$15,000, I think, was turned back into the Treasury. This is a request to reappropriate $1,000 of that unexpended balance in order to pay this duplicate draft.

The CHAIRMAN. If the draft had been presented to you in time, you had the money with which to meet it and you would have met it? Mr. CARR. Quite so; but the appropriation lapsed in the meantime, so that we must now ask for money with which to pay the draft.

TRANSPORTATION OF DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR OFFICERS, 1921.

The CHAIRMAN. The next item is to pay the actual and necessary expenses of transportation, under such regulations as the Secretary of State may prescribe, of diplomatic and consular officers and clerks in embassies, etc., and under that item there appears to be a deficiency of $450 for 1919. Tell us about that.

Mr. CARR. That is another case in which a draft of $450 for transportation for the fiscal year 1919 was not received in the Department of State until after the appropriation had lapsed under the law.

The CHAIRMAN. Why was not this estimate sent here sooner? Mr. CARR. Because we only got the draft a short time ago. Some of these drafts, Mr. Chairman, as you will find from another item later on, did not reach the Department of State earlier because of the circumstances under which they were sold. Drafts were sold in Turkey, Russia, and elsewhere to individuals who, owing to the disturbed banking conditions which existed during and immediately after the war as well as the danger of loss of money, failed to present the drafts until too late to be paid out of the appropriation before it lapsed.

The CHAIRMAN. This draft would have been met if it had been presented in time because, I presume, there was an unexpended balance in the appropriation?

Mr. CARR. In this instance there was an unexpended balance turned back of over $1,700.

TRANSPORTATION OF DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR OFFICERS, 1921.

The CHAIRMAN. The next item is to pay the itemized and verified statements of the actual and necessary expenses of transportation and subsistence, and under that item you are asking, for the year 1921, a deficiency appropriation of $36,000?

Mr. CARR. That is a deficiency. The act of March 4, 1919-and I am going back that far in order to give you the history of this itemappropriated $145,000 for the transportation of diplomatic and consular officers.

The CHAIRMAN. That was for 1921 ?

Mr. CARR. No; that was for 1919-20.

The CHAIRMAN. In 1919 the appropriation was $270,900.

Mr. CARR. They first appropriated, Mr. Chairman, $145,000; then later a deficiency of $100,000 was granted. I was just giving you the history of this thing in order to show you why this deficiency occurred. Congress appropriated $145,000 in the regular appropriation and extended the scope of the appropriation to cover not only the travel of the officers, but also the travel of their families and the transportation of their effects. It was recognized at that particular time that that appropriation would not be sufficient to cover that additional expense.

The CHAIRMAN. That was during the war period?

Mr. CARR. Yes, sir; that was during the war period, or immediately after. So it was quite well understood in the committee at the time I appeared before it that if they changed the language so as to provide for more transportations without increasing the appropriation we would have a deficiency, and that we would have to come back and ask the Congress to appropriate an additional amount. We did come back and Congress appropriated $100,000 and then later $1,500 for certified claims. In the meanwhile we promulgated our regulations governing transportation, in accordance with the provisions of the law. Congress, however, continued the original $145,000 appropriation, but again appropriated supplementally, on March 1, 1921, $100,000, making a total for the year 1921 of $245,000. Now, we find that the expenses incurred for 1921 under those regulations which regulations have heretofore been submitted to this committee and passed upon and approved by the Comptroller of the Treasury-are about $281,000, making a deficiency of $36,000. Until Congress could make an additional appropriation we have had to advance out of the emergency fund about $18,000 for the payment of certain drafts that we could not afford to let go back abroad unpaid. Now, our request is for enough to pay all of those claims in excess of the regular appropriation and to reimburse the emergency fund in the amount of about $18,000, which we had to borrow from that fund for that purpose. And it might be remarked in passing that our appropriation for the current year is $300,000 instead of the $245,000 we had for last year.

The CHAIRMAN. So that $36,000 is really $18,000 more than you would need if it were not for this emergency fund?

