and land companies had bought up unproductive land, rented

and land companies had bought up unproductive land, rented it to the soil bank, obtained additional payments to help meet the cost of planting seedlings, and were able to look forward to owning, in 15 vears, a cost-free stand of timber 'em a cost-free tract of land. In noting that another $1 million or so still will be needed to wind up the affairs of the defunct acreage reserve part of the soil bank, Mr. Whitten said that the acreage reserve had cost the taxpayers approximately $1.7 billion. In May, 1957, I offered on the floor of the House of Representatives and amendment to the Department of Agriculture appropriation bill to end the soil bank acreage reserve at the completion of the 1957 crop year. In final House action taken on the bill, my amendment was adopted by a roll call vote of 192 to 187. The amendment was stricken by the Senate, however, and the acreage reserve program continued into the 1958 crop year. Even the Secretary of Agriculture then acknowledged that it should be ended. The extra year, which my amendment had sought to avoid, cost $700 million.