National Agricultural Conference 
The national agricultural conference at Washing¬ 
ton, called by Secretary of Agriculture Wallace, at 
the request of President Harding, is in progress. 
About .‘150 delegates are in attendance, representing 
every State in the Union, including 27 women, some 
of whom own and operate their own farms. 
PRESIDENT HARDING’S ADDRESS.—Presi¬ 
dent. Harding opened the conference on Monday 
morning in a notable farm address. It was the first 
of the kind ever expressed by a President of the 
United States; and, while expressing only what has 
been said and written many times during the last 
10 years, lias special importance as coming from suen 
high official authority. It should bear fruit. The 
President said agriculture was not suffering alone, 
but it was necessary to accentuate its discourage¬ 
ments to relieve the menace to a basic and essential 
industry. He reviewed the familiar conditions due 
to the World War, and the farmers' response to the 
call for food, doing all that was asked of him and 
more than was expected, and asserted that now. in 
his time of need, the nation must not desert him. 
Two forms of relief, he said, were necessary. First, 
temporary relief for the present temporary con¬ 
ditions; and second, measures affecting permanent 
conditions of the industry. As remedies he sug¬ 
gested credit facilities adapted to the needs of the 
farm; extension of co-operative marketing; buying 
and loan associations; better market information 
in both prices and in supply and demand; equality 
of opportunity for agriculture with all other indus¬ 
tries; reduction of transportation rates, and a re¬ 
duction of retail prices to conform to prices to the 
farmer. He made a reference to the agricultural 
bloc which indicated an elemeut of disapproval, and 
approved the St. Lawrence waterway project as a 
means to furthering ocean shipments. 
THE SITUATION REVIEWED.—Secretary Wal¬ 
lace briefly outlined the scope of the conference iu 
three general divisions: First, what may he done 
through legislative action; second, what may be 
done through administrative and educational effort, 
national and State, by the various agencies charged 
with the duty of fostering agriculture; third, what 
may and should be done by the farmers themselves 
individually and through their organizations. 
Senator Sidney Anderson of Minnesota, chairman 
<if rhe joint congressional commission of agricultural 
inquiry, was made permanent chairman of the con¬ 
ference. He spoke on agricultural prices and the 
present situation. He said that prices of agricul¬ 
tural products had at no time in the last 20 years 
returned the farmers a profit upon investment plus 
t reward for labor, risk and management equal to 
the average wage received by the persons employed 
in other industries. Referring to anti-trust laws, 
he said they retard if they do not prevent combina¬ 
tions of farmers for the purpose of sorting, grading, 
packing and processing their product. Government, 
he said, must remove these obstacles. The States, he 
said, must give legal status to these organizations, 
and define the legal powers and obligations of both 
the organizations and their members. No magic 
word of legislation, or magic wand of administration 
• ould, he said, establish agricultural prices upon a 
profitable basis. This would depend on the normal 
processes of readjustment. It is also possible by 
organization for farmers to standardize the quality of 
the products of many farms within a given locality, 
and by such standardization to increase the price per 
unit of the whole crop. Farm organization of a 
sound, wise and farseeing character is the key to a 
more prosperous and better paid agriculture. 
BRIEF REPORTS.—An interesting feature of 
the first day's session was brief reports from five 
different sections of the country by practical farm¬ 
ers. E. B. Cornwall. Middlebury. Yt., spoke for the 
Northeast. Conditions, he said, were bad and looked 
discouraging In New England. The poultry industry, 
u hich had been doing fairly well, is now facing 
lower prices and approaching distress. Dairymen 
are already discouraged from making milk for less 
than it costs to produce it. Yet. while facing hard¬ 
ships now. he expressed a cheering hope for the 
future. 
James AY. Morton. Atlanta. Ga., who said he was 
scared to death, but didn’t show it. told of the hard¬ 
ships of the cotton grower due to low prices, high 
cost of production, inadequate credits and insect pests. 
