138 THE AGRICULTURAL BLOC 



specifically endorsed were bills to provide for 

 short-time agricultural credit; an agricultural 

 representative on the Federal Reserve Board; 

 repeal of section 15a of Interstate Commerce 

 Act ; the operation of the Muscle Shoals project ; 

 enactment of cooperation legislation and credit 

 based on warehouse certificates. 



The Conference served to distribute through- 

 out the country a more accurate knowledge 

 of the objective of the Agricultural Bloc in 

 Congress and the manner in which it was seek- 

 ing to aid agriculture through legislative 

 methods. It served the double purpose of con- 

 vincing Senators and Representatives in Con- 

 gress of the soundness of their program; its 

 agreement with the needs and desires of farm- 

 ers, as well as to infoiTu the farmers of the coun- 

 try of the situation in Washington and the un- 

 reasonable opposition which had been encoun- 

 tered by many bills w^hich were in no sense self- 

 ishly proposed by the farmers' friends. 



Dating from this time, January, 1922, there 

 was to be noted a steady change of attitude 

 concerning the farmers' organized movement. 

 Criticism in the city press began to subside. 

 The comments upon the action of the Agricul- 

 tural Bloc in Congress became less caustic and 



