AGRICULTURAL RELIEF 
House oF REPRESENTATIVES, 
COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, 
Tuesday, February 7, 1928. 
The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 o’clock, 
a. m., Hon. Gilbert N. Haugen (chairman) presiding. 
The CuairMaN. The committee will be in order. Mr. Kilgore, 
we will be pleased to have you resume your statement. |, 
STATEMENT OF DR. B. W. KILGORE—Resumed 
Mr. KiLGore. Mr. Chairman, I had gotten yesterday in a rather 
carefully-thought-out plan I had in mind to present to this com- 
mittee, through the account of the rise of the cotton cooperative 
marketing associations; and with the help of Mr. Aswell, the decline 
of these cooperative associations. I want to thank Mr. Aswell for 
his assistance in this latter part, for the adding of the weight of his 
authority to that portion of my statement. 
In the decline of the cooperative associations, we have the reason 
for farm relief legislation. 
Mr. AsweLL. Doctor, I can help you more if you will let me inter- 
rupt you. I do not want to interrupt your statement, but I can 
give you some more information. 
Mr. KiLcore. I am going to tell you some more facts, too. 
Mr. AsweLL. Who pay the expenses of the American Cotton 
Exchange? Does that come from the cooperatives? 
Mr. KiLGore. Yes. 
Mr. AsweLL. Do you know how much the whole exchange execu- 
tives, and all, is costing the cooperatives? 
Mr. KinGore. Thirty cents a bale is the regular assessment for 
the exchange, and in all of the five years that 30 cents a bale has 
covered the cost of all expenses of the exchange, including the sales 
organization throughout the country. 
Mr. Aswerr. Then, if you have a million bales how much would 
that amount to? 
Mr. KiLcore. That would be $300,000. 
Mr. AsweLL. Then the exchange cost that much? 
Mr. KiLcore. Yes; that would be so. 
Mr. Aswern. When I go to the South, I get the information that 
the cooperatives are not failing because of the lack of the equaliza- 
tion fee, but they are failing because of the extravagant expense of 
the overhead; that is what they tell me all over the South. In one 
State the cooperatives paid an attorney $35,000 attorney’s fee. So 
the average farmer said, “I am tired of paying overhead.” That is 
what is the matter. The equalization fee wouldn’t help. 
Mr. KirLcore. I think you are mistaken. There have been no 
such attorney’s fees paid by the exchanges or associations that I 
know of. 
Mr. AsweLL. I did not say the exchange. I say your exchange is 
costing $300,000 on top of all that overhead the cooperatives pay. 
Mr. KiLcore. I do not know what you are referring to: I know 
nothing about any such costs or attorney’s fees. 
Mr. AsweLL. Do you know how much the manager of the cooper- 
ative in Georgia received at one time? Did he not receive about 
$20,000 salary?