TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART V 473 



on a protected market, he labored on unceasingly, hoping for better 

 things in the future. And now, when he is coming into his own and 

 enjoying a reasonable degree of prosperity along with capital and labor, 

 he is told to stand and deliver. 



What are we going to do about it? Are we going to stand idly by and 

 allow organized labor to rob us of our legitimate profits, when they are 

 adding to the high cost of living by demanding and receiving better 

 wages? Is there any justice in robbing the farmer for the benefit of 

 the producer? 



If the consuming public will economize and make the same sacrifice 

 that the farmer of the central west made when they were selling their 

 products for less than the cost of production, the problems of the high 

 cost of living will be settled in less than three months. 



It seems to be all right for organized labor to add to the high cost 

 of living by working shorter hours and receiving larger wages, but the 

 farmer is supposed to be doing all he can to reduce the cost of living by 

 working longer hours and raising larger crops. Without doubt the time 

 is not far off when eight hours will be considered a day's work for nearly 

 all wage earners, and business will be adjusted on that basis. But until 

 that time comes neither organized labor nor organized capital should be 

 allowed to coerce the government into enactment of any law that will 

 shift the burdens to the producer. 



ADDRESS BY JAMES R. HOWARD 

 President American Farm Bureau Federation 



Gentlemen of the Federation: 



I remember very well the first farm bureau work I ever did outside 

 my own county. I'll not say whether it was in this state or not, but the 

 occasion was a farmers' institute and the governor of the state was 

 scheduled to speak to the farmers. The governor was a popular man in 

 that community and a great audience had turned out to hear him. The 

 chairman of the meeting, a good old German, opened the meeting some- 

 thing like this: "Mine frients," he said, "I am very sorry to tell you to- 

 night that our good governor can't be wit' us. He vas called out of the state 

 on important business, but I am very glad to announce that we have as a 

 substitute for de governor four reels of moving pictures." 



That was a good while ago, and since then the farm bureau movement 

 has made a very rapid growth. While in New York last December I had 

 the pleasure of going into Broome county, where the first county farm 

 bureau in the United States was established. There I learned for the 

 first time and at first hand where we got the terms, "farm bureau" and 

 "county agent." 



In the city of Binghamton in that county they had a strong commercial 

 club. The work of this club was divided and carried on by bureaus. 

 There was a bureau for this enterprise and a bureau for that and the 

 other enterprise. Finally it occured to' someone that they had never done 

 anything for agriculture. 



