GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 329 



giving them dollars to buy food in Canada — or loan it to tliem so 

 they can buy our products, or we will not do much exporting. Is 

 that not about right? 



Secretary Brannan. That is certainly part of the answer, if it is 

 not all of it. 



^Ir. Andresex. Or we must take the competitive items they pro- 

 duce and a good share of them are agricultural products which we 

 are trying to adjust in the United States. 



Secretary Brannan. That is right. 



Mr. Murray. Mr. Secretary, one thing has always disturbed me, 

 and I know you can clear it up for me. You did not clear the last 

 point up very well for me. 



The Chairman. You mean why you did not sign that report? 



Mr. Murray. No; I did not mean that. 



Mr. Andresen. Let me say to the Secretary if that report had not 

 been agreed to we would have had no price support program for 1949. 

 We were interested in saving a farm program for 1949 to protect 

 American agriculture, and we did have an agreement that we were 

 to go over the whole business again and write a new law. 



I will leave it to my friend, Mr. Pace, if that is not correct. We 

 went through with that simply for the reason of giving us a program 

 for 1949. There was an understanding that we were to write a new 

 bill. You have brought up this proposal for us and we have been 

 3 months on another proposal. I hope in the end we will come out 

 with a good farm program. 



The Chairman. Mr. Murray. 



Mr. Murray. Can you support, Mr. Secretary, on the basis of 

 pounds, bushels, and tons, if you so desire, instead of by acres? 



Before j^ou answer that, I will call your attention to the fact that 

 during the war under the same law, Judge Jones did do that in the case 

 of peas. 



Under the law can you support only on the basis of dozens of eggs 

 if you wanted to? Could you limit the number of dozens of eggs 

 produced? Could you say you will not support the price on anything 

 over so many millions of dozens of eggs? 



Secretary Brannan. I do not think I have that power. 



Mr. Murray. Under the Aiken bill would you have the power to 

 limit volumes? You told us the losses that were taken on eggs at 

 35 cents a dozen — under your formula they would be 45 cents a dozen. 

 I just thought possibly we would be losing more on the 45-cent sup- 

 port than on the 35-cent, unless you had the power under some bill 

 to limit the volume that was produced. 



Secretary Brannan. I think we could have allotments and we 

 could limit the production payment to the allotment. 



In other words, we would limit the production payment to com- 

 pliers. That is, under the term "payments" in the Aiken bill, not 

 under the present law. 



Mr. Murray. I will not go into that today because I do not want 

 to take the time. I always have a lot of trouble in the dairy business. 

 About the only time we bring it up here is when somebody is trying to 

 ruin it. I am glad to know that you are not trying to ruin it today. 



The artificial trade barriers put up on the basis of being absolutely 

 false prevent the consumer from getting milk as cheaply as he could 

 obtain it. Anyone who is familiar with the dauy business can put 



91215 — 49 — pt. 2 14 



