GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 575 



been on the committee we have not had very much politics on the com- 

 mittee. 



Mr. Gk ANGER. I agree with you. 



Mr. Goss. I would like to say, Mr. Chairman, if Mr. Granger's re- 

 marks about whether this committee has done badly was because of 

 anything I said, or anything that I said that he thought was criticizing 

 the work of the committee, I am sorry, because I did not say that at all. 

 I feel that the committee has done an outstanding job ; I feel that this 

 committee has been very outstanding in avoiding politics. I have 

 been coming before this committee for 25 years, and I have found 

 support and opposition from both sides of the bench time and again, 

 and I just want to express our appreciation for the work the com- 

 mittee has done. I think you have subordinated politics right down 

 the line, and I want to express my appreciation for the work of the 

 committee. And I am sorry, Mr. Granger, if anything I said led you 

 to believe I was criticizing the work of the committee. 



Mr. Granger. No. What you said was something about keeping 

 the farmers away from politics. 



Mr. Pace. Mr. Hope. 



Mr. Hope. Mr. Goss, I simply want to say this, because I think we 

 do have a real problem here, in the fact that the Congress cannot legis- 

 late all of these details or specify how all the remedies must be used, 

 and because I think we do have to have a large number of remedies to 

 fit the various situations of agriculture, to cover the wide scope of its 

 activities, and because I question whether we want to give to any one 

 man all the power that would be necessary to enable him to apply the 

 remedies that might be necessary to meet the problems, and therefore 

 I look upon your suggestions with a great deal of favor. 



Xow I do not know that I agree with all the details of your proposal, 

 but I think the suggestions have a great deal of merit and I think they 

 should be considered by the committee. Now, as to the criticism which 

 has been made that this board would not be controlled altogether 

 by agriculture or by farmers, I would say this, that if there is anything 

 to that criticism it is something that could be remedied very easily, 

 and with nominations as the board is constituted it certainly could not 

 be kicking against agriculture. 



The extent that politics of this country is stacked against agriculture 

 can be gained from the fact that 19 percent of the people in the country 

 live on farms and produce farm commodities, and a far less percentage 

 than that are engaged in commercial farming, and those who are 

 actively producing the great bulk of the food and fiber that is con- 

 sumed by the people of this country would probably boil down to less 

 than 10 percent who would be farming, less than 10 percent, so that if 

 we are going to depend upon the farmers to secure justice by giving 

 him a superior number, if we are starting with the political question, 

 we are going to be met by the fact that at least 90 percent of the people 

 are interested in consuming rather than in producing agricultural 

 commodities. 



So I do not think that I am concerned so much about the way the 

 board you have suggested would be set up as I am about the farmers 

 of this country who are going to have to get along with consumers 

 some way. 



In other words, if they do not like the farm program they can throw 

 it out the window. And I have been concerned somewhat bv the 



