196 THE FARMER AND THE NEW DAY 



of progress, especially since the war opened and par- 

 ticularly in the matter of market information, the range 

 of prices, etc. But we need at once closer cooperation 

 between the federal Bureau of Markets, the research 

 and extension divisions of the agricultural colleges in 

 the field of marketing, and the state market bureaus, 

 which are administrative and not educational. We 

 must know what is happening in the agricultural world, 

 and how it affects America. 



Relationships. The federal government is the only 

 agency that can properly determine and adjust inter- 

 state and international relationships in rural affairs. 

 We must rely upon it to find the proper place for agri- 

 culture in our foreign trade. In cooperation with the 

 great associations of producers, it must work out such 

 zones of production as may be feasible. 



Cooperation with Voluntary Agencies. This is one 

 of the great needs of the New Day. We have a right 

 to expect that the government, through the Department 

 of Agriculture, will take the initiative in getting into 

 close touch with the various agricultural agencies and 

 associations. Unfortunately, these agencies do not al- 

 ways respond in the spirit of cooperation. Sometimes 

 there may be fear on the part of the government 

 officials that if they call into conference representatives 

 of farmers, demands will be made which will limit the 

 freedom of action of the officials. But it should not be 

 difficult to avoid this, if both the government officials 

 and the representatives of the farmers once become im- 

 pressed with the need of common counsel and planning. 



Government Ownership or Control. The farmers 

 were the originators of the demand for governmental 

 regulation of railways, and we have long since passed 

 the stage of irresponsible railroad management. Gov- 



