The Washington herald., 1921-03-23
SOUTRSFARNIERS
PIN THEIR FAITH
TOCOOPERATION
Marketing Associations
Promise Relief From
Farm Problems.
RECENT AWAKENING
Leaven Will Work Slowly and
Best Leaders of Section Have
Big Task Ahead.
~ RAY srANNARD BAKER.

ny RAY srANNARD BAKER.
A North Carolina farmer put the
situation In the South in a nut
shell:
In the past. whenever the South
crn farmer got into trouble. he hol-
Tered for some body to help him out;
this time he Is g,dng to help him
self"
This may in part represent an
aspiration rather than an accom-
plishment: and yet there are the
soundest facts to bear out his dec
laration.
Every one of the big agricultural
interests of the South Is now at
tempting to organize for market
ing its products upon a co-opera-
tive basis. The cooperative idea
has been tentatively or experiment.
ally applied in various ways during
the last five or ten years. Truck
gardeners. raising early vegetables
for the Northern markets, in South
Carolina. North Carolina. Virginia
Texas. Florida. and other States,
have already demonstrated the use
fulness and necessity of such or
Eanizations. There have also been
many local adventures. largely by
cattle raisers. in cooperative snip
ping and selling. under the direction
of the county farm bureaus, which
havesbeen highly successful demon
strations of what can be done.
Aw.keniaE Is Recent.
Pooling" has been tried by GER
tain of the tobacco raisers. But
10 L. AnI IN los
so that the South seems to be
awakening to the cooperative idea
In handling its great cash crops.
In North Carolina the control of
cotton storage warehouses. long
recognized as the chief strategic
element in cotton marketing, has
been widely under discussion. and a
clever plan of cooperation for the
ownership OF these warehouses by
farmers or local interests, with
State aid. has been devised.
The State passed a law taxing
each bale of cotton at the gin the
small sum of Is cents, this to be
placed in a revolving fund and lent
out to local associations which
wished to build their own ware
houses.
BY this method farmers and local
interests. often without much capi-
tai. can make a first step in the co..
operative control of their products.
Several warehouses are now being
built upon this basis.
in the past" a farmer said TO
me. we've paid for many a ware
house. but never owned any. In the
future. when we pay for warehouses.
they're going to he ours"
American in theories. Does II
'Sorkr' he asks. He wants - he
shown" Tins u is in the South
that there has been a great circula-
tion of the California idea" cf CO.
operation-descripso of the way
the orange growers. prune growers
and honey producers Of the West Rave
worked out their problems; how the
Wisconsin butter and cheese pro
cucers have come to control their
own marketing: how the wheat in
terests of the North are beginning
to own their own elevators, aui how
the Michigan potato farmers have
organized
Propaganda Wen Spread.
Such facts have been widely
spread by the agricultural papers
and by the cotton and tobacco asso-
Citations. Experts from California
also have been called in to make
speeches and 10 confer with the To-
cal leaders.
1 have before me the contract of
the Cooperative Peanut Exchange.
which Is an organization to coatrol
the marketing Of peanuts grown in
Virginia and North Carolina. Here Is
Of -.
given:
The undersigned propose to or
ganize a non-proft, cooperative as
sociation, under the laws OF the
State of Virginia for the purpose of
promoting. fostering. and encourag-
ing the business Of producing and
marketing peanuts and their by
products comparatively; for pur-
chasing SUPPLIES collectively: for
erecting or acquiring or leasing
cleaners, warenpuses. processing or
manufacturing pants: for reducing
speculation. and for stabilizing the
peanut markets; for comparatively
and collectively handling the prob
lens of peanut growers and for
other pertinent purposes
Each farmer signing the asree-
rent--and a breakage Of this agree
ment under the law is made a costly
business-must agree to market his
entire crop through the exchange
fer a period of seven years (but
selling expenses are in no case to
exceed 5 per cent). Each farmer
must take one $50 share of stock.
The association canrot start until
growers of at least so per cent of
the peanuts In the two States have
signed up.
Virginia dark tobacco growers are
forming a similar association, but
signing up for Eve years.
In Oklahoma and in Texas the
cotton marketing associations have
already made great progress. In
>the former State the plan is to get
$4,000 cotton farmers to agree to
market at least 100000 bales each
year through the central selling
agency. I hear that success Is al
ready assured. The plan is a clever
adaptation Of the California system
TO Oklahoma and Texas conditions.
And more recently the tobacco
growers of North Carolina, South
Carolina and Virginia have met to
organize a similar movement and
have begun to get signatures. The
North Carolina cotton growers have
also adopted the California plan.
Benefits viii he Great.