258 . 
AGRICULTURAL RELIEF 
but quickly after it passed beyond this and reached a forecast of 
18,000,000 bales the price dropped from 18 cents to 12 cents and 
11 cents and even 10 cents; it averaged 12 cents. 
The crop of 1925 at 18 cents had just about brought us the cost 
of production according to Government estimates. With the big 
crop of 1926, with around 3,000,000 bales beyond the needs for 
immediate consumption, the price went to 12 cents; or, in about 12 
months, it was cut half in two. So that the Secretary of Agriculture 
on July 1 of this year said that this large crop of 1926 brought us 
$505,000,000 in the cotton-growing States less than the 2,000,000 
bale smaller crop of 1925. Because of the higher prices of cotton in 
the fall of 1925, brought in part by the general public not knowing 
what the crop was going to be and in part because the cooperatives 
carried more than their share of the surplus, the price in the fall was 
better than it was in the spring, the rest of the year. The same was 
true to an extent, though not exactly so, in the fall of 1926. 
As a result of those two surpluses and higher prices in the fall of 
1925, the cooperative associations did not pay their members, because 
they attempted to sell somewhat orderly—they were not able to 
pay their their members during those two big years of surplus produc- 
tion as much as the outsider got. Now, I said the cooperatives were 
one of the factors in holding up and to an extent stabilizing the price 
in the fall of 1925 and in the fall of 1926. At one time in the fall of 
1925 we had in the cooperatives handling 10 per cent of the total 
production about 30 per cent of the surplus. | 
Mr. KincaeLoe. How much cash do you pay on delivery, Doctor? 
Mr. KiLcore. About two-thirds—65 per cent. | 
Mr. KincHELOE. So they held the bag while the other fellows got 
the increased price and cashed in? 
Mr. KiLcorE. Yes, sir. 
Mr. Hore. You pay two-thirds of the market price on that day? 
Mr. KiLGore. Yes; that is what we can borrow from commercial 
banks and the intermediate-credit banks. : 
Mr. KincHELOE. Doctor, how many are in your organization? 
You said three hundred and some odd thousand to begin with. 
Mr. KiLGore. I can not tell you just the number. 
Mr. KincaeLok. I thought you had some idea. Doctor, if you 
will excuse me there, I am asking for information; I do not want to 
get into the cotton business, because I do not know anything about 
cotton. I have heard it said by gentlemen who are supposed to know 
about cotton that the equilization fee would not work on cotton, that 
it would be impracticable. I just wanted to get your idea about 
it—if you think it will, why it will, just as a matter of information. 
Mr. KILGORE. It will. We have indorsed, as you noticed in the 
resolution, the principle of the McNary-Haugen bill, with the equali- 
zation fee. } ’ 
. Mr. Aswerr. Does that mean the fee or nothing, by your resolu- 
tion? & by y 
Mr. KirLcore. I am going to cover—— 
Mr. AsweLL. You can answer that now, yes or no. 
woud rope, Susuinlly, I do not like to answer, because it 
[ say yoo e truth fully. If you want to insist on yes or no, 
Mr. AsweLL. You stand for the fee or nothing? :