certain domestic pro ducts at a disadvantage and 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. TEST OF NECESSITY FOR REVISION It would seem to me that the test of necessity for revision is in the main whether there has been a sub stantial slackening of activity in an industry during the last few years, and a consequent decrease of em playment due to insurmountable competition in the products of that industry. It is not as if we were setting up a new basis of protective duties. We did that seven- years ago. What we need to remedy now is whatever substantial loss of employment may have resulted from shifts since that time. No discrimination against any foreign country is involved in equalizing the dfference in costs of pro duction at home and abroad. Indeed, such equalization is not only a measure of social justice at home, but by the list it gives to our standards of living, we in-«, crease the demand for those goods from abroad that we do not ourselves produce. The cheapening of the toiler deci eases rather than promotes permanent prosperity because it reduces the consuming power of the people. We must not fail to take into account the broad interests of the country as a whole, and such interests include our trade relatiions with other countries. It is obviously unwise protection which sacrifices a great er amount of employment in exports to gain a less amount of employment from imports. WOULD SPREAD FLEXIBLE BENEFITS I am impressed with the fact that we also need important revision in some of the administrative phas es of the tariff. The tariff commission should be re organized 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 prac tical, and in the long view a most important principle to maintain. However, the basis upon which the tariff „ i ^ -L j ,. , makes lts re °° m >» en <ktions to the presi dent for administrative changes in the rates of duty should be made more automatic and more compre hensive to the end that the time required for deter t n f°l S 5L ' be tar ' lf T"™ 85 "" Eha11 be shortened. The commission s very purpose is defeated by delays. I believe a formula can be found that will insure rapid and accurate determination of needed changes in rates. Furthermore, considerable weaknesses on the admin istrative side of the tariff have developed, especially in the valuations for assessments of duty. There cases of undervaluations that are difficult to discover without access of the books of foreign manufacturers, which they are reluctant to offer. This has become al so a great source of friction abroad. There is increas ing shipments of goods on consignment particularly by foreign shippers. are certain matt»« at . . . sre ' bowever tain matters of emergency legislation that were partially completed in the last session, such as the decennial census, the reapportionment of congression al representation, and the suspension of the national origin. C-e of the act o, 1924, to g eth. er with some minor administrative authorizations. understand that these measures can be reundertaken without unduly extending the session I recommend theit C0„ s ,. mmato „ as being in the public ONLY EMERGENCY LEGISLATION ASKED Practice makes valuations difficult to determine. believe it is desirable to furnish to the sounder basis for valuation in these and other cases. It is my understanding that it is the purpose-- of the leaders of congress to confine the deliberations of the session mainly to the question of farm relief and tariff. treasury In this policy I concur. Tomato Plant As Sherlock Holmes, Aids In Safeguarding Denizens of Plant World . » 1 " ' * ... £5 i j iiii : m ■-.y-Xvxiv is Y: 'f % s -I ■M M nS&t • ; ■ x, . 5*5 n % I,* L4-Z TT I/ZE1 'Î ILLUMINATING gas. a deadly foe * of the plant world, that kills ds of specimens yearly at of millions of dollars to ualan Lola T tho a 1 IturlsU, may meet Its Water the hands of the bumble tomato plant No longer can the insidious gas continue to spread through the green house from some leak hortl v loo ; main and overpower ng plants. If they are safe guarded by tho ordinary tomato plant! In the role of watchman. gas gro It bas been found by Doctor Wil liam j Crocker. Director of the Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Yonkers. New York, that a vigorous young tomato plant grown In the warmer green houses, will give advance warning .of a gas leakage, as It will turn back Its leaves when as little as art of gas to 200,000 parts of present, and the more vigor Boyi one air ous Ithe plant the quluket it will reacf and give warning bean plant Is still more sensit 1 than the tomato, responding to one parti In 400,000, but the tomato would prevent Injury to all ot ih< commercial plants The caster Vl> US LI Opvlously. 11 would be wist- to keefli a corps of these gas d«-i on hand In the fall and winter and turn them loose In the greenhouse If s|uch unexplained Injury plants or check In growth appears Tpe home folks may take warn Ing qoo The drooping of cu: (low ers 'and the unexplained failure thellenderly cared for window box IM't I V »*« lo the T FOUR PROPOSALS AGREED ON TO BE WRITTEN INTO NEW FARM RELIEF BILL * three national organiza T pLPs A FOR E THF™lASu r RE , ' PLES FOR THE MEASURE Washington, April 14.