1034 . GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



So, it seems to me that here is one of those things about which 

 something must be done and should be done, not only in justice to 

 agriculture, which of course takes high place, but also in justice to 

 the Nation's needs for strategic materials of this kind, and even 

 though it is not in short supply, it is capable of long storage, for years, 

 as I understand, without deterioration and is therefore unlike some 

 of the other strategic materials which are not capable of that kind of 

 storage. 



Without being critical, and certainly I do not want to appear to be 

 critical when we are all trying to do the best we can, I just want to 

 say that in my judgment either the Munitions Board was wrong, or 

 the Commodity Credit Corporation is wrong — the Munitions Board 

 in its decision not to further stock pile, or the Commodity Credit 

 Corporation in its decision of May 1948, not to maintain any additional 

 support price, because while at the same time the Munitions Board 

 has decided not to make further purchases, for the purpose of stock 

 piling, and the Commodity Credit Corporation has ceased to maintain 

 a support price, it is admitted by all that this is a critically strategic 

 material which could, of course, get in short supply. 



Now we are, of course, at this point in the Gillette subcommittee of 

 trying to see what could be done in the general field of fats and oils. 

 But I am glad Mr. Colmer has introduced this bill. We have intro- 

 duced similar legislation in the Senate as one of the possible methods 

 of approach to the solution of this problem, and that is by way of 

 continuing the price support on a parity basis, or a base calculated 

 on parity. 



And I entirely agree with the question of one of the members of the 

 committee a few moments ago that of course we have to be realistic; 

 we have to give comparable treatment to all industry of relatively 

 equal importance in this strategic supply field. 



Without trying to develop the point further, it seems, Mr. Chair- 

 man, that one or two things should go forward with speed. In view 

 of the critical condition of the industry, and in view of the admitted 

 fact that they are producing a strategic material which might even 

 get in short supply if the groves are permitted to go down, and one of 

 those two approaches is to bring in some development either by way of 

 greater encouragement for the purchase of a supply that is admittedly 

 a strategic material — and you will find in Mr. Prichard's report figures 

 giving the averages, which show that for the last 2 years diu-ing the 

 war the Government purchased the entire output. Was it only for 

 2 years, Mr. Prichard? 



Mr. Prichard. I think it was only for 2 years. 



Senator Holland. I believe it was 2 years that the full output was 

 purchased, when the support programs were in vogue, through the 

 production year 1947 which stretched over into 1948. 



The only thing of which I have been critical as yet — and of course 

 we all realize that hindsight is better than foresight — is that the 

 Commodity Credit Corporation did, after declaring in May of 1948 

 decide not to have another support-price program for the year which 

 was then beginning, but it did place upon the market at a reduced 

 price immediately, and as I recall from May through November — ■ 

 and perhaps there may have been some cause for that — the product 

 which it had just bought and at a price possibly lower than the stock 

 pile price paid by the Munitions Board, so that instead of helping the 



