GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 503 



Mr. Kline. It was a contributing factor and the American Farm 

 Bureau Federation was instrumental in getting it put into effect. 

 However, the major factor during the war was not supports at 90 or 

 92 percent of parity. The prices belie that assumption because prices 

 averaged about 120 percent of parity through those years. 



Mr. CooLEY. Did you not hear one of our associates make a state- 

 ment in this committee room the other day to the effect that but for 

 the support program on cotton in 1948 cotton would have sold for 18 

 to 20 cents a pound ? 



Mr. I^JLiNE. That is right. 



Mr. CooLEY. Do you agree with that statement ? 



Mr. Klixe. I am willing to defer to the judgment of the man who 

 did make it. 



Mr. CooLEY. If you defer to liis judgment, then but for the support 

 program the cotton farmers of this Nation would have been forced 

 into bankruptcy. Yet you are now attempting to weaken that program. 



I would like to ask you one other question. Do you not think your 

 recommendations come somewhat as a shock to the American farmer 

 when he is faced with the fact that industry is pushing up the floor 

 from 40 to 75 cents an hour and above that minimum wage labor has 

 all the powers that have been conferred upon it by legislation which 

 enable it to negotiate above the floor level and get fair wages? 



Xow. you come out as one of the farm leaders of this country reconi- 

 mending that we pull the rug out from under the farmer and let his 

 support program go down and down as supplies go up and up. 



Mr. Kline. First, I want to beg the privilege of commenting on the 

 statement which you made that it is our proposal to weaken this pro- 

 gram and force the farmer into bankruptcy. I should like to point 

 out that with regard to cotton, which is the commodity yoti mentioned. 

 we make specific recommendations which are designed to make it pos- 

 sible under the program for the cotton farmer to get 90 percent of 

 parity in a support program. 



Mr. CooLEY. You make it possible for them to do it, but why do 

 you object to fixing it so you know the farmer is going to get that 

 if he does what the Government tells him to do ? 



Mr. Kline. We see no reason why the farmer — and I think there 

 is great support in the cotton area for this — should demand that the 

 Government fix the price unless the farmer cooperates in the program. 



Mr. CooLEY. You could take the same support program with re- 

 gard to tobacco. But for the 1948 support program we would have 

 gone into bankruptc}^ in the tobacco areas of this country, and every 

 intelligent man knows it. Why should you expect us to embrace the 

 program that we know is going to lead us to bankruptcy? That 

 is what I cannot understand. 



Mr. Kline. What I would say with regard to tobacco is that the 

 American farmer has recognized the peculiar conditions of tobacco 

 and supported a program which is satisfactory to handle that situa- 

 tion. 



Mr. CooLEY. We would face the same devastation in our area if we 

 dropped to 50 or 60 percent of parity. We cannot live on it. 



Mr. Kline. There are special recommendations in our presentation 

 with regard to tobacco, cotton, and peanuts. 



Mr. Pace. Mr. Kline, I do not like to disagree with you. You 

 are one of the ffreat farm leaders and vou are leading more farmers 



