more than it could use. Now it is bring- 

 ing down wheat acreage. It will be dif- 

 ficult if not impossible for the United 

 States to regain some of her lost export 

 markets. Holland has an adjustable tariff 

 on wheat imports which moves up as 

 ' export subsidies by other countries ad- 

 vance, he continued. The only result of 

 a program to subsidize exports of our 

 wheat surpluses to Holland would be to 

 drain money out of our own treasury 

 into the treasury of that country. 



Every hog farmer in Denmark has a 

 definite quota, Davis said. He can eat 

 what he produces above that quota, but 

 he can't sell it. Denmark bought up 

 all its surplus cattle and processed them 

 into meat meal. The farmer was paid 

 the proceeds, plus receipts from the 

 slaughter tax. 



icy. He said the Department was try- 

 ing to break down trade barriers between 

 the various nations, and that tariff con- 

 cessions had been given on some farm 

 products as well as industrial commod- 

 ities in return for similar concessions in 

 favor of American exports. He denied 

 that imports thus far were of much conse- 

 <iuence or had any appreciable eflfect on 

 farm prices. 



After Edminster talked, Ewing, Hol- 

 man and Huff launched a vigorous at- 

 tack in which they charged that the 

 State Department policy had resulted in 

 surrendering part of the farmers' domes- 

 tic market to foreign imports of grain, 

 milk products and livestock with little if 

 any increase in exports. Edminster was 

 given an opportunity by Chairman Greg- 

 ory to come back, which he did with 



AT THE INSTITUTE OF CO-OPERATION 

 B. Jesnets, economist. University of Minnesota, Earl C. Smith, and Chas. 



Ult to right, O 

 A. Ewing, chairman, Institute of Co-operation. 



European countries have gone much 

 farther than we have in America toward 

 adjusting and controlling production. 

 Davis said he came away convinced that 

 this country cannot have a one-way 

 trade. It cannot follow a policy of ex- 

 cluding imports and succeed in increas- 

 ing exports. 



The Thursday-night session on foreign 

 trade resulted in some heated remarks 

 and argument between L. R. Edminster 

 of the State Department at Washington 

 and three cooperative officials, Charles 

 A. Ewing, Charles Holman, and C. E. 

 Huff. The stage apparently had been 

 set for an attack on the administration's 

 reciprocal trade agreement policy. 



Edminster delivered a logical defence 

 of the Administration's foreign trade pol- 



much heat and some lack of good taste, 

 although many did not blame him. 



The discussion left the average lis- 

 tener more or less confused. The truth 

 about foreign trade policy undoubtedly 

 lies somewhere between the two ex- 

 tremes. Our slant is that industry has 

 gained more concessions than agricul- 

 ture; that there has been more lower- 

 ing of the tariff on farm imports than 

 on industrial imports. The facts show 

 that there has been a substantial in- 

 crease in foreign trade since the low 

 point of the depression which is mostly 

 to the good. There has been a marked 

 pickup in auto sales abroad. 



Next shou'd come a trade agreement 

 with Germany swapping off our surplus 

 cotton, soybeans, wheat, lard and pork 



for German chemicals, glassware, cam- 

 eras, lenses, and other manufactured 

 articles which are getting more protec- 

 tion than they are entitled to. The in- 

 come of the Duponts, the Eastman 

 Kodak Co. and other highly protected 

 industries like them might be reduced a 

 few millions but farmers and the buying 

 public would be ahead. 



One way to help bring industrial prices 

 into fairer relationship with farm prices 

 is to reduce the industrial tariff. Farmers 

 are asking for no greater protection for 

 their crops than is necessary to assure 

 parity prices for agricultural products. 



Officers and members of the staff of 

 the lAA and Associated Companies had 

 a prominent part in the program and dis- 

 cussions throughout the week. 



The chief justification of a co-opera- 

 tive is to improve the economic condi- 

 tion of its members in some way, Presi- 

 dent Earl C. Smith said in his address 

 Friday afternoon. Cooperatives are in- 

 clined to place too much emphasis on 

 loyalty and not enough on bringing ad- 

 vantages to the patrons, he continued. 

 "Cooperatives have not solved and cannot 

 solve the price problem through their 

 normal marketing operations. Have all 

 the representatives of cooperatives given 

 their assistance to the only real attempt 

 yet made to secure parity prices?" Mr. 

 Smith referred, of course, to the crop 

 adjustment program. The answer is 

 "No." 



Many cooperative leaders — not the 

 producers — have been lukewarm, if not 

 hostile, to crop adjustment. "We need 

 more cooperation among the coopera- 

 tives," said Mr. Smith. "It is short- 

 sighted for any cooperative to think 

 first of its commissions and budgetary 

 condition before considering the best in- 

 terests of the farmer. Let's end our 

 debate some day and go down the road 

 together on the plan tested by and grow- 

 ing out of the experience of business, 

 that is influencing prices by keeping 

 production and marketing under control." 



Donald Kirkpatrick in a fine address 

 on the legal aspects of co-operative 

 marketing told the conference that in 

 his belief a proper relationship between 

 the agricultural cooperative movement 

 and the general farm organization is 

 the great need and opportunity of the 

 hour. "The general organization needs 

 the cooperative, the cooperative needs 

 the general organization. All should be 

 fitly framed together, each functioning 

 in its respective sphere and all making 

 up a well-rounded organized agriculture," 

 he said. 



Frank Gougler drew some fire from 

 cooperative leaders in Iowa and also 

 some applause, when he outlined the 

 plan followed in setting up Illinois Pro- 

 ducers' Creameries. 



Iowa leaders admitted that there were 

 (Continued on page 22) 



s< 



I. A. A. RECORD 



