The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-03-07
Birmingham Is the Second Largest
 Consumer of Food Stuffs In South
Executive Committee Food
 Preparedness Bur eau. Planned Work for Coming
 Year at Meeting Yesterday

preparedness bureau at the 1
 o'clock luncheon in the private
 dining room of the Tutwiler hotel
 yesterday. This being true, he
 further told the committee, 1t was
 up to Birmingham to encourage
 the farmers of Alabama to raise
 more foedstuffs and supply this
 market.
 The sentiment expressed by Mir. Frye met with the approval of the mem bers of the executive committee and invited guests and all pledged their support in an effort to bring about not only greater food production, but bet ter marketing facilities and improved methods of preparing the focdstuffs for marketing.
 J. Chapline Hodges of the Cosby Grain and Flour company stated that until two or three years ago his com pany bought practically all the corn 1t handled in the west, except a small part purchased in Tennessee, but in the last two years all this has changed. Last year, he said, his company ham died over 400 cars of corn, 100 per cent of which came from Alabama farms.
 The Alabama farmer does not real ize top prices for his corn. MT. Hodges said. for the reason that he does not separate the white from the yellow, which makes a difference in the mar ket price of several cents 8 busheI. Shipments to Birmingham from Ala bama farms did not bring the prices the shippers expected, MT. Hodges said, and they felt that they were being robbed by Birmingham dealers. To disippate this feeling the grain deal CTS secured the appointment of fed eral grain inspector who now has offices in the Chamber of Commerce building.
 FUTURE PLANS DISCUSSED
 The luncheon yesterday was for the purpose of discussing the plan of ac- tivities of the bureau during the pres ent yaer, and with the view to en- larging the committee from 15 to 25 members a number of Birmingham business men had been invited to the luncheon.
 At the request of Chairman Frye the plans were outlined by Hill Ferguson. He suggested the preparation of chart for use by the speakers sent out over the state by the bureau. These speakers do not go to the farmers who, MT. Ferguson said, know more about farming than the speakers them selves. but call upon business men and bankers and explain to them the pur- poses of the bureau and invite their cooperation in increasing foodstuff crops and improving marketing condi- tions. This chart. he said, would con- tain a map of the state of Alabama with proper markings showing the towns and cities that assist the farm CTS in this respect, the towns and cities that hold hog sales. that have commercial canneries, packing plants, ters and similar agencies for housing the farmers products. Progress of the 3-mill school tax. tick eradication, good roads and other advance ideas and Improvements would be shown.
 T. P. Hay, Jr., secretary of the bu- reau, made report of the trip to Eufaula last week to inspect tho grain elevator recently built there. which, he said, made a net profit last year of $26,ooO on an investment of sso,oo0. The greater part of this profit was de- rived from the handling of peanuts.
 PROSPERITY OF FARMERS
 J. D. Moore said the prosperity of the Birmingham district depended not
  lures, but upon the prosperity of the farmers as well; that each was depend. ent upon the other and that all should cooperate in a helpful way for the prosperity of industries and agricul- ture alike.
 Herman Beck of the Beck Candy and Grocery company stated that in for mer years he handled from 1900 to 20o0 bags of California black-eyed peas. whereas in the past two years he had not handled 200 bags. The Alabama farmer has learned that he can raise them himself and save the money he formerly spent for them for other pur- poses.
 King Pharr few years ago raised few figs on his Wilcox farm." Mir. Beck said. Then he planted a little acre. some tomatoes and sweet pota- toes and built a cannery. He is now shipping the entire output of his can. nery north and has his 1919 output sold to merchants north of the Ohio river. This shows what can be done on Alabama farms"
 WILL GO TO AUBURN
 Chairman Frye and the executive committee will go to Auburn on We'd nesday of next week to look over the experiment station and confer with Dr. J. F. Duggar. The bureau and the experiment SLaIiOn VIII CO-opoTdto in the work. the bureau working among the business men and bankers of the state and the experiment sta tion among the farmers. From Auburn the committee will so to Tuskegee where President Moton of the Tuske- gee institute will show them what Is being done among the negroes for the improvement of agricultural con- ditions. They will then go to Mont- gomery by automobiles and return home Thursday night. arriving here on the Louisville and Nashville train at S:53 o'clock.
 The members of the executive com mittee. all of whom are expected to make the trip to Auburn and Tuske- gee. are: John H. Frye. chairman; Murray Brown. B. M, Allen. H. M. Beck, Hill Ferguson, J. Kirkman Jack son, G. B. Mccormack, J. D. Moore, L. Pizitz James J. Smith. Frank S. White and W. D. Wood.
 Others who were at the luncheon and agreed to serve on the executive committee and to make the trip to Auburn and Tuskegee. If possible, were John L. Raul. Eugene Brown. J. T. Stokeley, John c. Henley. Chapline Hodges. c. L. Harold. F. B. Yielding and O. L. Bum.