The Mena weekly star., 1921-01-27
STORMY TIME AT
 BIG CONFERENCE
Last Day of Meeting Strenuous When Memphis Plan Discussed--Ended by Unanimous Adoption--Polk
 County Folks Make Good.
By V. W. St John

The last hours of the big conference of farmers, planters, business men anc bankers in Liberty hall at Littel Rock was full of interest, to say nothing ot sharp discussion and action m general There developed early in the Nednes- day morning session to apply more drastic regulation to landlords, but this finally oozed out, and the next move was to make the cost in cotton acreage less than the Memphis plan, which demands that all cotton grow CTS restrict their cotton acreage in 1921, to one-third of their cultivated iand. The compromise proposed was that they should not plant more than half their cultivated land to cotton and carried with it a stiff penalty this penalty to be turned over to the various county school funds.
 Another undercurrent, for a time, tended to an utter description of this meeting, number of farmers having disposition to resent the part the bankers and business men were taking and to show a disregard for their counsel and advice. It was proposed hy some radically inclined to adjourn this meeting and to call meeting for and of farmers only, and it could readily have been carried thru at some periods of enthusiasm following rcd hot farmer talks. The gist of some of these was that 1t was not the farmers who had fallen down on their jobs--they had raised big crops but the financiers and business men had failed to maintain distribution, mark cts and prices.
 This was about how things stood at 12 o'clock, the usual time for ad- lournment for dinner, but the excite nent was too high to permit of ad- 5ournment. With scores wanting to be heard, 5-minutc rule was put in force, and the farmers practically took full control. Finally motion to adopt the Memphis plan was offered and seconded With many calling for question an amendment was offered, then an amendment to the amendment, and then substitute for the whole. This nearness of definite action seemed to steady the convention and several of the more level-headed of the farm CTS, who still held the floor, softened the opposition to the bankers and business men, and to concede that the great trouble with too many farmers was that they did not consult more and seek and heed the advice of their bankers, and further that the worst handicap of all these efforts was the disposition of the average farmer to not only trust those business men who would gladly keep then, but had no faith in each other-that successful organization as well as religion was impossible without faith
 At the end, nearly two hours past usual adjournment hour, in one sweep of enthusiasm all amendments and substitutes were voted down with but three or four scattering noes" and with even less resistance the Memphis Plan," as adopted last Dec ember at convention of eleven south ern states, was given full approval.
 And, sure and certain, it was an all-farmers' crowd that did it.
 Dr. Bradford Knapp was in at the finish. He had talked and worked fur cotton acreage reduction--made a grand and convincing speech for this the first day but his idea was to work more thru campaign of education and moral suasion, while the temper sf the convention and the Memphis plan were for more radical and defln- ite action. and when all was over Dr. Knapp stated to the writer that he was well satisfied and would at once start county to county campaign, and let it be said here that this cam paign will be valuable in that it will not only carry the cotton reduction idea, but will have much to do with guiding those who are in doubt as to ~what to do to offset the usual staple crop.