AGRICULTURAL RELIEF COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, The committee this day met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Gilbert N. Haugen (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order. Mr. Yoakum, the committee will be pleased to hear from you. STATEMENT OF MR. B. F. YOAKUM, RIO GRANDE, TEX. Mr. YOAKUM. Mr. Chairman, do you want me to proceed with the discussion of cooperative marketing? The CHAIRMAN. Yes; the subject is cooperative marketing. Mr. YOAKUM. I have given a great deal of time to the problem of marketing farm products. I have studied the problem from every standpoint. I have given more attention, however, to the practical workings of agriculture in the marketing of agricultural products. I have studied the recent suggestions embodied in the reports that have been made by the President's conference and outlined, as I read it, in a bill introduced by Mr. Williams of Michigan. Mr. RUBEY. What is the date of that? He has introduced so many bills; his last bill was introduced on February 4. Mr. YOAKUM. This is the bill of January 28. I have not seen the bill of February 4. Was that changed? Mr. RUBEY. It makes some slight changes. Mr. YOAKUM. There are some that can be made. I should like to be permitted to discuss the marketing plan principally from that standpoint; and as I analyzed it, this bill would create a marketing board which would be the predominating or parent organization. Of course, there can only be one authority in any business, and this Federal marketing board would consist of five members, as you all know. Three members would be appointed by the President. One would serve one year, one would serve two years, and another three years, thus giving the farmers only a minority voice in the management of their business for three years and never a majority. The Federal marketing board would have general powers over the subsidiary organizations. Those would be the Federal marketing organization, the cooperative marketing organization, the terminal marketing organization, and the cooperative clearing house association. Those constitute the organizations, as it is proposed, to handle the business of the farmer. They grant a license, the same as all other institutions do where licenses are necessary to do business. With all that, of course, you are familiar. The three subsidiary organizations would then be organized under this Federal board. The members of two of these organization, the clearing house association and the terminal association, would consist of the same people who are to-day engaged in purchasing farm products at ruinous prices. These three subsidiary associations make their own rules, which would be approved by the parent organizations. The membership would be made up of persons, firms or corporations now engaged in the distribution of agricultural products. It does not make any discrimination against, or eliminate anyone engaged in any line of business, any corporation, or any firm doing the busines to-day and the taking of this unjust profit from the farmers is not eliminated. In fact, it places behind the present food speculators the power of the Federal Government, permitting them to carry out the same policies as prevail at present in handling farm products. There is nothing in this report which suggests any change whatever from the existing conditions and methods of handling farm products. The cooperative clearing house associations, and other subsidiary organizations of the Federal marketing board would establish standards and grades. These standards and grades are to be final. Once established and approved by this Federal marketing board, unless 60 per cent of the members of any commodity decide otherwise, those grades can not be changed or improved in any manner whatever. If they say that a potato has to be thus and so, it has to be that way. The grade is established under a Federal law. It would also investigate all matters concerning production and distribution, financing and consumption. If this report means what it says, that bill has just as much to do with consumption as it has to do with distribution. It is proposed here to give the Federal Government the power to say that the State of Minnesota shall produce 40,000,000 bushels of potatoes instead of 46,000,000 bushels, and the same is true of Maine and the rest of the States. I want to try and give you concrete ideas, if I can, for after all, farming is not different from steel or oil or any other business. The success of farming wholly and entirely depends on the amount of money a fellow can make out of his business; and you can not get around that. These cooperative clearing-house associations are organized by anyone. In that connection, reading over Mr. Williams's bill-not the last one; I have read three or four-he says that the clearing-house associations only have to do with distribution, and in answer to questions he says that none of these organizations are subject to examination unless they are members. Let me make myself clear on that point. The organization's books could be examined by Federal agents. Here is John Smith, who is a member of this organization. His books may be examined, but he may have a house in Chicago, or he may have a half a dozen houses that are not members of the organization. But they all come to John Smith. It is his business. He simply comes into this organization for the most powerful protection that any institution ever came in for, so far as Federal protection is concerned. But he does not make public his business; not at all. He may have a dozen houses. These organizations throughout the country who handle farm products are not going to be fooled in any way through what you may say in your legislation. There are so many loopholes in it. If this bill becomes a law to-day, they will commence to-morrow to find ways to defeat it, and they can defeat it in 40 different ways. It is rather an astounding fact, as I see it, that this membership of the clearing-house association should consist of or be open to all of the people who the American people complain have control of the products of agriculture. No law could be written that would rescue farming, if it contemplated placing the farmer and his business under the management of the Government. An analysis of the so-called administration bill shows that it is legislation by the interests who sit in at those meetings and have controlling power, the wholesalers, the brokers, the commission men, those protected interests who have the predominating control in the handling and marketing of the products of this country. It is those men who this commission in their report say shall manage this whole proposition. And that is followed out in Mr. Williams's bill. That is just what will be the result, if this law is enacted and carried out the way it is intended to be. This brings us down to the present situation of the farmer. This bill would so strengthen the oppressive powers who are now in control of prices paid to the farmers, that the farmers would be left with the choice of either losing their farms through foreclosure or deserting them. Both of those things are taking place very rapidly throughout the country. Foreclosures and desertions are becoming a very great and threatening menace to this country. They would be compelled, with their families, to suffer further humiliation, or surrender their independence as American citizens and submit to the dictatorial management of their business through Federal agencies. This stigma, once placed and passed upon agriculture, with 75,000 or 100,000 Government employees supplying political patronage, might cause trouble that none of us are now looking for, because it is becoming very serious. The farmers have reached the point where they are studying this business. They are watching what you gentlemen are doing. They are not organized commercially, but they are organized in a fraternal way. They hold their meetings and everything of importance that is done will go to 10,000 farm organizations. I am merely speaking generally. I do not know just how many there are. The Government says there are 10,000 and I do not know whether they are right or not. |