884 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



mony, there is the provision for the formation of a Farmers National 

 Council. It would be farmer elected. It would be much as we have 

 now in the Triple A set-up, except that instead of being chopped off 

 at the county level, with the farmers having nothing to say about 

 any of the administrative organization above that level, it would 

 be farmer-elected right up to the doorstep of the Department of 

 Agriculture. 



I have only one suggestion that I would like to make, and that is 

 that in whatever temporary farm legislation that is enacted that such 

 a farmer organization be immediately created, that is, provisions 

 made for its election, and that it be charged by Congress with working 

 out recommendations for a permanent self-sustaining program admin- 

 istered by the farmers within limits set up by Congress to protect the 

 general welfare. If parity is not fair, make it fair. Then give them 

 100 percent of parity on each farmer's share of normal domestic con- 

 sumption, and whatever the surplus brings as surplus, creating the 

 machinery for a surplus disposal ])rogram to be self -financing. 



In my prepared statement I have a brief list of the suggested points 

 which such a recommendation frorfi this national council would cover, 

 and that is all I have to say extemporaneously. I appreciate the 

 opportunity to talk to this committee, and I wish you luck. 



Mr. Pace. We are delighted to have the opportunity to hear you, 

 Mr. Ronald. You wanted included with your statement the two bills 

 that you referred to? 



Mr. Ronald. Yes, I have everything all clipped together there. 



Mr. Pace. We want you to continue to work with the committee, 

 because you do have a rather good comprehension of what our problems 

 are. 



Mr. RoxALD. I don't except that I have talked to a lot of farmers, 

 and I would like to add this: When I started out in 1945, this was more 

 or less of another newspaper assignment to me, but as I got into it, I 

 was amazed b}^ the intelligence and the innate decency of the American 

 farmer, and I think if we will just trust our farm programs to him, we 

 will come out with much better programs than if we get them purely 

 from the economists and farm leaders in the Department of Agricul- 

 ture. 



Mr. Pace. Let me say I think it is the view of this committee that 

 so far as possible we would like for the farm program to be farmer- 

 presented, farmer-administered, to the fullest extent possible. That 

 is the way we feel about it. That is the way I feel about it. 



Mr. Ronald. By farmer presented, do you include farm organiza- 

 tions as farmer presented? 



Mr. Pace. My attitude is, Mr. Ronald, that I give consideration 

 to the recommendations of the farm organizations to the extent that 

 I believe it reflects the views of the men out on the farms, and no 

 further. 



Mr. Ronald. Of course, how far it reflects those views is a moot 

 question. 



Mr. Pace. In keeping with that view, I do not think any farm 

 organization that ercommends the Agricultural Aot of 1948 has any 

 immediate contact with the farmers of this country, because they do 

 not want it. 



Mr. Ronald. On that you are 100 percent right, in my opinion. 



