AGRICULTURAL RELIEF

505
I am going to call attention to this. From what source must the
payment of these bonds, coupons, and dividends be paid? There is
only one, by lowering prices paid to the farmers and putting up prices
to the consumers. What will be the result of this comparatively
new financing now being indulged in by the best financial institutions
of the country? It can—I do not say it will, but I think it will—
it can, at the proper time, be thrown into a gigantic food-controlling
combination, operated with $100,000,000 or $500,000.000 capital.
[t is enormous.

Now, almost continuously, small dairies and small butter plants
and small cheese factories are being combined or absorbed. The
cheese industry went in the other day for over $16,000,000. Those
are all farm products. They have to buy their stuff cheap. That
I did not mention here.

Mr. KincHELOE. Mr. Yoakum may I ask you a question there?
That is very interesting to me and it is new to me. These companies
that handle these farm products take from the producer to the con-
sumer? What kind of organization do they have to get it to the
consumer; do they sell it through the jobbers?

Mr. Yoakum. No; they sell both ways; they sell to the jobbers
in certain places under distributing contract, and where they can
not get one that distributes they make their own distribution: just
handle it in a businesslike way, in whichever method or trade or plan
they can adopt to get the most money, they naturally do it. They
are well organized.

What is the remedy for this growing discrimination against the
farmer? There is only one answer—to prevent this custom before
it grows beyond control by ‘extending to farmers equal opportunity
to meet the situation.

This can only be done through farm commodity organizations
national in scope which can absolutely control the marketing of their
products. They have got to control it.

How can this be accomplished in the quickest time and with the
quickest results to the farmers?

Congress can provide the machinery for farmers to battle organized
purchasers through the creation of authority to grant Federal charters
to farm commodity organizations incorporated, thus enabling pro-
ducers of standard farm commodities to organize, distribute, and
market under a nation-wide system of marketing, with boards of
control for each organized commodity to stabilize prices and main-
tain them.

Each organized commodity marketing under F ederal charter
should be operated under its own separate charter. Taking the 17
standard food products, that would call for 17, if they reached it.
But one organization, Mr. Chairman, does not prevent the others
nor force them into it. It must be of their own motion and under
their own control, such charters to be granted to producers of com-
modity organizations who apply for a charter in compliance with the
provisions of the law. i .

Marketing commodities under separate charters, each will consti-
tute a commercial unit in itself, controlled by a board of its own
creation familiar with all its details and conditions, competent to
deal with its problems as they arise. The same operating system
that would work well for wheat, cotton. or tobacco. would not apply