xt7wwp9t2q46_61 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61.dao.xml American Liberty League 37 linear feet archival material English University of Kentucky This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Physical rights are retained by the owning repository. Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. For information about permissions to reproduce or publish, contact the Special Collections Research Center. Jouett Shouse Collection (American Liberty League Pamphlets), No. 64 "Potato Control: An Analysis of a ridiculous law making a travesty of constitutional liberties and proposing to inflict upon the American people a bureaucratic despotism, including a new army of Federal snoopers to be paid for through increased living costs for the entire population," September 16, 1935 text No. 64 "Potato Control: An Analysis of a ridiculous law making a travesty of constitutional liberties and proposing to inflict upon the American people a bureaucratic despotism, including a new army of Federal snoopers to be paid for through increased living costs for the entire population," September 16, 1935 2013 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt7wwp9t2q46/data/59m61/59m61_64/Am_Lib_Leag_64_001/Am_Lib_Leag_64_001.pdf section false xt7wwp9t2q46_61 xt7wwp9t2q46 Pamphlets Available * *
ir
Copies of the following pamphlets and .
other League literature may be obtained -
upon application to the League’s national
headquarters:
4 Statement of Principles and Purposes C O N T R O L
American Liberty League—Its Platform
An Analysis of the President’s Budget Message ,
Economic Security ~
Inflation
lie ghillly H§“’kW€°§·ii
e en ng an mg 1
The Holding Company Bill * * *
Price Control
The Labor Relations Bill
The Bituminous Coal Bill
Extension of the NRA
The Farmers’ Home Bill _ _ _
The TVA Amendments An analysis of a ridiculous law
The New Deal, Its Unsound Theories and Ir- . .
rczzoncilable Po1icies—Speech by Ralph M. II1&k1I1g 3 IZITRVCSCY of CO1'1St1tI1»
S aw . . . .
Hckw go alhleet the Issue——Speech by William tlorbalébbcrtles anillpzgposlng
. or ',
The Supreme Court and the New Deal to In 1ct upon t 6 mclrl
The Duty of the Church to the Social Order- 5 can people 21 bl11‘€&l1CI'&t1C
Speech by S. Wells Utley _ · d . . 1 d .
. AnCOpe2 Letter to the President——By Dr. Nezl CSPOCISIII, 1110 U, 11'1g 3
` arot e
; The Revisldd AAA Amendments I new army Of Federal ~
Tlgah Return to Democracy—Speech by Jouett Snoopcrs to be Paid for
ouse ,
I The President’s Tax Program tl‘1I°O'\1gl1 1I1C1f'€&S€Cl.
The American Bar—The Trustee of American . f h
rusmuasns-speech by Azam 0. Ritchie 1V1¤g ¢0S*1S ¤1‘ t 6
TwolAmaz»ing Years—Sp=eech by N icholas Roose- entire Population
· ve t
Fabian Socialism in the New Deal—Speech by
Demarest Lloyd
Tl? I;1eople’s Money—Speech by Dr. Walter E.
pa r
The Principles of Constitutional Democracy and
the New Deal—Speech by R. E. Desvermlne EMC.
I Wllgich Road to Take?—Speech by J. Howard VFS *74,
gw . ‘u27:T:.i
The Blessings of Stabi1ity—Speech by James W. . y ,. N
_ Wadsworth 3 5 . °
.Legislation—By Coercion or Constitution- ¢ 0
I V Speech by Jouett Shoase Tfy gil"
Recovery by Statute—Speech by Dr. Neil
_ Oarothers
Expanding Bureaucracy
The Imperilment of Democracy—Speech by
Fitzgerald Hall.
. Lawmaking by Executive Order
Tl}; Tis}; of Citizenship——Speech by Dean Carl AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE
1 . c erman .
Today’s Lessons for Tomorrow—Speech by Cap- Natlonal Headquaytcys
I ;a;,~, wgmam H_ ,3;;,;,;,,,; NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
New Deal Laws in Federal Courts WASHINGTON,D. C.
ik
AMERICAN LIBERTY LEAGUE * *
NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING
WASHINGTON, D. C.
................................... Dooumgnt N0. 64
Septem er, 1935
*%**4 · ‘ .
T Potato Control
’ ir
Regimentation of agriculture has reached the
high point of absurdity in the "Potato Act of
j 1935" incorporated in amendments to the Agri-
T cultural Adjustment Act enacted in the recent
session of the Congress and approved by the
A ' · President on August 24, 1935. Nothing so fan-
tastic has emerged from the "economic plan-
ning" of the past two and one—half years. The
i act makes a travesty of constitutional liberties.
