PROCEEDINGS CORN BELT MEAT PRODUCERS' ASSN. 509 



Association iVIatters 



Concerning the work of your association, and membership campaign 

 during the past year, will say that on account of the very stringent money 

 situation and the discouraged and disheartened conditions of the farmers 

 and stock men, it was not deemed advisable to push this feature of the 

 work during the past year and we are unable to report a large increase in 

 our membership. Nevertheless, we are gratified for the way our member- 

 ship has held up and the dues have been paid, and in another year, it will 

 be necessary to put on an intensive membership campaign and build up 

 our ranks. 



Regarding the statistical work which was being carried on at Chicago 

 by Mr. Harlan, will say that March 1, the Iowa Farm Bureau withdrew its 

 support to that work and your organization continued it up to October 15, 

 when Mr. Harlan was employed by the United States Bureau of Markets 

 and Crop Estimates and the work which he has been doing at the Chicago 

 market will be continued and enlarged upon, under his supervision. 



This work is without doubt the most valuable to the cattle feeders of 

 anything of the kind undertaken and your organization is to be congratu- 

 lated on the fact that we have been able to interest the United States Bu- 

 reau of Markets and Crop Estimates in this important work, as under that 

 bureau the work can be extended and enlarged upon to a much greater 

 extent than could be done by your organization. And in this connection, 

 I wish to ssiy that doubtless the interest that has been aroused at Wash- 

 ington in this work on behalf of the live stock interests is largely due to 

 the presence there of your former long-time secretary, Hon. Henry C. Wal- 

 lace, who is now Secretary of Agriculture. 



Many other matters of interest and importance to the membership and 

 to live stock producers have been taken up during the year your officers 

 have been called upon continuously to attend meetings and conferences to 

 discuss vital problems affecting your interests. Never in my experience 

 as president of your association, have I given as much time and diligent 

 study to these various problems as during the past year and yet it seems 

 in a way, that but very little has been accomplished This distressing 

 period which we have been passing through as a result of the World war 

 and the vicious price deflation drives that were made from time to time 

 by the moneyed interests of this country, fell largely upon the agricultural 

 producers because they were not closely enough organized to resist the 

 attacks and hold up the price of their wares as was those who produce 

 manufactured goods, lumber, coal and other staple articles. Could the 

 farmer of this country have resisted price deflation on their products as 

 effectively as have union labor and those who traflBc in most of the other 

 commodities and necessities, the farmer today would be in a vastly differ- 

 ent condition financially and would not be on the verge of bankruptcy as 

 a whole, and on account of this condition it is most difficult to bring 

 about substantial relief to agriculture quickly. But we believe that con- 

 ditions are more hopeful and if we can succeed in bringing about further 

 deflation on many of the articles we must buy, which are entirely out of 

 line with the price of your products, and at the same time could advance 

 to some extent the prices of the products of the farm and ranch so as to 