—Three na- 1 tional firm organizations that long 1 have beén in disagreement over farm relief proposals united this week in laying before the house agriculture committee four principles they believe should b|c written into the new agri- ■ The proposal made public by Chair-1 man Haugen of the committee was in ; the fornji of a letter signed by C. E. | Huff, president of the Farmres Edu- i cational and Co-operative union; L. J. Taber, mastei of the National Grange, and S. H. Thompson, presi- j dent of | the American Farm Bureau federation. : The three declared that any legis- ■ lation which stopped short of secur- j ing an American price for the farm- ' ers' prodcuts in order to maintain an Américain standard of living "will not suffice.'1 "There are, in our opinion," they added, "four requisites which must be met by any legislation to permit it to qualify toroperly as farm relief." These, requisites were a system to : make the tariff effective on all crops so thati surpluses would not depress the domestic market to world prices; provision for the control and disposi tion of [surpluses; a plan which auto matically would check over production and farmer ownership and control of[H cultural measure. marketing organization with due con j sideratipn to co-operative already | ta r llSh ^j : 4 .- lu -j lu In addition, they said, the congress should piake tariff adjustments at the es special session to keep foreign pro ducts from competing in the domestic , ... . , Meantime, a subcommittee in the house , tm ' worked at the task of drafting the measure. The senate ag riculture committee also went over th . e v aiîious proposals that have been SrtLTS! a ia*er S | next week, ed to 14 PER CENT RAISE IN PREMIUM RATE Employers are being advised from Helena that premium rates on com pensation under the state plan will be raised July 1, to take care of increase of workmen's compensation authoriz ed by the amended law passed at the last legislature. Insurance companies are contemplating a raise of rates by 14 perl cent, according to Secretary Watts of the state industrial accident board at the capital. The last several months have wit nessedl an increase in accidents, ac cording to the secretary who said that i claims; since July 1, total 500. The | chanei in the law pertains only to | . married men, the compensation having been increased from 50 to 66 2-3% of his wages on a graduated sc^Je de- j Pending upon the number of dtpend-, ent s« The maximum compensation 1 Ä ££d I f or IVJLa men was reduced to sev en dïïîL ïn ca=e a single man has depend ^ j 1 a ! 1 am*? 3$ SBLsZä I m k £ ym I mt : :>:S ■ , V , I mum '■& y. ml li ■ 1 IP WjgM p|!|| - -y : Above ' tinkers, Vow | >oung tomato plant b«'f«re test, oilier plants (top) The Boyce Thompson York where tests 1 gas in i be air sm- Ii it may be due lo though \<ui N.-it •h«-ui union a iiimt H •- I ml ti* - ii. Ii-t- I i i t nor It. ana a I a ; '■ iii 'ii sur 11 M-n I u h I r\ I» pm mmi 2mi tun plants with only one gas lo 40 thousand of air of lilies are stunted, acacias and roses shed their leaves ,■ I >i i callisl lie I SII.» d 1 S wUï ini h l.'S IM ■tinst f *. ;j 1 «min ' ti i.< lo s.-ri.sitive the low «-si stMi.g'h that will in Injure Hie Carnations most will go to sleep part of illuminating Raster and age rat un is FROID, CULBERTSON UNABLE TO ATTEND SCHOLARSHIP MEET --— Bainville, April 15.—The annual in tercholastic contest, which was to have been held here this year, has been called off due to the fact that two schools, Froid and Culbertson, would be unable to attend. The meet has been a triangular one heretofore but when Froid announced three weeks ago that it could not! attend this year a dual contest with Culbertson was planned. Recent in-1 fondation from that high school, how ever, advises that because of many other outside activities which take place about thp same time, Culbertson will be unable to take part. A con- i test will be held at Bainville and the three winning papers in each subject will be sent to the state contest in Bozeman. dent of the Montana State college,! Bozeman; Herbert M. Peet, éditer of the Great Falls Tribune; Judge S. D. McKinnon of Miles City, Judge ^ John ure y Glasgow, and Judge George; B. Winston of Anaconda, are members cf the state commission to study 1 NAME MEMBERS TO CRIME BOARD Helena.