334 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



It goes directly to him from his Government with the least amount 

 of work and effort involved. The concept of the proposal is that there 

 is no opportunity for the processor and middleman to get any more 

 benefit out of handling the commodity under this program than he 

 would if there was a completely free market and no price support 

 whatsoever. 



Mr. Cotton. I did not claim that. Perhaps I did not make myself 

 clear. I mean whether you have price support or not, it has been 

 my observation that when farm prices go down the consumer gets 

 only a small percentage of the benefit of it. When pork is down, 

 to be sure you buy your pork chops at the market at a little less, but 

 it is not comparable with the licking that the farmer has taken in 

 producing it. 



I will not try to get into whether your suggestion is more costly 

 than other suggestions, but if we are going on the theory of using 

 whatever is necessary from the Public Treasury, first to take care of 

 the farmer, and second, to help the consumer, are we not going to 

 reach the point where we will requh'e some kind of control to see that 

 the consumer gets that benefit as a natm-al corollary? 



Secretary Brannan. Mr. Cotton, you are speaking of the prevailing 

 system, whether we need a careful look at the margins between pro- 

 ducers and consumers today. 



In some commodities I think we do. You took what I think is 

 not one of the best examples. As a matter of fact, it is probably 

 one of the better examples on the other side. 



If I remember correctly, of the consumer's dollar paid for meat, 

 the producer gets some 7 percent. 



Mr. Cotton. I took that because it was a perishable. 



Secretary Brannan. On some of the other commodities, of the 

 consumer's dollar -the producer gets a smaller percentage. Meat, 

 as I indicated, is not one of the outstanding ones. 



Mr. Cotton. I have one other question. 



I take it that you feel that even though prices go down and even 

 though a substantial amount of money has to be spent, the consumer 

 is going to benefit by it so that the farmer gets a good living and the 

 consumer gets good prices under this plan. 



Secretary Brannan. Yes. The use of the word "low" should 

 not deceive anybody. We are not in the business of trying to make 

 cheap food. The proposal looks toward creating a program under 

 which there is the maximum amount of freedom in the market place 

 and the passing on of the benefits of our productive capacities to 

 the consumer at reasonable prices. 



I do not think this program would ever operate in such a way as to 

 bring bargain prices on foodstuffs to the American consumer. I 

 assume that you do not think he always ought to live by bargain 

 prices on food. 



Mr. Cotton. Do you feel that your program is a plan that gives 

 the farmer somewhere near the standard he has had for the past 10 

 years, that gets his food to the consumer at a somewhat lower price, 

 does not curtail production or impose restrictions, and does not cost 

 too much? 



Secretary Brannan. I do, sir. Those are four worthy objectives 

 and those are the four we set out to try to achieve. I think we have 

 achieved them to a very substantial degree in some factors and per- 