A serious attempt to enforce it will necessarily
involve fines and jail sentences for citizens ex-
‘ ercising rights enjoyed without question through-
out the almost 150 years of the American Con-
stitution. q
This ridiculous law, demanded by large po-
tato growers whose markets have been demoral-
ized by excessive production on land diverted
from other uses by AAA regulations, illustrates
strikingly how one step in control leads to an-
other. ln turn, its operation, if effective, will
necessitate further steps tending toward com-
plete Socialism.
The Potato Act of 1935 is of doubtful consti-
tutionality and is arbitrary, unreasonable and
uneconomic for these reasons:
1. The act attempts to control production of
potatoes through a punitive tax of questionable
validity.
_ 1 2. It is intended to benefit large commercial
growers of potatoes but will harass several mil-
. lion small growers and burden the entire con-
` suming population.
3. To present excessive costs of many articles
of food will be added higher prices for a staple
commodity upon which the poorer classes are
absolutely dependent.
4. Regimentation of farmers who produce po-
, tatoes is compulsory rather than voluntary.
» 5. Even a small garden patch maintained by
a housewife and producing only a few bushels
for sale is subject to control.
¢ 6. Regulations which will annoy both pro-
ducers and consumers include requirements that
all potatoes must be packed in closed and
stamped containers of special design.
7. Provision is made for an army of snoopers
through severe penalties imposed on persons
who fail to tell of violations by their neighbors.
8. Bootlegging will be unavoidable despite
fines up to $1,000 and jail sentences up to one
j j year.
3
9. a3uyers1 of alalootlag potatoes are made Fears of Omcialdom
equa y gui ty wi se ers. . . . . _
10. An expanded bureaucracy, made possible abrtht; hesltltaafg Wlth Whloh tho otttolalo t`oSPoo‘
by blanket authority to the Secretary of Agri- “1 E ini t.€d. Etdambraood tho Plan fer Potato
culture to appoint officials and employees with- gm?) fs mai .bY a letter Sant by ttoxtord
out regard to Civil Service and Classification ,3 ‘ thugijive ee Cttttg Seeeeteor ef Agmoultuto
laws, will meddle in the affairs of some 3,000,000 oo log,.) puse Commtttoo ee Agmoultuto en May
potato growora naenas ,();‘;n1io)i1ponse to a request for the depart-
' History gf Law · Mr. Tugwell said:
Potato control forms a logical development in “Tl16 plan involves aglministirative Emblems
the regimentation of agriculture. The act was ef Hialota imoemileee Whleh have 110t 6611 611-
not proposed by the administration which at i gglotgaatgroggmgtagg tggoglaztgaaumigogid thogg
first offered a half-hearted I‘eSlStaI1Ge b6G&L1S€ of distribution of potato producers, the seastghal
insuperable administrative diiiiculties. Oflicials and perishable character of the commodity, and
recognized, however, that if one commodity was ;geui;1j1l;gg]1§€gg?af}1ea1;t;1$Oe& .Whieh angludet bogh
to be controlled, others would have to be. They E T 1 I loo aa Hoo ee o
realized that the plight of the potato growers gg¥mi£~g_>grOW€r to Wholesalem retailers end com
'l t f · . .
Efittéi-°€$§§E.€“$fc§§r3t$§gi§St€li§§`€§`00§€iii2%ai£ ,,,O§eO’;he ggeaeegoggrtae ,*;gee ;eee e{,e¤‘eeme¤t· a12._000,000. frms minimum estimt-ae BEST gf}
C\}I'1QUSlY enough, the 19»W WeS enacted through f6ot1ve operation covers merely the expenses of
the insistence of members of the Congress fun- the_ Agricultural Adjustment Administration
damentally_ opposed to regimentation of agri- ' do£§.#; the tYie1`.ef the ect The eost of .
meme ee md¤e’e>*- Theee membem were em- §nm;t§n§§t ma "étt2l~“t§i%§?£i‘ SF titeiréti
willing to leave the potato growers at the mercy f I t 1 R h ° H - -
of conditions caused by the mistaken theories t)he1t1téin0tf)0,0(lt(litnuG` we not been ‘”°t“d°d m
efggg lgfxgjco bm was introduced as an ind€_ V lgurthgr emphasizing the difficulties, Mr. Tug-
pendent measure early in the session of the Con- We Sjl ' _
gress. After extensive hearings it was reported . 013 mast loo tome m mind that the e,¤e1‘et·
favorably by the House Committee on Agricul- §§*atio?tW§11°b gh; Oogoigaigo loutgood lo Sale lee-·
t\1I’€ and 3·lS_0 by the Senate COmmltt€€ OU Agri' of any other commodity fort €ti¢mc ctcmPc· The will
great as their value. The tax is intended to mcmi endless mmcYcm-cc cc Wcu cc cxlccncc fc?
