FARM BLOC FOR RELIEVING AGRICULTURAL SITUATION

"The Farm Bloc organization was formed primarily to get something done to relieve the agricultural situation in this country", said Congressman Sidney Anderson of Minnesota in a recent interview for the CRIMSON on the organization and function of the Farm Bloc movement of which he is one of the leading members.

"The decline in prices that began early in 1920 reduced the price of agricultural products below the cost of production and widened the spread between the cost of those things which the farmer had to pay for and the income from what he had to sell. As a result the farmer was unable to pay his debts and was forced to go into liquidation at greatly reduced purchasing power in order to deal with this situation. And so the Farm Bloc arose as the creature of an emergency. It never had any formal organization, never compiled a list of members nor held open meetings, never took any votes as a body, never bound members to any program. Moreover it never took a united stand on any legislation save that dealing with agriculture and the prosperity of the country as a whole.

"Everyone assumes that the bloc as a party tries to pass judgment on every political question. That is not true. There is just as much difference of opinion on most questions between members of the Farm Bloc as among any other group. We have never taken any stand on the bonus. In regard to the question of tariff we have taken the position that agriculture is entitled to the same protection as industry. Only yesterday I saw in the morning paper that the bloc was back of a raid upon the United States Treasury for a $15,000,000 appropriation for rivers and harbors. That's pure nonsense. There's not a word of truth in it. In the first place we never held a meeting to consider such a measure, and in the second, a majority of our members voted against, it. I voted against it myself.

"We are not trying to direct legislation other than that dealing with agriculture. With a group that has averaged less than 25 members in the House of Representatives and has never numbered more than 22 supporters in the Senate, it is evident that we can not be a 'menace to the country'. We couldn't pass bills over the bodies of 480 odd representatives and 74 senators as well as the veto of the president even if we wanted to.

"At present there is little left on our program save one bill providing longer term farm credits, but the members of the bill will act as a body just as long as emergency gives them a common interest, and no longer. If people in cities would appreciate the fact that agriculture is the first and greatest sufferer from depression and that it was impossible for industry to pick up again until the agricultural conditions had been improved, they would realize that what we are trying to do is an important step in restoring the industrial prosperity of the nation".