The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1921-02-18
FARMER As LAWMAKER
CHANCE GIVEN EVERY SOIL
TILLER NOW
Head State Farm Bureau Body
Addresses Crookston
Meeting :
ASSOCIATED Press Dispatchl

AlASSOCldl6u fTGSo
Crookston, Mimi, February TO-
Every Minnesota farmer can be a
lawmaker this year for the first time
in the history of the state" L. T..
Potter, president Of the Minnesota
Farm Bureau federation, told North,
western Minnesota farmers gath
cred here today at the Red River
Valley Mid winter shows.
Minnesota has moved its legisla
tive affairs out of the state capitol
and is giving every farmer and ev
them over" Mr.. Potter said. After
they have looked they are telling the
legislature exactly what they think OF
its works, and how they believe their
representatives should vote.
1.-THE medium that has given the
farmer this new opportunity to pay
an active part in the legislative al
Farm Bureau federation. The ma
chinery used by the federation Is
the informal referendum. Copies Of
four bills of vital interest to farm
ers were sent out to every county
farm bureau with call to the bu-
reau officers to ascertain the senti-
ment of the farmers in their county
as rapidly as possible and to notify
the state federation headquarters.
on the grain grading and chamber of
commerce bills was in direct obedi-
ence to the wishes Of the farmers as
expressed in the informal referen-
dunn.
while the first attempt was i'm
perfect, in that 1t reached but the
county farm bureau officers in most
H. Ner SrNer NJ
a system that will give the farmers
direct voice in the acts of his repre-
sentatives in the legislature and in
congress. i mean that 1t will give a
direct voice in his government II ne
chooses to express himself. The
Minnesota federation intends to per
feet the system Of taking referen
dunn votes through the county Blu
reaus until every one OF the 5000
state federation can be reached
1t also intends to perfect system
by which every county bureau
through its branches in the town
ships, can get in touch with every
farmer who Is a member and get his
opinion on any bill. Such a system
won't work without the CO. operation
OF the farmers.
1.-THE same thing is true of CO.. p-
erative law has provided the lega
means for establishment and pro-
lection of CO. cooperative shipping as
sociations, and for uniting them into
a central selling agency. The reg.
IL up to the farmer The success Of
cooperative marketing rests with
reau federation can point the way
but the federation itself is made up
Of only the individual farmers, and 1t
can go no farther and no faster than
the farmer himself wants to go.
The manufacturers, merchants,
jobbers and workmen must share in
the loss of the farmer and thus help
in the burden of readjustment. N.
j. Holmberg, state commissioner #
farmers attending the shows here
today. Thus far, Mr.. Holmberg said
the burden of readjustment and
the losses sustained by the down
ward trend of the markets of the
world, have been borne mostly by
those who live on the land.
"The farmers Of this country" he
the most trying periods in history
The last three or four years prices
of farm products, as well as labor
and manufactured articles have been
abnormally high. Speculation in land
caused rents to soar, and much land
has been bought with the eXpecta-
toin that farm products would re.
main high for years.
1.-The unexpected happened-the
bottom has dropped out of the mar
kets, leaving disaster and disap-
pointment behind.
Cotton growefs of the south, the
wool growers Of the west, the wheat
growers Of the north and the stock
feeders. of the corn belt have seen
their profits entirely wiped out.
However, it takes more than one
disaster of this kind to wipe out the
American farmer and when cash
leases are readjusted to meet a de-
flated situation, when reductions in
merchandise reach the farmer, VIXEN
farm machinery gets down where it
belongs, when interest rate becomes
reasonable the farmer will be in a
mood to forget his loss and try
again"
Mr.. Holmberg urged the seeding
of all available land, and the raising
of livestock saying that the world
will need food and that through the
proper marketing of these commod-
tiles, the farmer again will come into
study the marketing OF their product
selling agencies, and that these
agencies should be so centralized
that both the farmer and ultimate
consumer should benefit.
Eleven Chicks Hatched.
Eleven hardy Single Rhode Island
IL g.. T.