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litical pork-barrel projects." I happen to serve as chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Works for the Senate Appropriations Committee, and I can assure you that your statement is incorrect, sir.

Mr. MCSPARRAN. Maybe we view it in a different light from what you do.

The CHAIRMAN. You get it probably from charges by people who do not know.

Mr. McSPARRAN. What we are attempting to say here is this

The CHAIRMAN. I know what you are trying to say, but this porkbarrel stuff is what I thought I would call your attention to, and I could not leave it unchallenged. I know what you have in mind. Mr. McSPARRAN. All right, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Very well, thank you.

Mr. McSPARRAN. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Our next witness is Mr. William Smith. Will you give us your name in full, please, and your occupation?

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM T. SMITH II, ELMIRA, N. Y.

Mr. SMITH. I am William T. Smith, of Elmira, N. Y. I am a dairy and poultry farmer.

I consider it a great honor to be asked to testify at this hearing, and I am glad to be here.

As a poultry and dairy farmer I till 350 acres. Normally I have raised from 20 to 30 acres of wheat, which is fed to my poultry. Not only is the wheat an important ingredient of my poultry ration but the straw is necessary for bedding my 150 head of dairy cattle. In certain parts of my low valley land it is the only grain crop which I can use as winter and spring cover crop.

In 1953 the United States Government gave me a quota of 11 acres of wheat under a program of restriction on which I and thousands of other farmers were never allowed to vote because we weren't big enough. We did not have a quota of 15 acres.

It just makes you wonder how democratic this country is. It makes you begin to wonder how many dollars, or how many children you must have, or how big a house you must have before you will be allowed to vote in the next presidential election.

When I received my 11-acre quota of wheat I could not believe that in this free democratic country I could not raise a crop on my own land, in my own crop rotation, to feed and bed my own livestock.

The CHAIRMAN. May I state to you that the Senate passed a bill unanimously to give you relief. It is now before the House. I would suggest that you get after them.

Mr. SMITH. We have been.

So I planted my wheat as I always have and it covered my fertile lowland from the floods in the winter and spring; and in June came the Government inspectors and they measured my wheat-not once but three times. They walked around the field and they walked through the field, and they told me I had 28 acres and I must pay the Government $463 before I could feed the wheat to my own poultry.

I appealed my case before three different review committees and finally the third ruled in my favor. Three weeks later the Secretary of Agriculture called another hearing, brought a lawyer from Washington, and finally before a fourth committee I was convicted. It

made no difference that I was convicted on a law I had never been allowed to vote on; it made no difference that I purchased from the West about 15 tons a week of grain and grain byproducts to feed my livestock; nor did it make any difference that I consider wheat necessary to my soil management. I can pay the penalty, and probably will. My interest in this case is in the basic injustice and in the many farmers who may not be able to pay their fines. In 1954 there were over 10,000 farmers in New York State who planted over their quotas and over 500 of these are subject to fine.

I don't pretend to be Patrick Henry and I don't intend to throw tea in Boston Harbor, but I do demand that I be given an opportunity to vote on the law that condemns me.

There is too much Government in agriculture. The trend should be toward less Government help in agriculture. You cannot regulate farm prices by Government buying of surpluses. The huge holdings of agricultural products serve only to depress the prices for each succeeding year.

We in the poultry industry are particularly proud of our independence and its success. We have traditionally been willing to stand on our own feet and fight our own battles.

1954 was one of the worst years we in the poultry industry have experienced. Production was just too much for the market to absorb and prices were terribly low-down about 25 percent. It was really a tough year. Still poultrymen were almost unanimous in asking the Government to stay out of the picture; and they did. Thank God.

The adjustment was rough, but it was quick. And right now the one bright spot in the farm picture is the poultry industry. Why? Because that simple law of supply and demand was allowed to operate and the Government stayed out. If that simple law will operate for chickens it will operate for wheat, corn, cotton, or anything. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you.

Senator AIKEN. May I say to Mr. Smith, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Senate did everything possible to get that provision which prohibits the farmer from growing enough wheat for his own use out of the law. The House Agricultural Committee refused to take action on it. It is one of the most unfair provisions of law that we have on the books today. It ought to be repealed.

Mr. SMITH. We hope it will. Thank you.

