574

AGRICULTURAL RELIEF
The Crairman. Mr. Wallace reported that 2414 per cent of the
farmers were in fact bankrupt. Mortgage indebtedness was reputed
to be $13,000,000,000. Whether he carried a mortgage on his farm
or if lie has money invested, he is entitled to a return on the valuation
of his farm.

Mr. Kercaam. I agree with that, Mr. Chairman, but I do not
agree that it makes a man stay awake at night figuring out how he is
roing to meet that interest charge. If he owns a farm, of course, it
gives him right to it, and in my judgment he is entitled to a reasonable
rate of interest as one of the factors in figuring what goes to make up
a profit, but that is a mighty sight different than to go and meet that
interest in good old hard cash at the end of the year. So far as I am
concerned, I will take my property without any mortgage upon it.

Mr. Apkins. You said yesterday, I believe, in reply to a question,
that your being here was the result of a meeting of the board of
directors that took action on this proposed legislation?

Mr. SexavER. Yes.

Mr. Apxins. How is your board of directors elected?

Mr. SExaver. Our organization has 24 districts, and under the
law the board must be elected by ballot of the entire territory. But
in order that each of these districts may individually know the man
that they are electing, we arrange that the various locals in that
Jistrict—there are about 800 locals divided into 24 districts—meet
sach of them in their own local, and at that local meeting they
nominate or vote for examinations for a man for director. They
have to vote by ballot; there is no viva voce method; they have got to
vote by ballot. They elect a delegate to carry that vote to the
district meeting. That delegate must carry the vote, if he is so
instructed, as the individual farmer votes it.

The individual farmers in that local can vote for 10 men if they
want to, and that delegate must carry the votes as they are voted to
the district meeting. At that district meeting these delegates carry-
ing the votes for these locals, instructed or not, as their local wishes
them to be—every vote on the nomination of a candidate for election
as directed from that district. If there is a deadlock in the first or
second vote, then he is instructed—then he can vote as he sees fit,
because otherwise they might have a deadlock over a long period of
time. Then whoever is nominated at that district meeting is then
put on the official ballot, which is distributed at a later meeting of
all locals, and on that official ballot the individual director is elected.

Mr. Apkins. Now, then, your board would naturally be somewhat
responsive to what they thought was the will of the fellows back on
the farms, would they not? .

Myr. Sexavuer. Our board is, I believe, very responsive to what is
the will of the members on the farms, and they also, I believe, are
students of the agricultural and dairy problems, and concieve 1t to
be their duty to do the things which are most advantageous for their
members, believing that if it is right they can sell it to their individual
members back on the farm. ]

Mr. Apxins. Then they would not have been very likely—this
board—to have taken this action in favor of this legislation unless they
thought it would have met the approval of the fellows back on the
farms?

Mr. SExAUER. That is right.