control production and not to raise revenue. thc mém OY Wcmcm Whc Prcduccc cmy c _fcW
A punitive tax in the second Child Labor Act lcuchclc frpm cr Small garden Patch- HcuScW1VcS
was held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court dS Wcu Wlu be cYmcYcd cc chcy fmd thcmcclvcc
6 7
unahle to exomlhe the potatoes they are about would be about 85 cents instead of 97.5 cents.
to Purchase. The consumer will be penalized by the extra
m unt. ,
Consumers Injured a O Benerits Doubtful
The 125,000,000 people of the United States or the 3,000,000 or more persons who grow
are Consumers of potatoes. Soaroely any article and sell potatoes about 30,000 are large com-
ot food is so generally resarded as a neeessity- mereie.1 growers. The act is designed to bene-
Partieularly is this true arnong the rank and nt them. ir prices can be maintained, these
{ile of the common people. Prices of meats and , large growers may und it Worth While to sub-
other foodstuffs already have soared to levels mit to regimentation and to such regulations
which have seriously burdened the poorer classes. T as those requiring oiosed and stamped oon-
All lheteoee lu the ioriee of lootetoee as oohtem' tainers. To several million small growers the
plated in this not will deal another blow to r` red tape and extra cost or containersiare likely
ihese people-, Tire plan iii etteet imposes a heavy to onset any beneélts received.,] H t t
ax upon a oo necessi y. There is no evi ence t at t e sma po a o
Retott Places of potatoes nord oil! oohsumohs growers want compulsory control. Originally
lll pI`lHClp&l cities of lZl1€ Sl`i2l,l'r€S 2l.V€I'3.g€Cl the program was Suppgsgd {jg be On 3, VOI-
1-7 tents per pound on August 27,1935,aooord— untary io-esis. The Potato Act provides for
lng to the Bureau oi Lahor Statisties- This Was compulsory control patterned after the methods
the sarne priee as in May, 1933, when the Agri- used in the Cotton and Tobacco Acts. In the
eultural Auluetmeht not heoorlho eliieotive, ·al‘ Hrst season there is no opportunity whatever
though helow the oVol`&g‘>‘ of 2-7 oollts Pl`€Vulllll§ for an expression of the wishes of the growers.
in May, 1929- li the present potato eontrol pro- Even in subsequent seasons a majority vote
gram is effective, prices to the consumer will be Win bg sui-iieient to bind the minority,
eireatly ahove the present level and even higher Press dispatches indicate widespread dissatis-
t an in 1929. fa tion with the new law on the art of otato
The price of 1.7 cents per pound is equivalent growers p p
to $1.02 per bushel. Latest figures of the De- A group of farmers in West Amwgll Town-
partment of Agriculture show that the average Ship, Huntgydgn County, New Jersey, adopted
Pl`l09 of P0t·2l09S at the farm in August, 1935, resolutions in protest against the law, according
Was 50-3 oents per bushel- The “parity" priee, to the New york Times of August 27, 1935.
ghieh is ihe goal to he aclllwedhby the Potato These resolutions were in part as follows:-
ontro ct, is estimated by t e Department ,, Q .
at 97.5 cents per bushel. This is 94 per cent Wiiirhrlfrilrg glee baiaiiQtteaaaiaatpaagrgaéalgarghadage
9·b0V€ tht? Al-lgtlSll P1`l0€· If 1'€h8·ll P1`l0€S W€l‘€ an unconstitutional measure recently enacted
increased by 94 per cent it would mean a price by the United States Congress. We shall DIO-
of $1.98 per bushel, or 3.3 cents per pound. lf duo}? oh our (ilwh lohg suiii gottltoee as titre may
only the extra 47.2 cents per bushel promised ggih raraanhilea l£aWihmal;ldeer1;h$)Sra,D(er_ am m
to the farmer were passed on to the consumer erynat as an earlier ri-enerst.ion or Americans,
without the usual pyramiding in the process of not only in Boston but at Greenwich, in Salem
distribution, the retail price would be advanced ggulgjg/'écgd Jrérreciilegleugguefgllosggtglléveliieuliuluif
t°,it,}·‘l9 par buahah Or 25 aahhalpah hahha ish Parliament. so will we resist this ‘Potato
e parity price represents a burden upon Conn-oi Lawzs
the consumer greater than involved in a mere . 1 1 .
