AGRICULTURAL RELIEF

113

Mr. Apkins. Well, I say, you have the board?
Mr. TaBer. We have the nonsalaried ex officio officers. The issuance
 of the debentures is just a simple proposition.
Mr. Apxkins. I understand about the debenture. Have you ever
thought of this—and that is an objection I found raised when I was
conferring with different people before, everybody was for the debenture
 as far as farm organizations is concerned. Here was the
situation: The exporting, as you know, is all done on a very close
margin, because of competition; that unless the farmers organized
an export company themselves there is a chance for very little of this
debenture to get back. Suppose you were an exporter and I was an
importer. If I was an importer I would not bother with debentures,
unless you made it an object; I would just pay the import tariff and
¢o on. So that the colusion that might be entered into and would be,
no doubt, since competition is pretty severe, that a good part of these
debentures would be divided between the exporter and the importer
and very little of it seep back so that it would become necessary, in
order for the farmer to get the full benefit of your debenture, to
organize a farmers’ export corporation. Have you thought of that?
Mr. Taner. We have thought of that, Mr. Adkins. I am not sure
whether you are asking a question or making a speech.
Mr. Apkixs. I only want to present my idea so that you may understand.
 If you can provide it in better form for the record, I will
be glad for you to do that.
Mr. Taser. We have given that matter serious consideration, and
Mv. Jones in his bill has given a suggestion. Experience indicates
that your fears would be groundless.
Mr. Apkixs. I would like him to answer that.
Mr. Taser. We have given very careful consideration as to whether
there was need for an export corporation to see that the fee gets
back to the farmer. And the experience in other countries and the
exporting experience in this country indicates that there is not the
necessity for such a corporation that the farmer would get substantially
 the full rate of the fee just the same as he would——
Mr. Apxixs. The reason I asked that question is that I asked Doctor
 Stewart if he had any figures from any economist on what it
would probably cost on the exports during the last year. what it
would cost the Government and what the benefit to the farmer would
be; and he sent me the figures from a man by the name of S. S.
Knight—and I presume good authority or Doctor Stewart would
not have sent them to me; and he took six of our leading commodities
for 10 months of 1927, and I incorporated the figures in my remarks
before the House; and he showed that there would be an increase of
value to the farmer of $136,000,000 on wheat, for instance. But I
notice from his figures that there would be an increase of $168,-000,000,
 and that would be 21 cents a bushel. That is half of the
tariff —21 cents a bushel on the entire 800,000,000 bushels of wheat
that he estimates was in the country. He goes on and states that
there would be a benefit to society of $312,000,000. That would be
going on the theory that the farmer would get that entire 21 cents,
and going on the theory that there would be, perhaps it is fair to
state, around a hundred million bushels that would be used for
seed and feed on the farm. which would be quite an item taken out,