GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 975 



potato program. It is the most controversial thing we have here 

 right now. It is controversial for the reason that there has been a 

 trend away from the east coast to the west coast. I think my friend 

 from North Carolina and his group have tried to reconcile the differ- 

 ences and to compromise and to take into consideration a period within 

 which the trend was to the west and a period within which the growth 

 of potatoes was to a greater extent on the east coast and even it up so 

 as to be fair. Under the formula suggested here, the west coast 

 growers are given a definite advantage. They were increasing the 

 production of potatoes out there and intensifying their efforts at a 

 time when the east coast growers were trying to cooperate with the 

 war effort and divert their potatoes and hold them out of production, 

 and other things. 



Mr. White. Mr. Chakman, would you mind if I interrupt there? 

 We do not want to create that kind of an impression. We increased 

 the production for wartime needs at Government request. 



Air. CooLEY. You all overdid the job out there. 



Mr. Case. Mr. Chairman, in answer to your question, the proposal 

 that Mr. Wescott and the others have made here came to us almost 

 out of a clear sky this morning. 



Mr. Cooley. I realize that. 



Mr. Case. The boys from this specific group have been thinking 

 about it for a long time and they have figured out their position in 

 their States. The rest of us have not. Members of the potato 

 division were with us this noon. , We asked them how long it would 

 take to get comparable figures for all States so that the rest of us 

 could see just what was involved in that formula. 



Mr. Cooley. ^Vhile you are here in Washington, I might suggest 

 that you go to the Department of Agriculture and the boys down there 

 can be of a great deal of assistance to you and I think they can aid 

 you in applying this formula so you will know just where you will 

 come out. 



Mr. Case. We asked thm how long it would take, and they said 

 it would take at least 3 days to develop the figures. 



Mr. Cooley. That is 3 days. Suppose you took 10 days and told 

 Mr. Pace you would come back 10 or 15 days from now. You would 

 have a chance, then, to get something done. If you wait 30 days, as 

 he pointed out a moment ago, we will get into the hot summertime 

 and in the last few weeks of the session, and the chances are you will 

 go into next year without any change in the program. 



Mr. Hardy. Mr. Chairman, mayd inject a thought? In the first 

 place, I do not see why it would take the Department of Agriculture 

 3 days to give a complete analysis of the situation. Certainly they 

 have all the figures down there. It is merely a matter of adding them 

 up and dividing them. That is obvious. The second thing I would 

 like to question is whether we are going to establish a formula on a 

 basis of what is equitable and just and proper or whether we are 

 going to establish a formula on the basis of what it is going to do to 

 some particular State. I think that is a major question that ought 

 to be decided. 



Mr. Case. Mr. Hardy, I think yoiu" group came up here with a 

 planned formula. 



91215 — 49— ser. u, pt. 5 15 



