122 WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRATION

ONIONS
“Onion growers in most States will find it to their advantage to somewhat
reduce their acreage in 1930 as compared to 1929.”
CITROTUR

‘A slightly downward trend is now indicated, but production is on a high level
and the industry is still confronted with a difficult marketing problem * * *7
“In view of the prospective large increase in production, especially of grapefruit,
 during the next few years, and the probable depressing effect on prices,
only those with a background of wisdom and skill in production that comes from
successful experience or adequate training should contemplate new acreage, even
for replacement purposes.”

TALK OF REDUCING COTTON ACREAGE
This committee, and the reading public of the United States, are familiar with
the great effort now being made by the National Farm Board to reduce the acreage
 of cotton.
A special committee of trained and able business men selected by the United
States Chamber of Commerce and the industrial conference board to investigate
“the condition of agriculture in the United States and measures for its improvement,”
 in its carefully prepared report, made in 1927, page 104, said:
“It is clear that the overexpansion of our agricultural area due to all these
forces is to a large extent responsible for the present agricultural difficulties.”
In discussing the unfavorable situation and the prospects for cotton growers,
the same report, page 68, said:
“The situation in cotton is further adversely affected by the great expansion
of cotton acreage which has taken place during recent years. The acreage rose
from 33,036,000 acres in 1922 to 48,730,000 in 1926. The increase is in the main
due to the development of cotton production in the western parts of Texas and
Oklahoma. * * =»
“Under the influence of all these factors, one cotton farmer in west Texas or
west Oklahoma is able to attend to 100 or more acres of cotton, and to produce
his crop at a cost far lower than the cotton farmers in the eastern parts of the
belt. It is largely the competition from these newly developed regions which is
holding the price of cotton at a level insufficient for most farmers in the older
cotton sections.”
A practically unlimited amount of autharitative data showing the same conditions
 traced to the same cause could be presented but the presentation of more
of it would merely tax the time and burden the record of this committee with
proof of a situation known to exist.

IMPORTED LABOR ADDING TO OVERPRODUCTION OF OTHER CROPS

Very much of such crops as lettuce, tomatoes, onions, citrous fruit, and cotton
are now being grown by this labor. This committee is asked to continue the
present exemption of Mexico, the West Indies, and Latin America from the
quota restrictions of the immigration law, in order that the cheap and subservient
labor coming from those regions may continue in the face of the fact that it
augments this overproduction of agricultural commodities. One of the gentlemen
 who pressed this demand most insistently was Mr. C. B. Moore, managersecretary
 of the Western Growers Protective Association, who advised the com~
mittee that the regions and growers represented by him needed some 80,000
transient laborers in addition to their regular employees to engage in the produetion
 of erops grown in southern California and Arizona, prominent among which
is lettuce. Within a few weeks after Mr. Moore had made this statement to the
committee in connection with a labor strike in those regions, as reported in the
Los Angeles Times of Februry 19, 1930, Mr. Moore said:
“Under present strike conditions there is $00 much lettuce being shipped, and
yesterday it became necessary to bring into action the Imperial Valley lettuce
clearing house in order $0 restrict shipments to 250 cars a day * * ~*~