606 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Now, how did he accomplish these things? What were his methods? 

 Why did they lose out at first? Why did they succeed later? What is 

 the essential difference between citrus fruit, the prune, the raisin growers 

 of California, and the methods which those associations employ? Which 

 is more applicable to your needs? How have the Equity people succeeded 

 in St. Paul? How have the farmers' organizations in North Dakota suc- 

 ceeded? Those are the problems we want actual facts on. 



Julius H. Barnes, who was the director of the Wheat Corporation 

 during the war period, appeared before us, and he said he didn't believe 

 that the margin on exports was reduced a penny, completely contradict- 

 ing the statement of our Canadian friend. I don't know whether he is 

 correct or not. Suffice it to say that we want to find out who was right. 

 Mr. Barnes also told us that the farmer couldn't go beyond the country 

 station successfully, that he wasn't capable of doing so. 



You know, when a man comes to our committee and tells us — and, by 

 the way, some folks say he is slated for the presidency of this new 

 $100,000,000 bank — when a man comes before our committee and tells 

 us that we don't know enough to handle our products beyond the country 

 station, it serves to arouse us to action. 



I think, if you will look over the past history of our country that you 

 will find that some of our best brains have occasionally come from the 

 farms. I don't believe any man knows what he is talking about when 

 he tells us that we can not successfully go beyond the country station. 

 (Applause). I do believe, however, that when you attempt this larger 

 task, you ought to do it sanely and wisely. If you are going into an 

 enterprise involving the handling of several hundred millions of dollars, 

 oughtn't you to know the facts before you attempt to act? I think that 

 that is one lesson we must learn, that we must undertake to secure 

 expert assistance in gathering the facts, and then after we have gathered 

 them we must have experts to assist us in the operation of the organiza- 

 tion. 



These agricultural movements and price-fixing attempts have been 

 going on for years and years. Mr. Wallace told me a while ago that he 

 thought that the examination of the files of agricultural publications of 

 a half-century ago would show some editorials and news articles that 

 could be published today, leaving out days and dates, and nobody would 

 know but they were being written now, at the present time. 



I have in this connection some sage advice that I want to give you; 

 it will sound almost like Bolshevism as compared to some of the remarks 

 we have heard recently. I don't know whether you have ever heard of 

 J. Rufus Wallingford or not. Here is a speech that he gave in about 

 1906-07, to a bunch of farmers: 



"Flushed with pleasure, beaming with gratification, the most ad- 

 vanced farmer of them all arose in his place and requested of the worthy 

 chairman the privilege of addressing the meeting, a privilege that was 

 granted with pleasure and delight. 



"It was an eventful moment when J. Rufus Wallingford stalked up 

 the middle aisle, passed around the red-hot, cannon-ball stove and 

 ascended the rostrum which had been the scene of so many impassioned 

 addresses; and, as he turned to face them from that historic elevation. 



