Mr. McNARY. Mr. President, I ask the attention of the Senator from Kansas [Mr. McGill] and the Senator from Idaho [Mr. Pope].
On page 28, where the bill discusses unfair agricultural practices, it provides:
It shall be an unfair agricultural practice for any farmer • • • to market wheat or corn in excess of his farm marketing quota.
Again, when I look at the cotton provision, I find that the cotton farmer is treated more tenderly than the producer of wheat and corn. The bill provides:
The willful marketing in interstate or foreign commerce of cotton produced on a farm for which a quota has been established • • • is hereby prohibited.
When I look at the next page, page 38, I notice the language "any person knowingly" purchasing or selling cotton, or "persons who knowingly sell cotton grown on acreage not included," and so forth.
Mr. President, as I recall. in my early days in college, a good many years ago, the word "willfully" implied an intent to do wrong. "Knowingly" meant to do a thing with the knowledge that one was doing wrong. A cotton man must do a thing willfully before he is subject to a penalty. The cotton farmer must knowingly do a wrong thing to be guilty of unfair practice. But again, when it comes to the wheat and corn man—and I think this is my eleventh specification of respects in which they are discriminated against—if the wheat man or a corn man does a thing prohibited by the bill, whether he does it willfully or knowingly or not, he is guilty of an unfair practice. Does that not make an appeal to the Senator from Idaho [Mr. Pope] that the corn and wheat man ought to have in the provision relating to corn and wheat the language?—
It shall be an unfair agricultural practice for any farmer willfully to market wheat or corn in excess of a farm marketing quota.
Mr. POPE. I agree with the Senator thoroughly, and if he is offering that amendment I accept it immediately.
Mr. McNARY. I am very happy that this time I was able to convince the Senator of some of the foibles and mistakes in the bill.
Mr. BARKLEY. Mr. President——
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. La Follette in the chair). Does the Senator from Oregon yield to the Senator from Kentucky?
Mr. McNARY. I yield.
Mr. BARKLEY. I do not wish to object to the offering of that amendment, but under the rule it is not now in order. It may be in order at the proper time.
Mr. McNARY. Very well. If it is not in order, I do not want to infringe upon the rule. I withdraw the amendment, but I give notice that at the proper time I shall once more try to see that the wheat and corn man is put on a fair footing with the cotton man.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the pending committee amendment.
Mr. AUSTIN. Mr. President, will the Senator from Idaho [Mr. Pope] submit to another question about this matter? I ask the Senator if he will not accept, when the time is appropriate to do it, the addition of one word in line 16-that is, the word "such", after the word "any", so that it would read:
It shall be a violation of law for any farmer knowingly to engage in any such unfair agricultural practice.
Mr. POPE. The Senator proposes to insert the word "knowingly"?
Mr. AUSTIN. That was the offer of the Senator from Oregon. I am offering just the word "such", so that in this paragraph we shall not have the creation of a new offense. Will the Senator accept that amendment?
Mr. POPE. Certainly; I think that is a very appropriate amendment.
Mr. BARKLEY. Mr. President, let me again suggest that these are amendments to the text of the bill.
Mr. AUSTIN. I know it.
Mr. BARKLEY. We are operating under an agreement to consider committee amendments first. It seems to me we ought to finish those amendments before we discuss amendments to the text. We are making practically no progress here, even on committee amendments; and it seems to me we ought to wait to amend the text until we get to that point.
Mr. AUSTIN. I accept the suggestion of the Senator from Kentucky.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment reported by the committee.
The amendment was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will state the next committee amendment.
The next amendment was, on page 29, line 10, after the word "the", to strike out "Atorney" and insert "Attorney", so as to read:
(c) Whenever, after investigation, the Secretary has reason to believe that any farmer has engaged in any unfair agricultural practice that affects interstate or foreign commerce and so certifies to the appropriate district attorney of the United States, it shall be the duty of the district attorney, under the direction of the Attorney General, to institute a civil action in the name of the United States for the recovery of the penalty payable with respect to the violation.
The amendment was agreed to.
The next amendment was, on page 29, line 15, before the word "from" to strike out "major agricultural commodities" and insert "wheat or corn" so as to read:
(d) Any person engaged in the business of purchasing wheat or corn from farmers or of processing such commodities for farmers shall from time to time, on request of the Secretary, report to the Secretary such data and keep such records as the Secretary finds to be necessary to enable him to carry out the provisions of this section. Such data shall be reported and such records shall be kept in accordance with forms which the Secretary shall prescribe. For the purpose of ascertaining the correctness of any report made or record kept, or of obtaining data required to be furnished in any report but not so furnished, the Secretary is hereby authorized to examine such books, papers, records, accounts, correspondence, contracts, documents, and memoranda as are relevant and are within the control of the person. Any person failing to make any report or keep any records as required by this subsection shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000.
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I should like to ask the Senator from Idaho [Mr. Pope] a question. He has stated that the definition of an unfair agricultural practice confines it to the sale by a farmer of wheat or corn in excess of the farm marketing quota. If the Senator will refer to line 15 on page 28, he will see that it reads:
It shall be a violation of law for any farmer to engage in any unfair agricultural practice—
And so forth. If there is only one unfair agricultural practice, it seems to me it could be clearly defined, instead of saying "any," referring specifically to this one unfair practice.
Mr. POPE. Mr. President, whenever it is appropriate, if the Senator will offer an amendment to that effect, I shall be very glad to accept it.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will state the next amendment reported by the committee.
The next amendment was, on page 30, line 21, after the word "Department", to strike out "of Agriculture", so as to read:
(f) All data reported to or acquired by the Secretary pursuant to subsections (d) and (e) shall be kept confidential by all officers and employees of the Department and only such data so reported or acquired as the Secretary deems relevant shall be disclosed by them, and then only in a suit or administrative hearing involving the administration of this act.
The amendment was agreed to.
The next amendment was, at the top of page 31, to insert:
Title III—Marketing Quotas for Cotton
Sec. 30. The Congress herewith finds as follows:
(a) The marketing of cotton constitutes one of the great basic industries of the United States with ramifying activities which directly affect interstate or foreign commerce at every point, and stable conditions therein are necessary to the general welfare. Cotton produced for market is sold on a Nation-wide market and practically all of it and its products move almost wholly in interstate or foreign commerce from the producer to the ultimate consumer. The manufactured products of cotton are used for necessary clothing by nearly every person 1n the United States. The