A Sykes. Ida Grove. Iowa, spoke for the corn belt. 
.v bumper crop for two years in succession brought 
loss to the producer. Matters were made worse by 
attempts to buy steers and feed the corn. The fatted 
steers sold for less than enough to pay for the steers 
originally, so the corn, whether grown or purchased, 
v. as a complete loss. Young farmers who bought 
land during the inflated period are in sore distress, 
and face a loss of their investment. 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
John N. Hagan, Deering, N. D., had a hard story 
to tell for the wheat grower, hut he was full of pep. 
and fertile iu means of relief. He made a plea for 
price-fixing of grain. He recounted how the Govern¬ 
ment had stabilized prices downward during the war 
and insisted -that the same power could stabilize 
prices at the cost of production now. 
Mr. Bixby. Long Beach, Cal., spoke for the live 
stock men of 13 range Stares, as welt as for Cali¬ 
fornia. California live stock men. he said, were 
prosperous because they had a home market for 
their products, and the highest prices in the country. 
Hardships were experienced by the breeders in the 
other States. lie protested that 20 cents in the re¬ 
tail market was too high when beef animals on the 
hoof were selling for seven cents, and qualified as 
an expert in the assurance that he owned a shop 
and knew. 
.AIR. BRYAN SPEAKS.—At this stage William 
Jennings Bryan was discovered in the audience and 
the chairman called him to the platform for a brief 
speech. If proved a feature of the session. He said 
the present Congress is doing more of what the 
farmer wants than the last one or the one that pre¬ 
ceded it, not because it is any better, but because 
the farmer has scared it. The members are, he 
said, afraid of what will happen to them at the next 
election unless they do something. The only dif¬ 
ference, he said, between the agricultural bloc and 
the Wall Street bloc and the big interests bloc, both 
of which had been in existence for 30 years, was 
that the latter blocs worked under cover and the 
agricultural bloc operated in the open. lie insisted 
that no farm crop would show in itself whether it 
was grown by a Democrat or a Republican, and 
therefore there should be no politics in legislative 
measures of relief for agriculture. He would have 
a commercial commission in every Slate and city to 
<ee That dealers are not allowed to charge too much 
1 rofit on the things they sell, that the middlemen's 
profits be curtailed, and the producer get a fair 
share of the consumer's dollar. 
NEW YORK STATE DELEGATES.—The dele¬ 
gates from New York State were Frank A. Horne, 
Freeport; R. G. Phillips, Rochester; S. J. Lowell. 
Eredouia: B. M. Baruch, New York; James Moore, 
Rochester; Geo. Funk. New York: Wesley A. 
Mitchell, New York: Geo. Sisson, .Tr.. Potsdam: 
Edward M. Wald. New York; J. M. Klein, New 
York; Martin Gorgo. New York; John D. Miller, 
Utica; Windsor T. White. New York; A. R. Marsh, 
New York: Arthur R. Rule. New York: AA'm. A. 
Mather and Mrs. Mather. Adams; 11. C. McKenzie, 
Walton: K. M. Robins. Rochester: N. F. Webb. Cort¬ 
land: Senator Chas. N. Wicks. Utica; J. C. Powell. 
New York: L. H. Bailey. Ithaca; D. T. Houston, 
New York; Albert A. Johnson, Farmingdule: Albert 
Manning, otisville; G. W. Slocum. Utica; G. Howard 
Davison. Millbrook: Dr. A. R. Mann, Ithaca; Dr. 
Geo. F. Warren. Ithaca; Theo. Price. New York; 
Geo. M. Rummell. New York: Edward Snllan, Buf¬ 
falo: Julius H. Barnes. New York; John J. Dillon, 
New York. 
President and Mrs. Harding held a reception at 
the White House Monday evening for the members 
of the conference and their wives. Secretary of 
state Hughes and Mrs. Hughes, also Secretary 
of Agriculture Wallace and Airs. Wallace, helped 
receive the guests. It was a real farmers' night at 
the White House. 