Mr. CARR. That is to say, if we were canceling the amount which we have already paid out of the emergency fund

The CHAIRMAN (interposing). Why should the emergency fund be reimbursed, Mr. Carr?

Mr. CARR. Because the Secretary feels, for a number of reasons, that he ought to keep as much of that emergency fund intact at the present time as possible. There are a number of things for which money from that fund may be required, and while ordinarily there would be no objection if it were not reimbursed, there are now strong reasons for avoiding any depletion of it for expenses of a routine character.

The CHAIRMAN. You had $200,000 in the emergency fund?
Mr. CARR. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. And you had an unexpended balance in the appropriation made available for 1921. How much was the unexpended balance?

Mr. CARR. It was about $370,000.

The CHAIRMAN. So that makes $570,000. How much is the unexpended balance?

Mr. CARR. We have at the present time over $300,000.
The CHAIRMAN. Then why do you need the $18,000?

Mr. CARR. I asked that very question before I came down, because it had occurred to me that this would be a natural inquiry for you to make, and I was directed to ask you to provide for the reimbursement of the emergency fund if possible. Eighteen thousand dollars seems a small amount in comparison with the unexpended balance

of the emergency fund, but in the opinion of the department it would not be wise at this time to reduce the amount available by even so small a sum.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, if you have $300,000 it seems to me you have considerable leeway. Under the item for the International Institute of Agriculture there seems to be a deficiency of $11,577 for 1921.

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE.

Mr. CARR. That, Mr. Chairman, is in the nature of an additional appropriation of this character: Under the treaty of June 7, 1905, we became a member of the International Institute of Agriculture which is maintained at Rome and supported by the contributions of 40 Governments, including all of the large Governments. Our contribution in the past has been about

The CHAIRMAN. It was small, was it not?
Mr. CARR. Yes; it was small.

The CHAIRMAN. $18,000 for 1922, was it not?

Mr. CARR. No; that appropriation includes other things. I think it was $8,000, but it was payable in francs and not in dollars. It is well known that the franc has lost a large part of its purchasing power and the institute has become practically bankrupt; that is to say, it can not function upon its present income, and therefore the general committee of the institute have appealed to all of the governments to pay an extraordinary quota which in our case amounts to $11,577 for 1921 and a like amount for 1922, until the institute can get out of its present situation. The resolution passed by the general meeting is as follows:

"The general meeting realizing the impossibility for the institute to carry on its present services with receipts that are more nominal than actual, resolves to propose to the governments kindly to pay for the fiscal years 1921 and 1922 over and above the ordinary quota as set by article 10 of the convention of 1905, payable in francs, an additional quota of one and one-half the amount of the ordinary quota, and payable by each country in its own currency on the basis of the fixed rate of exchange at par. The pledge of the governments to pay this quota will be officially notified by the States to the ministry. of foreign affairs of Italy and to the president of the institute." The United States, being entered in the first group of the adhering States (40,000 franc quota), would have to pay for the years 1921, 1922, and 1923, the following

amounts:

1. The usual quota of 40,000 francs which would be paid at the current rate of exchange (equivalent at present to approximately $3,000, or at the normal rate to $7,720).

2. The extraordinary quota amounting to one quota and a half, that is to say, 60,000 francs which would be paid in dollars, the amount to be reckoned on the basis of $1 at par being worth 5.1825 francs. Thus the extraordinary quota of the United States for each year would be $11,577.

We were in doubt as to whether the United States ought to contribute an additional sum and we consulted the other governments and found that nearly all of those governments were going to provide the extra quota and continue their membership. Therefore it seemed to the department that the United States was practically morally bound to continue and pay its additional share also; that is, we could hardly drop out since an American was really the prime mover in the establishment of the institute and the greatest of the agricultural countries. We probably have a greater moral obligation to support the institute than any other nation since the prime mover in the establishment of the institute was David Lubin, an American citizen.

The CHAIRMAN. What does the institute do?

