136 THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC 



from the feverish conditions of war, he comes to us asking 

 that he be given support and assistance which shall testify 

 our appreciation of his service. . . . 



"Agriculture is the oldest and most elemental of indus- 

 tries. ... It is the first industry to which society makes 

 appeal in every period of distress and difficulty. . . ." 



He spoke at length of the needs for better 

 farm credit, for legislation which would enable 

 the farmers to do cooperative marketing, for 

 extended marketing information, and urged the 

 need of farm organization. He said : 



"The farmer does not demand special consideration to 

 the disadvantage of any other class; he asks only for that 

 consideration which shall place his vital industry on a 

 parity of opportunity with others and enable it to serve the 

 broadest interests. . . . 



"There must be a new conception of the farmer^s place in 

 ouH social and eeonomie scheme. . . ." 



At this time, the President, like many others, 

 did not quite understand the purpose of the 

 Agricultural Bloc in Congress and did not ap- 

 pear to realize that it had aided in the passage 

 of several bills which would be regarded as the 

 biggest accomplishments of his administration. 



The Agricultural Conference heard reports 

 on the situation in agriculture in various parts 

 of the country and in various branches of re- 



