AGRICULTURAL RELIEF COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Gilbert N. Haugen (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The first witness this morning is Mr. Sapiro. STATEMENT OF MR. AARON SAPIRO, REPRESENTING THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FARMERS' COOPERATIVE MARKETING ASSOCIATIONS Mr. SAPIRO. Mr. Chairman, I speak here this morning as the representative of the National Council of Farmers' Cooperative Marketing Associations, which is an organization made up of growers' associations marketing quite a few commodities, such as cotton, tobacco, wheat, rice, vegetables, dried fruits, and other products. The membership of these cooperative marketing associations in the national council is something in excess of 615.000 growers, all of whom are actually signed members of cooperative marketing organizations marketing products of their members only at this time. Mr. ASWELL. Are you connected with any wholesale houses, distributers or dealers? Are you personally connected with any of the wholesale houses? Mr. SAPIRO. I am counsel for the cooperative marketing associations only. Mr. ASWELL. You are not connected with any New York house at all? Mr. SAPIRO. No. I do not know just what the chairman desires. me to discuss; whether he desires me to discuss the full report of the President's agricultural conference, or just this submitted proposed legislation which I have in the form of a bill introduced by Mr. Williams on January 28, 1925. The CHAIRMAN. This is on the subject of cooperative marketing legislation. Mr. ASWELL. Mr. Williams introduced another bill since that time. Mr. KINCHELOE. I imagine we have been discussing the Williams bill, because Mr. Merritt said the other day it would represent the views of the agricultural conference and their recommendations made to the President on the subject of cooperative marketing. Mr. SAPIRO. I have very carefully gone through the reports made by the President's agricultural conference, and I note that their suggestions on cooperative marketing legislation are parallel to the suggestions embodied in the bill introduced by Mr. Williams, and therefore if I discuss the Williams bill it will simply be because it covers the subject matter of the recommendations of the President's agricultural conference. But before I come to that specific bill I would like to say a word in reference to credit amendments. I note that the report of the agricultural conference discusses the necessity for a unified credit system and suggests certain amendments to our financial charter, so to speak. Speaking for the marketing associations, for which I am counsel, and constant counsel, I want to say we are not having a single bit of trouble with any credit, so far as marketing is concerned. On the contrary, I have never seen anything more amazing than the fine way in which the intermediate credit banks, as they are now organized, and the regular banking channels have gone out of their way to devise ways and means and adjust conditions so they can help the marketing of these farm products. For example, take associations like the Texas Farm Bureau Cotton Association. They are borrowing money this year for their orderly marketing at 4 per cent, and they are getting it in unlimited quantities. They are not only getting whatever they need from their intermediate credit banks, but banks in New York, St. Louis, and all intermediate points are soliciting those accounts. The so-called central bankers, the bankers in the larger cities, have shown themselves to be absolutely in line with the right efforts of the farmers to help themselves. They have never withheld credit, and they have provided the cheapest credit I have ever conceived of for agricultural purposes. Mr. RUBEY. Do your remarks apply to the cattle people through the central West? Mr. SAPIRO. Whenever they have something which justifies the credit they can get credit. I am particularly speaking on the one point, where they need some help. Mr. ASWELL. The Louisiana Farm Bureau has borrowed money during the past year at 3 per cent. Mr. SAPIRO. Yes; I happen to be counsel of that association. That is the low-water mark in the United States. Mr. TINCHER. Are you familiar with the fact that the agricultural conference only recommended an amendment to the intermediate credit banking law to afford credit to the livestock grower who is absolutely denied credit under the present operation of the intermediate banks? Mr. SAPIRO. The point they overlooked was this, that the field which needs help in credit is not the marketing field at all, even in the case of livestock. It is the production field, and for that particular thing a particular kind of credit must be evolved. It is not only in connection with livestock matters that this condition exists, but other commodity growers of the country are having trouble with production credit. The CHAIRMAN. The trouble is with the collateral offered, is it not? Mr. SAPIRO. No: in some cases the trouble is with the attitude of the small country bankers, who are much closer to the country buyers than with the growers' interests. |