GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 997 



All right, you may say, if they cannot produce in competition with 

 Chinese oil why not let them go out of business, let them take their 

 losses and write it off? 



My answer to that is that first this country needs it. These people 

 have their money invested in it; they were encouraged by the Govern- 

 ment to go into this industry, and the country needs it, and will need 

 it in the future. The country needs it in the domestic trade, and it 

 is needed in its national defense. 



Now, I want to develop this thought just briefly. Of course, we 

 are all hoping that we are not going to have war with Russia, and 

 franldy I do not think we will have war with Russia in the immediate 

 future. But we know the attitude of the Soviet Republic. I do not 

 have to give this committee any treatise on that subject. Here is 

 what I apprehend, that the Soviet Republic is going to permit the 

 Chinese to export this oil just so long as the Soviet Republic wants 

 them to do so and so long as it is to their interest to do so. It is just 

 a question of days now when the Soviet Republic is going to be, that 

 is, when the Communists are going to be in control of China and then 

 we will be caught in this country without any production unless we 

 are given some encouragement and some support at the hands of the 

 Government, if Russia sees fit to cut us off. 



We had a support price on this oil for 1 year, under the broad 

 authority that the Secretary has, when Secretary Anderson was in 

 office. Secretary Anderson recongized, among other things, that this 

 was a strategic war material. I had many, many conferences with 

 him, as did other Members of Congress, from the tung growing belt. 

 He gave us a support price of 25 cents for the year 1948. 



And, I want to say this, because — and I do not and am not casting 

 any aspersions, but I think I owe it to this committee and to the 

 industry to make this statement — that just before Secretary Anderson 

 retired from office I went down there and had a conference with him. 

 Secretary Anderson called in the heads on that subject from his 

 Department. This was in the spring, I guess it was, of last year —or 

 in the summer, maybe, and I have forgotten exactly when he retired — 

 and Secretary Anderson said in my presence to these gentlemen, that 

 he thought we should have this support price. And I am not attempt- 

 ing to quote him verbatim, but he asked the gentleman in the Depart- 

 ment to work it out. We thought we were going to have it. Secretary 

 Anderson went out, and the support price for tung went out. 



Now, the Government bought some of this oil, and there are those 

 here who can tell you how much it bought, and what it cost. 



Mr. Pace. It took it over at the support price? 



Mr. CoLMER. It necessarily took it over under the support program, 

 and it may have to buy some more, that is, under a new support pro- 

 gram, if you give us a support price. We just as well be frank about 

 that, but after all what is a support price for? That is what it stands 

 for, if I understand anything about the purpose of the support 

 program. 



But, gentlemen, bear you in mind that just about the time this oil 

 was marketed — and I use the word " dump" for want of a better word — 

 there was a great deal of this oil being dumped on the market from 

 China, and we have been, in this industry, at the mercy, if you please, 

 of the importers in this country. They can import it when they want 

 to or not import it when they want to and thus control the price. 



