616 AGRICULTURAL RELIEF
banks—you are proposing they should be allowed to loan 100 per
cent’

Mr. Hare. No; not the intermediate credit bank. I do not pro-
pose to change any regulations of the intermediate credit banks
whatever.

Mr. Fort. Where does the loan of 100 per cent come from?

Mr. Hare. I am coming to that in just a minute. If any organiza-
tion of producers wants to sell its crops through this commodity
organization, the board will arrange with the intermediate credit
bank for the financing of that operation. If under the rules of the
intermediate credit bank they are unable to secure more than 75 per
cent of the market value of the commodity at that time, then the
board will have the right—it is not compulsory, and it would only be
in the case of emergency—through the revolving fund provided for
in this bill to take care of the difference of the 25 per cent.

Mr. Fort. The chief difference between your bill and the Crisp
bill in that respect is that the Crisp bill puts some limitations in the
law itself on the points at which the board may make loans, and you
leave it entirely to the board to make its own rules.

Mr. Hare. I leave that out, for the reason that under the Crisp
bill where you would begin to fix the price of the crop or the point
where you would peg the price, as it was referred to, there was the
criticism that it is the purpose of Congress or the purpose of the
Government to fix the price of a commodity; whereas I am leaving it
with the producers of a particular commodity to fix the price and to
say when they will ask for this advance or for this loan. After they
ask for it, then it will be referred to the board to say whether or not
the circumstances and the conditions under which they are operating
justify it. The producers themselves, therefore, under that condi-
tion will determine when the price is below the cost of production or
when it approaches the cost of production, plus a reasonable profit,
and whether they want to store the surplus of their commodity and
take it off of the market and remove it from the channels of trade.

Mr. Fort. They have no individual liability on the loan?

Mr. Hare. No.

Mr. Fort. Therefore, there is no restraint on the point at which
they would use their judgment.

Mr. Hare. Except by the action of the board. In other words,
if the board would say, “Now, gentlemen, understand, this price-is
far above the cost of production as shown by the existing agencies of
our Government, and we think it unwise to begin operations at this
period.” The board would have this right, and operations would not

egin.

Mr. Former. In other words, Mr. Hare, your 100 per cent loan
would only operate when this board would find that we had a surplus
of any commodity that was so depressed, the price that it was at or
below the cost of production, and therefore it would want a hundred
per cent loan, because if they would take care of the surplus naturally

there would be a profit. Otherwise, it would not be of any interest?

Mr. Hare. Exactly.

Mr. Fort. If that is clear, I see that is your purpose and I see Mr.
Fulmer agrees that is what it should be, why should not we in some
way in the legislation indicate that that is what Congress thinks is