OCTOBER 25, 1943.

STATE OF MAINE,

Cumberland, 88:

On November 23, 1942, Nelson Hawkins, William Dyer, and I, Delbert Faye, were in the front office of the Portland Gas Light Co., 40 West Commercial Street, Portland, Maine, when we heard a gun report out by the front gate. The three of us went out to see what the trouble was. A Negro in the uniform of the United States Army was standing about 10 feet from us with a rifle in his hands. For no reason at all he fired and fatally wounded Nelson Hawkins, and wounded William Dyer with the same bullet.

STATE OF MAINE,

Cumberland, ss:

DELBERT FAYE.

WESTBROOK, MAINE, October 25, 1943.

Personally appeared Delbert Faye and made oath that the above statements by him subscribed are true.

Before me,

GWIN WELCH, Justice of the Peace.

O

J. G. POWER AND L. D. POWER

MAY 23, 1944.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed

Mr. JENNINGS, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 4458)

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4458) for the relief of J. G. Power and L. D. Power, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the sum of $185 to J. G. Power and L. D. Power, jointly, of Gray Court, S. C. Such sum having been withheld as payment under the 1939 conservation program of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

It appears from the evidence that J. G. Power and L. D. Power, with their mother, own and operate a small farm, containing 83 acres, in the county of Laurens, S. C. That there is 38 acres under cultivation, from which they are dependent upon for the support of their mother, two unmarried sisters and themselves; that each year they produce food for their livestock and other foods and vegetables for the support of their family; that of the total acreage, only 11 acres were planted in cotton, the only money crop raised on the farm, and that the average yearly yield for the past 10 years has been about 9 bales per year and since the inauguration of the triple A program, they have conscientiously and honestly complied with the requirements of the program, and had not encountered any misunderstandings with the triple A authorities until 1939.

In 1939, they rented two tracts of land, one with 3 acres in cotton and another of 5 acres in cotton on another farm, which they desired to plant in cotton. That prior to the renting of these two tracts of land, they consulted with Mr. C. B. Cannon, the Laurens County

H. Repts., 78-2, vol. 3—57

Agricultural Adjustment Administration agent and Mr. Wallace Martin, a member of the Laurens County committee, about renting and planting the 5 acres in cotton. They were informed by Mr. Cannon and Mr. Martin that the renting and planting of the 5 acres in cotton would be in conformity with the rules and regulations of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration program and at this time a full and complete history of the 5 acres was given to them and outlined on a work sheet, and at that time a work sheet combining the 11 acres, 3 acres and 5 acres was made up by the Agricultural Adjustment Administration employees and placed on file in the Agricultural Building. That after being granted the authority, they went to the expense of buying fertilizer, preparing, planting, and cultivating the 5 acres in cotton and in the latter part of April, after being about onethird through planting, they were notified by the Agricultural Adjustment Administration office that the 5 acres could not be combined with their other acreage. Upon receipt of such notice they personally called upon Mr. Cannon, presented him with the notice, and asked his advice as to future procedure and what action they should take. After reading the notice Mr. Cannon refused to give them any advice. During the following week they completed planting the combination acreage in cotton. In the middle of the summer, a representative of the triple A visited the farm and checked the cultivated acreage which checked an excess acreage in cotton occasioned by the fact that the Agricultural Adjustment office had not allowed the 5 acres to be combined with the other acreage. The triple A then ordered them to destroy 1% acres of cotton. Subsequently, triple A employees refused to deliver them a marketing card which would permit them to apply for benefits under triple A regulations.

The report of the Department of Agriculture of the case states that the claimants were sufficiently notified in time for them to comply, which is conflicting with the evidence submitted to your committee, and after careful study and consideration it is apparent that they were misled by the officials of the triple A, and should be compensated. Therefore, your committee recommends favorable consideration of the bill Appended hereto is letter from the Department of Agriculture and other pertinent evidence.

Hon. DAN R. McGEHEE,

Chairman, Committee on Claims,

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

Washington, May 21, 1941.

House of Representatives.

