Arizona republican., 1921-01-22
TO BRING VALLEY IN ONE:
 COOPERATIVE
 ORGANIZATION
Two Hundred Farmers And Business Men Make First Move Last Night For Co., operative Production And Marketing

Tentative organization of what is to be known as the Salt River Valley association designed to bring the varied farm industries of this section of the Southwest under a unified busi ness administration which shall oper- ate similarly to the great cooperative organizations of California, was effect ed last night at the Madison school in the Madison district when nearly 200 Salt River valley farmers, together with several representative business men of Phoenix, appointed a committee on or ganization which is to examine the feasibility of the plan, present it to the farmers and residents of the other dis triets of the Salt River valley, and re- port at the call of the chairman, Prof. D. c. Humm.
 The meeting last evening was held to consider a. plan of cooperation which had been conceived by M. Young, farmer of the Madison district. Un- der this plan it is proposed that some nationally known business organizer such as Herbert Hoover or William G. McAdoo, be brought to the Salt River valley to institute one large system of cooperation which would not only give the producers of the different staple products of this section an opportunity to control at least to some extent mark eting conditions but also to bring the Salt River valley to the attention of the world not only through publicity and advertising but also through the 1 interest which would attach to having a man of national reputation conduct ! ing its affairs.
 Name Investigating Committee After MT. Young had outlined his
 plan. other speakers took up the ques- tion of cooperating and then the sub l ef 4n df-
 cussion. At the end of the discussion Prof. Humm, who had acted as chair man of the meeting. was appointed l temporary chairman of the new asso-
 citation with MT. Young as temporary
 secretary. The members of the inves- l tigating committee are M. Young, chairman; F. M. Corcoran, c. M. Sar- gent. o. D. Merrill, Mrs. Aubrey NJ Smith, W. NJ. Browner, and Prof. D. c. HumnI, member. ex-officio This com
 nittee will report at a meeting to be called at the discretion of the chair
 man.
 In outlining his plan Mir. Young spoke in part as follows:
 "The farm is a factory The manu-
 factory of cotton is the ranch on which Tit is produced. It is an industry, a
 manufactory. in which s75.00o, 600 has been invested and which is being con-
 
 ness could be conducted for a week
 We have borrowed and are trying to borrow immense sums to put into
 this factory: and at the same time we acknowledge that we do not know what Jour product is worth. where we shall
 sell it or what on earth we can do with
 it. There is remedy, however. for this
 condition. It predicates that the farm
 CTS of this valley should devote them fn f-,- FD asrfv. hf
 and better crops than is done anywhere
 else on earth. to devote ourselves strictly to our business. which is that
 of making the soil give up its wealth. while we turn the business end over
 to business men under an organization , that can tell the prospective buyer
 what it has cost to produce a bale of cotton and can demand price to pay 2 the costs and that production and give the farmer a reasonable profit f To Profit by Others l Farmers associations have failed in , the past for four reasons. These are 7 poor finance methods. localiZat1on, lack
 of brains at the head of them. and their antagonism to other business in l terests. We have the opportunity to ! profit by the lessons of the past. : Other organizations have been formed, notably in California. where business . efficiency has been purchased by the n farmer with the greatest good to him
 self If in the Salt River valley we t could bring such men as Herbert Hoo n yer or William G. McAdoo to our as . sistance what could we not afford te V pay them, or who could anticipate the = benefit that would accrue to us2" o The next speaker was a representa- 5. tive of C. H. Akers. newspaper pub
 fisher. who gave his endorsement tc
 the plan, declaring that the important
 thing is the idea and not the indi- @ vidual at the head of it. He also out y lined the good that must come to the : Salt River valley through publicity q which he said had come to be the grea V moving force in the world. In endine n his remarks he cautioned his nearer: : to sit steady, to retain their courage x and ontirnism and thus make their plaE