180 HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 
- national inspection of grain, when it is, on the contrary, an entirely 
educational affair. . 
Mr. Bowin. Then, at the present the attitude of the Department 
would be that they do not now want this sort of a bill passed? 
Mr. Covittz. The attitude of the Department, so far as I can speak 
for the Department, is that a uniform, precise inspection is necessary; 
that this inspection can besecured under present agencies by the chang- 
ing of their methods of inspection; that a national inspection is unde- 
sirable except as a last resort, if the present agencies refuse to change 
their present methods of inspection. 
Mr. Grarr. Would it be difficult to obtain grain for export that filled 
the requirements of the inspection which you propose? 
Mr. Coviiix. In seasons of bad harvest, or a bad ripening season, 
particularly for corn, it would be difficult to secure the proper amount 
of grain unless the grain was dry. There is no difficulty, however, in 
putting corn and other grain through a drying apparatus in enormous 
quantities and bringing it down to the proper moisture contents. 
Mr. Grarr. Is that done to any extent in this country now? 
Mr. Covittx. It is done at the port of New Orleans; it is done also 
in Chicago in the salvage grain which has been weighed in shipment. 
At the export ports of New York, Bultimore, and Boston there is no 
drying of grain. 
Mr. Grarr. Do you know what the prospect of the corn crop of the 
United States is? 
Mr. Covinue. I can not give you any figures; would prefer not to 
give you the figures. 
Mr. Scott. All of our meats intended for export are inspected by 
the Government; that is generally considered to be desirable, I 
believe. Why do you regard that as desirable, if you do, and should 
think it was not desirable to have the Government inspect grains 
intended for shipment? 
Mr. Covitue. Theoretically there is no reason why grain for export 
should not be inspected. The difficulties are in the matter of inspection. 
Mr. Scorv. if we continue to send grain to other markets which is 
not up to the standard, will they not demand an inspection of grain? 
The Cuarrman. They may. 
Mr. Scorr. What I was trying to get at was the reason why a Gov- 
ernment inspection of grain was not considered desirable. The fact 
that there are practical difficulties.in the way does not seem to be sufti- 
cient answer to that, if you will pardon me, because one of the pur- 
poses of the Department of Agriculture is to solve problems in the 
interest of the agricultural industries of the country. 
Mr. Covittx. One factor that has a bearing on it is the matter of 
expense, the expense of inspection of all the grain in the United States, 
export and interior inspection; the latter presumably would go in with 
the export inspection and would be very large. That inspection at the 
present time is borne by the trade. 
The Cuarrman. It ought to be borne by the trade, really. 
Mr. Covitte. Under the other system it would probably be borne 
by the-country. 
Mr. Scorr. Do you think of any other difficulty? 
Mr. Covitix. There are practicai difficulties. “One of the principal 
difficulties is the impossibility almost of not making an occasional 
mistake; and if a Government inspection should be established and a 
