Omaha daily bee., 1921-01-06
.No.RoSes Thrown
At Meetings Of
State Farmers
Blame for Many of Their DIFF.
ficulties Laid at Their Own
Doors by Nebraska
Agriculturists.
tContinued From Page one3

Continued From Page One.)
good. He praised the plan OF the
committee of II for a cooperative
criminal selling agency. and pointed
out that now the price of wheat was
frequently broken by the existence
of a surplus Of as little as per cent
Any manufacturing industry would
sell the surplus somewhere at a loss
and stabilize the price of the re-
mainder at higher level. he de-
clared.
Farm life must be made more
pleasant for the women, DR.. Waters
urged. saying that all modern con-
veniences could be installed for the
cost of a tractor. He criticised the
city men, who considered that they
must make enough from their work
to support family in idleness while
the farmer workcdNhis own wife and
children in order to make beth ends
meet. and suggested that if city peo-
pie could not afford to pay the
farmer a living wage for his toll,
they should take their children out
of the picture shows and put them
to WORK.
Oppose Bankers Suit.
"A popular chord was struck by
Mr.. Corey in his reference to the
tying up Of the federal land bank by
suit of the Mortgage Bankers
association. His declaration that he
was not satisfied that the federal re-
serve system could not extend credit
more generously to agriculture, also
was applauded Suppose the war
was still going on" he said, would
not the reserve system find it pos
sible to extend aid to fhe farmers
in order to enable them to produce
efficiently"
"The day has come for the farmer
to take more interest in financial
questions" he asserted. THE aver
age corn-belt farm is worth more
fthan the average country bank. or
the ,averaRe country store. The
farmer with an investment of $780,
1000 must take his place at the table
and consider financial problems with
the city business men. He must ar
range system of borrowing. allow
ing him to make his payments over
"a period OF time and not all at one
slime, The farmer must consider
using warehouse receipts on his
goods just as the manufacturer or
:inerchant does in order to finance
himself"
Nearly Loses Teeth.
Tom Snodgrass of Brock, an old
time farmer and former member of
the grange and farmers alliance,
caused rnerriment when Ale became
50 enthnsed over farmers co-opera-
tion that his false teeth almost
slipped from his mouth. He COM
pared this weeks farmer meetings to
"a sanitarium. and said he hoped the
sick farmers would find cure.
\ Perhaps" he said. I'VE farmers
will have to be ground down still
more before we wake up and get
together for Our own good. | hope
not. but If there are any who still
are not ready to take charge of their
own marketing and business. l hope
they get soaked even worse, and
then they will stop letting the specu-
.lators and middlemen milk them.''
No More Blue Sky.
More than 800 farmers attending
the crop growers meeting today
swore off on blue sky for a year,
during the speech of c. H. Gustaf-
son, president of the Nebraska
Farmers union.
Farmers in this state bought
$50. 100000 worth of blue sky in the
last few years." Mr.. Gustafson said.
Some farmers are so greedy 70 get
something for nothing that they lose
their heads, and city folks bought
Sl0,000,000 themselves. You can't
blame the trusts and combines for
this. Suppose we farmers had this
$50, 100000 to tide US over the pres
ent situation. Wouldn't we be all
right? You farmers rush to the
legislature and ask for medicine
when all the time you are eating
more germs. ! want every man here
to promise not to buy 81 worth of
stock from salesman for one year
Then we will have some money to
help ourselves"
A farmer in the audience shouted
out for everyone who wouid save
his money to stand, and all except
a few who said they had already
lost all their morey in stock promo
t:on schemes and didn't have any
more to lose. arose.
Don't Use Brains.
Mr.. Gustafson. who is a member
of the committee of II. which is
planning farmer-owned and con-
troiied grain marketing system. was
unsDarins in his references to the in
ability of the farmer to unite on any
one plan.
Farmers have lots Of brains, but
they don't use them." he said. Re
fore improving the marketing sys-
tenn, they have to organize. ! be-
1ieve that farm products can best be
handled through farmer-owned and
controlled marketing machinery
but am not appealing to the preju-
dice of the farmer. or knocking any,
OHS. VS hIOW WC ok IOt SdtiSltNu
with the present methods. but we
spend too much time telling how
bad the other fellow is instead of
setting about actual reforms.
"The farmer is standing in his own
light. and blocking progress. There
are too many ideas. and we cannot
put any plan over unless a majority
center their effort on it. We farm
ers are sick and we know it. The
only questions now are about the
doctor and the medicine. I know
of nothing better than cooperation.
We can't change the present system
over night, and the farmer must
work out his own salvation by some
thing more than talk"
Farmers Cheer Criticism.
Although Mr.. Gustafson was frank
80 b;c ~r;t;e;crne of the forr,erc hic