10

AGRICULTURAL RELIEF
Mr. Swank. I want to ask you this question. Under section 7,
whenever the advisory council of a certain commodity, for instance,
cotton, asks this board to operate on cotton, as provided in the bill,
the board declares its findings and enters into contract for the pur-
chase of this commodity. Now, under your ameéendment, when
would this board operate on cotton? When a majority of these 84
men asked them to? I am just asking for information.

Mr. Gray. If you will permit me now, Mr. Swank and members
of the committee, to read a suggested change in section 7 on page
9, I think your question will be answered.

Mr. Fort. This is a very minor thing, but you will see, if you read
the amendment, that there is no limit as to the place they may meet.
Should a board in an eastern district be permitted to meet out at
Los Angeles twice a year?

Mr. Gray. Your suggestion is a very good one. It was supposed,
in our amendment, that each council would meet in its own district.

Mr. WiLLiams of Illinois. Who performed the work in drafting the
provisions of the bill as now before us, and when that was drawn,
did that meet with the approval of your group?

Mr. Gray. The bill as it is now?

Mr. WiLriaums of Illinois. Yes. How did that language happen to
zo into the bill. You are here this morning asking very substantial
and radical amendments.

Mr. Gray. We are asking substantial amendments, but not
radical ones in the way that they change the working operations of
the bill. These men on the advisory council, are given a little
more power and authority and insight into the workings of the
Federal Farm Board.

Mr. FuLMER. In other words, you are offering helpful suggestions?

Mr. Gray. We are trying to amend this in a helpful way.

Mr. WiLriams of Illinois. I understand that, but I want to under-
stand how the bill happened to be drawn as it is now.

Mr. Gray. When the bill was drawn, sometime ago—I forget just
how long ago; let us say three weeks—we had not had the benefit of
conference with all the groups represented in the list that president
Thompson read you awhile ago; and when the groups did get here
and we talked this thing over for days together and finished our
efforts last night getting ready for this hearing this morning, it was
decided that the advisory council should be given a little bit more
power. These amendments were suggested to be worked out; and,
frankly speaking, we have not had time to get together to confer
with all the conferees on this subject to see whether these amend-
ments are the sine qua non that we want or not. They are pre-
sented to you as suggested amendments.

Mr. FuLMEr. Let me ask you this question. Under the old bill,
for instance, in a land-bank district where you would have hogs and
corn and wheat you would have three advisory councils, and under
your suggested amendment in that district where they have these
three or four farm commodities you would only have one advisory
council operating in the interest of all these commodities in the dis-
trict. Instead of having 21 men you would have seven men made up
of men representing these various commodities?

Mr. Gray. Yes, sir. In a cotton district, like you come from,
Congressman Fulmer, under the old bill if the board were operating
on cotton there would be seven men on the davisory council on