—Alfred Atkinson, presi crime in Montana and to reports its findings and recommendations to the 1931 legislature. The first two named were appoint by Governor Erickson and the last three by Chief Justice Callaway as provided by a bill enacted by the hist legislature. The commission is in structed to study procedure of -crim inal law, orosecution and trials and draft bills if necessary to obtain desired changes. Expenses for travel and clerical help is allowed. French Co-op Stores Quadruple Business Since Close of World War Washington —(FP)— Co-operative stores form the biggest mercantile chain in France, having reached a to tal number of 7,500 at the end of 1928, or four times as many stores before the war. Their business has doubled since 1920. These facts are presented by U. S. Trade Commission W, L. Finger, at Paris, in an ar tide on the chain store movement France, published in Commerce Re ports for Feb. 4. "The number of stockholders Ambers participating in these co operative stores," says Finger, "is es timately at about 3,500,000 and the annual volume of business is put 3.500,000,000 francs, "There is keen competition between the co-operative stores and the ordi nary chain stores dealing in food stuffs and dry goods. The regular chains advertise more extensively and probably use more efficient merchan dizing methods, but the general idea makes a strong appeal to the working class " There are 50 district associations ÄÄ P=s are harmed. Institute for Plant Research ai were checked. Below (left) A healthj Right: After the gas test before show the leaves turned back or ward Plainly Illuminating gas has nC place in a greenhouse. though we know this It does not for gus mains even But even menu surety, as far as 2.000 feel away have been known lo leak, and the gas tc under a frozen crust ol possible spread earth and seep Into a greenhouse, Recent damages from this source have varied from ten lo a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Obvi ously the greenhbuse man should locale as tar from gas mains a« and forming the link between the lo cal stores and the national wholesale ; federation. The largest district as- j sociation is that of Nancy, which does an annual business of $8,000,000 for its 56,000 members. Paris, with 70, 000 members handled $6,000,000 a y ear> The French government encourages the co-operatives by putting at their disposal a fund of 10,000,000 francs for loans. The co-operative associa lions are also exempt from payment of the surtax on corporations having an annual turnover of more than 1, 000,000 francs. This tax is collected from the private chain stores. - Ronal—Lake County Wool Grow ers' Association form pool to market j | | Use PRODUCERS NEWS I Legal Forms WHEN YOU DRAW A CONTRACT GIVE A MORTGAGE MAKE A DEED FORM A CORPORATION ENTER A PARTNERSHIP RENT YOUR HOUSE LET YOUR LAND SELL YOUR CAR GO THROUGH BANKRUPTCY OR HAVE ANY OTHER KIND OF LEGAL WORK TO j I j j j in or Among the Blank LeggJ Forms for Sale at the offit* at of the Producers News are: Seed Lien Threshing Lien Satisfaction of Lien Proof of Claim Power of Attorney Articles of Incorporation Bond Notice to Omit Contract for Deed Satisfaction of Mortgage Warranty Deed Quitclaim Deed Farm Rentrai Contract Contract, Upon Shares General Lease Chattel Mortgage Option Contract Bill of Sale Co-op. Contract Assignment of MortEaf* Lease, Landlord and Tenan Sets of Bankrutcy And Other Legal Form* CALL OR WRITE TO THE PRODUCERS NEWS NEW MACHINE TO SALVAGE STRAW Thomas Campbell Finds Con traption in Germany an j Will Give It Test. Hardin, April 22.—Thomas n Campbell, head of the Campbell F« ming corporation, opertaing the w' est wheat farm in the world on th Crow reservation near this city be lieves that through the use of à fl« I drying retting machine, which he con tracted for in Germany during hi« recent trip to Europe in the role of agricultural adviser to the Russian government, American farmers may be able to salvage from $10 to $12 [\ ton from flax straw that is now burn ed or wasted. The machine, using one half cotton and one-half flax straw or hemp, pm. duces p, cloth, which, Mr. Campbell says, will wear better than cotton and take any dye, and at much less cost Mr. Campbell believes that the flax fiber made from this machine, mixed with low grade short staple cotton will produce a cheap strong fiber which would replace all of the import ed jute which is used in the United States each year. "This machine is not new and they have been making fabric in Germany with it for several years," said Mr, Campbell. "We have arranged t« have one of the machines shipped here this summer and expect to sell the fiber manufactured to the Germât firm at a price to net us $10 or $12 s ton. The machine is very simple and will not cost in excess of $3,000. IVe intend to give it a thorough test this season. Asked if the fiber could be used it the manufacture of binding twine, Mr, Campbell replied that he was not so sure that it could. "Several million dollars have been spent in a very sci entific manner trying to manufactun binding twine from flax straw," said he. "That," he added, "is not a mat ter of importance, however, as vift the advent of the combine harvester, binding twine is practically a thin| of the past. MONTANA SCHOW Helena. -— Montana has * ■ school children, according to Elizabeth Ireland, state superintend ent of public instruction, and sooi this army of students will leave thei books and classrooms for the anna vacation. Soon examinations for tn second term of school will be giver Tber . e wl11 b . e a the that wul close lat P » . are not many, especially_ since M of the districts in po u 1 . dition nenow allowed F longer, with distribution n mon school equalization u cember. During the present s there have been enrolled in pu* schools of the state 95,740 gu* school s udents and 22 232 pupils W been attending hi •» schools. in v