Mr. CANNON. Your emergency funds for the fiscal year 1936 are $27,265,137, and the regular funds, including deficiency funds, $6,327,198, making a total for the current fiscal year of $33,592,335. Now, you propose in your Budget estimate to spend for the same purposes during the coming fiscal year, $24,604,974-an increase of $18,275,776 in the regular funds and a decrease of $27,265,137 in emergency funds. CONSERVATION SURVEYS TO DETERMINE EXTENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF EROSION Under the subhead of conservation surveys to determine the extent and distribution of erosion, you spent during the current year $1,392,682, and you propose to spend during the coming year, $993,935, a decrease of $398,747. This decrease of approximately $400,000 is due to the fact that you have made most of the capital expenditures and that you will now need only money for operation; is that correct? Mr. COLLIER. The decrease there is not due to the fact that we have completed all the surveys that we need to. Mr. CANNON. I take for granted that this $400,000 during the past year was largely invested in capital expenditures. Mr. COLLIER. It was invested partly in capital expenditures-not exactly capital expenditures, but in the form, partly, of aerial surveys that are necessary to the work. In general, though, it was expended or will be expended during this year on actual survey work. OPERATION OF EROSION NURSERIES Mr. CANNON. You are asking for an additional expenditure this year of $12,194 for the operation of erosion nurseries for the propagation of plants for use in soil and moisture conservation operations. These are producing nurseries in which you are producing stock? Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir. TECHNICAL COOPERATION WITH CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS CAMPS Mr. CANNON. You are also asking for an additional amount of $186,114 for technical cooperation with emergency conservation work (C. C. C.) camps and other Federal and State agencies. What is the nature of that cooperation? Mr. COLLIER. If I may explain that, Mr. Chairman, we have in the neighborhood of 445 C. C. C. camps that are operating on soilconservation work throughout the United States which are under the supervision of the Soil Conservation Service, or are administered by the Soil Conservation Service, for the excellence and care of whose work we are responsible. EMERGENCY FUNDS Mr. CANNON. Your item for emergency funds, on page 514 of the mimeographed notes, is merely a report on the year 1935 and on 47432-3659 the current year. These funds are about to be discontinued, with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1936? Mr. BENNETT. Yes, sir. PASSENGER-CARRYING VEHICLES Mr. CANNON. What estimates are you making for passenger-carrying vehicles? Mr. COLLIER. We are requesting authority to replace 150 vehicles which have been driven between 75,000 and 100,000 miles at least per vehicle, and which will be in a condition in which it is uneconomical to further operate them during the fiscal year 1937. Mr. THURSTON. Are you getting a straight allowance, according to the age of the car? What is the basis of the exchange you make when you turn in an old car for a new one? Mr. COLLIER. It is my understanding that they advertise for bids for a certain number of automobiles. They state that a certain number of old automobiles will be exchanged, and they ask for bids on the basis of turning in the old automobiles, plus a certain amount of cash; and they tell the companies interested that they may inspect the automobiles at certain locations. Mr. CANNON. How many automobiles are you using at the present time? Mr. COLLIER. Five hundred and thirteen. Mr. CANNON. Are you providing transportation by privately owned automobiles at stated rate per mile? Mr. COLLIER. Much more in the past than at present. We have authorized the use of personally owned cars at prices ranging from 3 to 5 cents per mile, depending upon the part of the country where the cars are used. In the East, where the roads are good and conditions favorable, we give them 3 cents a mile. In certain parts of the West, particularly in wind-erosion areas, where the dust causes the motors to wear out more rapidly, we allow 4 or 5 cents per mile. Mr. CANNON. Which do you consider more economical, to allow 3, 4, or 5 cents per mile for privately owned cars, or to have them use Government-owned cars? Mr. COLLIER. In the long run, we feel that the Government-owned car is more economical, not only because we can operate them for less than 4 to 5 cents per mile, but also because, where you grant very many authorizations for the use of privately owned cars, the disposition is for the car mileage to increase. SOIL CONSERVATION EMPLOYEES COVERED INTO THE CIVIL SERVICE Mr. THURSTON. To go back to another matter, the Executive order placing your Service under the civil service was made effective December 27, 1935? Mr. COLLIER. I believe that that was done by act of Congress, under the Soil Conservation Act. Mr. THURSTON. About how many were covered into the civil service under that? Just give it approximately. Mr. ABBOTT. Approximately 5,000. Mr. THURSTON. Do you have a table showing the legal residences of the ones appointed? Mr. ABBOTT. We could get such a table. Mr. THURSTON. I would like to have that for the record. Mr. COLLIER. You do not want the particular place from which the person who was employed came, in each instance? Mr. THURSTON. No; just the number in each State. (The table referred to is as follows:) Statement of number of employees of Soil Conservation Service and Emergency Conservation Work covered into Civil Service by Soil Conservation Act: Showing number of employees having legal residence in each State Mr. COLLIER. The Soil Conservation Act automatically placed all persons employed in the Soil Conservation Service on December 26 under the civil service on December 27, regardless of the State or community from which those people came. Mr. ABBOTT. At the same time that the Soil Conservation Service came under civil service, the supervisor of personnel of the E. C. W. camps was ruled by the civil service as coming under the civil service. Mr. CANNON. Mr. Bennett, have you any other