Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-10-21
Asbury P, Lever, Congress
sionaI Authority on Agri-
culture, Urges Legislation
and Cooperation
The Atlanta Journal News Bureau,
623 Riggs Building.
BY THEODORE TTILER

BY THEODORE TILLER
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18.-Co-oper-
alive action on the part of farmer
producers, assisted possibly by spe-
: ctal legislation, is needed if the cor
Derby marketing Of farm products"
Is to be made possible, according to
Asbury f. Lever, member of the fed
eral farm loan board at present and
for score Of years recognized in
the house of representatives as one
Of the authorities on agriculture.
Out of the farm credit problems
which have faced and frightened the
farmers in the last few weeks should
grow in insistent demand that this
problem should be solved in such
manner that another and similar sit
uation will not be confronted in the
future, according to Mr.. Lever. The
farmer should through a system of
orderly marketing Of his crops be
assured Of obtaining at least the
cost of production, and, as a secon-
dairy issue to the problem, the farm
Or should be assisted in making farm
life as attractive in every way as
Is the life of the city, then only
will the problem be solved, accord
ing to Mr.. Levers opinion review
ing the present and past difficult
ties. Mr.. Lever says the things that
are necessary to solve the problem
Of orderly marketing are as fol-
lows:
The Remedies
First, formation of a system of
short time credits; second, develop
ment of warehouses and. warehouse
receipts which will be recognized as:
the best kind of collateral, third,
development of selling agencies
through cooperative action of the
farmers; fourth, development of ex-
port corporations to provide for the
expectation under the cage act of
farm products.
With this as a foundation, various
organizations and agencies can be
developed to tend toward ultimate
efficiency in the marketing of crops,
according to Mr.. Lever.
For instance, out O. fthe develop
ment of selling agencies would grow
some kind of an efficient system Of
informing tie consumers what crops
are to be furnished, the character
and the price, and possibly some 9TH
er system Of linking up the co-opera-
tive selling agencies of farmers and
the cooperative agencies of the con-
sumers. What, Legislation will be
necessary to build this foundation
Mr.. Lever was not prepared to say.
1t is very possible some system of
slort-t1me credit will have to be de-
tVised, and there are numbers of sys-
TENS to be suggested. 1t is very pos
sible also that the present farm loan
act with slight amendment here
and there, would suffice. The build
ing of warehouses and their use IS
possible under present 1egislat ion:
the farmers can form their own SELL
ing agencies without legislation, and
the expectation of farm products can
be provided for under the now exist
ing Edge act.
The Main Trouble
THE trouble has been, and is to-
day, that it takes nine months to
grow our crops, and we have expected
said Mr.. Lever. eff eggs are selling
today at so cents dozen and you fix
Q day when all the producers in your
community are to market their eggs,
you will beat down the price. So it
Is with farm products under our
present system of marketing"
Under the farm loan act at pres
emit it is possible to lend money for
period of six months to assist in
the marketing of crops. Mr.. Lever
said this grant might be made more
helpful if the period were extended
to nine months. Also he suggested it
I might be necessary to provide special
Legislation to lend money to the pro-
ducers of live stock, as his produc-
ton extends over a period of as long
as three years Or more, but this prob
lem, he emphasized, might be solved
II 1t once was, tackled.
I'VE have been too prone to look
on this as the problem of the pro-
K. Queer and to let the producer take all
the interest in it, said Mr.. Lever.
terested in it, as consumer as we'll
as producer, and every man should
take an interest in it."
Mr.. Lever said the interest in the
building and use of warehouses
which he showed through congress
has been of considerable help in the
difficulties of marketing, and as this
interest is extended and the ware
houses increase in number, the prob
lem will become less acute.
"The farmer must then get a SELL
ing agency formed" said Mr.. Lever.
4 1.-THE farmer knows everything about
: producing his crop, but not much
about selling it, and he does not get
all the opportunities or advantages
out of the existing demand. He
should cooperate and go out and get
! the best sales agent he can get to
put his crop on the market. Then he
can do without any additional legis-
lation, I believe"
The First Thing to DO
But more than anything else. Mr..
Lever has pointed out that until you
solve the problem of keeping. the
young man and woman on the farm.
the problem will not be solved. and
that problem cannot be solved. he in
sists. until you assure the farmer
boy of the opportunities of education,
of sanitation, of all the improvements
of the city. Otherwise the boy is
going cityward. and the problem
grows more acute.
The federal farm loan act against
which there is expected to be serf-
Gus drive in the next congress has
assisted tremendously, in the opin.
ion of Mr. Lever He said that 10000
farmers had obtained loans amount
ing to upwards of $3.50, 100000 and at
rates of interest of to IL per
cent since the act was put on the
STATUTE books. The farmers We're get
Eng from $12.000,000 to S15,0OO.OO0
monthly when the act was stopped
by proceedings to come before the
supreme court