Julyy 1931 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Nine 



Indiana Farm Bureau 



^^ Defends Marketing Act 



Declares Jim Watson Being Groomed 

 To Fight Legislation in 



;:\'..l;:, -'■•■■ Next Congress ;■■/'■;'.'',''' :-;v.:'v'. 



Referring to the telegram sent by 

 John W. McCardle, Indianapolis, to 

 Senator James E. Watson, Washington, 

 D. C, and printed in the Indianapolis 

 Sunday Star, Lewis Taylor, vice-presi- 

 dent of the Indiana Farm Bureau, says, 

 "John W. McCardle, chairman of the 

 Public Service Commission of Indiana, 

 guardian in fact of utilities, and now 

 would-be guardian of national agricul- 

 ture, out of the vast abundance of his 

 wisdom and thirty years' experience as 

 a grain buyer, wires his conclusions and 

 advice to our senior senator to be re- 

 layed to the President of the United 

 States, to the effect that the enactment 

 of the Agricultural Marketing Act was 

 a gross mistake and that a bill be drawn 

 at once for its repeal. His modesty is 

 revealed in the statement 'that a sugges- 

 tion from me would not be a crime.' 

 True indeed, not a crime, just a tele- 

 gram uncalled for and unsought, so far 

 as news dispatches indicatei either by 

 the President or the Federal Farm Board, 

 or by agriculture." 



Coming as it does, on the heels of a 

 dispatch that a four years' campaign is 

 to be immediately started by grain and 

 other interests, to "educate" the public 

 as to the utter failure of the Federal 

 Farm Board solution and to create a 

 public sentiment that will demand its 

 repeal, naturally leads one to believe that 

 this new enemy of national farm legis- 

 lation has been chosen to fire the first 

 gun in the pending battle and that the 

 President's chief-of-staff. Senator Wat- 

 son, has been chosen as its "General 

 Foch," claims Mr. Taylor. 



"Gall, nerve and brass are apparent in 

 selecting our champion of the equaliza- 

 tion iee as the generalissimo," says the 

 Farm Bureau leader. "How easily the 

 chosen representative of utility inter- 

 ests disposes of the Federal Farm Board. 

 He says to Senator Watson, 'advise the 

 President to make a statement to the 

 American people and especially to the 

 American farmers, that the fact 

 brought out by practical application of 

 the law, creating the farm board proved 

 it to be a complete failure in regard 

 to alleviating the American farmers* 

 and further says he will recommend its 

 repeal at the next session of congress." 



"It is rather strange that a board cre- 

 ated for the express purpose and benefit 

 of agriculture must be attacked and de- 

 stroyed, not by those for whom it was 

 created but by commission employees 

 and representatives of utility interests. 



ADDING TO THE LOAD 



and that, too, because it has not, in less 

 than two years of its existence, saved 

 agriculture from the depression or panic 

 that has enveloped the world," says Mr. 

 Taylor. "Every intelligent farmer real- 

 izes that the Federal Farm Board has 

 not yet solved the problems of the 

 farmer, however, it is the only legisla- 

 tion that we have and we propose to 

 keep it. Probably we will amend it 

 (without the help of our enemies) and 

 out of its work will come a solution of 

 many vital farm issues." 



See Increase in Fruit 



Handled Co-operatively 



Approximately 50 per cent more 

 fruit will be marketed by Illinois fruit 

 growers through -co-operative channels 

 in 1931 than in any previous year, ac- 

 cording to A. B. Leeper, director of 

 fruit and vegetable marketing. 



Most of the increase is accounted 

 for by the organization of new co-oper- 

 atives among western Illinois winter 

 apple growers, who will market their 

 crop through the Illinois Fruit Growers 

 Exchange. 



Apple growers in Calhoun county al- 

 ready have under contract an estimated 

 150,000 to 200,000 bushels of apples to 

 be marketed co-operatively this year. 

 Liberal increases from other sources are 

 expected to put 1931 well above pre- 

 vious records. 



The Calhoun Apple Growers Associa- 

 tion is co-operating in the state-wide 

 marketing program. A modern packing 

 and sales shed will be erected at East 

 Hardin, just across the Illinois river 

 from Hardin, Calhoun county seat, on 

 the Chicago and Alton. 



Apples will be delivered at the shed 

 by truck across the new bridge, which 

 will be dedicated shortly. The co-opera- 

 tive expects to be ready to handle the 

 1931 crop of apples. 



Organize to Defend 



■ A gr. Marketing Act 



Hit at Farm Enemies Who Exploit 

 Agriculture for Their Own 



' '^' V.1/ -,'<"■' Advantage ■^^';'\; ;';V■-■V.^';V• 



ORGANIZED agriculture is mobil- 

 izing against the forces which are 

 threatening to destroy the Agricultural 

 Marketing Act. First steps were taken 

 when forty representatives of national 

 farm organizations and commodity 

 groups met in Chicago June 29 to con- 

 sider the anti-co-operative propaganda 

 being projected on a nation-wide scale 

 by enemies of farmers' co-operative ef- 

 forts. 



The group appointed a committee to 

 develop a program to defend the Mar- 

 keting Act and keep the member organi- 

 zations informed on the movements of 

 the opposition. The committee includes 

 E. A. O'Neal, president of the Ameri- 

 can Farm Bureau Federation; L. J. Ta- 

 ber, master of the National Grange, and 

 C. O. Moser, vice-president of the 

 American Cotton Co-operative Asso- 

 ciation. 



Resolution Adopted 



A resolution was adopted by the farm 

 leaders that ". . . during the entire life 

 of the Agricultural Marketing Act and 

 the existence of the Federal Farm Board, 

 not only America but practically the 

 entire world, has been submerged in the 

 worst economic depression ever experi- 

 enced, notwithstanding which, the ef- 

 forts of the Federal Farm Board, acting 

 under the provisions of the Agricultural 

 Marketing Act, have resulted in adding 

 many millions of dollars to the income 

 of producers of agricultural commodi- 

 ties. 



"In view of the continued opposition 

 of those groups and individuals, who in 

 the past have exploited agriculture to 

 their own profit and advantage, it is 

 urged that each organization participat- 

 ing in this conference mobilize all of its 

 power to properly inform the people of 

 this country of the merits of the Agri- 

 cultural Marketing Act and to insist 

 that the Act be retained and that when 

 it is amended the amendments be writ- 

 ten by organized agriculture." 



Organizations represented at the con- 

 ference were: The American Farm Bu- 

 reau Federation, the National Grange, 

 the Farmers Union, and commodity or- 

 ganizations including cotton, grain, 

 livestock, pecan, wool, dairy, poultry, 

 and vegetable associations formed under 

 the provisions of the Federal Act. 



No one can learn to assume re- Uncle Ab says that the best thing 

 sponsibility unless he is made to as- to keep is something you give — 

 sume the consequences of his acts, your promise. 



