New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1920-08-21
COOPERATION BY FARMERS is
BADLY NEEDED.
Crowley, La, Aug. 16, 1920

NANHtStt Ae'f @@Ne' ~ ~~SN'
Mister Rice Farmer:
What are you doing TO establish a
price on your crop for this Year, If you
aver needed cooperation, you need it
ahis year, and by cooperation you will
be able to market all the rice we will put
into bags at a price you are entitled to
receive The mills have strong organ
ization and that is as it should be. They
have several conditions to confront, that
can only be handled by being organized
and ty getting together and consulting
each other. They have adopted methods
for selling the clean, also for payment
of same, and many things that could only
be accomplished by unity. So if they
see the wisdom of being united, should
you not do the same.
The average farmer gives just about
all his work and time and figuring to pro-
ducing a crop When he has done that
he gives little thought to the marketing
of il. He has worked hard the whole
year producing the crop, and then he
aakes just what the buyer wants to give.
Need For Information.
That is especially true of the majority
of the rice farmers, for they are not
posted on the market and have to take
Che line of Dull" given out by the buyer
and seventy-five per cent Of the rice
farmers are not well enough posted to
contradict any statement made by the
buyer. If he tries to market the crop
himself be has to take the prevailing
price offered by the purchaser, as he does
not know any better.
You can readily see the raising OF the
crop is only about half Of the business
of growing rice. You should have some
place to come for information. Inc
Mace should be your organization. The
Southern Riie Growers Association IS
simply a group of farmers Joined to-
rether for the purpose of determining
what your crop should bring. livery
director is a rice farmer, and does not
draw cent of paw for his services.
som. one has broken into print about
the salaries of the men working for the
association. There is not q man on the
pavroll of the Southern Rice Growers
Association that some mill would not
gladly pay the same money for ms
services and several Of them could COM
mand more salary if they wanted to quit
us. admit the men hired by the as
sociation are only human beings and all
Of those will some time in life make
mistake. You know the only man that
not make mistake is the man who does
nothing Our men are not that kind,
they work hence some man will use poor
Judgment some time. You know 1t is
human nature to magnify the error of a
very good man and say little about the
many good deeds performed by the same
man. W
- Three Glasses.
? Now il appears as if there are three
classes of rice farmers that stay out OF
the association, or talk about why some
farmer should not join and put his
shoulder to the wheel and make easy
sailing for all rice interest One is the
man with grudge, one is the piker and
the other is the pirate. Some grader
ma have made delivery OF a certain
mans crop and found stuff in the lot the
farr, ar never knew he had, and then that
farmer says the association stuck him and
ne sees no goo din the same. Now It y
not the object Of the association to put
anything ever on the mills and IT the
grader finds some rice below the sample
on which that lot Of rice was sold he
rhc.lA not and does not make that mill
take something II has not bought, The
association grades lots of rice where the
mill has no grader. If he puts il over
che mill on one small lot he would lose
his usefulpess. He is there to see that
you do get for your rice what II was sold
for, see that every sack goes into its
proper grade. Now the next man is
The one that has seen what the Southern
Rice Growers Association has been do
ing for the industry for the past ten years
and shev ssvs, ayes, the association is a
good thing but can sell my own rice.
see no need Of giving "a commission"
Now that man is free-rider. He wants
his neighbor to keep the organization go
inn and he not contributing anything for
sts support The time has now come
WHEN the Southern Rice Growers Assoc
riss,on is a bigger thing than just sell