GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 965 



forward, and they have tried to chart a constructive and reahstic 

 course which we in the industry can hve with. To all of us who have 

 met for 2 days, that course appears to elad in the direction of a low 

 support price. The reason we favor a low support price is manifold. 



It will give the consumer potatoes at a cheaper price. It will give 

 us a measure of protection, but not enough protection to make potato 

 production lucrative all over the country. It will, in a measure, give 

 us crop insurance. We dislike the word and the thought; but it will, 

 in a measure, do just that. It will do more than that. It will make 

 it inevitable that the acute problems of goals and relationships 

 between areas will work out by themselves because there is not enough 

 incentive. It was brought up this morning that we ought to have 

 penalties for exceeding quotas, and so forth. Gentlemen, if we can 

 get the support low enough, it will not be necessary to have penalties, 

 because potato production will not be sufficiently lucrative to entice 

 overproduction. We feel that we, the potato industry, are entitled 

 to an opportunity by the Congress, by the people of the United States, 

 to work out our problems in this way, in a way which we believe will 

 automatically alleviate the vast majority of our troubles. It is in 

 this vein that we have presented the evidence this morning and that 

 we have met for the last 2 days to try of work out an equitable solution 

 to our problems. It is not easy. We have potato men here, not 

 represented, but w^e represent the potato men from 40 States. We 

 can no more obtain a unanimous decision on many of these things 

 than you gentlemen in Congress. 



Our problem, the thing we are attempting to do, is to make potato 

 production equal, or slightly exceed, the demand. 



Mr. Pace. How low a support price do you mean? 



Mr. WiCKHAM. Of course we are talking of 60 percent, and it is 

 entu-ely within our conception to let the market seek its own level and 

 have compensatory payments. 



Mr. Pace. Let me talk to you about compensatory payments. 



Mr. WiCKHAM. Mr. Chairman, I am a country boy. 



Mr. Pace. I am quite sure you are a good American and that you 

 believe in efficiency and economy m government. 



Mr. WiCKHAM. Yes. 



Mr. Pace. You realize if you ask for compensatory payments for 

 potatoes that you naturally must agree that producers of each and 

 every other commodity have the same benefits; that is, that if the 

 dairy farmers want it, you would agree they should have it. 



Mr. WiCKHAM. That is right. 



Mr. Pace. As well as the producers of rice, tobacco, apples, oranges, 

 and rutabagas. Have you given any thought to the amount of your 

 tax burden by the adoption of that plan? 



Air. WiCKHAM. Mr. Chairman, so long as we can keep the support 

 price at a very low level, the tax burden will be very light because we 

 are not making potato production attractive. That is the whole basis 

 on which we put our argument. 



Mr. Pace. Wait right there. If the payment on potatoes is going 

 to be so small, why do you ask for it? 



Air. WiCKHAM. It is a payment that will cover our investment in the 

 crop and no more. We ar&seekmg our recompense on the markets of 

 this United States. We are not seeking any payment above the cost 

 of production. I believe that you know that potato production has 