Meeting of the New York State Agri¬ 
cultural Society 
MARKETING METHODS — Ou January 17 ami IS 
the Ni \v York Agricultural Society hold its ninetieth 
annual meeting in the State Capital at Albany. The 
attendance was moderate, but this, in a large measure, 
was compensated for by the quality of many of the 
dUeussions. which bespoke a deeper understanding of 
the present unwholesome marketing, distribution and 
taxation situations. The success of the farms and mar¬ 
kets law in relation to marketing was discussed by 
former S;ate Senator Elon R. Hooker, in which he em- 
sized tin m • ssitj of g - e Fa edqs and Mark* ts 
Department whatever power is needed to cope with the 
presenet conditions. tic suggested that cold storages 
should he controlled in such a way that they could not 
be utilized for the purpose of breaking down tiie price 
of fresh products which come from the farm, and that 
markets should be established in New York City where 
• >nly uon-cold storage foods could be sold, so that the in¬ 
terest of the city in getting good food and the interest 
uf the country in disposing of it could be attained. 
GRADING AND STANDARDIZING.—Every phase 
in the marketing of farm produce was thoroughly con¬ 
sidered. AA'ells A. Sherman of the United States De¬ 
partment of Agriculture pointed out that the prepara¬ 
tion of farm produce for market by grading and stand¬ 
ardization was gradually developing along practical 
lines. The only reason for grading, he stated, was that 
the producer might secure a pecuniary advantage, and 
be suggested that iu attempting to secure this advantage, 
instead of fitting the product to arbitrary standards, a 
series of descriptive grades should be written to tit the 
product which would enable it to be prepared with a 
minimum of effort. 
CO-OPERATIVE SELLING.—Dean A. R. Mann 
and Prof. H. E. Babcock of the New York State Col¬ 
151 
lege of Agriculture at Cornell. R. T. Eastman of the 
Dairymen s League, and II. C. McKenzie of the National 
fr arm Bureau I* ed oration were among those who 
delivered interesting addresses on the marketing 
tu * arrn produce through co-operative associations. 
J he consensus of opinion was that co-opereative 
marketing has efficiently demonstrated its possible value 
in cutting down the breach between producer and con¬ 
sumer, to the benefit of both. It was recognized, how¬ 
ever, that in order to secure such desirable results the 
very highest expert management must be maintained, so 
that strict economy of administration may be obtained 
on the one hand, and on the other hand efficient market 
machinery constructed so as to correct mal-adjustments 
which arise from sudden changes in conditions of pro- 
f]uetion or consumption in addition to insuring orderly 
functioning of the particular enterprise. 
STATE PROBLEMS.—The question of taxation and 
other State problems were interestingly dealt with by 
Governor Nathan T.. Miller. “Real estate.” he said, 
"bears a disproportionate amount of the heavy expense 
of government, both State ami local.” He made it clear 
that the only way to modify this condition was to induce 
more economy in administration and to »nact a scientific 
adjustment of the tax law. The problem of rural edu¬ 
cation was declared to he second to none. The mistake 
made when the township school law was enacted should 
not be repeated, but a system should be prepared by 
out; agricultural people which Albany can adopt. 
CO-ORDINATING EFFORT,—The supreme idea in 
the able address delivered b,v Dr. Roseoe W. Thatcher 
of the Geneva Experiment Station was expressed in the 
emphasis he placed on the complete desirability of a 
co-ordination of effort between the various and numerous 
agricultural organization- throughout the State, lie 
made it very clear that the most cordial relations 
existed between the Geneva Station and the other 
branches of agricultural development, but he emphati¬ 
cally expressed the need of a central body for the co¬ 
ordination of agricultural representation. Hon. II. 
Edmond Mach old, Speaker of the Assembly, also sug¬ 
gested that much greater satisfaction could he obtained 
from agricultural legislation if the proper desires of 
farmers could receive the hacking of a co-ordinated 
unit instead of being presented by various groups with 
the frequently attendant disagreements. 