DEAR MR. MCGEHEE: This acknowledges your letter of April 29 requesting a report on H. R. 4426, a bill which would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the sum of $185 to J. G. Power and L. D. Power, jointly, of Gray Court, S. C.

The exact amount which has been withheld from these producers is not available in this office; however, the South Carolina State office of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration has been requested to furnish us this information and as soon as it is received, you will be advised.

There has been considerable correspondence regarding this case and Mr. D. C. France of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration has investigated it in detail on two occasions. In 1939 Mr. J. G. and Mr. L. D. Power operated three separate farms in Laurens County, S. C. Two of these farms were considered to be old cotton farms under the provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as

amended; that is, farms on which cotton was produced in the 3 years preceding 1939. No cotton was produced on the third farm during the 3 years preceding 1939 and these producers requested a new cotton-acreage allotment for this farm, which was established in accordance with the regular procedure. Since no cotton was planted on the new farm in 1939, the new cotton-acreage allotment was canceled. It should be noted that the record in this case indicates that this new farm was idle in 1939 as well as in 1938 and was not operated by J. G. Power, or L. D. Power in 1940.

The record shows further that these producers planted their entire cotton acreage on one of the old farms, thereby overplanting this farm's 1939 cottonacreage allotment. They have maintained that the three farms should have been combined as requested by them and since the farms were not combined, the excess acreage on the overplanted farm should be offset by the underplanting on the other two farms. This, of course, could not be done under the provisions of the 1939 program. These provisions have been the same since the very beginning of the agricultural programs; neither farm-acreage alloments nor the acreages devoted to particular crops can be transferred from one farm to another. It should be noted that the request that the new farm be combined with one of the old farms in 1939 was not approved because, had the new farm been combined with one of the old farms, it would not have been eligible for a new farm cotton-acreage allotment since, in accordance with the provisions of the act, the cotton-acreage allotment for the combined farm would have been determined upon the basis of the cotton history for the combined farm. It is apparent that in rejecting this request for combination the local committee was attempting to aid these producers in their 1939 plans.

In connection with the request that the three farms be combined, you are advised that in testimony before the Laurens County committee, on December 7, 1939, Mr. J. G. Power stated that about Christmas of 1938 he came to the county office and asked Mr. C. B. Cannon, the county agent, and Mr. Wallace L. Martin, county committeeman, a general question about combining work sheets. Both Mr. Martin and Mr. Cannon indicated to him that combinations could be made. At the hearing on December 7, Mr. E. A. Adams, county committeeman, asked Mr. Power, "Did you tell the two men that you had a new farm wishing to combine with the old one?" Mr. Power answered, "No, sir." Mr. Power further stated that he was notified that the farms could not be combined prior to the time the farm-acreage allotment was overplanted. He stated in reply to another question by Mr. Adams: "Yes, sir; we were notified but planted the cotton anyway.' It was also developed at this meeting that these producers questioned the correctness of the measurements of cotton acreage on the overplanted farm and this acreage was rechecked and found to be correct as first reported.

We are enclosing a copy of an affidavit sworn to by Mr. J. G. Power on February 12, 1940, which substantiates his statement, contained in the minutes of the meeting of the county committee, to the effect that he and L. D. Power were advised prior to the time they overplanted their cotton-acreage allotment that the farms could not be combined.

It is apparent from the record in this case that these producers were notified hat the farms could not be combined in sufficient time for them to comply with the program and earn full payments, had they desired to do so. This case has been given every consideration by the County and State offices and by the Southern Division of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. The decision rendered is in accordance with the regulations covering the 1939 Agricultural Conservation Program and no payments will be made to either producer under the regulations covering the 1939 program.

In view of the record in this case, this Department does not favor the enactment of the proposed bill.

Sincerely yours,

GROVER B. HILL, Assistant Secretary

STATEMENT or J. G. PoWER AND L. D. Power, JUNE 12, 1941 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA,

County of Laurens:

Personally appeared before me, J. G. and L. D. Power, each of whom being duly sworn deposes and says: That this affidavit is made in further support of relief asked for under H. R. 4426 and in refutation of certain statements made