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| AGRICULTURAL RELIEF
Mr. PurneLL. Of course, the board would have to take all those
things into consideration, but it has been suggested with a good deal
of force that last fall sometime—I do not remember the exact time—
corn was selling, I think, for about 71 cents, and it was generally
conceded that it should have been much higher to bring a reasonable
return to the farmer. There are those who suggest that this board,
with a sufficient revolving fund, might, through the powers granted
it, set up a single buying agency on the outside, and go into the market
with, we will say, corn selling at 71 cents when it should have been 85
cents or a dollar, and begin buying corn at a dollar or whatever,
through their investigation, they should determine to be a reasonable
price, and that they théreby would not only stimulate by stabilization
the price of corn——

Mr. AnpeErsoN. How would the board know that a dollar was the
right price?

Mr. PurneLL. Of course, that is always debatable, but I have a
notion that such a board through the information that is available in
the Department of Agriculture and elsewhere, would not miss very
far the price at which it should be bought.

Mr. ANDERSON. If the board can do that, it can do more than any-
body I know has ever been able to do yet, and, as I said before, an
awful lot of money has been lost by people who thought they could
do it.

Mr. PurnerL. That would not be giving the board modest powers,
those powers would be, in your judgment, immodest?

Mr. ANpERsON. Yes; I think so; that would be going farther than
I would be willing to go now, at least until we have had far more
experience in the cumulative effect of the action of the board and of
other people who would be interested in the price level.

Mr. Former. Under this bill that carries this fund, you would
want the board to use same on a loan basis like the other loan
agencies, for instance, the land banks or intermediate credit banks?

Mr. AnpersoN. Not necessarily.

Mr. Furmer. You would be willing, then, for those loans to be 100
per cent according to the value of the commodity bought by these
oans? |

Mr. AxpErsoN. I could not say 100 per cent or any other figure,
nor do I think necessarily that the loan feature represents the only
way by which this could be done.

Mr. FuLMmEer. It is usually done on a basis of 65 or 75 per cent, ac-
cording to the value of the commodity.

Mr. AnpersoN. I would think that under a stabilization program
the amount which could be loaned to a cooperative might be higher
than is possible for a bank, for example, to give, considering the com-
mercial risks which it feels warranted in taking, and its obligations
to its stockholders.

Mr. Former. But not 100 per cent?

Mr. ANpERsON. Oh, I do not think-——-

Mr. FuLmer. For instance, with cotton selling at 18 cents, you
would not propose out of this loan fund to allow them to use 18
cents to buy surplus cotton?

Mr. ANDERSON. 1 would not think that would be safe.

Mr. FuLmer. Then having created this fund and considering the
asual loan basis of 65 or 75 per cent, how would you buy up the
surplus so as to pay full market price?