20 
AGRICULTURAL RELIEF 
Mr. Gray. No; I do not. 
Mr. Fort. You do not in any case put that power in the individual 
producers or in the members of an association? 
Mr. Gray. In no farm relief bill has that been done. In the one 
that was passed last year that same phraseology was used, and there 
was no demand for a definition of eligibility. 
Mr. Fort. You might find, might you not, on this basis, Mr. Gray, 
50 per cent of the crop—take, for instance corn—may be raised out- 
side of the districts that are primarily known to us as wheat and 
corn districts of the country. 
Mr. Gray. If that be the case, statistically proven, the advisory 
councils which represent 50 per cent in the aggregate are necessary 
to make their recommendations before the Federal Farm Board has 
any indication of popular producer opinion on the subject. That is 
covered in the first section of paragraph 7, as suggested for 
amendment. 
Mr. Fort. I assume it is improbable, but it is still possible that 
there might be no wheat growers or men who were substantially 
interested in wheat on any of these advisory councils in a great part 
of the territory in the United States. 
Mr. Gray. I would hardly think that possible, with the 
make-up—— 
Mr. Fort. Those men’s interests might be in the mill feeds rather 
than in the wheat itself. That is possible. 
Mr. Gray. That would be possible, yes, under certain territorial 
limitations. But you can not avoid all of those things. 
Mr. ForT. What I am trying to get at is why are you trying to get 
away from that commodity advisory council proposition and putting 
the settling of the problem in wheat or corn or anything else in the 
hands of a group of men who do not represent the wheat or corn 
growers, but represent a territorial, geographical division in which 
the growers of any commodity may be in the minority in the selection 
of a representative. 
Mr. Gray. I would not agree that your premise is correct for an 
answer when you say that these councils do not represent the growers 
of commodities in the district which they represent. These councils 
which are called together in convention and are created at this con- 
vention, the advisory council being composed exclusively of the 
producers, will surely get on the countil such men as will represent 
the commoditites in that district. I would not confess that vour 
premise is a proper one for an answer. 
Mr. Fort. All commodities are grown all over the country. I 
mean every isolated commodity you can name will be found in some 
degree in each district, barring cotton in New England. 
Mr. Gray. That is possible. 
Mr. Fort. Therefore they may not represent the commodity. 
They may represent an antagonistic commodity. 
Mr. Gray. That is hardly possible when it says they must re- 
present in the aggregate 50 per cent of the commodity. It is hardly 
possible if not wholly improbable. 
Mr. Fort. Then why do you get away from the other? Why do 
you get away from the direct representation of the particular com- 
modity? Why should not the wheat growers of the United States, 
as a group of wheat growers. settle what is going to happen to wheat?