610 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



Mr. PoAGE. We would not need it then. It is like haying a team 

 of horses as an alternative when yon have got an automobile handy. 



Mr. Hope. "Will the gentleman yield ? 



Mr. PoACxE. Yes, Mr. Hope. 



Mr. Hope. I think that the gentleman knows that I am not too much 

 sold on the Aiken bill, so far as that goes. Of course it is true, is 

 it not, that if the Aiken bill should go into effect it does not neces- 

 sarily mean the formula would have to be followed that the price, the 

 support price of basic commodities would immediately drop 50 percent. 



Mv. PoAGE. They would drop down to 72 percent first. 



Mr. Hope. The Secretary has the authority to make it 90 percent; 

 he can disregard the formula; the formula is only the minimum, as 

 far as that is concerned, and he cannot go below that, but he can go 

 up to 90 percent if he decides to do it, and it seems to me that in view 

 of the way the Aiken bill is written that is about the only way you 

 could have an effective bill if you have to wait until you find out 

 what the size of the crop is tg know what the price support is going to 

 be ; in any given year, if you have got to go right up until the begin- 

 ning of the next marketing year to make your announcement as to 

 the support price you are not going to have any shifts, are you? 



Mr. Davis. That is right. 



Mr. Hope. I think that one of the great deficiencies in the Aiken bill 

 is that it expects there will be shifts made in accordance with the sup- 

 port price level, and that the Secretary cannot publicly make an an- 

 nouncement of the support price until the crop is harvested, and it 

 means in effect, that as far as planting is concerned it does mean there 

 will be shifts. 



On the other hand if under the provisions of the bill the Secretary 

 could disregard the formula, as he can, then if he has to, and I think 

 he could have under the Aiken bill, I think he could set as a support 

 price 90 percent of parity. Is that your understanding ? 



Mr. Davis. Yes ; I think that a pretty good technique in the basic 

 commodities is to announce the percentage of parity support before 

 seeding, and then just prior to harvest determine by formula what this 

 is in dollars and cents ; I think you need to continue something like 

 that so the farmers will know what the percentage of support will be 

 before the harvest — or rather before they plant. 



Mr. Hope. Before they plant? 



Mr. Davis. Yes. 



Mr. PoAGE. But if you are to get those advantages which the gen- 

 tleman from Kansas, Mr. Hope, suggests through an interpretation 

 to be made by the Department of Agriculture, then you have a lot of 

 these alleged advantages that have been suggested for any alleged 

 control of production, by starving farmers to death at the same time 

 you decide to give them 90 percent. You have got to take one or the 

 other. 



Mr. Davis. Yes. 



Mr. PoAGE. Grant that the Aiken bill does allow that, here you are 

 setting up the Secretary of Agriculture as the sole dictator of the farm 

 program without any control over the program ; you set him up and 

 give him the authority to make decision as to what the price will be. 

 And unless you are going to give the Secretary that powder you have 

 to give it to the farmers. You have to make that choice ; you have got 