restoration of prices prevailing in the 1919- r Walter Blahap or Day aahhWh’ Penney rene;
1929 period which is the base used in the Po- pl`eeld.eut of the Pehheltlvahla Peters Growers
tato Act. It takes account of increased costs Aeeoeletlour le quoted lh the Nall) Yalah Tlmaa
of industrial products which the farmer buys. at September ar 1935;, des aaaarhhgdhhah lghsih
The 97.5 cents per bushel parity price at the ducels lh that ahahahn ah hog maah ag, a 1 a
farm COH1p3rI'€S 3, I/`lV€—y€3,I‘ 2LV€I‘&g€ fI'OII1 Or Cooperaitiq Vvlt · Eilgernilaent-S prag-
- 1909 to 1914 of 69.7 cents. it the rrsrners, of stem- Ml`- Bis 99 92*9 t at 1 9 "i.l‘?i’il‘i,“S °
the Potato Act had used the pre-war period, ’ eluetahhxlhg uhaaah a haw arb Wlh a EO
which is the base for all other commodities ex- great amhhg ahmklhg famaaha t mug out tba
cept tobacco, the parity price to be sought Eflacaaa that as pmvlahaha aah havar a
8 9
s ‘ For violations of any regulation by the Secre-
Potato Bootlegglng tary of Agriculture for which there is no special
Experience of enforcement officials with po- penalty, a {ine of $200 is provided.
tato control will rival that with prohibition laws.
1 Bootlegging will be rampant. Administrative tg
difficulties will be tremendous as forecast by EXP&nd€daBur€aucr&cY
Mr. Tugwell. The estimated cost of more Little consideration was given in debates in
hhoh $12,000,000 f01° the HYS0 Y€&1` gives S0m€ the Congress to the organization required for the
idea of what is involved. This is more than enforcement of the act. To cover the entire
the average annual appropriation for the en- “ country it will be necessary to employ many
forcement of prohibition. thousands of officials, agents and inspectors.
The law contains an unusual provision by The Secretary of Agriculture is given blanket
which the Government may organize an army i authority to build up an enforcement personnel.
of snoopers to keep an eye on bootlegging of The law enables him to "appoint, without regard
potatoes. Under regulations prescribed jointly to the provisions of the Civil Service law, such
by the Secretary of the Treasury and the .Sec- officers, agents and employees and to utilize such
retary of Agriculture returns must be made, Federal officers and employees and, with the con-
statements rendered, information supplied and sent of the State, such State and local officers and
records kept by "all producers, warehousemen, employees, as he may find necessary, to prescribe
processors, carriers, retailers, factors, handlers, their authorities, duties, responsibilities, and
. and any other person who the Commissioner tenure, and, without regard to the Classification
has reason to believe to have information with Act of 1923, as amended, to fix the compensation
respect to potatoes produced, or sold." of any officers, agents and employees so j
This means that besides requiring producers, appointed."
including even farmers’ wives who sell a few It will be the business of the bureaucracy thus
bushels of potatoes, to keep all sorts of records built up to pry into and order the affairs of
and to disclose their private accounts, officials several million men and women.
will be able to hold a club over the heads of
neighbors who may be in a position to know Steps Toward Socialism
what 1S going on next door. Inspectors will be
able to terrorize rural communities. The AAA has become enmeshed in a network
of its own making. The original Agricultural
‘ · Adjustment Act provided for seven basic agricu -
fall Sénténccs for Vjolators tural commodities. Now there are fifteen. It
Tno Ponaluoo lmpoood fer Vieletiens ef the will be impossible to stop at this point. The
law, i¤<>1¤di¤s oyon failure ef 9» PBYSOH who does Congress and enforcement officials must go on
not Prouuoo loomtoos to Supply i¤f0Ym&”0i0I1 and on until every product of agriculture is
about a noignbor Who uoooi Soom mom ih- k€0P· brought under control. The process cannot even
mg with Praouooo of euwcrecies than of 3 d0m0- stop there but must extend to competitive indus-
static goyornmomi- Any Pomoh mihhg te 010 3 trial products, some of which, as in the case of
return or give information may be fined as much i papgr tgwglg and jute bags, are already under
as $1000 and imi>riS¤¤ed for as mush 0S 5 Y08·1`- · AAA regulations. The system may break down
A p0i¤t<> bmlesser may be fined $1,000 and of its own Weight pi be wiped out by the courts.
unon a Sooonu oonyiouon may else be giyoh 3 Otherwise, it is leading inevitably to methods of
Jell Sontonoo uP to ono you- restriction of the private lives and business ac-
FuYJ°n‘n°moI`€> tnom is a moot estenishins P¥`o· i tivities of our people wholly foreign to American
View that buyers Of p<>*¤et<>es which are not institutions. rststn control is another step tp-
properly packaged and stamped are equally Ward Spejaljenp
guilty with the sellers and subject to the same
penalties. Even the Volstead Act in the pro-
hibition era did not attempt to make buyers of
bootleg liquor guilty of crime.
Speculation in tax—exemption stamps, or secur-
ing stamps by fraud or coercion, is punishable
by a $1,000 maximum fine or one year in prison.
10 11