6540

AGRICULTURAL RELIEF
In fact, Mr. Chairman, my faith in my farmers’ finance corpora-
tion plan with its production and marketing control by contract
features, has been very much strengthened from day to day as I have
attended these hearings. 1 am sure that real farm relief can only
come with a proper control of production and marketing and that
there can only be established proper control by contracts enteres into
by the farmers with all concerned under an enabling act of Congress
such as my bill provides. All the other bills introduced by other
members fail in this most essential respect.

Proper control of production and marketing means control of
prices by the farmers themselves and hence the naming by them of
their own profits in reasonable bounds.

I have studied this problem for years and for the last six weeks
I have attended hearings of this committee for two hours each day
and worked until midnight each night reading bills and speeches,
drawing bills and collecting data on this matter, and my very best
judgment is that we must work a plan to enable the farmer to name
within reason the price of the commodities which he sels as other
businesses and enterprises do, or else we must leave this problem
unsolved for the present..

Another most important feature of my bill is that it provides for
the selection of the various commodity councils by the governors of
the commodity growing States at first, until the farmers become
properly organized and then by the farmers themselves. Some may
suggest that these must be appointed by the President. It will be
seen though that these councils are in no sense composed of Federal
officials but only a part and parcel of an organization the functioning
of which is recognized by the bill under its contract features. These
officials are no more Federal officials than are the road officials of a
State Federal officials, because they and their works are recognized
by the contract or law whereby the Federal Government matches
State road funds in the construction of good roads in the country.
This feature of the bill safeguards the rights of the afrmer and makes
sure the selection of his friends for the administration of the farmer’s
most important affairs under this bill.

Some may suggest that my bill provides for price fixing and 1s
therefore objectionable. Let me say I think that it is clearly price
fixing in its nature and provisions and that is just the reason I am so
much in favor of it. Congress has passed laws to help everybody else
fix prices of what they sell. Why not extend this privilege to the
farmer? 1 have no patience with any plan: of so-called farm relief
which attempts to help the farmers without helping them get a better
price for their products.

Too many farm relief bills attempt to please the farmer without
giving him any real relief. They attempt to work out a plan satis-
factory to the farmer and yet leave him to be preyed upon by those
who speculate on his products. They propose to help the farmer and
yet leave him at the mercy of the middlemen. Real relief can not
be secured in this way. Again, many of the bills seek to help some
one help the farmer indirectly and charge too much for the service, or
help the farmer by handling his commodities at an exorbitant charge
for the service. All this is wrong.

Again, Mr. Chairman, many object to all bills which vote any
financial assistance to the farmer on the idea that the farmer should