Omaha daily bee., 1916-11-22
FARMERS OPPOSE
LAW-FIXED PRICE
Arbitrary Standards Double
Edged swords-Embargo is
Injurious, Says Shorthill.
JUSTICE ON OPEN MARKET

"If there is justice in stopping the
advance in prices of products OF the
farm, then there is justice in stopping
declines; but we have not yet heard
of any act ever being proposed in
any legislative body for the purpose
of preventing products of the farm
from selling at price that was too
low"
That is the answer OF J, w. Short
hill of York, secretary of the Ne
braska Farmers Cooperative Grain
and Live Stock State association, to
the agitation for an embargo on grain.
"If the farmer must sell on the open
market when it is low," he continued,
'he must have the same right to do
so when it is high"
These points Secretary Shorthill
brought out in his annual secretary's
report to the association at the open
ings OF its convention at the Hotel
Rome this afternoon.
Embargo Spells Ruin.
He declared that an embargo on
grain would mean financial ruin to
more than half the farmers eleva-
tors in the state, as they could not
move their grain, especially under the
present condition of car shortage. Be-
sides, he holds that grain should not
be singled out alone among the prod
ucts that are today contributing to
the high cost Of living.
As to car shortage, Secretary Short
hill declared this due to two princi-
pal causes--increased traffic and lack
Of equipment on the roads.
"The first cause" he said will
in a measure pass over in time, but
the second is a deliberate policy on
the part Of the roads. Some Of the
roads have tried to keep their equip
ment up within reason, others have
let the equipment dwindle down in
the face Of increased traffic, when the
equipment should have been in
creased. The roads on the whole have
less boxcar equipment than they had
year or two years ago.
Make Railroads Efficient.
This association should bring pres
sure to bear to induce congress to
give the Interstate Commerce COM
mission authority to force equipment
on such roads as are short and to
regulate the rules of interchange OF
equipment between the roads, so that
one road cannot borrow permanent
ly from another. This association
should vigorously push campaign
for that purpose. ~ ..
President J. S. Canady, in opening
the convention, called the associa-
tons attention to the fact that the
secretary should have more assistance
in the future. He pointed out that
the secretary has had to make 1903
trips during the last year, the trips
taking an average OF two days time
each, and that he has not sufficient
help to do the work that must neces-
sarily be done at the Office all the
time whether he is there or not.
Visit Grain Exchange.
Several hundred delegates appeared
early in the morning and were en-
rolled before noon. Most of them
spent the forenoon at the Grain Ex-
change watching the operations of the
market and visiting with grain firms
here.
The membership of the association
is made up of cooperative elevator
companies organized by one OF the
three classes, the Equity union, the
Farmers union, and companies Or
ganized by farmers, not members Of
either union.
There are now 326 farmers eleva-
tor companies in Nebraska, according
to the secrctary's report.