WHAT IS THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC? 7 



whether they might expect freight rate reduc- 

 tion within a reasonable time. 



The dollar value of crops produced on 

 American farms had practically doubled during 

 the war, consequently the requirements for 

 money and credit to finance the production and 

 movement of these crops had also doubled, and 

 with cost of production still high the credit 

 needs of agriculture were far above the limited 

 facilities afforded in our antiquated credit 

 system which had been developed primarily to 

 foster commerce and trade rather than agricul- 

 ture. The increased cost of doing business 

 influenced the distributing and marketing 

 agencies to compete with farmers for credit, and 

 either left the farmer to carry the burden of 

 the surplus or dump it upon an already de- 

 clining and congested market. 



The hazards of farming as a business, which 

 must always be a serious matter, were increased 

 because of the lack of business organization 

 among farmers and as a matter of self preserva- 

 tion the farmers of the United States turned 

 to self organization to dispose of their products 

 or to control them while they were held in 

 elevators and warehouses until consumptive de- 

 mand require that they be put upon the market. 



