SOIL CONSERVATION

Evening Star, Issue 22271, 24 February 1936, Page 9

SOIL CONSERVATION

AGRICULTURE IN AMERICA FUNDS FROM THE TREASURY Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright WASHINGTON, February 22. The administration’s substitute for the A.A.A., which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, was enacted by the House of Representatives to-day bjr a vote of 267 to 97. A similar law, with a few minor differences, has already been passed by the Senate. It is hoped that the two versions will soon be adjusted and the new agricultural programme become law.

The measure passed to-day is unofficially called “ The 500 Million Soil Conservation Bill,” for it allocates that amount to the Secretary of Agriculture, who in turn will be authorised to pay varied amounts to producers who withdrew acreage from cultivation in the interest of soil conservation and erosion prevention. Opponents of the legislation during the day’s debate contended that it was a thinly veiled scheme to re-enact the A.A.A., for, although bounties will ostensibly be paid to rehabilitate the nation’s productive soil, they claim that the payments will be made to keep farm commodity prices high by curtailing the acreage planted. In fact, the Bill specifically directs the Agriculture Department to restore farm incomes to pre-war parity with other economic endeavours, and, whereas the A.A.A. levied taxes against processors to cover payments to farmers, the funds for the new law will come from the Treasury.