F. CO N O M Y IN TRANSPORTATION—Hon. 
Uharles L. Cadle, Superintendent of Public Works, and 
Prof. Charles Lee Raper of Syracuse University spoke 
with interest on the advantages of transporting farm 
produce by barge canal and i»n economies that should 
be sought and effected in all the agencies of transporta¬ 
tions. It was brought out that we arc utilizing our 
barge canal to only seven per cent of its capacity, in 
spite of the fact that freight rates are from 20 to 40 
per cent cheaper. The opinion was expressed that the 
time has come when we should think of water trans¬ 
portation to its full capacity, and that it secure economv 
the particular agency of transportation should be 
utilized where it is best fitted to serve, whether it be 
water, rail, motor or horse. 
RESOLUTIONS.—Resolutions were adopted favor¬ 
ing a national co-operative statute, shifting the burden 
of building bridges from the town to the State, enm- 
pietinn of barge canal terminal- and opposing Canadian 
canal, approving Dairymen’s League Co-operative Asso¬ 
ciation and pooling plan, making prisons self-supporting 
by developing real industry and paying wages to 
prisoners, so as to furnish an incentive for the trans¬ 
formation of their character, appropriations for develop¬ 
ment and extension of Cornell, in me maria m of W. N, 
Giles, former Master of the State Grange, placing a 
ban on filled milk, and endorsement of agricultural 
bloc. The meeting closed with the election of A. L. 
Brockway as president. C. II. Baldwin as secretary and 
D. II. Y\ inters, treasurer fur the ensuing year. 
D. BOYD DEVEXDORF. 
The “Two Blades of Grass” Theory 
You were the first, long ago, so far as I know, to 
oppose the doctrine, unlimited, that the farmer should 
seek prosperity by making two blades of grass to grow 
where only one grew before. And now you have the 
distinguished support of President Harding in his last 
message to Congress. I hope you will occasionally 
quote what he said about bushels of wheat and bales of 
cotton. 
It is such men as R. W. Bahson. posing as students 
of agricultural statistics, who are now chief advocates 
of the “two blades of grass theory.” Only a year ago 
Babson told the world that it was bushels, not price, 
that mattered. Anyway. Jonathan Swift, when he used 
the beautiful figure 150 years ago. did not say that it 
would be a good thing for the farmer—though it may 
have been in his day—to grow two blades of grass 
where only one grew before. He said that whoever 
could do so “would deserve better of mankind * * * 
than the whole race of politicians put together.” 
But the best thing of all that President Harding said 
on agriculture iu his message was the opening sentence: 
“The farmer needs something more thau the tariff.” 
Sympathy, appreciation, understanding by those who 
are not farmers— these are things that we are much in 
need of at the present time, as I see it. 
DATLS C. SMITH. 
Farm News By “Wireless” 
Plans are rapidly being perfected for the distribution 
of news by the Department of Farms and Markets from 
New York City by wireless telephone. The original 
plan is to send out market reports, but the wireless will 
come in for other service. It is explained that amateur 
receiving sets can be had for $25 that will pick up 
messages from a considerable distance. For sending, 
powerful currents are required, and arrangements are 
already made with the Westinghouse, near New York, 
to start the messages. The General Electric at Schen¬ 
ectady will pick them tip and relay, and possibly there 
may be others at Buffalo or other places that will do 
rhe same. 
It is iu the plan to suggest that the various Farm 
Bureaus secure receiving outfits of a rather high grade 
at a somewhat additional cost, and by means of these 
be able to report weather forecasts and marketing to 
the farmers of their counties that they receive from 
the powerful sending stations. In addition, it is under- 
stool that private individuals will instal some form of 
the receiving devices for their own personal benefit and 
for neighborhood servit-e. The whole affair is so simple, 
according to recent statements, as to be not only in¬ 
tensely interesting, but startling. The project has for 
some time been predicted, but it has hardly been 
realized as a development of the immediate future. 
H. H. t. 
