Some other factors to be considered 

 in adjusting our postwar outlook, ac- 

 cording to Cowden are: 



In the first world war about 25 per 

 cent of our economy was engaged in 

 war. Today 50 per cent is devoted to 

 the war effort. This means there are 

 more readjustments to be made. 



There are 2lVi million persons in 

 the armed services, war factories and 

 government agencies, or one out of 

 every three of our 61 million employ- 

 able people will have to find a dif- 

 ferent occupation after the war is over. 



At the end of the last war we had a 

 debt of 26 billion and to date in this 

 war it amounts to 185 billion dollars. 



After this war, he said, we are not 

 going back to the normal that some 

 think of as 1928-29. "We are going to a 

 new and better normal." But, he 

 added, both chaos and ruin are also 

 within our grasp, depending on how 

 we meet the future. He emphasized 

 that if we are to have world coopera- 

 tion we will also need to have world 

 trade. 



Cowden declared that he had a 

 broad faith in our nation — a faith 

 in our ability to produce not only ma- 

 terials but to produce better doctors, 

 better teachers, etc. "We probably 

 will have unemployment, strikes, and 

 farm prices will not be as high as we 

 like, but somehow when we look back 

 10 years from now I feel that we will 

 have made some advances." 



Two major projects of the AFBF 

 discussed by R. B. Corbett, secretary- 

 treasurer, were the commodity groups 

 being planned, and the Farm Bureau's 

 recommendation for a national ferti- 

 lizer program. 



Corbett reported that in March the 

 AFBF approved a plan for setting up 

 five commodity departments for live- 

 stock, dairy, poultry, fruits and vege- 

 tables. In line with the development 

 of this project, Corbett discussed estab- 

 lishing national committees for each of 

 the commodities. These committees 

 would be made up of farmers and they 

 would serve somewhat as a board of 

 directors for the commodity groups. 

 The committee in turn would report 

 to the AFBF board. In this way, the 

 AFBF board would be better able to 

 speak for all commodity groups. If we 

 are going to set up national commodity 

 groups, Corbett asked if it would not 

 be logical to set up state commodity 

 committees and even county commo- 

 dity committees. 



In regard to the national fertilizer 

 program proposed by a staff committee 

 of the AFBF after considerable study 

 on the subject, Corbett said that the 

 objective of such a program is not to 

 dominate the commercial fertilizer 



field, but for cooperatives to join in 

 setting up enpugh machinery, or to 

 control enough resources to furnish a 

 yardstick for the industry. If we are 

 to develop our fertilizer program, he 

 said, we must have some interest in 

 the mining and distribution of soil 

 minerals. Corbett outlined some of 

 the recommendations of the AFBF 

 staff committee for financing such a 

 project and stressed the part land grant 

 colleges could play in the educational 

 field of the program. 



Corbett pointed out that there will 

 be a greatly expanded use of fertilizers 

 after the war and reported some of 

 the projects that have been carried on 

 in the field by state Farm Bureaus and 

 some that are contemplated in the fu- 

 ture. 



Minnesota, Ohio and Indiana Farm 

 Bureau cooperatives have had consid- 

 erable experience in the fertilizer 

 field, and are expanding operations. 

 Wisconsin Farm Bureau has approved 

 the adoption of a state-wide fertilizer 

 program and is forming a new coope- 

 rative to be known as the Wisconsin 

 Farm Fertilizer Cooperative with au- 

 thorized capital stock of |500,000. 



Cooperative associations of four 

 states,. Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and 

 Minnesota, also have recently formed 

 a new cooperative to engage in the 

 manufacture of plant foods. 



Rural schools, medical care fof rural 

 people, and the federal social security 

 program came in for discussion at the 

 conference. Donald Kirkpatrjck, le- 

 gal counsel for the AFBF and lAA, 

 discussing the federal social security 

 act, said one of the questions that will 

 be facing farmers in the future is 

 whether they are to be brought under 

 the act. He outlined the past history 

 of the legislation, its provisions and 

 the groups covered, and of the current 

 proposals for extension of coverage. 



On rural schools. Dr. Frank W. 

 Cyr, former Nebraska farm boy and 

 now professor of education at Colum- 

 bia University, New York City, de- 

 clared that we must determine the pur- 

 pose of the school in the rural com- 

 munity and see that program meets 

 the needs of all. In looking at the 

 rural school picture, he said, it should 

 be realized that the early pioneers set 

 up districts to fit the educational needs 

 of the area. Today, he continued, we 

 need to reorganize our schools to fit 

 present needs. This doesn't mean the 

 elimination of all one-room schools, 

 and it doesn't just mean making our 

 schools bigger — the need is to pro- 

 vide modern education. 



Dr. Cyr suggested that in many cases 

 more educational opportunities could 

 be brought to the country through the 



use of mobile libraries, health and den- 

 tal clinics, and even mobile mechanical 

 training shops similar to the mobile 

 units our Armies are using to repair 

 motorized equipment at the front. In 

 the same way, he said, we might even 

 make use of circuit teachers. He also 

 declared that there is too much empha- 

 sis today on the agricultural land tax 

 for financing schools. "We are not 

 using other sources of taxation that 

 are available." 



Above all, Dr. Cyr emphasized that 

 the rural school problem should be 

 determined by the rural people. 



On the topic of medical care for 

 rural people. Dr. Michael Davis, chair- 

 man of the committee on research in 

 medical economics, New York, empha- 

 sized the growing trend toward few 

 doctors in rural areas, and the need 

 for meeting' the problem growing out 

 of this trend. 



At one of the evening sessions of 

 the conference. Farm Bureau leaders 

 heard an interesting discussion on 

 British aims and policies by Allan 

 Kline, president of the Iowa Farm Bu- 

 reau Federation. Kline, who recently 

 made a trip to England, pointed out 

 that Great Britain recognizes she is no 

 longer the world's greatest power, but 

 looks to America. As a result, the 

 United States has a tremendous re- 

 sponsibility as the world's leading na- 

 tion. He also asserted that it appeared 

 that England is going to maintain the 

 integrity of the individual — that she is 

 not going to some form of socialism 

 after the war. 



Clifton Utley, Chicago Sun, discus- 

 sing Germany's 60 year war, said the 

 key to peace in Europe is in preventing 

 aggression on the part of Germany in 

 the future. Our job is to convince 

 Germany that aggression is hopeless, 

 he said. 



Farm Radio Batteries 



WPB has informed hardware mer- 

 chants and other dealers that "substan- 

 tial increase in farm radio batteries with- 

 in the next two or three critical months 

 would seriously affect our military pro- 

 gram. What we are attempting to do at 

 present is to hold what production of 

 farm radio batteries we now have. Mili- 

 tary requirements exceed production of 

 batteries by an estimated 30 per cent." 



Scott county will grow more than 100 

 acres of Mung beans in 1944 at the re- 

 quest of Dr. Chang, government buyer 

 from San Francisco. A guarantee of 9 

 cents per pound is made to growers with 

 a possible 12 to 15 cents, reports Farm 

 Adviser George H. Reid. 



JULY-AUGUST. 1944 



