AGRICULTURAL RELIEF House oF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, Tuesday, February 7, 1928. The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 o’clock, a. m., Hon. Gilbert N. Haugen (chairman) presiding. The CuairMaN. The committee will be in order. Mr. Kilgore, we will be pleased to have you resume your statement. |, STATEMENT OF DR. B. W. KILGORE—Resumed Mr. KiLGore. Mr. Chairman, I had gotten yesterday in a rather carefully-thought-out plan I had in mind to present to this com- mittee, through the account of the rise of the cotton cooperative marketing associations; and with the help of Mr. Aswell, the decline of these cooperative associations. I want to thank Mr. Aswell for his assistance in this latter part, for the adding of the weight of his authority to that portion of my statement. In the decline of the cooperative associations, we have the reason for farm relief legislation. Mr. AsweLL. Doctor, I can help you more if you will let me inter- rupt you. I do not want to interrupt your statement, but I can give you some more information. Mr. KiLcore. I am going to tell you some more facts, too. Mr. AsweLL. Who pay the expenses of the American Cotton Exchange? Does that come from the cooperatives? Mr. KiLGore. Yes. Mr. AsweLL. Do you know how much the whole exchange execu- tives, and all, is costing the cooperatives? Mr. KinGore. Thirty cents a bale is the regular assessment for the exchange, and in all of the five years that 30 cents a bale has covered the cost of all expenses of the exchange, including the sales organization throughout the country. Mr. Aswerr. Then, if you have a million bales how much would that amount to? Mr. KiLcore. That would be $300,000. Mr. AsweLL. Then the exchange cost that much? Mr. KiLcore. Yes; that would be so. Mr. Aswern. When I go to the South, I get the information that the cooperatives are not failing because of the lack of the equaliza- tion fee, but they are failing because of the extravagant expense of the overhead; that is what they tell me all over the South. In one State the cooperatives paid an attorney $35,000 attorney’s fee. So the average farmer said, “I am tired of paying overhead.” That is what is the matter. The equalization fee wouldn’t help. Mr. KirLcore. I think you are mistaken. There have been no such attorney’s fees paid by the exchanges or associations that I know of. Mr. AsweLL. I did not say the exchange. I say your exchange is costing $300,000 on top of all that overhead the cooperatives pay. Mr. KiLcore. I do not know what you are referring to: I know nothing about any such costs or attorney’s fees. Mr. AsweLL. Do you know how much the manager of the cooper- ative in Georgia received at one time? Did he not receive about $20,000 salary?