of gasoline on their farms—at least that number called in to our plants stating that fact. Senator AIKEN. How many did you say there were, patrons of your organization? Mr. BROWN. About 8,000. Senator AIKEN. And 1,000 were out of gasoline? Mr. BROWN. 1,776. Senator AIKEN. That is, 20 percent of the farmers were out of gasoline? Mr. BROWN. Yes, approximately. Senator AIKEN. That was on May 29? Mr. BROWN. Yes, sir. There were 1,776 out of gasoline on their farms and the farmers were unable to obtain gasoline from other sources. We explained to the P. A. W. officials step by step what efforts we had made to obtain gasoline for our farmer patrons. Senator AIKEN. Will you state for the record here, Mr. Brown, just what your area is, what territory you serve, where these 1,700 farmers that were out of gasoline were located? Mr. BROWN. Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and a small portion of West Virginia. Senator AIKEN. You don't include the Carolinas, then? Mr. BROWN. No, sir. We explained step by step what efforts we had made to obtain gasoline for our farmer patrons, and asked what we could do in order that farmers might receive adequate supplies, calling to their attention the critical need for gasoline for plowing, planting, and harvesting, which carry a high priority, and the critical need for gasoline to transport farm products from the farm and farm supplies to the farm. P. A. W. officials offered no program of relief. Peas, which are an extremely perishable crop, were ready for canning on the eastern shore on May 31. To meet this emergency, gasoline was furnished our cooperative bulk plants under a special directive, but no provision was made for farmers in other areas-no provision was made for farmers in areas that our plants do not serve, and no regular continuing program was proposed. Senator AIKEN. Where did that gas come from? Mr. BROWN. It was suddenly made available to these plants as an emergency measure during the week end of the 29th. Senator AIKEN. What company furnished it? Mr. BROWN. We got it from our regular supplier. Mr. BROWN. The Sinclair Refining Co. Including the above emergency supplies, our bulk plants have received and distributed in the past 7 days 142,073 gallons of gasoline, a quantity sufficient to run our 8,000 patrons' tractors approximately 18 hours if all of it were used in tractors, when many tractors would operate 10 to 12 hours or more each day if gasoline had been available. Last Tuesday, April 1, a new system of certification for awards by P. A. W. was established. Under this system we made all the representations called for, yet today, April 4, 4 days later Senator AIKEN (interposing). You mean June 4th? Mr. BROWN. I mean June 4th-well, I made a mistake there. This should be on June 1st we made a new system through P. A. W. Under this system we have met all the requirements called for, yet today, June 4, 180 of our farmer patrons at Gaithersburg, Md., have dry farm storage tanks. The pea harvest starts this morning in the Gaithersburg area, and if these peas are not harvested in the next few days it will not be fit to harvest. Our plants have no gasoline. Our manager reports that the farmer patrons need at least 40,000 gallons within the next 10 days to enable the farmers to harvest the peas and plant sweet corn for canning. Senator AIKEN. What is the acreage of the pea crop in the Gaithersburg vicinity? Mr. BROWN. I can't tell you that. Senator AIKEN. You say there are 180 producers there? Mr. BROWN. There are many more than that. Senator AIKEN. But 180 of your patrons are out of gasoline? Mr. BROWN. 180 of our patrons are out of gasoline. Senator AIKEN. Do you know what other farmers are in the same position? Mr. BROWN. I am told that all the other distributors that supply farmers up there are in the same position that we are. Senator AIKEN. There are several hundred farmers in that neighborhood, then, that have pea crops to harvest and no gasoline? Mr. BROWN. Last Saturday we had over 300 farmers out of gasoline in the vicinity of Gaithersburg. Our man up there also reports that many farmers are coming in and saying that in view of the irregular supply they are not going to plant sweet corn for canning, which they had previously planned to plant. If they do not receive this gasoline it will be impossible for them to do the job they should do in producing food. The Gaithersburg picture is typical of most of our 17 rural bulk plants serving thousands of farmers. This condition is repeated in most other rural bulk plants that primarily supply farmers. We believe this condition vitally affects the welfare of the Nation's war effort. We hope you agree that food production must not be further curtailed by lack of gasoline to produce and move food from the farm, or to get