AGRICULTURAL RELIEF
commodities. I have been surprised to find the small extent to
which those figures have been brought together to determine with
such degree of exactness as is possible just what the interrelations
of these figures are, the effect of surpluses upon price, and all that
sort of thing.

Now, I think that we would have to get a more complete picture
than we have now, and that we would have to begin the job very
slowly and develop it as experience and trial and error established it.

As to the exact form of corporation or cooperative organization
which might be required to do that job I do not think anybody can
say empirically that one form of organization or another would be
used. I do think that a board giving sound and careful considera-
tion to the subject could get together all the material that is availa-
ble, not only the material which relates to the disposition and move-
ment of wheat or corn as such, but of the movement and disposition
of the products that are made out of it, and could work out the kind
of an organization best adapted to the purpose of the bill.

Mr. Kercuam. One more question and I have finished. If I
get as a result of your discussion a notion of what you would do if
the responsibility was yours, it would be about this: I would favor
the set-up of a board; I would give them modest powers, I would
give them sufficient funds, with certain safety limits, and then tell
them to go slow. Is that about it?

Mr. AxpersoN. That is about it; yes.

Mr. PurNELL. What do you mean by “modest powers”? Where
would you draw the line as between their ability to find certain facts
and actually send into the market, either through the board or an
putside organization, and buy up given quantities of certain products?

Mr. ANpeErsoN. I would not have the board function in relation
to prices at all. I do not think it is capable or organized to function
in that way.

Mr. PurnNeLL. You would not have them try to reach a con-
clusion as to whether or not corn or wheat or livestock products are
bringing a proper price?

Mr. AnpersoN. They might have to consider that situation, but
my view of it is that one of the weaknesses of this proposition lies in
the fact that it seems to be throught that you can create an organiza-
tion here to deal with an emergency that may occur or may not occur
in next year’s wheat crop. My idea is, on the contrary, that what
we have to do is to set up an organization of a permanent character,
generally under the control and supervision of the board, but which,
so far as its commercial operations are concerned, will act inde-
pendently to bring about under the direction and supervision of the
board, a degree of stabilization during the period of a single year or
over a period of years. In other words, I visualize the thing as a
permanent organization set up on a more or less modest basis, in the
first place, to go in and see what the effect of its operations will be
on a small scale, cooperating with all of the agencies that have to do
with the marketing of the product, both in its raw and in its finished
stages, because I do not think that you can work out any scheme,
for instance, of stabilization of the wheat crop without bringing into
that picture, for example, the industry which I represent, and, for
that matter, the grain trade to a very large extent.

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