GENERAL FARM PROGRAM (TESTIMONY OF FARM 

 ORGANIZATIONS) 



SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1949 



House of Representatives, 



Subcommittee of the 

 Committee on Agriculture, 



Washington^ D. C. 

 The subcommittee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Stephen Pace (chairman), 

 presiding. 



Mr. Pace. The committee will i^lease come to order. 

 Gentlemen, it is the privilege of the committee this morning to hear 

 from the representative of another of onr great farm organizations, 

 the National Grange, and we have before us the Master of the Grange, 

 Mr. Albert Goss, and its legislative counsel. Dr. J. T. Sanders. They 

 both have statements and have suggested the advisability of both 

 completing their statements before questions are asked. 



Mr. Goss, it is a pleasure for the committee to hear you at this 

 time. 



STATEMENT OF ALBERT S. GOSS, MASTER, THE NATIONAL GRANGE 



Mr. Goss. Thank yon, Mr. Chairman. We appreciate the commit- 

 tee's making it possible for us to postpone our testimony and to meet 

 on a Saturday. I know what that means, and we certainly appreciate it. 



The problem before your committee is not new. Its essential fea- 

 tures have been a subject of study, discussion, and proposed legislation 

 for over 25 years. During the war, and immediate postwar years, 

 the issues were largely submerged due to wartime prices and Steagall 

 supports, but we have always realized that the problem was still with 

 us and would have to be faced sooner or later. We feel grateful to the 

 sponsors of legislation in both the Eightieth and Eighty-first Con- 

 gresses, and to the Secretary of Agriculture for the work done in 

 bringing the issues definitely to the fore, because we believe the ground 

 work laid, and full discussions will pave the way for sound compre- 

 hensive legislation designed to meet the problem which we have tem- 

 porized with so long. We do not think any of the proposals so far 

 made are fully sound or complete, but we believe that out of them 

 the connnittees will be able to develop a program that will do the job. 



Our immediate problem is to maintain abundant, well-balanced 

 production and equitable prices. It is complicated by many factors 

 including the large number and wide variety of products involved, 

 by the fluctuations in demand, the large number of producers, and 

 the vagaries of weather. We believe our failure to meet it success- 



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