suggestions that you care to make to the committee? Mr. BENNETT. I would like to ask permission to insert in the record a little additional material. Mr. CANNON. We would be glad to have it. I want to congratulate you upon the efficient manner in which you have presented your items, Mr. Bennett. Mr. BENNETT. Thank you very much. FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 1936. FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION STATEMENTS OF W. I. MYERS, GOVERNOR; HERBERT EMMERICH, EXECUTIVE OFFICER; AND T. F. MURPHY, ASSISTANT COMPTROLLER Mr. CANNON. The committee will take up the estimates for the Farm Credit Administration. Governor Myers, the Farm Credit Administration is something in the nature of a holding company through which you supervise various credit activities. Governor MYERS. Yes, sir. AGENCIES COMING UNDER JURISDICTION OF THE FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION Mr. CANNON. Would you list for us the agencies under your jurisdiction? Governor MYERS. There are the Federal land banks, the Federal intermediate credit banks, the production credit corporations, and banks for cooperatives. Those are the four that we call permanent units. Then there is the Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation, which is a Government-owned corporation, and there are the Federal credit unions, which we charter. Then there are the emergency crop and feed loans which we make as agents of the Government. We have certain supervisory functions of the joint stock land banks, which are in liquidation, and the regional agricultural credit corporations. ESTIMATED OBLIGATIONS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES Mr. CANNON. What are the sources of funds which you administer? Governor MYERS. I believe everything we administer comes under the headings I have given. Mr. CANNON. And your funds for administrative expenses? Governor MYERS. $4,000,000 is asked for as a direct appropriation for administrative expenses. Mr. MURPHY. On page 536 of the committee print of the bill you will find a summary that shows the way in which the appropriation estimates of $4,000,000, which is the same amount we have for this year, are arrived at. You will find about the middle of the page the total estimated obligations. The grand total of the estimate for this year is $10,961,837. The estimate for next year is $9,644,467. SOURCES OF FUNDS AVAILABLE TO FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION FROM ITS VARIOUS SUBORGANIZATIONS The deductions are listed immediately below that. The first one is $400,000 to be obtained from the crop production loan fund for the year 1934-35. The next is $1,450,000 to be obtained from a similar appropriation for crop-production loans for 1935-36. I might add that the original act of February 20, 1935, made the amount available not only for loans but for administrative expenses. and provided specifically that it should be available until expended, but the appropriation, which was authorized by that act to be made, and which followed, limited the use of funds to 1936. So it is necessary for us to estimate for reappropriation the amount of our expenses chargeable to the loans made under that act. We set the amount out in this way as a deduction. It varies from year to year. The next item is $150,000 for the collection of loans made under the acts of January 22, 1932, and February 4, 1933. That money is available under the original allocation of $200,000,000 made by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to the Secretary of Agriculture, the work in connection with which was transferred to us at the time the Farm Credit Administration was created on May 27, 1933. The $150,000 is estimated to cover the cost of handling all outstanding loans and the business in connection therewith. The next item is $175,000 which we obtained for our overhead expenses from the continuing appropriation made for organizing and supervising production credit corporations and associations. The act of June 16, 1933, provided for the chartering of 12 production credit corporations, and of production credit associations in such numbers as might be required throughout the country. This particular item is to cover our general office expenses for handling the work incident thereto. The next item is $641,142 for assessments for examination of institutions organized under the Farm Credit Act of June 16, 1933. That includes production credit corporations and associations which I just mentioned, and also the banks for cooperatives, the chartering of which was authorized by that act. The act requires that examinations of these units shall be made and the cost thereof shall be assessed against the units examined. So we are setting up this item here as the amount we expect to collect from these units for examination expenses. The next item is $25,000 for reimbursement for expenses of collecting of loans made to agricultural credit corporations under the act of March 3, 1932. That law provided the Secretary of Agriculture with funds to make loans to individuals who would buy stock in the privately capitalized agricultural credit corporations, the purpose being to encourage and aid in the formation of agricultural credit corporations. The supervision of that work came to the Farm Credit Administration, together with the crop loan fund. This $25,000 is the estimated amount that we will be required to spend for the purpose of handling those loans and the transactions in connection therewith. The next item is $1,370,500 for the administrative expenses of the Land Bank Commissioner in connection with loans to farmers under the act of May 12, 1933. The reimbursement comes from the Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation because under the act of January 31, 1934, these loans are being handled for the corporation after that date. The Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation was chartered by the act of January 31, 1934, and it took over the work of making direct loans to farmers that previously had been made directly by the Land Bank Commissioner under the act of May 12, 1933. The Farm Credit Administration has the duty and responsibility of supervising the Federal Farm Mortgage Corporation, and while |