The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-09-23
FARMERS WILL MEET TO FORM
 ORGANIZATION
Hint At Strike Unless Market Steadies and Pack
 CTS Stay in Line.

Chicago, 23.-David o. Thompson, l secretary of the Illinois Agricultural Association, explains the telegram his | rganization sent a few days ago to | the Indiana Federation of Farmers l AssO citation in convention at Indian i apOls, asking cooperation in holding back livestock and grain until "a sane | market has established itself" as fol- lows:
 It means that the farmer has about enough of being the goat for Board of Trade manipulators. It has always been the custom of the farmer to sell ] his products on a falling market not on a rising market. The markets l are manipulated on rumors. The public pays. The speculator, who has 1 nothing to do with production of the
 stuff he is speculating in, profits at the expense of the farmer and con-
 sumer
 If the farmer could sell on a steady i market be assured of a steady price and know when he plants a crop, or plans the breeding of 9 certain num- Der of livestock that he would go ahead with the certainty of at least breaking even on the game, he would increase production, there would be plenty of food for everybody, and the price of living to the consumer would go down instead of up.
 There is to be a meeting in Chi cago, Nov. 12 and 13 of delegates of all state agricultural associations in
 the country. A national orSaniza ton
 is to be perfected. It will be an or
 ganization of business men-farmers
 or bus.nesslike farmers-to bring
 about this reform.
 If it does not succeed in getting legislation it wants it can succeed in
 its purpose with an alternative. That
 is refusing to sell grains and live stock, holding it on the farm, until
 the grower is assured of a steady
 price-a fair return. That will bring the speculators to terms for they have to deliver every month on their speculations.
 Is the Illinois association, or wil, the national association be allied with the non-partisan league of North Da- kota he was asked
 Absolutely not" replied MT. Thompson. My office was open just two days when non-partisan league representatives were in to see me. They have been unsuccessful and they will continue to be so. We have no sympathy with them for this is not a socialistic organization, but an as- sociation of business men.
 We have just as big a gun out for the packers as we have for radicals | in any line. Here in the last month | hogs dropped s5. There was a slight reflection in retail prices. The farmer found that he had lost money on his l hog production because the market | was forced down by manipulation. | Spring pigs are now coming in, also ! there are a lot of brood sows coming to market. That means that every farmer selling brood sows is going out l of the pig business.
 '"The average city man thinks the | farmer is rolling in wealth. He is | not. I helped about 100 of them | make out their income tax returns | this year and I find that the average return on investments running from | S25,OOO to $1OO,OO is around per | cent-one years turnover-and if the | farmers and his family's labor be in | cluded his return is less than 3 per | cent. Compare this with the car penter who is asking $1 an hour in | Chicago-a man with a $150 invest ment in tools, who works eight hours | g. day and has no responsibility. ] Whera does the farmer get off"