production supplies to the farm. Senator AIKEN. May I ask you, on what basis have you handled gas for your patrons? Do you buy it at the same price as they do at the village or city station? Mr. BROWN. The cooperative buys gasoline at a discount under the tank-car market price, and we distribute it to farmers at the same price that the service-station operators pay for gasoline. That is common practice in the industry. Senator AIKEN. So you have been supplying the farmers at a lower price than they would have to pay if they went to the city filling station? Mr. BROWN. Approximately 3 or 4 cents lower. Senator AIKEN. And it has been customary to deliver it to the farmer? Mr. BROWN. Yes, sir. Senator AIKEN. You deliver that to the farm tank in lots of 100 gallons or 200 gallons? Mr. BROWN. Yes; something like that. Senator AIKEN. I think that is all, Mr. Brown. Is there anyone here representing the Grange League Federation from New York? Is Mr. Fogg here? I will ask him to tell us what is going on in his area. STATEMENT OF B. A. FOGG, PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, COOPERATIVE GLF FARM SUPPLIES Mr. FOGG. My name is B. A. Fogg, president and manager of Cooperative GLF Farm Supplies, which is a subsidiary of the GLF Exchange. This organization operates in New York State, the northern part of Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Among other things that we purchase for our patrons is petroleum products, which, of course, includes gasoline and kerosene. We have been purchasing this for 44 bulk plants. Last Tuesday, 21 of these plants were out of gasoline. Senator AIKEN. Twenty-one out of fourty-four? Mr. FOGG. Twenty-one out of forty-four. The 21 that didn't have a drop of gasoline. Senator AIKEN. How much area would each of these plants serve? Mr. FOGG. They serve a radius of 20 miles, Mr. Chairman, or 15 miles, depending on the roads and the natural trading area. They will have, on the average, 1,000 patrons, families depending upon that service for their supply of gasoline. I just bring that out to show you that the gasoline situation has not as yet been solved. This situation has existed off and on for the last 6 months, and of these 44 plants, there has been at least 500 days, bulk-plant-days, that they have been out of gasoline in the last 6 months. We will have ordinarily about three to three and a half trucks on an average at each one of these plants, which means that 1,800 truck-days have been tied up without any products to deliver to the farmers. That would mean that approximately 2,600 farmers haven't had service when they expected it during the last few months. Sometimes you could get that gas to them the next day, and sometimes you were not able to get it there for a week. Many times when we could get some gasoline we were only able to allow them, on the average, about 4 gallons per farmer. In other words, if you divided it up evenly, it would average out that each farmer would get about 4 gallons of gasoline, hardly enough to keep a tractor going 2 hours. In one of the busiest sections in New York State-we call it Little Maine, it is a potato area-for 3 weeks running we have been able to deliver 412 gallons, on the average, to our patrons in that area. That is for the last 3 weeks, in a potato section, and the largest potato section in New York State. Thirty-five percent of the spring plowing has been done in our area. That is a survey taken and given on the 28th of May. Thirtyfive percent of the spring plowing has been done. Ordinarily at this time of year 90 percent is done. Twelve percent of our crops are in. Ordinarily 75 percent are in as of this date. Our situation is, roughly, the same as was given by Mr. Brown for those other States. We have been allocated approximately 41 percent of the gas Senator AIKEN (interposing). Forty-one percent of what period? Mr. FOGG. 1941. That is the basis of the allocation. Senator AIKEN. You mean 41 percent of the gas that you took for all purposes in 1941? Mr. FOGG. For the same period of 1941. That's right. And, by the way, practically all of this is used for farm purposes. It is only delivered to the farm. To give you two or three concrete examples, we have a bulk plant at Hicksville, Long Island. Ordinarily they would use about 120,000 gallons for the month of May. We were able to obtain 56,000 gallons last month. Take another place in Pennsylvania, in the Susquehanna Valley, Bloomsburg. On the 13th of May we didn't have a drop of gasoline. On the 14th we didn't have a drop. On the 15th and 16th and 17th we didn't have any. On the 18th we were able to obtain one transport. That one transport, which was entirely used for the farm, amounted to about 4 gallons per patron. On the 19th, of course, we were again out. On the 20th we received another