AGRICULTURAL RELIEF

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would do, stabilize the price of farm commodities, if he was aware
that they might pay a little more, and this was his reply—I have
said that time and again to the committee that they were willing to
pay the bill, and he wound up his statement and said, “I would like
very much to go back to the farm if I could do anything to maintain
the rural population and maintain an equality for the rural popula-
tion; to maintain an equality for the rural population, an equality
of opportunity on the farm, is to our interest, and that is why I am
here. Now, the consuming public appreciates this whole situation
and we are here defending this bill.”

In other words, if this does what we hope it will do—it is hoped
that it will stabilize the price and not subject it to such violent ups
and downs, probably the consuming public will not be hurt, and if
we can not charge what loss may come through that operation back
to the entire production, we will have to abandon that idea of trying
to control the surplus, and that seems to be the chief reason of
reaction I get that if they do not get the fee they will not try to
operate under this bill.

Mr. KirLcore. That is so. That was distinctly the position of
the Burley Tobacco Association’s representative and of the Dark
Tobacco Association’s representative. Both of those associations
have suspended operations as cooperatives. The Burley Association
Is operating its warehouses under the old auction system, for the
very reason that you have stated there that they will not go out and
attempt to sign up a membership without an equalization fee that
will enable them to handle the surplus, and they have gone back to
the old method of marketing, so as to use their facilities which they
have accumulated in these past years, and to hold themselves to-
gether in the hope of legislation of this kind that will put them on
their feet.

Mr. Apkins. The idea I have got from these organizations repre-
sented here before this committee—one of the chief things that they
hope to accomplish through this legislation is to prevent, if possible,
the violent ups and downs of the market. The proposition, whether
it be a bounty or debenture, simply adds to the existing price, what-
ever the tariff may be or whatever agreed on the side for the deben-
ture, will in no way stabilize the market so far as ups and downs is
concerned. If the speculator, as charged—I am not saying that, but
it is charged freely here—that if the speculator bulls put the price up
high, or if they put it down low, the debenture would simply be the
addition to what tariffs would be, but would have no influence in
stabilizing the market and preventing the violent ups and downs of
the market. You would just simply add on a little to whatever was
the existing market created by such agencies as control the price.

Mr. KiLcore. I did not want to get into the debenture side of it.

Mr. Apxkins. I know, but I am presenting that feature. If the
theory that you are advancing on this equilization fee plan does
stabilize—and that is what we hope to do?

Mr. KiLcore. Yes.

Mr. Apkins. The fact if you adopt a debenture or a bounty, or
whatever you may do to add so much to the price, you add that to
the price whatever it may be. Your markets will function just as
they do now. You will have the same ups and downs in the market,
but the debenture or bounty added to it, and the feature that you