AGRICULTURE: Cotton-Picking Loans

Price supports for cotton are necessary, so the politicos say, to protect the nation's host of small farmers. But last week Delaware's Senator John Williams dug out facts to show that the gravy goes to a few big farmers. Williams inserted in the Congressional Record a list of 297 cotton farmers who in 1958 received price-support loans of more than $100,000.

Among them, the 297 accounted for almost a tenth of the $1,185,000,000 in cotton loans for that year. Three of the farmers, said Williams, received more than the Government lent to all growers of all crops in the four important farm states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania combined. They are:

¶ Westlake Farms, Inc. of Stratford, Calif., which got $1,442,595.

¶ British-owned Delta & Pine Land Co. of Scott, Miss., $1,212,699.

¶ Kern Land of Bakersfield, Calif., $761,408.

Other wealthy cotton pickers:

¶ Church, Bruce Inc. of Yuma, Ariz., $487,460.

¶ J. G. Adams & Son of Hughes, Ark., $402,050.

¶ F. H. Vahlsing of Mathis, Texas, $389,484.

In addition, Williams named 117 other Californians who received payments ranging up to $707,907 each in subsidies, 27 other Texans who collected up to $345,727 each from the Government, 75 other Arizonans who got up to $427,181 each, six other Arkansans who got up to $253,486 each, and a sprinkling of Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma and Tennessee growers whose takes ranged up to $223,841. Though a 1959 amendment sponsored by Williams theoretically limits crop loans to a maximum of $35,000 per farmer, Williams warned the Senate that he is skeptical about how much good the law will do, since it was badly weakened in final conferences. The only thing that will really do any good, said Williams, is to get rid of the price-support "monstrosity."