FARMING ON BEACON HILL 



The bills for the standardization 

 of onions and tobacco have been 

 loyally supported by the Connecticut 

 Valley Farm Bureaus, and seem like- 

 ly to' pass. The Valley men have 

 been well represented by Mr. Pelis- 

 sier, Mr. Belden, Mr. Clark, Mr. Lee 

 and others. 



Grange and Farm Bureau joined 

 hands in the hearings on the repeal 

 of Daylight Saving. The farmers 

 made out a good case, and put a 

 good deal more earnestness into their 

 words than the opponents of the re- 

 peal. The Boston and Maine E. R., 

 and the railroad men's unions urged 

 the repeal, but the committee re- 

 ported leave to withdraw, Senator 

 Eeed, chairman, dissenting. 



Mr. Wharton took charge for the 

 Federation of the hearing on the bill 

 to increase the number of rural po- 

 lice and men were present from many 

 counties in answer to telegrams sent 

 from this office. A leading part for 

 the Federation was also taken by Mr. 

 Dodge, of Essex County. The hear- 

 ing "seemed entirely favorable, and 

 there was no opposition. 



Farm Bureau representatives 

 did themselves proud in the two hear- 

 ings on the Accredited Herd, or Tu- 

 berculosis Eradication Bill, first be- 

 fore the Joint Committee on Agricul- 

 ture and Public Health and, after a 

 favorable report from them, before 

 House Ways and Means. Hampden 

 County, with President Hinckley at 

 the head, made the greatest showing, 

 hut real farmers were present from 

 almost every county, to favor the 

 bill. The opposition hardly dared 

 lift its head in the open, but is at 

 work n'-vertheless. 



ly at about half of the regular com- 

 mission charges, which corresponds 

 exactly with the studies of the Farm- 

 ers' Live Stock Marketing Commit- 

 tee of 15 which outlined th national 

 plan. 



REORGANIZATION PLAN 



GOES TO COOLER 



The President has had in his hands 

 for several weeks the report made 

 by the special committee to investi- 

 gate the functions of the adminis- 

 trative departments of the Govern- 

 ment and recommend changes. 

 Among the proposals were the trans- 

 fer of the Bureau of Markets and 

 Weather Bureau from the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture to the Depart- 

 ment of Commerce, and the Forest 

 Service and Public Roads to the De- 

 Ijartment of the Interior. It is un- 

 derstood that the report has been 

 considered by the Cabinet and that 

 to much disagreement has arisen 

 concerning the proposed shifts that 

 it will not be considered again un- 

 til next winter. 



collectively processing, preparing for 

 market or handling does not consti- 

 tute a crime. 



The uncertainty of the legal status 

 of farmers' cooperative marketing 

 organizations which conduct business 

 in a collective way has had a paralyz- 

 ing effects on the efforts of men and 

 associations. 



In the Capper-Volstead bill Con- 

 gress clarified their position in rela- 

 tion to the Sherman Anti-trust law. 

 In addition to authorizing the exist- 

 ence of these cooperatives Congress 

 has also approved of their having 

 common selling agencies, thus affirm- 

 ing that the mere bigness of their 

 enterprise does not violate the law. 



MODIFICATIONS ARE URGED. 



Congressman Lever Urges More Pro- 

 gressive Marketing Mathods for 

 Farmers. 



WORCESTER GOT 1000 



Holds Annual Meeting and Elects 

 Officers. 



LIVE STOCK CO. 



MAKES GOOD START 



President John G. Brown of the 

 National Live Stock Producers' As- 

 sociation points out that the first 

 terminal commission company or- 

 ganized under the national plan, the 

 Producers' Live Stock Commission 

 Association, at East St. Louis, has 

 in seven weeks assumed first place 

 in amount of business transacted 

 among the 50 commission firms at 

 that market. A surplus has been put 

 aside for a patronage dividend. "The 

 Central Cooperative Commission As- 

 sociation, which began business as 

 South St. Paul on Aug. 8, 1921, is 

 now the largest commission house at 

 that market, handling 25 per cent 

 of the total receipts. The produc- 

 ers' company at St. Paul cut com- 

 mission charges 25 per cent when it 

 opened for business, and recently 

 returned to its patrons another 25 

 per cent of all commission charges 

 collected, as patronage dividend. 'The 

 patronage dividend totaled $13,440. 

 This is selling live stock cooperative- 



The Worcester County Farm Bu- 

 reau held its first annual meeting 

 in Horticultural Hall, Worcester, on 

 February 15 th. 



The constitution adopted is simi- 

 lar to the constitutions of the other 

 counties. The following men were 

 elected for the coming year: — 

 President and Delegate to State 



Federation, Howard P. Gilmore, 

 Westboro. 

 1st Vice President, 



John Freeland, Sutton. 

 2nd Vice President, 



Archie M. Tuttle, Warren. 

 Secretary, 



Lewis L. Harrington, Lunenburg. 

 Treasurer, E. C. Lord, Sterling. 



These, with eight others to be 

 elected at the coming Directors' 

 meeting, will constitute the Worces- 

 ter County Executive Committee. 

 Mr. Chandler, who has temporarily 

 represented the County on the State 

 Federation Executive Committee, 

 will remain there by virtue of his 

 office as chairman of the Committee 

 on Economics. 



Worcester has put on a campaign 

 resulting in one thousand member- 

 ships in the face of many difficulties, 

 arising largely from disarrangement 

 of ti'ansportation and communication 

 which followed in the wake of the 

 ice storm. 



Substantial modifications in meth- 

 ods of marketing farm products 

 were urged by Congressman Asbury 

 F. Lever of South Carolina at the an- 

 nual banquet of the Union agricul- 

 tural meetings in Boston Jan. 18. 

 Congressman Lever's well known in- 

 terest in agriculture, and the great 

 impetus he gave it throughout the 

 country as one of the authors of 

 the Smith-Lever bill, gives his words 

 weight in any group of farmers. Not 

 only was his message timely and in- 

 teresting but his Southern eloquence 

 and humor captured the audience 

 from the start. 



Congressman Lever urged that a 

 marketing system should be develop- 

 ed through a careful grading of the 

 products; the institution of a federal 

 system of information on agricultur- 

 al products; the organization of 

 farmers into commodity groups, so 

 that they may be in the position of 

 wholesalers rather than that of re- 

 tailers, as they have been largely 

 up to this time, and so that they may 

 secure suitable warehouse facilities 

 and obtain adequate loans. 



Congressman Lever also made a 

 strong plea for better agricultural 

 credits. He said that the credit sys- 

 tem of the country had been built 

 up with no thought of the farmers. 

 Investment or long term credit, he 

 said, for purchase of buildings, stock 

 or implements is already provided 

 through the federal farm loan bank 

 system. Productive or crop credit 

 for financing periodic crops depends 

 on local banks and the credit of the 

 individual farmer. Farmers also 

 need credit in actual marketing. 

 These last two must be provided in 

 some way. 



CAPPER BILL PASSES 



(Continued from Page 1.) 



porate or otherwise, with or without 

 capital stock, doing a business in 



52,000 MEMBERS 



The Kentucky Farm Bureau Fed- 

 eration reports that the Burley To- 

 bacco Association has signed up 52,- 

 000 members in that state. This 

 association will market 200,000 bales 

 of Burley tobacco, which is 90 per 

 cent of the crop. 



