976 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



Mr. Hardy. Let me correct that just a minute. This proposition 

 was injected into that meeting last night by me, and, so far as I know, 

 nobody had raised that question before. 



Mr. Case. On a compromise basis someone else, I believe — and I 

 believe it was you people — suggested a 10-year base. Someone else 

 suggested a 5-year base. We are now partly toward a comprornise 

 on 7 years. That is within a group who have had the information. 

 What about us who have not had the iiuormation? 



Mr. CooLEY. Now you do have it. This thing is very important. 

 It is perhaps more important to the men in this rooni than anything 

 that is going to happen in this Congress. Since it is of such great 

 importance, why could you not give a couple of days more to it while 

 you arc in Washington and while you can work together rather than 

 to go back home and be scattered all over the country and have 

 another big meeting and have all of you come back to Washington? 



Mr. Case. The chairman has under consideration the appointment 

 of a committee ojf 5. It is entirely possible that that committee of 5 

 can be left here to work out this formula. Yes I think most of the 

 men in this room, like myself, seem to be representing about 4 States. 

 I am sure I do not want to assume full responsibility in speaking for 

 the men from those 4 States without consulting some of the people 

 back home. 



Mr. CooLEY. On the other hand, you have to confess that it is 

 not going to take you 4 weeks to go back home and put the story 

 across to them and get the answer. , 

 Mr. Case. Possibly not 4 weeks. 



Mr. CooLEY. On this penalty, if you producers really want to do 

 what you say you want to do, and that is to keep down production, 

 to prevent a surplus of potatoes, I do not see why you would hesitate 

 to say, "Yes, we will penalize the fellow who will not go along with 

 us." For those who are going along, the penalty will not hurt them. 

 Mr. Case. Mr. Chairman, we have said we think the man who 

 refuses to go along should be penalized. There are different methods 

 of doing that. 



Mr. CooLEY. Are you going to penalize them by withholding some 

 insignificant support they are not interc'sted in? Wliy do you not 

 put one penalty per bushel or per acre? That is the way we would 

 do it. 



Mr. Case. There are different methods. Our recommendation of 

 marketing agreements is primarily an acreage-control program. It 

 is a 2-phase program. One is t.o give the consumer some help, and 

 the second is to hold back the noncomplying grower. In my own 

 area we have a marketing agreement in operation this year. All 

 men were required to keep their No. 2's at home. The man who was 

 in compliance tm-ned his over to the Government under the support 

 program. The man who was not in compliance could not ship his, 

 but neither could be turn them over to the Government. If you do 

 not think it hurts, you should have heard them squeal. 



Mr. Pace. Let me say this, Mr. Case: It should be understood 

 that I am speaking from the depths of ignorance, because I do not 

 know too much about the Irish potato business. 



It seems to me that the way to control Irish potatoes is tlirough 

 the marketing of the crop, through a marketing agreement. 

 Mr. Case. I agree with you, sir. 