transport, from which we were able to deliver another 4 gallons in this canning crop area. the 21st we were out again. On the 22d we had another transport, another 4 gallons. And we have had only one transport since, and yet at noon-this was only a partial survey, but we know that there were 70 plants idle at Bloomsburg. On There is another plant we have at Edinboro, and we have already been advised by our supplier that they have no allocation for that plant for the first 10 days of this month. They have no gasoline that they can put into that area, and they haven't been given any allocation so they can get it from anybody else. And that is typical, Mr. Chairman, of the situation that we have had for the last 6 months. It isn't always the same plant, but it will be one plant one time and then another. Senator AIKEN. You are supposed to get along with about 41 percent of what you used in 1941? What percentage are you able to obtain now? How near to that 41 percent can you get supplies? Mr. FOGG. I think we have obtained approximately 41 percent. Senator AIKEN. And yet because of the increased use of farm machinery, the 41 percent is not adequate? Mr. FOGG. How can farmers increase their crop production, Mr. Chairman, with less help, unless they use their machines more? And how could they increase it with less than half the gasoline that they used in the year 1941? Senator AIKEN. That is an easy question to answer. They can't. Now, where do you get your gas? Mr. FOGG. Most of our gasoline prior to this past year has been purchased from the Sinclair Refining Co. (Senator Ellison D. Smith took the chair.) Senator AIKEN. And what reason do they give for not being able to furnish you with what you need? Mr. FOGG. That is all they have been allotted. Senator AIKEN. They have been furnished with the full allotment that they are permitted to sell to you? Mr. FOGG. That is right. Senator AIKEN. Have you made any effort to get it from any other source? Have you called the matter to the attention of the Government officials? Mr. FOGG. We certainly have, Mr. Chairman. We have spent hundreds of dollars in telephoning to the New York office. We have made many trips here to Washington and spent hundreds of dollars in telegrams, writing, telephones, calling the attention of Chester Davis' office, of P. A. W. here-Mr. Nelson knows about the situation. If there is anything we haven't done that we can do to call this to the attention of anyone that can do anything about it, we would be delighted to have that information. Senator AIKEN. In your territory do all the other major oil companies have farm business? Mr. FOGG. Some of them have very little-practically none. Others do have some. Senator AIKEN. Have they been unable to supply their farms with gas! Mr. FOGG. At times, that is right. Senator AIKEN. They have been out at times? Mr. FOGG. That is right. They have been out at times. Mr. FOGG. There is always some gas-practically always some of the small-town service stations in our territory have gas. You have to drive pretty well around town to hunt for it, but you can usually find it. Senator AIKEN. Do you handle your gas on the same basis as the southern farmers handle theirs? Mr. FOGG. Yes, sir; that is the customary plan. Senator AIKEN. And you sell it to them at a lower price, 3 or 4 cents a gallon less than it will cost them to go to the city service station? Mr. FOGG. It will vary from 3 to 5 cents. Senator AIKEN. Have some of them been able to get gas by going to the city service stations? Mr. FOGG. In a few instances they have. In the first place the average farmer, Mr. Chairman, doesn't have the surplus milk cans now, and that is what he uses to go and get gas with. Very few of them have trucks. If they can find a milk can or a drum and go down town and go to a station and attempt to get it, you will find this will happen: If the station is nearly out and he has a few regular customers that he is trying to take care of, he probably will be out by the time the fellows got there, when he saw those cans. Senator AIKEN. I would like to ask Mr. Brown two or three more questions. I believe you testified you were restricted to approximately 40 percent? Mr. BROWN. Yes, sir. Senator AIKEN. Have you been able to get the full quota that was allocated to you? Mr. BROWN. We have, approximately. Senator AIKEN. And it is very inadequate to meet the present-day conditions? Mr. BROWN. Over 90 percent of our business is to farmers. We are cut to 40 percent. You can easily see that we can't fill their needs. Senator AIKEN. And you have presented this predicament to the Federal officials? Mr. BROWN. We have done everything we could. Senator AIKEN. Do you know whether there has been any time in any communities that you serve, where gas has been available to |