Senator HOLLAND. I do not want you to be too blue. Poultry is not the only bright spot in the agricultural picture. There are a great many brighter spots. In most instances they are spots where there is no Government price support. As, for instance, in many of the tree fruit crops and many of the vegetable crops, and many, many others, which I could mention if time would permit.

Mr. SMITH. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you again.

Our next witness is Mr. Talmage. We want to hear about the potato farmers plight.

Will you give us your name for the record in full, please.

STATEMENT OF FERRIS G. TALMAGE, EAST HAMPTON, N. Y.

Mr. TALMAGE. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, my name is Ferris G. Talmage, and I reside at East Hampton, Long Island, which is the home of Home Sweet Home.

I think, gentlemen, that we certainly have heard about a lot of milk. We have certainly heard a lot about milk in upstate New York. I want to assure you that we have a lot of potatoes on Long Island.

I will eliminate reference to any page in this statement which you gentlemen have already heard and get down to the statement referring to the number of farms in our county, which is approximately 1,000. On those farms there are some 1,200 growers who will this year grow an acreage of 50,000 acres, and have produced some 15 million bushels of potatoes.

The plight which these men find themselves in is one of disaster. Approximately 400 growers are faced with extinction. We do not know the exact number.

There are about 400 other growers who will certainly have to revise their borrowing schedule come 1956. And there are approximately one-third of the number who can stand another year or two of low prices.

The condition which prevailed on Long Island in August was that we had a labor situation there in our warehouses. We have some 32 dealers who handle this crop.

The early crop did not move from the island as normally, leaving the north side of the island, which is the riverhead to orient section, that area which does not have sufficient storage to store this crop, completely at a standstill. In other words, potatoes did not move in that area.

So that the crop which normally moved in July and August did not move. And in some cases this crop is still in the ground.

When the market did open, it opened up around 50 cents a hundredweight, which is 30 cents a bushel. Getting that down to 1 hundredweight, the average crop approximately 200 bags to the acre, would give those growers an approximate income of $100.

The cost sheet which you have there shows the very lowest cost of production on the island at around $335, which does not take into consideration the depreciation and many other items which could be put in there. So the approximate loss, based on potatoes which have been sold to date is $200 per acre. The price today on the island is $90 on cobblers and on Katahdins is $115.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you ever checked the price to the consumer in the New York stores? How much do they pay there?

Mr. TALMAGE. The A. & P. yesterday were getting 48 cents for 10 pounds.

The CHAIRMAN. That is $4.80. And you are getting what on the farm?

Mr. TALMAGE. We are paying the growers $1.15 for Katahdins. We do not know what the ultimate outcome will be of the potatoes in storage. One-third of the total crop, perhaps as high as 5 million bushels, is in storage.

Those men are hoping, but we are encountering loss from rot, stem end trouble, which is taking in some cases whole bins, and have to dump it. So it is a rather gloomy picture. These men are thoroughly discouraged.

The CHAIRMAN. You are giving us the problem. Have you anything to suggest as to the solution?

Mr. TALMAGE. There will be meetings coming along on the island. We have no definite statement coming from any group yet.

My own idea would be a program with a floor with rigid bushel allotments, comparing it somewhat to an open road. Here is an open road. The man has money to buy an automobile, but he does not go out and get that automobile and drive it on the road, regardless of lights. He buys his car. When he comes to a stop light, he certainly stops. I think the condition is similar in the potato business.

The man with the capital and the land to grow these potatoes, with all due respect to him, it is a free country, but you have a lot of younger growers, a lot of inbetween people who have held on.

Our section is approximately a 50-acre proposition. In other words, 50 acres, 60 acres of potatoes, a family-sized farm. Many of these men, that is all they know. They want to stay there. They feel that in fairness to everyone there should be some sort of limit.

The other potato program was not entirely satisfactory. I helped administer that somewhat. I repeat that it was not entirely satisfactory.

I think that our farmers generally are getting to a point where they want to work with the Government, the various agencies of the State and the United States Department of Agriculture people, to work out an honest-to-goodness program. I believe through a National Potato Council that that will be forthcoming.

I know that a lot of time and thought is going to be given to it in the immediate future. I know that you gentlemen are thoroughly aware of the workings of the National Potato Council. I feel that out of that in Chicago will come the foundation of a permanent and lasting program which I believe will help our growers.