Mr. CARR. The Institute of Agriculture gathers systematically information through the other governments in regard to what is produced in countries of surplus production in competition with the United States, and of what is produced of deficient production in importing countries which will purchase our surplus. Our Department of Agriculture is most desirous to obtain such information. systematically to aid it in sending out complete and timely data periodically on production, stock, movement, and prices of the great staple crops. The supply and demand throughout the world have great influence on the prices of American farm products. The Department of Agriculture feels that this information alone is of great practical and financial value to the United States. The fact also that the governments are bound by treaty to supply information on crop production to the institute, enables the institute to go far toward improving the statistical methods in other countries so as to make data comparable. The United States has the best crop and live-stock statistics in the world, but it needs similar statistics from other countries.

One of the most practicable methods of obtaining those statistics is through an international organization such as the Institute of Agriculture which can call upon the several member governments to institute the system necessary to supply the information desired. The institute endeavors to collect the results of the latest researches and experiments in improved agricultural methods of farming, the technical side of agriculture; the improved methods of farming and overcoming plant diseases and insect pests. Another function of the institute is to collect and publish information on the economics of agriculture-farm labor, farm wages, and the financial returns of agriculture. It is the only international service of this character in the world and has supplied information which no individual could get from the other countries. The Department of Agriculture takes the view that as American agriculture has capital invested in the United States of over $80,000,000,000, this Government ought to contribute to the maintenance of the one international institution in the world devoted to the collection and dissemination of agricultural, statistical, and other information.

Mr. BYRNS. This represents our exact proportion of the increase? Mr. CARR. This represents the proportion in accordance with the stipulation in the treaty.

Mr. BYRNS. Based on our former contribution?

Mr. CARR. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. This will be our extraordinary assessment.

Mr. CARR. This is our extraordinary assessment of $22,000 for the two years.

Mr. WOOD. Is there a probability of this extraordinary assessment continuing for some time? We are the only ones who are furnishing any real money, are we not?

Mr. CARR. No: Great Britain

Mr. WOOD (interposing). Great Britain is not furnishing dollar for dollar with us if they make their payments in pounds, because the value of the pound has depreciated.

Mr. CARR. They asked, Mr. Wood, that the governments pay in the money of their own country. Now the British pound sterling

has about the same values in Italian currency that our own money has, so that the depreciation of the pound in relation to our own money would not affect the relation of the pound to Italian money. Mr. WOOD. Suppose Germany paid it in her own money, in marks. Mr. CARR. Marks would be different. I have no quotations of the exchange between Germany and Italy, but the purchasing value of the mark is much greater when applied to Italian money than when applied to United States money.

Mr. WOOD. It is only different in degree.

The CHAIRMAN. Are we bound under the treaty to this obligation? Mr. CARR. We are not bound under the treaty to pay this assessment but it is a moral obligation since nearly all the other nations who have signed the treaty and have supported this institute along with us have either decided to pay their extraordinary quota or are favorably considering that course. We are in the position of a club member who is morally bound to pay an assessment over and above his dues, or leave the club, and we would hardly wish to withdraw from the convention or seek to remain a member without paying our share of the expenses.

The CHAIRMAN. We are bound in a moral sense and all the other countries are paying?

Mr. CARR. Yes; we have consulted them all and we have had replies saying they were paying.

The CHAIRMAN. Can you put in the hearing a list of the countries that are obligated or bound under this treaty?

Mr. CARR. Yes; I will put that in the hearing.

Mr. KELLEY. I suppose when they get these various donations to Rome from the various countries in all the different sorts of currency, then they will have to convert it into Italian money?

Mr. CARR. Yes; most of it will be disbursed in Italian money. Mr. HUSTED. May I ask how we are morally obligated simply because an American citizen started it?

Mr. CARR. I do not mean to say precisely that, sir. I meant to say we are legally obligated to the extent of the original quota of $8,000, which we are paying regularly. The legal quota, by reason of the fact that it is payable in francs, is insufficient to maintain the institute, and therefore all of the Governments from which we have heard, with perhaps four exceptions and there are 21 Governments