AGRICULTURAL RELIEF

115
Mr. BLEpsoE. Oh, well——

Mr. Apkins (interposing). I am asking you this question in good
faith.

Mr. Brepsok. I will analyze that. You understand that I am
from the Cotton Belt.

Mr. Apxkins. Yes.

Mr. BLEpsoE. In analyzing your proposals here to help us to handle
the surplus——

Mr. Apkins. Yes.

Mr. BLEpsoE. It doesn’t seem that the surplus is being carried
satisfactorily to the farmers and to you gentlemen at the present
time. Now, you want to propose a better method of carrying this
surplus. Is that the object of this bill?

Mr. Apkins. Yes.

Mr. BLeEpsok. That is, you want to handle the surplus better than
we are doing it now with our grain and cotton exchanges. In effect,
the farmers are carrying the surplus, and the speculators are carrying
it, and this decides what the prices will be. :

Mr. Apkins. In other words, you want us to be charged with it?

Mr. BLepsoe. No; we are asking for security.

Mr. Apkins. But, you want some agency to do that.

Mr. BLEpsoEk. I want provisions to render the proper and necessary
service to the cooperative associations. I know how the surplus is
being carried now, but it is at too great a discount. I think I under-
stand the line of thought embodied in the different bills which have
been introduced here, but as for the plan to take a second mortgage
on a commodity that is being carried by the cooperative association—
I don’t think anything of that at all. I think, as a practical handler
of securities engaged in borrowing money on nonperishable agricul-
tural products, that the proposal to loan more money is not a feature
that could be used to advantage; it would be only slightly different
from the present method of carrying the surplus. I am not abso-
lutely certain about that feature, about the members of the coopera-
tives taking advantage of this, to be perfectly candid with you.

Mr. Apxkins. It has to be tried.

Mr. BLEDSOE. It has to be proved. I am not saying you are not
trying all you possibly can. You understand, gentlemen, that I
reckon I have had about as much experience in finance operations as
a great many men, having handled about $140,000,000 worth of
cotton and borrowed about $100,000,000 on that. I think you had
better reconsider your method of taking a second mortgage. I do
not think the advocates of loans from the revolving fund to control
surpluses have the right financial arrangement at all.

I have faith in the practical application of the proposition I pre-
sented to you this morning, but I am ready to tell you gentlemen
that this is an experiment, and I want you to go carefully; I want you
to try 1t out. Just what the results will be, you can answer as well
as I can. I hope for better results under such a plan than under
present conditions.

Next I want to say that in my judgment the best proposition
presented here is the positive provision that each commodity will
carry the cost of handling its own surplus through the equalization
fee. I am still of the opinion that in the contractual relationships

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