AGRICULTURAL RELIEF 
17 
responsible to the farmer about under your bill here that you have 
now referred to? It was, under the old bill. 
Mr. Gray. The board, by the terms of this bill, is required and 
expected to do certain things and with these advisory councils made 
up as we have amended the bill, the public opinion of the producers 
will be brought to the Federal farm board in such a way, directly 
from the advisory councils, that are permanent in nature, that it 
will be difficult for the Federal {arm board to disregard the wishes 
of the councils. 
Mr. KincueLoE. We have a very good example now of these boards 
and the effect on them of public opinion, in this new radio commission. 
Do you think public opinion has had any effect on this radio hoard 
down here? If you do, go down before them once, and they will tell 
you where to get out. They are not responsible to the broadcasters, 
or the radio public, or anyone else, any more than this board you 
propose would be responsible to the farmers. 
Mr. Gray. That is off this subject, but I am not quite sure that 
public opinion—— 
Mr. KincueELoE. This board that vou propose would not be 
responsible to the farmer. 
Mr. Gray. And I am definitely sure, in the Farm Bureau, that 
public opinion is rather strongly on the side of the radio commission. 
Mr. KincHELOE. You have not looked into it much on the side of 
the fellows who are independent broadcasters. Of course, if you 
have been associating with the Radio Corporation of America, that is 
a wonderful board; but I am just mentioning that to vou as a parallel 
proposition to this farm board. 
Mr. Gray. We think not. This is not germane to the subject. 
When we have anything to say we have no difficulty getting on the air. 
Mr. CLark. Do I understand, Mr. Gray, that in the first place or 
originally you set up a Federal farm board with definite powers and 
full responsibility, apparently, and then you curtail those powers 
and that responsibility by these subsidiary advisory councils that 
are going to be controlling over this farm board? 
Mr. Gray. I do not know that I would use the word “curtail,” 
but we set up advisory councils that really have the function of being 
more than letter institutions; they are active institutions. 
Mr. Crark. Then the responsibility would attach to the councils 
and not to the farm board? Is that the idea? 
Mr. Gray. The responsibility of reflecting public opinion of the 
producers would reside in these councils and be transmitted from the 
councils to the Federal board. 
Mr. Kercaam. Right in that connection, please compare the bill 
as introduced, on page 9, where it says ‘“ Whenever the board finds” 
with your substitute, section 7 (a), where it says, ‘“ When the advisory 
councils in districts which in the aggregate represents more than 50 
per cent of any commodity, or when a substantial number of coopera- 
tive associations or other organizations or producers of the commodity 
in such districts favor the full cooperation of the board in the market- 
ing of the surplus of the commodity.” It seems to me that that 
exactly meets the suggestion of Mr. Clark that you have transferred, 
by these pronosed amendments. the real power in that recard—that