GENERAL FARM PROGRAAI 347 



]Mr. Andresex. I think we have come to an understandmg there, 

 that your guess is as good as mine on what the cost would be. 



Mr. Granger. Will the gentlema yield? 



Mr. Andresen. Yes. 



Air. Granger. I remember the first day when we were here and you 

 sat there 30 mmutes and got it estimated at $6,000,000,000. Where 

 did you get that? 



Air. Andresen. I have figiu'es here that I calculated when I spent 

 last week here instead of going home. I have it figured out that it 

 costs between 5 and 9 billion dollars or will cost that much, and closer 

 to the $9,000,000,000 figui-e. 



Secretary Brannan. And you assume a depression? 



Air. Andresen. No; I am assuming an abundant production and 

 lower food prices. 



Secretary Brannan. And no producing power? 



Air. Andresen. I am still figuring we will have about the same 

 purchasing power, because as far as meat is concerned, the purchasing 

 power of meat depends largely on the individual income. If an in- 

 dividual has good income, he is going to buy more meat. If his in- 

 come goes down, he will buy less meat. 



Secretary Brannan. That is right. He will buy some cheaper 

 kind of food. 



The Chairman. Air. O'Sullivan? 



Air. O'Sullivan. That is, if he is not a vegetarian he will buy" 

 more meat when he has more money. 



Secretary Brannan. That is right. 



Air. O'Sullivan. There are a lot of vegetarians, too. 



Secretary Brannan. That . is right, and if we make meat more 

 attractive to him in price he will buy more meat. 



Air. O'Sullivan. I wanted to ask you a few questions. Is it not 

 true that come farm commodities cost a great deal more to produce 

 than others do? 



Secretary Brannan. That is right, sh. 



Air. O'Sullivan. Is not the 1,800-unit idea really based on a demand 

 gross return of $25,000 to the producer? 



Secretary Brannan. It was not so based. Air. O'Sullivan, but the 

 figures came out somewhere in that neighborhood and it would 

 fluctuate up and down as the price of the commodities fluctuated 

 up and dowTi in the market price. 



Air. O'Sullivan. Then it is also true that producers of different 

 products may have far different net profits out of $25,000? 



Secretary Brannan. That is right, sir. 



Air. O'Sullivan. You do not have a set formula for certain farm 

 commodities under your proposed progi-am; do you? 



Secretary Brannan. A formula for what, the cost of production? 



Air. O'Sullivan. Yes. 



Secretary Brannan. I think probably the Bmeau of Agricultural 

 Economics has a number of estimates of cost by commodities. 



Air. O'Sullivan. Could a bill be written up so that every formula 

 would be in the bill and not leave it to the discretion of anyone to 

 make decisions as to whether certain things shall be supported or not 

 supported, and what the support should be? Do you think that 

 could be possible? 



vSecretary Brannan. It could be possible, sir. It would be quite a 

 long bill. There are at least 130 agricultural commodities. 



