10

AGRICULTURAL RELIEF
loan whatever happens, and they may not be unwilling, under the
other forms of legislation, that permit them to create corporations
to which the loans are to be made, with no legal liability on the
members individually in the cooperative to repay them. :

Mr. Gray. We do not want that obligation removed from the
corporation itself. We do not want any merger of cooperatives in
such way, corporative or cooperative, that can borrow money from
Uncle San: and be not obligated to return that money with interest
on it. That is business.

Mr. Fort. Neither do we.

Mr. Gray. And so far as protecting the individual member of the
cooperative is concerned, we are in absolute harmony with what you
have in mind.

Mr. Fort. Then your loan provision in section 5 is not what you
want?

Mr. Gray. In what particular?

Mr. Fort. Because you are, in your section 5, making it purely a
legal obligation, without any reference to any limitation on the repay-
ment or terms for repayment other than obligatory terms which
may be imposed by the board if they collect it by way of equalization
fee, in fact, if not legally so.

Mr. Gray. We are trying to confine the loans of this bill to loans
to be used for disposing of surpluses, and that is shown in the language
of section 5, where it says loans for the purpose of assisting’ the
cooperative associations only in controlling the surplus of any agri-
cultural commodity in excess of requirements for orderly marketing.
There is the basis of our program—Iloans not for things other, but
for things relative to the surplus disposition. Mr. Settle will intro-
duce in good time, he being our chairman, at least for the day, some
gentlemen who will have some amendments to the loan section
which we will recommend.

Mr. Chairman, I have presented all of the amendments which were
delegated to me to present. However, there are two other amend-
ments, one on the loan section and one relative to insurance, which
our chairman for to-morrow. will have presented for consideration of
the committee.

So far as I am concerned, if the committee pleases, unless you want
me to appear again, I have said all that I desire to say, and I can
sum 1t up in one sentence: We want H. R. 7940 enacted into law, but
first reported out from this committee with a favorable report, includ-
ing the amendments which we are suggesting to you. I thank you.

Mr. WiLriams of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I want to insert a brief
statement in the record, if I may.

During the session of the committee yesterday morning Mr. Earl S,
Smith, chairman of the Illinois Agricultural Association called me
from Chicago on the telephone. In the course of our conversation I
said to Mr. Smith that I had heretofore as a member of this committee
and a Member of the House consistently supported the equalization
fee. That I believed it was workable and was the best method yet
suggested to procure the necessary funds for the stabilization of
agriculture. That if there was even a remote chance for us to have
that scheme written into law at this time I would give it my earnest
support. I stated further that owing to conditions here which are
perfectly obvious and which everv one recocnized. the enactment of