GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 65 



Mr. Pace. I am not trvitig to give the answers. I am trying to 

 thi'ow out the problem. I can see where if you went all the way you 

 would have to get into the cotton picture with corn. Cottonseed 

 meal or cottonseed hulls are competing feeds — soybeans also. I do 

 not think you are going to bring any happiness to the Corn Belt by 

 simply controlling one of the feed grains. 



Mr. PoAGE. Mr. Chairman, do you think you can bring any happi- 

 ness to the farmers of America by controlling everything they raise 

 from canary birds on up? 



Mr. Pace. I think as long as other parts of our population are 

 enjoying protection the farmers are entitled to comparable protection 

 in the nature of support prices. You know and I know that the 

 United States Treasury, with all of its greatness, cannot support 

 prices at an appropriate level unless the producers agree to bring their 

 production within reasonable limits. 



I think that is the big question. It is a question of whether or not 

 you are going to be completely free and buy in a protected market, 

 or whether you want to be subject to reasonable limitations and 

 operate under some protection for yourself. 



Mr. Hoeven. Will the chaii-man yield? 



If I get the chairman's statement correctly, he means that if we 

 have rigid price supports we must have controls also. Is that not in 

 substance what the chairman means? 



Mr. Pace. I am going to answer "Yes" to that question. If you 

 are going to have fair price supports I think the producers necessarily 

 must agree to bring their production within reasonable limitations. 



Mr. Sutton. 



Mr. SuTTOx. Mr. Secretary, I am still a little distm-bed about this 

 noncooperator. Mr. Hunter ably explained it to us the other day in 

 his testimony. 



Should the commercial area in the Corn Belt have a referendum and 

 vote for controls the areas adjacent to tliis commercial area would have 

 nothing to say about it. The Department of Agriculture and the 

 Secretary could decide that acreage controls are absolutely necessary 

 and invoke upon all corn-producing areas acreage controls, which 

 according to Air. Hunter's testimony can be done b}^ means of the 

 Secretary and the Department of Agricultm'e declaring such to be the 

 case, even though the people in the adjacent area declined to abide 

 by these controls, ha\nng had nothing to say about whether they should 

 be controlled or not. lliey would be classified as noncooperators and 

 in turn they would not be eligible for price supports on their cotton, 

 and their tobacco. 



Am I correct in that? They could be classified as noncooperators, 

 and as a result they would not be eligible for any other phase oi" price 

 support because of their lack of cooperation in acreage control in corn, 

 in which they had no voice in its establishment. 



Secretary Braxxax. I think the authority is broad enough to con- 

 template the possibility of that. 



Mr. SuTTOx\ That was Mr. Hunter's interpretation of it, and of 

 course I do not in the least doubt his interpretation. I have a great 

 respect for his ability. 



Do you not think that phase of the law should be changed? 



Secretary Braxxax. That is a question of high policy for this com- 

 mittee. The objective of our price support programs is to effe» tively 



