1058 GENERAL FARM PROGRAM 



and the other groves in this country risked their capital in this uncertain enter- 

 prise, the United States would have been denied the use of a critical material in 

 World War II. If they are now denied relief, we will stand a good chance of being 

 denied the use of a critical material in event of a future war. 



Mr. CoLMER. We have Mr. J. S. Wight, a tung grower of Cairo, Ga. 

 STATEMENT OF J. S. WIGHT, TUNG GROWER, CAIRO, GA. 



Mr. Wight. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, may 

 I just call your attention to three situations we have had. The 

 highest price we have ever had for tung oil was in 1935, when there 

 was no control and no artificial restriction at all. The price of tung 

 oil went to 45 cents a pound. This was due to a condition in China 

 whereby they either used it themselves or it was not available to this 

 country, and they made us pay through the nose for what we did 

 get, the highest price we have had during any of the wars. 



In 1932 and 1933 the Amtorg Trading Co. came tlu'ough south 

 Georgia and north Florida, and bought all of the seed they could get, 

 and it was brought out here this morning that the Russians are the 

 second largest producers of tung nuts. We know this country has 

 been generous to Russia, and we know that they have gone back on 

 promises that they made to our Presidents, and if we put our faith 

 in the Russians, we are certainly treading on dangerous ground to 

 think that they will be good to us, and if they control any part of 

 the tung market, and we need it, we will certainly pay for it tlirough 

 the nose, if we take the basis of what they have done in the past. 



Mr. Pace. With regard to the manganese, haven't they taken that 

 contrary to the best interests of this country? 



Mr. Wight. That is my understanding from reading the paper. 



It was brought out here this morning that the British are spending 

 $5,000,000 or more to establish a tung industry in their various pos- 

 sessions in Africa and New Zealand and in Australia. Mr. Andresen 

 brought out the proposition this morning maybe we are paying for 

 it. I think maybe he has the same opinion of the British that I have. 



I am not questioning our goodness to them. I think they have 

 helped us and they needed our help. At the same time I think both 

 their diplomats and their businessmen are cold-blooded hard traders. 

 If we were good enough to establish them in it, and if we got caught 

 in a tight, I may be judging them, I think they are cold-blooded, 

 they treat us just like they did in the rubber industry. 



Mr. Pace. They are using our money to develop 300,000 acres of 

 peanut lands down there in Africa, too. 



Mr. Wight. That is right. So that historically if in our altruism 

 this country has been good to every country we have beep good to, 

 so far as tung is concerned, they have shown us in one way or the 

 other that they are not going to help us. So that if I am not too 

 harsh in my statement, I think this country and this American people 

 in this Congress, you might say if we haven't got sense enough to 

 be selfish, we should help those people all right, but we haven't 

 gotten sense enough to be selfish if we can't take care of a needful 

 domestic industry, when all of the facts show that I believe Mr. 

 Pritchard testified that our actual support program that we had 

 before was one that cost $317,000. 



Mr. Prichard. It was $327,000. 



