AGRICULTURAL RELIEF 561
crops and the prices for a crop and the machinery which might be
set up for that purpose.

I have to start out with certain premises. First, it seems to me
that an agency which is undertaken to deal in the commercial market
in competition with other agencies should have something at stake;
in other words, as I said several days ago, I do not think any business
agency can safely be left to manipulate a commodity market entirely
on the basis of money borrowed or otherwise obtained from the
Government. Therefore; in my own consideration of the matter I
have had in mind that the people to be benefited by this change in
the methods of marketing farm products should have some financial
stake in the success of the operation.

Second, I am very definitely of the opinion that the successful
operation of any scheme of price stabilization involves bringing into
participation in this financial risk all of the agencies that have to
do not merely with the marketing of the crop itself, but with the
manufactured materials that are produced out of it. Now, I am
thinking very largely in terms of wheat, but I think in general at
least what I have in mind is theoretically and, I think, practically
possible of consummation.

In addition to the credits which are provided in the present bill, I
would authorize the board to purchase stock in a corporation which
would be organized by it or under its direction in an amount which
would not be more than 50 per cent of the stock which might be
taken by other agencies. I would have the remainder of the stock
owned approximately in equal proportions by the producers and by
manufacturers and others who have to deal in the commodity either
in its raw or finished state. The creation of such a corporation
would result in creating a financial responsibility on the part of all
the agencies which handle the commodity for the success of the sta-
bilizing operations, and would involve a risk which would prove a
tempering influence against too large a degree of optimism in the
efforts to stimulate the price.

As I said in the first instance, I think such a board would have to
operate very slowly, feeling its way and determining by actual trial
and error the extent to which its operations might influence the
market and the extent to which it could goin the processes of stabiliza-
tion. Those processes of stabilization would be very much similar
to the processes which are contemplated by the Crisp bill, I imagine,
and by other bills which do not involve the effort to directly fix and
maintain a price over a crop year.

Now, in general that represents the form of structure which I
think might be set up to deal not only with the problem of stabiliza-
tion, but also with the problem which is involved in abnormal price
depressions resulting from abnormal surpluses in particular years.

Mr. Jones. Now, Mr. Anderson, right there: As I understand it,
you would have a corporation in which each of the parties, including
the Government, would have direct financial interest and have some
responsibility in connection with it?

Mr. ANDERSON. Yes, sir.

Mr. Jones. Would not that program be subject to the same objec-
tions that you mention in reference to the proposed bill, that is.
that it would interfere with the present marketing channels?