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STATISTICAL WORK IN BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS..

Mr. THURSTON. I see that for the Bureau of Agricultural Economics you have had an appropriation of $7,000,000. That amount has been reduced to $4,887,000. With the exception of the Forest Service and the Bureau of Animal Industry, that is the largest item in the estimate for the Department. Will it be possible to reduce the statistical endeavors over there, and probably apply their activities more to real research work? Would it not be better to have less statistics and more real research and scientific investigational work?

Secretary WALLACE. The only sound way to reduce the statistical work over there--and I do not think this would be a very sound waywould be to transfer it to the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, because there we need more statistics rather than less. Doing the kind of thing that we are doing in the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, we need more statistics. For that reason, the work of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics has been increased enormously. We have hired a number of men away from them to go into the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. It is over there that we have the kind of men that are required to do the new work that we are doing under the Agricultural Adjustment Administration.

The Agricultural Adjustment Administration is constantly calling upon them for assistance. They have the records that are required in the work of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. As long as we are engaged in that Agricultural Adjustment work, we need more of that kind of work rather than less.

CROP STATISTICAL REPORTS

Mr. HART. Along that line, Mr. Secretary, I want to call your attention to the activity of constantly changing statistics with reference to certain crops and issuing them. For instance, we will say that in the case of the potato crop, after you get the statistics of the total production and they are issued, you have a lot of people scattered around over the United States who keep on making more figures with reference to that crop. Perhaps there will be a freeze down South somewhere, and they will go to work immediately to prepare a statement of the balance on hand and a statement as to the shipments. They will get out a statement of the shipments and the balance on hand, and will issue a bulletin which does the farmer a considerable amount of damage. The farmer, as a rule, does not get it, he pays very little attention to it, but the big buyer of potatoes will take that bulletin and begin a bear propaganda for a reduction in the potato market. Of course, this is injurious to the farmer. Now, if you take the Michigan bean crop, the same thing is true.

Secretary WALLACE. I think a freeze might have the effect of increasing prices.

Mr. HART. A freeze ordinarily would have; but immediately following the freeze these people will go to work and compute the old crop. They will then put out a bulletin saying that there is more than enough potatoes to carry the market up to the coming of the early crop anyway. I have seen those bulletins, and they are not helping the farmers.

Secretary WALLACE. I do not know, but I have been under the impression that if there was any bias in the activities of the people over there, they would be on the side of leading to an increased price, rather than to a bear market.

Mr. HART. I am familiar with the situation in regard to the Michigan bean crop. They go to work and compile figures for the marketing season, and they may show an increase of 200,000 bags or 300,000 bags in Michigan, or an increase of a million bags for the entire crop during the season and it will affect the market, of course. The farmer pays little or no attention to it, but if the statement shows an increase of 1,000,000 bags throughout the United States, immediately that report goes to such concerns as A. & P., Campbell's Soup, Van Camp's, and so forth, and is given wide publicity in the grocery trade. That acts as a detriment and has a bearish influence upon the market. I think it has been said that this is helpful to the farmer, but the farmers do not use that sort of thing.

Secretary WALLACE. Both the farmer and the trade ought to know the facts at all times. It ought to help the farmer for the trade to know the changing facts so that the price will represent the true situation instead of a false one.

Mr. HART. The very fact that that information is put out is emphasized by those people who are interested in bearing the market. Mr. SANDLIN. Suppose we did not have anything at all. Then they could get out any sort of propaganda they wanted to.

Mr. HART. I am not questioning the final estimates on the crops. They are perfectly all right. It is these bulletins that are put out that do not do the farmer any good. If you are trying to raise farm prices, I do not believe in bringing out those things that are passed on by those who are endeavoring to influence the markets adversely to the farmer. That is the only use they make of them.

Mr. SINCLAIR. That sort of thing is much more pronounced in the grain trade than in the bean trade, and the big operators have their own special estimators who go all over my part of the country and give estimates on the wheat crop. We as farm dealers need the reliable information furnished by the Department of Agriculture.

The CHAIRMAN. That is what brought the estimating activities into existence.

Mr. HART. I think it is very proper to have that for crops that do not have exchanges.

Mr. CANNON. It seems to me that when statistics are issued they ought to be in a form in which they may be understood by the average farmer. Sometime ago I addressed a letter to the Department of Agriculture asking for comparative quotations on Northern wheat of a specific variety at Winnipeg and Minneapolis.

They sent me a very elaborate report which showed that every day covered by the quotation wheat sold higher at Minneapolis than at Winnipeg. I went over to the Congressional Library and took the daily quotations of the Chicago Tribune, which showed that for 2 years in succession there was not a day on which wheat did not sell higher at Winnipeg than it did at Minneapolis. I have been unable to reconcile these two statements. The Department explained that their prices were weighted. What is indicated by that?

Secretary WALLACE. Mr. Cannon, on questions of fact of that kind it ought to be easy to get together, and I should be glad if you would come down some time, when we can get hold of the man who deals with this particular thing, and we will dig into it; because figures of that particular sort happen to be a specialty of my own, and I would like to know all about it, if somebody is wrong.

I shall be happy to be at your disposal at any time.

DISTRIBUTION OF APPROPRIATIONS FISCAL YEARS 1932, 1933, 1934, AND ESTIMATES FOR 1935

Mr. SANDLIN. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

I think we will put in the record at this point the summary of appropriations and estimates which you have submitted.

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

Summary, Department of Agriculture funds (exclusive of Public Works, Agricultural Adjustment, and other emergency funds)

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B. Payments to States for agricultural extension work and State experiment stations.

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D. Total, ordinary activities, payments to States and special forestry

E. Road funds:

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26.9

9.3

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25.6

24.7

46.7

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15.6

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40.0

Budget estimate for ordinary activities for fiscal year 1935 includes decreases totaling approximately $4,500,000 in working funds below 1934 expenditure program and increases totaling approximately $1,700,000 covering restoration of 5 percent of the 15 percent pay cut in effect during fiscal year 1934.

68.6

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 1934.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

STATEMENTS OF DR. W. W. STOCKBERGER, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF PERSONNEL AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION; W. A. JUMP, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND BUDGET OFFICER; AND H. A. NELSON, CHIEF, DIVISION OF OPERATION, AND REAL ESTATE OFFICER

SALARIES, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

Mr. SANDLIN. We will now take up the Office of the Secretary. The first item is for salaries, and reads as follows:

For Secretary of Agriculture, Undersecretary, $10,000, Assistant Secretary, and for other personal services in the District of Columbia, and elsewhere, $548,560: Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to contract for stenographic reporting services, and the appropriations made in this Act shall be available for such purposes: Provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to expend from appropriations available for the purchase of lands not to exceed $1 for each option to purchase any particular tract or tracts of land: Provided further, That not to exceed $20,000 of the appropriations available for salaries and expenses of officers and employees of the Department of Agriculture permanently stationed in foreign countries may be used for payment of allowances for living quarters, including heat, fuel, and light, as authorized by the Act approved June 26, 1930 (U.S.C., Supp. VI, title 5, sec. 118a), but not to exceed $720 may be so used for any one person: Provided further, That no part of the funds appropriated by this Act shall be used for the payment of any officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture who, as such officer or employee, or on behalf of the Department or any division, commission, or bureau thereof, issues, or causes to be issued, any prediction, oral or written, or forcast with respect to future prices of cotton or the trend of same.

Mr. NELSON. The following statement is submitted for the record: Appropriation:

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Decrease, Budget 1935, compared with estimated obligations, 1934--

66, 462

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