480.

AGRICULTURAL RELIEF

Mr. Fort. But the man who is financially able to carry gets the
better price than the one who is not. 3.

Mr. Caverno. But he has nothing to say about fixing the price.

Mr. Fort. But he has his own judgment to use.

Mr. Caverno. If you want to talk as an individual.

Mr. ForT. I am not trying to talk individualism; I am not going
that far. But I am saying under the present conditions some men
do get a better price for their cotton than they would under the
equalization fee. *

Mr. Caverno. Do you believe in cooperative marketing?

Mr. Fert. Yes.

Mr. CaverNo. The theory on which they work is that the man gets
the average price, not the maximum or minimum.

Mr. Fort. I believe in that, because organization is necessary and
therefore I am not talking individualism.

Mr. Caverno. I believe all of the cotton growers have got to come
under the same basis of taking the average price and try to raise the
price of the whole commodity.

Mr. Fort. Then you are laboring under the idea that this is trying
to force everybody into the cooperatives?

Mr. Caverno. Not at all.

Mr. Fort. Or into a compulsory organization?

Mr. CaverNo. Not any organization at all. I made the statement
here the other day, and I make it again, that under this bill every
bale of cotton and every bushel of wheat might go through the
present channels without cooperative associations, and the bill would
work, under the direction of the board, and would raise the general
level of prices of the farmer.

Mr. Fort. Then you do not think it would strengthen the coop-
sratives?

Mr. CaverNo. Most certainly I do. I want to put this down, I
do. If that bill is passed it will give the cooperatives many advan-
tages they do not have now. They are being broken right now by
the fact that there is an uncontrollable surplus; in other words, they
are carrying the other fellow’s load. It would not give inherently
any advantage, except what they might work out in the way of a
more economical marketing system, and they should live or die
according to their ability to establish a more efficient system of
marketing. They are willing to meet that test.

Mr. Fort. But the man who to-day is getting a satisfactory price
through ability to hold and carry his own stuff would be no better
off, would he?

Mr. CaverNo. That is not the question.

Mr. Fort. Would he? I am asking that as a question.

_ Mr. Caver~o. 1 will say this, there are individuals who will be

just as well off without the bill as with it.

Mr. Fort. I am not saying I am against any legislation, Mr.
Caverno; but I am speaking of the equalization fee bill.
par: Gayunmne. There is one other point I want to bring up to you

ere: A large crop is like a river in flood—you have the matter of
reservoiring and the flood channel and you have the matter of addi-
tional outlets. The 1925 cotton crop, early in September, was sell-
ing at my station at 26 cents a pound. It had such a drop when the

estimate came up from 14,000,000 to 16.000.000 bales that the total