98 THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC 



farmers. It was pointed out that many states 

 had clarified the law and put an end to indict- 

 ments of legitimate farmers^ organizations un- 

 der the anti-trust act. All agricultural authori- 

 ties agreed that the purpose of my bill was 

 clearly in the public interest and in no sense 

 an unfair proposal to other group organiza- 

 tions, nor was it class legislation. I pointed out 

 that the right to bargain collectively was es- 

 sential to farm organizations in order that they 

 might deal with powerful groups of middlemen. 

 Dairymen selling milk for city consumption 

 must of necessity contract in advance, sell upon 

 credit and make daily deliveries, and if the busi- 

 ness was to be stabilized and the supply of milk 

 conserved farmers must be in a position to do 

 business the same as groups of distributors. 



While some opposition had been expected, we 

 did not look for the organized opposition which 

 almost immediately was disclosed. The bill was 

 held up for months in a sub-committee made up 

 of lawyers under the claim that it was class 

 legislation and when that argument would not 

 stand they made the pretext that it was a threat 

 of monopoly of the business of producing food- 

 stuffs, or otherwise unconstitutional. No bill 

 that had heretofore been presented to Congress 



