254 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



Mr. PoAGE. You would have already achieved your objective; the 

 man has received a fair price for his cotton; that is what he wanted. 



You say to the man who is working out here for the railroad that 

 you will get $10 a day, but we "will take $1 a day out of your pay for 

 your retirement and for your unemployment compensation, and so on 



Secretary Brannan. You might do that, under such an example, 

 but if the cotton has already been sold at the loan level you cannot 

 sell it for more, and when does he get it back? 



Mr. PoAGE. He gets it back when he gets the loan payment. 



The Chairman. The man working for the railroad may never get 

 the unemployment contribution back? 



Mr. PoAGE. I was suggesting that more in the nature of an illustra- 

 tion, as a substitute for the subsidy payment, in lieu of a direct 

 payment; I was merely suggesting this as a subsitiute for the direct 

 subsidy payment. 



Secretary Brannan. All right, let us take that one step further, 

 and suppose that X-cotton grower puts his commodity under the 

 credit loan system 



Mr. PoAGE. That is, by direct subsidy? 



Secretary Brannan. I am just drawing this analogy here. 



Mr. PoAGE. Yes. 



Secretary Brannan. I am not talking about insurance; I am 

 talking about cotton under the subsidy, and talking about loans as a 

 result of the subsidy support; the fellow walks out— — 



Mr. Poage (mterposmg). I said direct subsidy; I can fully appre- 

 ciate the difference, that es^ery time you give Government aid you give 

 a subsidy, but I am talking about the direct subsidy, not where you 

 make him a cash loan, but where he comes in and gets a subsidy check. 



Secretary Brannan. You hand the fellow a check for his loan on 

 the cotton for his tobacco or any other commodity, which is written 

 on the very same kind of paper that you would write his check, and 

 the only difference is it would be a production payment. 



Mr. Poage. But you very carefully make the loan to him, and you 

 say to him that you have satisfied the United States Government, 

 because you have put up your bale of cotton and we appraised that 

 bale of cotton at $150, and if it does not bring that much we will take 

 that bale of cotton off your hands and we will relieve you from all 

 liability. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes. 



Mr. Poage. That is a trade, and that man feels that he has made a 

 pretty good trade with Uncle Sam and that "I am a pretty good 

 trader." But if you say to him that we know the price of your cotton 

 is $95 and we will give you $95 for the cotton, and then we will give 

 you $55 to bail you out, he knows he is just getting a hand-out. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes, but I am unable to follow the reasoning 

 that he would feel different about it. I do not think that the man 

 would feel that the check he gets for price support based on a loan, and 

 the check that he gets by taking his cotton to the market place and 

 sells it and gets a production payment, makes any difference to him. 

 If I were that farmer I would say to myself, if I had the frame of mind 

 that you have described here, I would say that I am proud of my 95, 

 because I have gotten my 95 percent at the market place, and 5 per- 

 cent from my Government, and under the loan I get 100 percent 

 from my Government. 



