Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1921-04-08
FARM BUREAU
ORGANIZING
Large Attendance at Meeting
and Great Interest Shown
Officers Elected

M VII llOll nan man VI LIN
Farm Bureau meeting at the court
house Saturday introduced the speak
er of the meeting. state president Geo.
McKerrow Mr.. McKerrOw talked
about the farm bureau organization.
We quote part of his talk as follows
This is an organization which aims
to see that the farmers get what they
should 1t is based on the live and
let live golden rule policy. The farm
bureau was started in New York by
one Of the first county agents, and the
merchants Of birmingham helped to
get the organization started. The idea
among the farmers was that the county
agent advanced theories. There was
much discOfd among the farmers but
when the county agent came they said
lets get together and help him. >
The farmers helped the county agent
and the county agent instructed and
helped the farmers through the farm
bureau movement.
\ year ago last March. 36 states were
pooling their wool to saving the prof
its Of the middleman. A year ago in
March farmers met and organized Il
National Farm Bureau federation
There are now nearly 100000 mem
bcrs. 1t has grown because the .cOndi-
tons were favorable. 1t is now the
strongest. biggest and youngest farm
organization in the world. The Granger
organization stands second. They are
not strong in this state. as they got
tangled up in politics, and entered bus
mess at Madison and put a man III
charge who didn't know his business
consequently they failed. The farm
bureaus are not liked by middlemen
and spectators. and we have many
spectators. who work to retard the
bureau is trying to form a selling
agency in a national way. President
Howard started the organization OF
the National Selling Association for
the farm bureaus This OrganiZa ton
urges farmers to sell direct as near as
possible. The United States is the
only country in the world that has
both money and credit. With wool
pools which were formed in the diff
fercnt parts Of the country. the prices
varied. Northern wool is preferred to
southern wool. The southern wool
pool offered competitive bids against
the northern wool pools. at twenty
eight cents pound The spectators
offered to buy the NORTHERN wool at 20
cents per pound. thus playing one wool
against the other. At another time
spectators offered IL cents per pound
for wool. IT was sold direct to the
mill for 23 cents The board of trade
in st. Paul has been closed to the
farmer but their doors are now being
opened by law.
\ great deal of money is spent on
gambling on farm produce. AT one
time billions of dollars was up on
futures. betting on grain. This was
in Chicago. Future betting is bet
ting on the price that grain will be in
the future. This betting on the farm
erS' produce should be stopped. 1t is
wrong.
The spectators have things fixed so
that the farmer gets rs cents on the
dollar and the spectators get the ball
ance. The farmer should get paid just
ly for his labor and capital as we'll as
anyone else. When the railroads went
back to private ownership from the
government. the owners induced the
government to guarantee them 513 per
cent profit Congress agreed. me
farmers are the only people in the
United States who are not fully or
ganized Right now through the farm
bureau they are better organized than
ever before. During the war lab0rlng
men cot big concessions In wages.
They were paid very highly. Farm
ers were not A limit was even placed
on some Of their products.
Thirty years ago thirty farmers went
TO Washington TO get some legislation
TO benefit the farmers. Con-
eressmen were surprised to see them
there Most of the men at congress are
lawyers. An old saying is "1gures
won't lie" That is true; but it is also
trne that liars can figure. One county
had a county agent drawing a salary