The CHAIRMAN. When will the council meet?

Mr. TALMAGE. I think it is the 28th and 29th in Chicago.

The CHAIRMAN. Of this month?

Mr. TALMAGE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. All right. I presume they will offer some suggestions?

Mr. TALMAGE. Yes, sir, I think so.

Senator AIKEN. Mr. Talmage, had the unions not refused to handle your potatoes, what price could you have gotten for them last July and August?

Mr. TALMAGE. It is a little bit dubious if we could have gotten too much more. You had the overlap in Delaware and Jersey which was not cleaning up, which was going on the market. You had that terrific heat wave which did cut the consumption of potatoes tremendously.

Senator AIKEN. During the time that you could not deliver your potatoes to the New York market, and this would be, I expect, in September, did Maine potatoes move in and take over some of your markets?

Mr. TALMAGE. No.

Senator AIKEN. Because you could not deliver?

Mr. TALMAGE. No.

Senator AIKEN. I heard that report.

Mr. TALMAGE. Maine has only come on in the last week or two with about 150 acres a day. They did not move before.

Senator AIKEN. They did not move in on you at that time?
Mr. TALMAGE. That is right. They will come in soon now.

Senator AIKEN. Here is another thing that I would like to know. Why is it that on the commodity market potatoes are quoted at $2.06 a hundred, yet you have to sell them for 69 cents a bushel? Do the stores actually pay those futures prices? This is for November potatoes. I noticed $2.05 or $2.06 a hundred. That certainly represents the cost of growing and probably just a little over, but you do not get it. You cannot get it.

Mr. TALMAGE. That is right. I have a son-in-law who works for the A. & P. which is certainly a reputable outfit. They are moving a tremendous volume from our area and paying, of course, the same competitive price. Their markup on 1 day's operation in the plant in which he works, just on 10 pounds alone, 70 cents per bag, is about $2,800-markup over and above what they pay the store.

Senator AIKEN. They can point to the futures price, November potatoes, as justification for that markup?

Mr. TALMAGE. Then of course, they took those potatoes through their own stores-I do not know what markup that was.

Senator AIKEN. Do not these reports coming out in the New York Times every day-potatoes, $2.05 a hundred-hurt you?

Mr. TALMAGE. It certainly does.

Senator AIKEN. And gives every dealer an invitation for an unwarranted markup?

Mr. TALMAGE. We are putting potatoes on the piers in New York today at $1.65 f. o. b. That is United States No. 1 size.

Senator AIKEN. It struck me last spring that there was unmerciful speculation in potatoes, as well as in onions. If there is anything under Heaven that can be done about it, I should like to know it. If the farmer is getting 69 cents per bushel for potatoes, there is no reason why the consumer should pay 7 times that.

The CHAIRMAN. This is not peculiar to potatoes. You have a lot of other products for which the farmer gets little or nothing, and the consumer pays through the nose.

Senator AIKEN. Speculation is getting out of hand in several commodities.

The CHAIRMAN. I want to thank you. Your entire statement will be made a part of the record at this point.

(The prepared statement of Mr. Talmage as is follows:)

Long Island has an area of 1,373 square miles with a population of more than 4,900,000 people, which is approximately 40 percent of the total population of New York State. Long Island is the only salt-water section of the Empire State. It produces and markets seafood to the extent of $3 million annually. This includes edible fish to the extent of 34 million pounds, some 6 million pounds of oysters or 13 percent of the total value of all oysters produced in United States waters, 10 percent of all hard and soft clams and its bay scallops, which epicures pronounce the best run into a half-million-dollar industry.

We wish to present for your consideration facts concerning the major agricultural county of the island [Suffolk] and one of the largest food-producing counties in our Nation. Our income is secured from many products and the statement often heard that we are dependent for our income only upon the potato crop is untrue.

Suffolk County has been blessed with a soil and climate that is remarkable. Potatoes by their nature and growth requirements fit into nature's scheme here to perfection. Through the years, our growers have learned how to grow and handle potatoes efficiently and they have large investments in machinery, buildings, and equipment. Our county grew 4,200 acres of potatoes in 1875; 10,000 acres in 1900, and approximately 21,000 acres in 1920; 55,000 acres in 1955. Many of these years were not gainful but always was present the urge to

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