130 THE FARMER AND THE NEW DAY 



over in large, well-organized industries, the farmers 

 will employ their own experts, not to take the place of 

 the government specialist but to supplement and en- 

 force the teachings of the schools. 



5. To some extent an industry thus organized can 

 control production, so that within certain limitations of 

 climate and heat, a group of producers may be enabled 

 to put upon the market the amount of product needed 

 at prices that will give the majority of producers a 

 reasonable return. Competition between regions in 

 the same industry may be reduced, even if not elim- 

 inated. The orange growers of Florida and Cali- 

 fornia; the apple growers of Oregon and Maine; the 

 dairymen of Vermont and New York are competitors 

 rather than cooperators. When each of these indus- 

 tries is fairly organized the country over, much can be 

 done to reduce disastrous competition. 



A LOCAL UNIT IS THE BASIS OF GOOD INDUSTRIAL 

 ORGANIZATION 



This statement is the alphabet of cooperative busi- 

 ness organization. It virtually means the establish- 

 ment of a cooperating group of farmers living fairly 

 near together; in other words a community of farmers 

 engaged in similar production. One farmer may grow 

 half a dozen products; so consequently he will belong 

 to half a dozen groups. A farmers' exchange may 

 handle a variety of products, but it can do so profitably 

 only as it is enabled to specialize in each product suffi- 

 ciently to secure all the gains that come from concentra- 

 tion of effort. There is still an ambition on the part of 

 those who seek the organization of farmers to do some- 

 thing big, to have a huge membership, to cover wide ter- 

 ritory. For certain purposes, like influencing legisla- 



